Server device, information processing method, and program

Abstract

To improve security in a system for collecting information about a supply chain.SOLUTION: A server device comprises: a storage device that stores, for each company, product information relating to a product of each company included in a supply chain; and a control section. The supply chain includes a first company and a second company, and the storage device stores first product information on the first company and second product information on the second company. The control section is configured to execute: acquiring association information for associating first identification information included in the first product information with second identification information included in the second product information; and receiving a setting relating to access permission of the first company to the second product information in accordance with the association between the first identification information and the second identification information in the association information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to supply chains. [Background technology]

[0002] Systems for sharing information among multiple companies that make up a supply chain are known. In this regard, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system for visualizing a supply chain. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2017-500663 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The present disclosure aims to improve security in a system for collecting information related to a supply chain. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure is A server device having a storage device that stores product information for each company regarding products of each company included in a supply chain, and a control unit, wherein the supply chain includes a first company and a second company, the storage device stores first product information of the first company and second product information of the second company, and the control unit is configured to: acquire linking information that links first identification information included in the first product information with second identification information included in the second product information, and accept settings regarding access permission to the first company to the second product information in accordance with the linking information linking the first identification information with the second identification information.

[0006] One aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure is An information processing method executed by a server device having a storage device that stores product information for each company regarding products of each company included in a supply chain, wherein the supply chain includes a first company and a second company, the storage device stores first product information of the first company and second product information of the second company, and the information processing method includes obtaining linking information that links first identification information included in the first product information with second identification information included in the second product information, and accepting settings regarding access permission to the second product information for the first company in accordance with the linking information linking the first identification information with the second identification information.

[0007] One aspect of an embodiment of the present disclosure is An information processing method is executed by an information processing device of a target company that can communicate with a server device that stores product information for each company regarding products of each company included in a supply chain, wherein the supply chain includes a first company and a second company, the server device stores first product information of the first company and second product information of the second company, and when the target company is the second company, the server device sends to the server device a setting regarding access permission for the first company to access the second product information in accordance with a link between first identification information included in the first product information and second identification information included in the second product information.

[0008] Another aspect of the present invention is a program for causing a computer to execute the above-described method, or a computer-readable storage medium that non-transitoryly stores the program. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, security can be improved in a system that collects information related to the supply chain. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a supply chain according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] A diagram explaining the relationships between products supplied by a supply chain. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of processing performed between a company terminal and a server device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a server device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of a company terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a software configuration diagram of a server device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a software configuration diagram of a company terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is an example of product information generated by a product information generation unit. [Figure 9A] 10 is an example of a screen output by an authority setting unit. [Figure 9B] 10 is an example of a user interface including a list of potential products to link to. [Figure 10] 10 is an example of permission information generated by an authority setting unit based on input information. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a flow of processing executed by the server device. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating linked product information. [Figure 13] A diagram explaining the product tree and the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in each process. [Figure 14] An example of a screen that displays the product tree as an image. [Figure 15] An example of a product tree when products without access rights are not disclosed. [Figure 16] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing performed by a server device and a company terminal. [Figure 17] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing performed by a server device and a company terminal. [Figure 18]FIG. 10 is a software configuration diagram of a server device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 11 is a software configuration diagram of a company terminal according to a second embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram illustrating processing performed by a server device and a company terminal in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] In recent years, there has been a desire to track the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during the manufacture of products such as automobiles and batteries, that is, to track carbon footprints.

[0012] Now, consider a case where a product is supplied by a supply chain that includes multiple companies. In one example, at least some of the companies (intermediate suppliers) included in the supply chain may receive parts from one or more upstream companies, produce their own products using the received parts, and deliver the produced products to companies in the next process (downstream companies). The most upstream company may directly produce its own products and deliver them to companies in the next process. Some companies in the supply chain may deliver products received from other companies directly to other companies (i.e., be involved in distribution). Multiple companies repeat this process, and the final product is obtained in the final process.

[0013] In the case of obtaining automobile-related products, the supply chain may consist of an OEM manufacturer and multiple suppliers. The OEM manufacturer may be the company that assembles the final product (the most downstream company), and the supplier may be a company that supplies parts, materials, assemblies, etc. to produce the product. Companies in the supply chain It can be determined accordingly.

[0014] In the following explanation, the parts and other components produced by each of the multiple suppliers will be referred to as "products," and the final product will be referred to as "final product." In one example, the final product may be supplied to a consumer. Furthermore, the suppliers and OEM manufacturers included in the supply chain will be referred to simply as "companies." Furthermore, each of the multiple tiers in the supply chain will be referred to as a "tier."

[0015] In such a system, in order to perform calculations related to traceability (for example, to calculate the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted in the manufacture of a final product), it is necessary to clarify the product supply relationships between multiple companies. This is because if the relationships between the multiple products that make up the final product are not clear, it is difficult to correctly calculate the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted in multiple processes. To solve this problem, for example, a process is required to generate a tree (hereinafter referred to as a product tree) that shows the supply relationships between the multiple products that make up the final product. The server device according to the present disclosure is a device that generates such a product tree.

[0016] On the other hand, the product tree and the calculation results regarding traceability may contain detailed information about the business relationships between companies and the products that each company produces, so it is not desirable to make this information public to all companies. One way to address this issue is for each company in the supply chain to specify the information about its products that it is permitted to disclose to other companies, and then only disclose the permitted information.

[0017] However, if each company is required to set the permission settings for information disclosure, there is a risk that unintended information will be disclosed due to operational errors, etc. The server device according to the present disclosure solves this problem.

[0018] A server device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a storage device that stores product information about products of each company included in a supply chain, and a control unit. Specifically, the supply chain includes a first company and a second company, the storage device stores first product information of the first company and second product information of the second company, and the control unit is configured to acquire linking information linking first identification information included in the first product information with second identification information included in the second product information, and, depending on whether the first identification information and the second identification information are linked in the linking information, accept and execute settings regarding access permission for the first company to the second product information.

[0019] In a supply chain, a company located upstream delivers products to a company located downstream. In one example, the most downstream company is a company (OEM manufacturer) that assembles the final product. Here, any companies included in the supply chain are referred to as the first company and the second company. The first company and the second company may or may not be companies that have a business relationship. In other words, the first company and the second company do not necessarily have to be companies located in adjacent tiers that have an upstream-downstream relationship.

[0020] The server device according to the present disclosure acquires information (linking information) for linking product information to one another. Linking information is information that indicates the linking relationship between products. Linking refers to associating the supply relationship between products. For example, when a new product B is produced using a certain product A as a material, it can be said that there is a linking relationship between product A and product B. By repeating the process of linking multiple products, the server device constructs a product tree corresponding to the final product. It can be built. The first product information is product information corresponding to the first product, and the second product information is product information corresponding to the second product. The first product information and the second product information can be linked by using the first identification information included in the first product information and the second identification information included in the second product information as keys. The first identification information and the second identification information can be one of a plurality of items included in the first product information and the second product information. The first identification information and the second identification information are preferably low-confidentiality information, such as a product identifier.

[0021] Furthermore, in response to the association of the first product information and the second product information, the server device receives a setting regarding permission for the first company to access the second product information. The setting regarding permission for the first company to access the second product information can be received from an account of the second company.

[0022] The setting for permitting the first company to access the second product information is accepted on the condition that the first product information and the second product information are linked in advance. Linking the first product information and the second product information means that there is a supply relationship between the products. In other words, permission to access product information cannot be issued to a company that does not have a product supply relationship. This configuration can prevent the mistake of permitting an unrelated company to access one's own product information.

[0023] If the first product information and the second product information are not linked in advance, the second company cannot set access permissions for the first company. Therefore, the server device may receive a permission request from the account of the first company to request permission for the second company to access the second product information, and may link the product information with each other and set access permissions based on the permission request.

[0024] The permission request is a request to the second company for permission to access the second product information managed by the second company. The permission request may include first identification information of the first product information linked to the second product information. The first identification information may be, for example, an identifier (such as a product number) of the product indicated by the first product information.

[0025] The server device that receives the permission request identifies the second product information linked to the first product information, links the two, and then accepts settings regarding permission to access the second product information from the second company's account.

[0026] First, when the server device receives a permission request, it accepts a response to the permission request from the account of the second company. Since the permission request includes information for identifying the first product information, the second company, upon confirming the permission request, responds with information (second identification information) for identifying the second product information linked to the first product information. The second identification information may be, for example, an identifier (such as a product number) of the product indicated by the second product information. The server device can link the first product information and the second product information using the first identification information and the second identification information. Next, after acquiring the linking information, the server device accepts settings regarding access permission to the second product information. In this way, the server device may perform both a process of linking product information together and a process of accepting settings regarding access permissions from the second company, triggered by a permission request sent from the first company.

[0027] In addition, accepting the setting regarding the permission to access the second product information means that the information included in the second product information is provided to the first company from the account of the second company. The method may include receiving authorization information specifying information that is authorized to be accessed by the user. If the second product information consists of multiple items, it is also possible to individually specify the information to which the first company is permitted to access.

[0028] Specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise specified, the hardware configuration, module configuration, functional configuration, etc. described in each embodiment are not intended to limit the technical scope of the disclosure to those configurations.

[0029] (First embodiment) The information processing system according to this embodiment is a system that provides information about products supplied by a supply chain that includes multiple companies. The information about the products is typically information about traceability. The companies that belong to the supply chain may be determined appropriately depending on the attributes of the products, etc.

[0030] First, the structure of a supply chain will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a supply chain according to this embodiment. The supply chain shown in FIG. 1 is made up of an OEM company and multiple supplier companies. In the example of FIG. 1, for example, a supply chain is assumed that manufactures automobiles themselves, batteries, and other automobile-related products. The OEM company assembles the final product. Multiple supplier companies (Companies A to C) supply parts, materials, assemblies, etc. for manufacturing the final product. Each of the multiple supplier companies produces one or more products and delivers those products to a company one level below. The multiple companies repeat this process, and the final product is obtained in the final process (i.e., the OEM company).

[0031] In this embodiment, in each tier of the supply chain, the side that delivers products is referred to as the upstream side, and the side that purchases the products and produces new products is referred to as the downstream side. In this specification, a company located on the upstream side is referred to as the upstream company, and a company located on the downstream side is referred to as the downstream company. Also, products produced by upstream companies are referred to as upstream products, and products produced by downstream companies are referred to as downstream products. Downstream products include upstream products. Also, in this embodiment, the tiers included in the supply chain are referred to as Tiers. Tier 0 is the company that assembles the final product (corresponding to the OEM company). ) is the lowest level, and as you progress through Tier 1, 2, and 3, you move up the hierarchy. In some cases, a downstream company may become an upstream company. For example, Company B, which is in Tier 2, is a downstream company in relation to Tier 3, but an upstream company in relation to Tier 1. In this way, The definition of upstream and downstream companies can vary from tier to tier.

[0032] Figure 2 is a diagram that explains the relationships between products supplied by a supply chain. Here, the supply relationships between multiple products that make up final product X are represented by a tree diagram. In this example, final product X is produced by assembling products A1, B1, C1, D1, etc. Product A1 is produced by assembling products A11, A12, A13, etc. In this way, the relationships between multiple products that make up a final product can be represented by a tree diagram in which each product is a node. Hereinafter, a tree diagram relating to a particular final product will be referred to as a product tree.

[0033] The server device 1 according to this embodiment collects information about the products produced by each company (hereinafter referred to as product information) and information for linking the product information from terminals (company terminals 2) corresponding to each company, and generates such a product tree based on this information. The product information also includes information about traceability (for example, information about greenhouse gas emissions; hereinafter referred to as traceability-related information), and tracing the product tree makes it possible to track carbon footprints, etc.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system according to this embodiment includes a server device 1 and a plurality of company terminals 2.

[0035] The company terminal 2 is a terminal corresponding to each of the multiple companies that make up the supply chain. The number of terminals corresponding to each company may be arbitrary. Furthermore, the terminal corresponding to the target company may include a terminal of a company (for example, an agent company) that performs operations related to the target company.

[0036] The server device 1 collects information for generating a product tree from each of the multiple company terminals 2, and generates a product tree based on the collected information. Furthermore, the server device 1 can execute processes related to traceability (typically, processes for calculating carbon dioxide emissions, etc.) based on the generated product tree. The server device 1 can also transmit the results of the processes to the company terminals 2.

[0037] Next, an overview of the process by which the server device 1 generates a product tree will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an overview of the process performed between the company terminal 2 and the server device 1. In the example of Fig. 3, it is assumed that there are a downstream company A and an upstream company B at an arbitrary level. It is assumed that company B produces product B and delivers it to company A, and company A produces product A using product B. That is, in the example of Fig. 3, product B is a child node of product A on the product tree.

[0038] To generate a product tree, a company terminal 2 corresponding to each company transmits information about the products that the company produces to the server device 1. In this example, the company terminal 2 corresponding to company A transmits product information about product A (referred to as product information A) to the server device 1. Similarly, the company terminal 2 corresponding to company B transmits product information about product B (referred to as product information B) to the server device 1. The product information of each company is stored in the server device 1.

[0039] In order to generate a product tree and perform processing related to traceability (for example, processing to calculate CO2 emissions) based on the generated product tree, the server device 1 needs to execute the two types of phases described below.

[0040] The first phase is a phase in which product information stored in the server device 1 is linked together. Linking refers to associating the supply relationships between products. In the illustrated example, product A is produced using product B. In other words, there is a supply relationship between product A and product B, so product information A and product information B are the targets of linking. By repeating this process for all companies, the server device 1 can generate a product tree. It also becomes possible to perform calculations related to traceability. However, if the product tree generated based on the linking results and all traceability-related information calculated based on the product tree (for example, the amount of CO2 emissions in each company's production process) were made public, the confidentiality of information about the companies that make up the supply chain and the products that those companies produce would be compromised.

[0041] Therefore, the server device 1 according to this embodiment grants downstream companies access rights to product information of upstream products based on instructions from the upstream company. This is called the second phase. The server device 1 then allows downstream companies to access information within the scope of the granted rights.

[0042] In the example of FIG. 3, for example, the company terminal 2 corresponding to company B, which is an upstream company, transmits to the server device 1 information instructing "to grant company A access rights to product information B." The server device 1 grants access authority to the product information B from the company A based on the received information. Furthermore, when a request to view the product tree is received from the company terminal 2 corresponding to company A, the server device 1 provides the company terminal 2 with a product tree in which all information except for that to which company A has access rights is kept secret. This makes it possible to keep information about unrelated companies and products secret.

[0043] The first and second phases are executed in response to a request sent from the downstream company's corporate terminal 2 as a trigger. This request can also be said to be a request to have the server device 1 execute the first phase, i.e., a request to have the server device 1 link product A with product B, which is an upstream product. This request can also be said to be a request to have the server device 1 execute the second phase, i.e., a request to request permission to access product information about product B, which is an upstream product. The request includes the identifier of the downstream product to be linked. In the example of Fig. 3, the company terminal 2 of company A transmits a request including the identifier of product A to the server device 1. This request will be referred to hereinafter as a “linking request.” The linking request is an example of a “permission request” in this disclosure.

[0044] When a linking request is sent from the company terminal 2 of the downstream company, the server device 1 sends a request to the upstream company, causing the upstream company to respond with a product linked to the product related to the linking request. In the example of FIG. 3, the upstream company (company B) responds to the server device 1 with the identifier of its own product (product B) linked to the product related to the linking request (product A). The combination of the identifier of product A and the identifier of product B is an example of "linking information" in this disclosure. Based on this information, the server device 1 links the product information (that is, product information A and product information B) together, that is, executes the first phase.

[0045] Following the first phase, the server device 1 sends a request to the upstream company to have the upstream company set access permissions to products linked to the product related to the linking request. In the example of Figure 3, the upstream company (company B) responds to the server device 1 as to whether or not to permit access to product information for its own product (product B) linked to the product related to the linking request (product A). Note that access permission may be issued for all of the target product information, or may be issued for only some of the items contained in the target product information. Based on this information, the server device 1 sets access rights for the downstream company (company A) to the product information of the upstream product (product information B), that is, executes the second phase.

[0046] [Hardware configuration] Next, the hardware configuration of each device constituting the system will be described. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic example of the hardware configuration of the server device 1 according to this embodiment. The server device 1 is configured as a computer having a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a communication module 13, and an input / output device 14.

[0047] The server device 1 can be configured as a computer having a processor (CPU, GPU, etc.), a main memory device (RAM, ROM, etc.), and an auxiliary memory device (EPROM, hard disk drive, removable media, etc.). The auxiliary memory device stores an operating system (OS), various programs, various tables, etc., and by executing the programs stored therein, various functions (software modules) that meet predetermined purposes, as described below, can be realized. However, some or all of the functions can be realized, for example, It may also be realized as a hardware module using a hardware circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA.

[0048] The control unit 11 is a computing unit that executes predetermined programs to realize various functions of the server device 1. The control unit 11 can be realized by, for example, a hardware processor such as a CPU. The control unit 11 may also be configured to include RAM, ROM (Read Only Memory), cache memory, etc.

[0049] The storage unit 12 is a means for storing information, and is configured with storage media such as RAM, a magnetic disk, a flash memory, etc. The storage unit 12 stores programs executed by the control unit 11, data used by the programs, etc. A database is also built in the storage unit 12, and product information and account information relating to the company collected from the multiple company terminals 2 are stored in the database, as will be described in detail later.

[0050] The communication module 13 is a communication interface for connecting the server device 1 to a network. The communication module 13 may be configured to include, for example, a network interface board, a wireless communication interface for wireless communication, etc. The server device 1 can perform data communication with other computers (for example, each company terminal 2) via the communication module 13.

[0051] The input / output device 14 is a means for receiving input operations performed by an operator and presenting information to the operator. Specifically, the input / output device 14 includes devices for input such as a mouse and a keyboard, and devices for output such as a display and a speaker. The input / output device may be integrally configured with, for example, a touch panel display.

[0052] The specific hardware configuration of the server device 1 may include omissions, substitutions, and additions of components as appropriate depending on the embodiment. For example, the control unit 11 may include multiple hardware processors. The hardware processor may be configured with a microprocessor, FPGA, GPU, etc. The input / output device 14 may be omitted, or an input / output device other than the exemplified ones (for example, an optical drive, etc.) may be added. The server device 1 may also be configured with multiple computers. In this case, the hardware configurations of the computers may or may not be the same.

[0053] 5 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of the hardware configuration of the company terminal 2 according to this embodiment. The company terminal 2 is configured as a computer having a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a communication module 23, and an input / output device 24.

[0054] The company terminal 2 can be configured as a computer having a processor (CPU, GPU, etc.), a main memory device (RAM, ROM, etc.), and an auxiliary memory device (EPROM, hard disk drive, removable media, etc.), similar to the server device 1. However, some or all of the functions (software modules) may be realized as hardware modules using hardware circuits such as ASIC, FPGA, etc.

[0055] The control unit 21 is a computing unit that executes a predetermined program to realize various functions (software modules) of the company terminal 2. The control unit 21 can be realized by a hardware processor such as a CPU. The control unit 21 may also be configured to include RAM, ROM (Read Only Memory), cache memory, etc.

[0056] The storage unit 22 is a means for storing information, and may be a RAM, a magnetic disk, or a flash memory. The storage unit 22 stores programs executed by the control unit 21, data used by the programs, and the like.

[0057] The communication module 23 is a communication interface for connecting the company terminal 2 to a network. The communication module 23 may be configured to include, for example, a network interface board, a wireless communication interface for wireless communication, etc. The company terminal 2 can perform data communication with other computers (for example, the server device 1) via the communication module 23.

[0058] The input / output device 24 is a means for receiving input operations performed by an operator and presenting information to the operator. Specifically, the input / output device 24 includes devices for input such as a mouse and a keyboard, and devices for output such as a display and a speaker. The input / output device may be integrally configured with, for example, a touch panel display.

[0059] As with the server device 1, the specific hardware configuration of the company terminal 2 may be such that components are omitted, replaced, or added as appropriate depending on the embodiment.

[0060] [Software configuration] Next, the software configuration of each device constituting the system will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating the software configuration of the server device 1 according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the control unit 11 is configured to have four software modules: an information collection unit 111, a linking unit 112, an authority setting unit 113, and an information providing unit 114. Each software module may be realized by the control unit 11 (CPU) executing a program stored in the storage unit 12. Note that the information processing performed by the information collection unit 111, the linking unit 112, the authority setting unit 113, and the information providing unit 114 below is synonymous with the information processing performed by the control unit 11.

[0061] The information collection unit 111 is configured to receive product information transmitted from the company terminal 2 and to execute a process of storing the product information in the storage unit 12.

[0062] The linking unit 112 is configured to interact with the company terminal 2, thereby acquiring information (linking information) for linking pieces of product information together from the company terminal 2. Furthermore, the linking unit 112 is configured to execute a process of writing information representing a linking relationship for the product information stored in the storage unit 12, based on the acquired information. The linking unit 112 executes the first phase described above.

[0063] The authority setting unit 113 is configured to receive information for setting access authority for product information (hereinafter, permission information) from the company terminal 2. Furthermore, the authority setting unit 113 is configured to execute a process for setting access authority for product information stored in the storage unit 12 based on the received information. The authority setting unit 113 executes the second phase described above.

[0064] The information providing unit 114 is configured to perform information processing related to the product tree and output the results of the information processing. The information processing related to the product tree may include processing for performing calculations related to traceability for the product tree. Outputting the results of the information processing may include processing for providing information related to the generated product tree to the company terminal 2. In one example, the information providing unit 114 is configured to generate information related to the product tree and output the generated information related to the product tree.

[0065] In this embodiment, the storage unit 12 is configured to include a plurality of logical storage areas. Different access permissions can be set for each storage area, such as an area to which access permission is granted to company A, an area to which access permission is granted to company B, an area to which access permission is granted to both companies A and B, etc. The permission setting unit 113 sets the access permission by storing the product information received from the company terminal 2 in an appropriate storage area. A specific processing method will be described later.

[0066] Furthermore, the storage unit 12 stores account information. In this embodiment, an operator of each company logs in to the server device 1 using the account of the corresponding company via the company terminal 2, thereby allowing interaction between the server device 1 and the company terminal 2. The account information is information relating to the account corresponding to each company that makes up the supply chain. Note that logging in using an account is an example of accessing the server device 1 as the corresponding company. However, the method of accessing the server device 1 is not limited to this example, and may be selected as appropriate depending on the embodiment.

[0067] 7 is a diagram schematically illustrating the software configuration of the company terminal 2 according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the control unit 21 is configured to have four software modules: a product information generation unit 211, a request unit 212, an information setting unit 213, and an information acquisition unit 214. Each software module may be realized by the control unit 21 (CPU) executing a program stored in the storage unit 22. Note that the information processing executed by the product information generation unit 211, the request unit 212, the information setting unit 213, and the information acquisition unit 214 below is synonymous with the information processing executed by the control unit 21.

[0068] The product information generation unit 211 is configured to generate information (product information) about the products of the company corresponding to the company terminal 2. FIG. 8 is an example of product information generated by the product information generation unit 211. The product information may be input via an operator of the device. In this embodiment, the product information is configured to have fields for company ID, company name, product ID, and product name. The company ID and company name are the identifier and name of the company that produces the target product (i.e., the company that uses the company terminal 2). The product ID and product name are the identifier and name of the target product.

[0069] Furthermore, the product information is configured to include linking-related information. The linking-related information is information for identifying upstream products that are linked to the target product. In this embodiment, the linking-related information includes an "upstream product information" field.

[0070] The upstream product information field is configured to store information for identifying product information corresponding to an upstream product linked to the target product (i.e., a product that is necessary to produce the target product and is included in the target product). The upstream product information field is used when the server device 1 links products together. Basically, at the stage when the product information is generated, the target product is not linked to an upstream product, so the upstream product information field does not need to store a value indicating the upstream product.

[0071] Furthermore, the product information is configured to include traceability-related information. In one example, the traceability-related information may include the amount of materials (e.g., upstream products) used per production volume of the product, information on the recycling rate of a predetermined raw material, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in producing the product, due diligence-related information, or a combination thereof. The predetermined raw material may be, for example, lithium, nickel, cobalt, lead, graphite, etc. The recycling rate may be expressed directly, or may be expressed indirectly, such as a combination of the total amount used and the amount of recycled material used. These values correspond to the process of producing the target product. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, the traceability-related information included in product information A stores the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in the production activities of product A, etc. The traceability-related information included in product information A does not include information about the process up to the production of the upstream product (for example, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted up to the production of upstream product B).

[0072] The traceability-related information may be selected appropriately depending on the embodiment. In one example, greenhouse gas emissions (carbon footprint) may include Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions. Scope 1 may be a company's own direct greenhouse gas emissions. Scope 2 may be indirect emissions associated with the use of electricity, heat, and steam supplied by other companies. Scope 3 may be indirect emissions other than Scope 1 and Scope 3. In another example, the due diligence-related information may be, for products containing target raw materials (e.g., cobalt, natural graphite, lithium, nickel, etc.), the amount of raw materials contained in the product and technical documentation indicating whether smelters and other entities are fulfilling their responsible mineral sourcing obligations. In another example, the due diligence-related information may include a score indicating the degree to which the above obligations are being fulfilled.

[0073] The product information generating unit 211 is configured to obtain such information via the operator of the company terminal 2 and transmit it to the server device 1 at any timing.

[0074] The request unit 212 is configured to transmit a linking request to the server device 1 to request that the company's product information transmitted to the server device 1 be linked with an upstream product. As described with reference to FIG. 3, the server device 1 executes a phase (first phase) in which product information is linked to each other, and a phase (second phase) in which access rights to the product information are granted to other companies. These two phases are initiated based on a linking request sent from a downstream company. The request unit 212 generates this linking request and sends it to the server device 1. In other words, the request unit 212 operates when the company using the company terminal 2 is a downstream company.

[0075] The request unit 212 transmits a linking request including the company's company ID and product ID to the server device 1. The product ID is an identifier for the company's product to be linked. In the example of FIG. 3, the company terminal 2 of company A transmits a linking request including the identifier for product A to the server device 1. The linking request can also be said to be a request to have the server device 1 link product A, which is the company's product, with an upstream product corresponding to product A (product B in this example).

[0076] Upon receiving the linking request, the server device 1 interacts with the company terminal 2 of the upstream company to link the product information together (first phase) and grant access rights (second phase).

[0077] The information setting unit 213 interacts with the server device 1 based on a request from the server device 1 that has received the linking request, and provides the server device 1 with information for executing the first and second phases described above. The information setting unit 213 operates when the company using the company terminal 2 is an upstream company.

[0078] First, the information setting unit 213 responds with its own products that have a supply relationship with the specified product (the product specified by the downstream company and related to the linking request) based on a request from the server device 1 that has received the linking request. This allows the server device 1 to identify the downstream product and the upstream product that are linked to each other. FIG. 9A shows an example of a user interface for replying about the company's own products that have a supply relationship with the product related to the linking request.

[0079] 9A may be a list of products that have been traded with the company in the past. The server device 1 may generate the list based on the stored transaction data.

[0080] Next, the information setting unit 213 is configured to have the operator select an upstream product to be linked from the list. Furthermore, the information setting unit 213 is configured to transmit, as linking information, a pair of an identifier of the product (downstream product) that is the linking source and an identifier of the upstream product that is the linking destination, to the server device 1. In response to this, the server device 1 can link the product information together.

[0081] In this way, the information setting unit 213 provides the server device 1 with data for linking the specified downstream product with the upstream product based on a request from the server device 1 that has received the linking request, and causes the server device 1 to link the product information together. This allows the server device 1 to determine the state of the product tree.

[0082] Secondly, the information setting unit 213 is configured to set access permission for downstream companies with respect to the product information of the upstream product that is the linking target. 9B is an example of a screen output by the information setting unit 213. As shown in the figure, the information setting unit 213 is configured to accept a setting as to whether or not to permit access from downstream companies to a specific company product. An operator of an upstream company sets the company to which access is permitted, the target product, and the items via the screen. In the example shown in the figure, only the product related to the linking request and the company's products that are linked in the server device 1 are presented as options.

[0083] The access rights may be set for each product or for each item included in the product information ("Permission Item" in the figure). This allows for partial disclosure, for example, by disclosing the existence of a product but not disclosing specific information about the materials used, the amount used, etc. The information setting unit 213 generates permission information including the input content and transmits it to the server device 1. Fig. 10 shows an example of the permission information. The information setting unit 213 is configured to transmit the permission information to the server device 1 at any timing.

[0084] In addition, on the screen of FIG. 10, access permission may be set for companies other than the company that sent the linking request. In the example of Figure 3, Company B has set access permission for Company A, which belongs to an adjacent Tier. However, the company to which access permission is given does not necessarily have to belong to an adjacent Tier. For example, in the example of Figure 2, if a company belonging to Tier 3 (producing product A111) , granting access to its products to Tier 1 companies (producing product A1). Product A1 and product A111 are not directly linked (there is no direct supply relationship), but are indirectly linked via product A11 (there is an indirect supply relationship). The company to which access permission is granted may be a company with an indirect link relationship like this.

[0085] The information acquisition unit 214 is configured to request the server device 1 to provide a product tree (and associated information), and to output the information transmitted from the server device 1.

[0086] [Processing details] Next, a description will be given of specific contents of the processing performed by the server device 1 and the company terminal 2. Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of processing performed by the server device 1 based on a request from the company terminal 2. The processes performed by the server device 1 can be broadly divided into the following five types. (1) A process of receiving product information transmitted from each company terminal 2 of a plurality of companies included in the supply chain and storing the received product information. (2) Processing to receive the linking request sent from corporate terminal 2 of the downstream company (3) In response to the linking request, the system interacts with the upstream company's corporate terminal 2 and links the product information based on the results. (4) In response to the linking request, the process of interacting with the upstream company's corporate terminal 2 and setting access rights to product information based on the results of the interaction. (5) Providing information about the product tree based on the results of the linking and access permissions

[0087] In the example of Figure 11, Company A is the downstream company and Company B is the upstream company. The product produced by Company A is Product A, and the product produced by Company B is Product B. Product information corresponding to Product A is Product Information A, and product information corresponding to Product B is Product Information B.

[0088] First, the information collection unit 111 of the server device 1 acquires product information from the product information generation unit 211 of the company terminal 2 (above (1)). In the example of FIG. 11, the server device 1 acquires product information A from the company terminal 2 corresponding to company A, and acquires product information B from the company terminal 2 corresponding to company B. At this time, the information collection unit 111 stores the product information A in a storage area to which only company A has been granted access authority (hereinafter, storage area A). The information collection unit 111 also stores the product information B in a storage area to which only company B has been granted access authority (hereinafter, storage area B). In this way, the information collection unit 111 stores product information transmitted from any company in a dedicated storage area to which only that company has been granted access authority.

[0089] Next, the linking unit 112 of the server device 1 receives a linking request from the company terminal 2 (above (2)). The linking request is sent from the company terminal 2 of a downstream company. In the example of FIG. 11, it is assumed that the company terminal 2 of company A has sent the linking request. The linking request includes the company ID and the product ID of the target product.

[0090] Next, the linking unit 112 of the server device 1 links the product information together based on the received linking request ((3) above). The linking unit 112 transmits the product ID of the target product included in the linking request to the company terminal 2 of the upstream company, and causes the company terminal 2 to respond with upstream products that have a supply relationship with the target product. The upstream company to be made to provide a response may be identified by the server device 1 or may be designated by the downstream company. For example, the downstream company may acquire information for identifying an upstream company with which it has a business relationship, and transmit the information (e.g., an identifier of the upstream company) included in the linking request. Furthermore, for example, the server device 1 that receives the linking request may identify an upstream company with which it has a business relationship based on past transaction data, a company ledger, etc.

[0091] The company terminal 2 (information setting unit 213) of the upstream company prompts the operator to select the products to be linked. In this example, product A and product B are the targets of linking with each other. For example, the operator inputs information indicating that the upstream product of product A is product B via the input / output device 24. The information setting unit 213 transmits to the linking unit 112 data (linking data) for linking the upstream product (product B) and the downstream product (product A) to each other.

[0092] As explained with reference to Fig. 8, the product information has a field (linking related information) related to the product to be linked. Based on the above-mentioned linking data, the linking unit 112 adds a field (or a linking related information) corresponding to the product information B (i.e., the upstream product) to the linking related information held by the product information A. For example, the linking information stores the identifier of the upstream product, the identifier of the company that produces the upstream product, etc.

[0093] The linking-related information may store a pointer to the linked product information. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example in which multiple pieces of product information are linked together using pointers. The arrows in the diagram represent pointers. The pointers indicate addresses of product information corresponding to upstream products. The processing described above forms part of a tree structure in which the product information of downstream products is the parent node and the product information of upstream products is the child node.

[0094] Next, the authority setting unit 113 of the server device 1 receives information (permission information) for setting access authority to the product information from the company terminal 2, and based on this, sets access authority to the product information stored in the memory unit 12 (above (4)). Here, the authority setting unit 113 of the server device 1 receives permission information from the information setting unit 213 of the company terminal 2, and sets access authority for product information according to the received permission information. As shown in Fig. 10, the permission information associates a product with a company that is permitted to access the product information of the product.

[0095] In the example of FIG. 11, it is assumed that the authority setting unit 113 has received permission information permitting access from downstream company A to product information B of an upstream company. In this case, the authority setting unit 113 copies product information B stored in storage area B to a storage area (hereinafter, storage area AB) to which access permissions have been granted to both companies A and B. As a result, product information B becomes accessible to both companies A and B. Note that if access permissions have not been set for a specific item included in the product information, that item is excluded from being copied to storage area AB.

[0096] In the following description, a storage area to which only a specific company has been granted access rights will be referred to as a "dedicated storage area," and a storage area to which multiple companies have been granted access rights will be referred to as a "shared storage area."

[0097] In this way, the copying of the product information is executed by the server device 1 in response to receiving the permission information from the company terminal 2. In other words, it can be said that by transmitting the permission information to the server device 1, the company terminal 2 performs an operation to copy the product information identified by the permission information from the dedicated storage area of the target company to the shared storage area accessible by downstream companies.

[0098] Next, the information providing unit 114 of the server device 1 generates information about a product tree based on the stored product information and outputs the information about the product tree (above (5)). Generating information about a product tree refers to the process of generating various information about products (for example, information about traceability, an image showing the link relationships between products in a tree diagram, etc.) after links between nodes have been formed by linking the product information together. This process of generating information about a product tree is an example of information processing about a product tree. In order to generate information about a product tree, it is necessary that all linking between product information has been completed. When such conditions are met, the information providing unit 114 can appropriately generate the information.

[0099] The product tree in this embodiment is a tree diagram that represents the supply relationships between product information in a supply chain, as described with reference to Fig. 2. The information providing unit 114 can generate an image representing the tree diagram based on the product information.

[0100] Furthermore, when generating information about the product tree, the information providing unit 114 adds It integrates the defined traceability related information and outputs the results.

[0101] Here, the integration of traceability-related information will be explained using FIG. 13. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the multiple products that make up the final product X and the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted in each process of producing these multiple products. For example, in the process of producing product A12 in the figure, A12 [g] of carbon dioxide is emitted. The total amount of carbon dioxide emitted up to the production of a target product can be obtained by repeatedly transferring the CO2 emissions associated with upstream products to downstream products, while referencing product information between companies in each of the two adjacent layers, from the most upstream product (the leaf node) to the target product.

[0102] 13, if the target product is A12, the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted up to the time product A12 is produced can be calculated by adding up the CO2 emissions corresponding to the included products (upstream products A121 to A123) and the CO2 emissions corresponding to product A12. That is, the integrated CO2 emissions for product A11 are as follows: I A12 =E A12 +E A121 ×U A121 +E A122 ×U A122 +E A123 ×U A123 [g] where E A121 ,E A122 ,E A123 are the CO2 emissions per unit amount when producing products A121, A122, and A123, respectively. A121 ,U A122 ,U A123 are the amounts of materials used in the production of product A12, respectively. These amounts are an example of the amount of material used per unit of product production, which is included in the traceability-related information. The CO2 emissions of the final product (the product of the most downstream company) can be obtained by sequentially performing the above calculations from the product of the most upstream company to the final product.

[0103] The same applies when the target product is product A1. When the target product is A1, the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the manufacturing activities up to the production of product A1 can be calculated by integrating the CO2 emissions corresponding to product A1 with the CO2 emissions corresponding to the included products, products A11, A12, A13, and A14.

[0104] The integrated value may be stored in the storage unit 12 separately from the product information, or may be included as part of the product information. That is, the product information corresponding to the product A12 includes the amount of discharge E A12 and the integrated emissions, I A12 It is also possible to hold both of these.

[0105] The integrated traceability-related information is reused when integrating downstream products. By performing this process at each level, starting from the most upstream level, the traceability-related information (for example, cumulative CO2 emissions) is passed on downstream. Finally, by passing the traceability-related information on to the final product, it is possible to obtain traceability-related information (for example, total CO2 emissions) for the entire period leading up to the production of the final product.

[0106] In some cases, the product information referenced when integrating traceability-related information is stored in both a dedicated storage area and a shared storage area. In this case, it is preferable to reference the product information stored in the dedicated storage area. This is because the product information stored in the shared storage area may omit items that are not permitted for downstream companies to access.

[0107] Furthermore, if the target product information is stored in both a dedicated storage area and a shared storage area, it is preferable to write the integration results to the shared storage area. This is because if the integration results are written to the dedicated storage area, they will not be accessible to downstream companies. By writing the integration results to the shared storage area, they can be accessed by downstream companies that have been granted access rights. Note that this is only possible as a result of integration, and traceability-related information specific to upstream products (such as CO2 emissions in the production process of the upstream product) is not written to the shared storage area unless permitted by the upstream company (for example, on the screen in Figure 9A), and therefore cannot be referenced by downstream companies.

[0108] In this way, when generating information related to the product tree, the information providing unit 114 repeatedly executes a process of sequentially integrating the traceability-related information defined in each piece of product information from the most upstream to the most downstream. Note that in the above example, carbon dioxide emissions were used as an example of the information to be integrated, but the traceability-related information to be integrated may also be the recycling rate for a specified raw material, a due diligence score, etc. Note that if the traceability-related information is numerical, the integration may be performed by numerical calculation, and if the traceability-related information is non-numerical information (for example, due diligence-related information), the integration may simply be information collection.

[0109] Furthermore, the traceability-related information does not have to be included in the product information. For example, the product information may include information indicating the location of the traceability-related information for the corresponding product (hereinafter referred to as "location information"; typically, an address, a pointer, etc.). In this case, the integration may involve collecting the location information included in the product information.

[0110] The information providing unit 114 may output the generated product tree in image format. At the same time, traceability-related information corresponding to an arbitrary product may also be output. FIG. 14 is an example of a screen on which the product tree is output as an image. The illustrated screen includes an image showing the supply relationships of multiple products that make up the final product in the form of a tree diagram. Furthermore, by selecting an arbitrary product, it is possible to view the traceability-related information corresponding to that product or the integrated results of the traceability-related information corresponding to the entire period leading up to the production of that product (for example, the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions from the most upstream). Such information can be output via the input / output device 14 of the server device 1 based on the operation of the operator of the server device 1.

[0111] Furthermore, the information providing unit 114 may provide the generated product tree to a company terminal 2 (information acquiring unit 214) in response to a request from the company terminal 2. Note that there are cases where it is not appropriate to disclose the entire product tree to a specific company. Therefore, when providing a product tree to a company terminal 2 corresponding to a certain company, the information providing unit 114 may perform processing to not disclose the range for which the company does not have access authority.

[0112] For example, in the example of FIG. 13, assume that the information providing unit 114 receives a product tree disclosure request from a company terminal 2 corresponding to a company that produces product A12. Here, assume that the company has been granted access authority only for products A121, A122, and A123. In other words, the company cannot access product information other than those three products and downstream product A1. In this case, the information providing unit 114 provides the company terminal 2 with a product tree in which information about products for which the company does not have access authority is not disclosed.

[0113] 15 shows an example of a product tree in which products for which the user does not have access rights are not disclosed. In this example, the product tree is displayed with detailed information (or even the existence itself) of the not-disclosed products concealed.

[0114] In addition, in cases where the existence of a product is publicly available, but access rights are not granted to only specific items in the corresponding product information, confidentiality processing is performed only for those specific items, as indicated by the dotted line in the figure. In the example shown, it is indicated that the amount of carbon dioxide emissions in producing product A121 is not disclosed.

[0115] On the other hand, even if there is a product (or item) in the tree for which you do not have access rights, the integration of traceability-related information described above is carried out without being affected by this. For example, in the illustrated example, the carbon dioxide emissions for product A121 are not disclosed, but this does not affect the process of calculating the total carbon dioxide emissions for product A12.

[0116] The information providing unit 114 may generate a product tree that has not undergone confidentiality processing, and then perform confidentiality processing for each company based on the access rights granted to each company, or may generate a product tree using the rights of the relevant company. For example, when a product tree is requested by company A, the information providing unit 114 may extract information from one or more storage areas to which company A is permitted to access, and generate the product tree.

[0117] [Processing flow] Next, the flow of the processing executed by the server device 1 and the company terminal 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 16 and Fig. 17. Fig. 16 is a sequence diagram corresponding to the first and second phases described above.

[0118] In one example, the interaction between the server device 1 and the company terminal 2 is initiated when an operator of each company logs in to the server device 1 using the account of the corresponding company via the company terminal 2. In this example, it is assumed that the operator of each company logs in to the server device 1 using the account of their company. Here, the company terminal 2 used by the downstream company is referred to as company terminal 2A, and the company terminal 2 used by the upstream company is referred to as company terminal 2B.

[0119] It is assumed that before starting the illustrated process, the product information generation unit 211 of each company terminal 2 acquires its own product information via an operator and transmits the acquired product information to the server device 1. The product information transmitted to the server device 1 is received by the information collection unit 111 and stored in the storage unit 12. At this time, the information collection unit 111 saves the product information in a storage area to which access rights are granted only to companies that manufacture the corresponding products.

[0120] In step S11, the request unit 212 of the company terminal 2A transmits data (a linking request) to the server device 1 requesting that the product information transmitted to the server device 1 be linked with an upstream product. The linking request includes the company's company ID and product ID. Upon receiving the linking request, the server device 1 transmits the linking request to the company terminal 2B belonging to the adjacent tier based on the linking request. The linking request is a request to have the upstream company respond with the upstream product corresponding to the downstream product. The linking request includes the product ID (i.e., the identifier of the downstream product) included in the linking request.

[0121] In step S12, the company terminal 2B (information setting unit 213) that has received the linking request replies by selecting its own products that have a supply relationship with the specified product (the product specified by the downstream company). In this step, the server device 1 may provide the company terminal 2B with a user interface screen such as that described with reference to FIG. 9A, allowing the user to specify a combination of an arbitrary product and an upstream product linked to that product. The information setting unit 213 transmits a pair of the identifier of the product (downstream product) that is the linking source and the identifier of the upstream product that is the linking destination to the server device 1. This allows the server device 1 to identify the downstream product and the upstream product that are linked to each other.

[0122] In step S13, the linking unit 112 of the server device 1 receives the linking request and the corresponding Based on the response, the stored product information is updated to reflect the linking details between the product information. Linking between the product information may be performed by storing information about the upstream product (identifier, pointer, etc.) in the linking-related information contained in the product information of the downstream product.

[0123] Next, the server device 1 transmits a permission setting request to the company terminal 2B. The permission setting request is a request to transmit information (permission information) for setting access rights from downstream companies to the product information of the upstream product that is the linking target. In step S14, the company terminal 2B (information setting unit 213) that has received the permission setting request accepts a setting as to whether or not to permit access from downstream companies to the company's products that have been replied as the linking targets (step S14). In this step, the company terminal 2B (information setting unit 213) specifies the products and items to which access from downstream companies is permitted from among the products stored in the company's dedicated storage area and linked to downstream products. In other words, company products that are not linked to the downstream product related to the linking request are not presented as options.

[0124] The operator of the upstream company sets the companies, target products, and items to be permitted to access via, for example, the interface illustrated in Fig. 9B. The information setting unit 213 generates permission information including the input contents and transmits it to the server device 1.

[0125] In step S15, the server device 1 (authority setting unit 113) that has received the permission information grants access authority to the target product information based on the received permission information. In this step, as described with reference to FIG. 11, the authority setting unit 113 copies the target product information to a storage area to which access authority has been granted to multiple companies, thereby granting access authority to any product information to any company. If there is no storage area to which appropriate access authority has been granted, a new storage area may be created and processing may be performed to grant access authority to appropriate companies.

[0126] In this step, additional information may be added when copying product information. For example, product information generated by an upstream company may include product numbers, etc., but these product numbers, etc., are used by the upstream company and may not be usable by downstream companies as they are. Therefore, for example, the product numbers, etc., used by downstream companies may be added as additional information to the product information to be copied.

[0127] When the granting of the access authority is completed, the server device 1 transmits to the company terminal 2A a notification that the linking of the product information with each other and the granting of the access authority are completed.

[0128] FIG. 17 is a sequence diagram corresponding to the process in which the company terminal 2 requests information about the product tree from the server device 1.

[0129] First, in step S21, the company terminal 2 (information acquisition unit 214) requests the server device 1 to provide information about the product tree. The request includes, for example, an identifier of the target product. The target product may be a final product or another product (intermediate product).

[0130] Upon receiving the request, the server device 1 (information provider 114) generates information about the product tree by the process described above (step S22). At this time, the information provider 114 executes a process of integrating the traceability-related information defined in each piece of product information from the most upstream to the most downstream. The integration result is reflected in each piece of product information.

[0131] Next, in step S23, the access authority is determined based on the access authority of the target company. This system performs a process to conceal unauthorized information. For example, if the existence of product information of other companies of a certain company is not made public, the system performs a process to conceal the existence of that product information. Also, if only a specific item contained in the product information is not made public, the system performs a process to conceal the content of that item. The information on the product tree that has been subjected to the confidentiality processing is provided to the company terminal 2 (information acquisition unit 214) and output (step S24).

[0132] As described above, in this embodiment, the server device 1 executes a process of linking product information together (first phase) based on a request from a company terminal of a downstream company, and a process of granting access rights based on the linking results (second phase). Product information is linked together using low-confidentiality information such as product numbers, and the upstream company selects products to which access rights are to be granted from the linked relationships in the server device 1. This configuration makes it possible to prevent erroneous operations such as accidentally granting access rights to inappropriate products.

[0133] (Second embodiment) In the first embodiment, the server device 1 stores the account information of each company included in the supply chain, and a plurality of company terminals 2 log in to the server device 1 using the account information.

[0134] On the other hand, if there are many entries and exits to the supply chain, it may not be possible to register account information in the server device 1 at the appropriate time. For example, even if a downstream company wants to link its own product with an upstream product, it cannot do so if the upstream company's account information is not registered in the system. This is because there is no product information corresponding to the upstream product or access permissions for the upstream product. In order to address this, the second embodiment is an embodiment in which account information for a company newly joining a supply chain is registered based on a request from a company already participating in the supply chain.

[0135] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing the software configuration of a server device 1 (control unit 11) according to the second embodiment. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the software configuration of a company terminal 2 (control unit 21) according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the server device 1 (control unit 11) is configured to further include a software module of a management unit 115. This functional module may be realized by the control unit 11 (CPU) executing a program stored in the storage unit 12. In the second embodiment, the company terminal 2 (control unit 21) is configured to further include a software module of a management unit 215. This functional module may be realized by the control unit 21 (CPU) executing a program stored in the storage unit 22.

[0136] 20 is a sequence diagram illustrating the processing performed by the server device 1 and the company terminal 2 in the second embodiment. Here, the company terminal corresponding to the downstream company is referred to as company terminal 2A, and the company terminal corresponding to the upstream company is referred to as company terminal 2B. Furthermore, it is assumed that the upstream company is participating in the supply chain, but its account information is not registered in the server device 1.

[0137] Here, if a downstream company wants to link its own product with an upstream product, it must first register the upstream company's account information in the server device 1, and then have the upstream company's operator register the product information of the upstream product.

[0138] First, in step S31, the company terminal 2A (management unit 215) transmits a participation request to the server device 1. The participation request includes information for identifying the upstream company and the contact information (email address) of the upstream company. The participation request includes a message such as a name, address, etc. The server device 1 (management unit 115) that has received the participation request transmits a participation request to the specified address (step S32). The participation request includes a message regarding the registration of account information.

[0139] The participation request is received by the company terminal 2B (management unit 215). The management unit 215 of the company terminal 2B outputs a guide to the operator based on the received participation request, and receives a response from the operator including whether or not participation in the system is permitted. The response is transmitted to the server device 1 (management unit 115).

[0140] If the answer is "Participation allowed", the server device 1 (management unit 115) generates account information corresponding to the upstream company and notifies the account information to the company terminal 2B, and also notifies the company terminal 2A of the result (step S34). If the answer is "Participation not allowed", the server device 1 (management unit 115) notifies the company terminal 2A of the result.

[0141] The company terminal 2A outputs the result received from the server device 1 (step S35). This allows the operator of the downstream company to know that the upstream company has participated (or was unable to participate) in the system. The upstream company can use the registered account information to register product information, register permission information, link product information, etc., as described above.

[0142] (Variation) The above-described embodiment is merely an example, and the present disclosure may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the processes and means described in the present disclosure may be freely combined as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

[0143] Furthermore, in the description of the embodiment, the server device 1 stores the product information in a database, but the product information may be stored by means other than a database.

[0144] In the embodiment, in response to a linking request transmitted from the downstream company's corporate terminal 2, the server device 1 executes a phase for linking product information with each other and a phase for accepting settings related to access permissions. However, both phases do not necessarily need to be triggered by the linking request. For example, the process shown in FIG. 16 may be started from the stage where linking of product information with each other is completed. Linking of product information with each other may be executed in advance based on, for example, a product list acquired from an external source.

[0145] If the linking is performed in advance, the downstream company's corporate terminal 2 may send a request to the server device 1 requesting only the granting of access authority instead of a linking request, and the request may trigger the processing from step S15 onwards. The request may include a specification of downstream products linked to the target upstream product. Even in this case, access authority cannot be granted to products that are not linked to the target downstream product.

[0146] In addition, in the description of the embodiment, a permission setting request is sent from the server device 1 to the upstream company's corporate terminal 2, and in response the upstream company's corporate terminal 2 sends permission information, but the sending of the permission information may also be triggered from the upstream company's corporate terminal 2.

[0147] In addition, in the description of the embodiment, the linking request includes the identifier of the downstream product to be linked, but the linking request may include the identifiers of both the downstream product and the upstream product to be linked. If the product to be linked can be identified by the downstream company (by product number, etc.), the downstream company can also specify the upstream product. In this case, The upstream company may perform an operation to approve the product combination instead of performing the operation to specify the products as shown in Fig. 9A. Furthermore, this operation performed by the upstream company may be automated.

[0148] In the description of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the linking-related information is included in the product information. However, the linking-related information, i.e., information that indicates the linking relationships between products, may be stored separately from the product information. For example, data that does not include specific product information and only defines the linking relationships may be stored separately from the product information. This data may also be stored in a storage area accessible to all companies. In other words, only the structure of the product tree may be made public, and the specific data included in the product tree may be obtained according to the access rights granted to each company.

[0149] Furthermore, in the description of the embodiment, an example has been given in which the server device 1 completes the product tree, but the role of the server device 1 may be distributed among multiple company terminals 2. For example, product information may be stored in a distributed database using a blockchain platform. In this case, a product information database may be configured by multiple company terminals 2. In this case, smart contracts may be used to execute the processing of each of the above-mentioned phases. For example, the processing in the first phase may be triggered when a certain company account writes a linking request to the database. Furthermore, the processing in the second phase may be triggered when a certain company account writes permission information to the database.

[0150] The storage areas in which each piece of product information is stored may also be distributed among multiple company terminals 2. In this case, the dedicated storage area may be located only in the company terminal 2 of the corresponding company. Furthermore, the shared storage area may be distributed among the multiple company terminals 2 involved in the sharing.

[0151] Furthermore, in the description of the embodiment, an example was given in which adjacent companies in the supply chain are permitted to access any product information. However, product information may also be shared between companies that are not adjacent in the supply chain. For example, if information sharing between companies is necessary for purposes such as compliance with laws and regulations, companies that do not have a direct business relationship may share specific product information. Even in this case, as in the first embodiment, a shared memory area with access rights granted to each company is provided, and necessary data is copied thereto. The shared memory area can be created based on the permission of the company whose product information is being referenced. Note that a private key may be used for access control of the dedicated memory area and the shared memory area. In this case, electronic authentication of access control may be performed using a public key authentication infrastructure. If a blockchain infrastructure is used for each memory area, this access control may be performed using a smart contract.

[0152] Furthermore, the setting of access authority to the storage area may be realized by the operating system of the server device 1 or by other authentication methods. For example, a public key cryptosystem may be used. Furthermore, when a system is realized using a blockchain platform, access authority may be granted by an electronic key.

[0153] In the above embodiment, the multiple companies included in the supply chain are described as companies that produce products. However, the companies included in the supply chain do not necessarily have to be companies that produce products. For example, companies that transport, import, store, wholesale, etc. of products may also be included in the companies that make up the supply chain. In one example, some of the multiple companies may be companies that do not perform manufacturing processes, such as trading companies, sales agents, or import agents, and may receive products from companies located one level higher (upstream companies) and deliver them to companies located one level lower (downstream companies).

[0154] In the above embodiment, the supply chain for automobile-related products is assumed, and the OEM manufacturer is described as the most downstream company, and companies that supply parts, materials, assemblies, etc. are described as suppliers. However, the companies that belong to the supply chain are not necessarily limited to this. Companies at each stage may be determined appropriately depending on the product, etc. Furthermore, the manufacturing activities performed by each company until the final product is obtained may be determined appropriately depending on the embodiment, and may include, for example, all activities that may be performed until the final product is obtained, such as excavation, processing, assembly, transportation, and storage.

[0155] In the above embodiment, access control for each company is achieved by providing a dedicated storage area and a shared storage area. However, the method for achieving access control is not limited to this example. Any method may be used for access control.

[0156] In the description of the embodiment, it is assumed that the upstream company and the downstream company are different companies, i.e., that the upstream product and the downstream product are produced by different companies. However, in the above embodiment, the most upstream company can be an upstream company, and the most downstream company can be a downstream company. Companies other than the most upstream company and the most downstream company can be both upstream and downstream companies. Therefore, in the second phase, the company terminal 2 of each company may transmit permission information to the server device 1, specifying its own downstream company as the upstream company and permitting access to product information related to its own product. The company's own product is an example of a first target product of the target company, and the product information related to the company's own product is an example of first product information related to the first target product. In response to this, the server device 1 may execute the setting of the access authority. In this case, the own product is an example of the target company's second target product, and the product information related to the own product is an example of second product information related to the second target product. If the first target product and the second target product are the same, the first product information and the second product information may be the same, but if the first target product and the second target product are different, the first product information and the second product information may be different.

[0157] In the above embodiment, an example of calculating the CO2 emission amount (CFP value) is shown. The CFP value may be calculated by the following formula. Tier N-1 CFP value = Tier N-1 in-house measured CFP value + Σ k (CFP value of company k (Tier N) × usage amount at Tier N-1 uk Here, "CFP value of Tier N-1" indicates the result of integrating the CFP value of the upstream company (company k (Tier N)) and the company's own CFP value. The company's measured CFP value indicates the CFP value included in the product information of each company. If Tier N is the most upstream company, the "CFP value of Tier N" is the CFP value included in the product information of that company, and in other cases, the "CFP value of Tier N" is the CFP value of the further upstream company. This is the result of integrating the CFP value of the Tier N+1 and the CFP value included in the product information of the company. By setting Tier N to the most upstream company (end company) and repeating the calculation until N=1, the CFP value of the Tier 0 product (= final product) can be obtained.

[0158] In the above embodiment, the server device 1 may calculate the recycle rate and due diligence (score) together with or instead of calculating the CO2 emission amount (CFP value). The recycle rate may be calculated using the following formula. (Recycling rate of Tier N-1 products for target substances) = (Total amount used in Tier N-1) × (Recycling rate in Tier N-1) + Σ k (Total amount used at Company k (Tier N) × Recycling rate at Company k (Tier N) × Amount used at Tier N-1 u k )}÷{Total usage in Tier N-1 + Σ k ( Total usage at company k (Tier N) × Usage at Tier N-1 u k )}={Amount of recycled materials used in Tier N-1 +Σ k (Amount of recycled materials used at Company k (Tier N) × Amount used at Tier N-1 u k )}÷{Total for Tier N-1 Total usage +Σ k (Total usage at Company k (Tier N) × Usage at Tier N-1 u k )}" The amount of recycled material used indicates the amount of recycled material used for the target substance. As with the CFP value, the recycling rate for the target substance in the final product can be calculated by sequentially calculating from the most upstream company (end company). Furthermore, the due diligence score (DD score) can also be integrated using the same calculation as the CFP value and recycling rate. In one example, the CFP value can be replaced with the DD score, and the calculation can be performed sequentially from the most upstream company (end company) to obtain the DD score (integrated result) for the final product.

[0159] In the above embodiment, the traceability of each company (Tier N-1) other than the most upstream company is Instead of storing the relevant information in a shared memory area between each company and its downstream companies, the integrated results of each company (CFP value of Tier N-1, recycling rate of Tier N-1 products for target substances) may be stored in a shared memory area between each company and its downstream companies (Tier N-2). It is possible to obtain traceability-related information (integrated results) for the final product without disclosing the traceability-related information of the manufacturer itself.

[0160] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, it is assumed that each company places an order with one company for a certain material. However, in the above embodiment, the order format of each company does not need to be limited to this example. At least some of the companies belonging to the supply chain may place orders with multiple upstream companies for the same product and selectively use the obtained upstream products for their own products. For example, in the example of FIG. 13 above, Tier 1 product A1 may selectively use Tier 2 product A11_1, product A11_2, or product A11_3. In this case, the server device 1 may select the pattern to be used. In the above example, the server device 1 stores the following information about the Tier 1 product A1: In this case, pattern 1 is "Tier 2 product A11_1, ...", pattern 2 is "Product A11_2, ..." and and pattern 3 "Product A11_3, ...". Thus, the server device 1 may execute calculation (integration) of the traceability-related information for each pattern. In this case, in one example, the server device 1 may output the calculation results for each pattern. In another example, the server device 1 may calculate statistics such as the maximum value, minimum value, average value, variance, standard deviation, and median of the calculation results from the calculation results, and output the calculated statistics.

[0161] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the traceability-related information (particularly the CFP value) may be composed of primary data or secondary data (inventory data). The primary data is an actual measurement value, and the secondary data is a reference value used when the actual measurement value is not available. In this case, the calculation (integration) of the traceability-related information may include calculating the primary data ratio of the traceability-related information obtained for the final product. The primary data ratio may be calculated by a simple ratio calculation, or may be calculated by weighting the CFP value in the calculation formula for the CFP value by substituting the primary data ratio of each company and performing calculations sequentially starting from the most upstream company.

[0162] Furthermore, a process described as being performed by one device may be shared and executed by multiple devices. Alternatively, a process described as being performed by different devices may be executed by a single device. In a computer system, the hardware configuration (server configuration) by which each function is realized can be flexibly changed.

[0163] The present disclosure can also be realized by supplying a computer program that implements the functions described in the above embodiments to a computer, and having one or more processors of the computer read and execute the program. Such a computer program may be provided to the computer by a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium connectable to the system bus of the computer, or may be provided to the computer via a network. Non-transitory computer-readable storage media include, for example, magnetic disks (floppy disks, hard disk drives (HDDs), etc.), optical disks (CD-ROMs, This includes any type of disk (such as a DVD disk, Blu-ray disk, etc.), read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic card, flash memory, optical card, and any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0164] 1. Server device 2. Corporate terminals 11,21 Control unit 12,22...Storage section 13,23···Communication module 14,24... Input / output device

Claims

1. A server device having a storage device that stores product information on products of each company included in a supply chain for each company, and a control unit, the supply chain includes a first company and a second company; the storage device stores first product information of the first company and second product information of the second company; The control unit acquiring linking information linking first identification information included in the first product information with second identification information included in the second product information; sending to the second company an input request according to the content of the linking indicated by the linking information, for allowing the second company to input whether or not the first company is permitted to access the second product information; configured to perform Server device.

2. The control unit and receiving, from the account of the first company, a permission request for requesting permission to access second product information from the second company, the permission request including first identification information of first product information associated with the second product information that is the subject of the request. The server device according to claim 1 .

3. The acquiring of the linking information includes: receiving, as a response to the authorization request, a reply from the account of the second company, the reply including second identification information included in the second product information to which the first company is authorized to access; and linking the first identification information with the second identification information in response to the response. The server device according to claim 2 .

4. the input request is a request to have the second company input information that specifies information included in the second product information to which the first company is permitted to access, The control unit receives the content of the input by the second company as permission information. The server device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. the first identification information and the second identification information are identifiers of products indicated by the first product information and the second product information, The server device according to claim 4.

6. The storage device is provided with a first storage area to which access by companies other than the assigned company is prohibited, and a second storage area to which access is permitted for the first company and the second company, The product information of each company is stored in a first storage area of the corresponding company; The server device according to claim 4.

7. In response to receiving the permission information permitting the first company to access the second product information, the control unit copies the second product information, the access of which is permitted, from a first storage area allocated to the second company to a second storage area accessible by the designated first company and the second company. The server device according to claim 6.

8. The control unit receiving a participation request from the first company's account, the participation request including a designation of the second company; In response to the received participation request, sending a participation request to a specified address of the second company; generating an account for the second company in response to the response to the participation request; receiving the authorization information from the second company account is performed after creating the second company account; The server device according to claim 4.

9. An information processing method executed by a server device having a storage device that stores product information on products of each company included in a supply chain for each company, comprising: the supply chain includes a first company and a second company; the storage device stores first product information of the first company and second product information of the second company; The information processing method includes: acquiring linking information linking first identification information included in the first product information with second identification information included in the second product information; sending to the second company an input request according to the content of the linking indicated by the linking information, for allowing the second company to input whether or not the first company is permitted to access the second product information; An information processing method, including:

10. receiving, from the account of the first company, a permission request for requesting permission to access second product information from the second company, the permission request including first identification information of first product information linked to the second product information that is the subject of the request; The information processing method according to claim 9.

11. The acquiring of the linking information includes: In response to the authorization request, a response including second identification information included in the second product information to be authorized for access to the first company is sent from the second company's account. Accepting the answer and and linking the first identification information with the second identification information in response to the response. The information processing method according to claim 10.

12. The input request is a request for the second company to input information that specifies information included in the second product information to which the first company is permitted to access, receiving the content of the input by the second company as authorization information; The information processing method according to any one of claims 9 to 11.

13. the first identification information and the second identification information are identifiers of products indicated by the first product information and the second product information, The information processing method according to claim 12.

14. The storage device is provided with a first storage area to which access by companies other than the assigned company is prohibited, and a second storage area to which access is permitted for the first company and the second company, The product information of each company is stored in a first storage area of the corresponding company; The information processing method according to claim 12.

15. In response to receiving the permission information permitting the first company to access the second product information, copying the second product information to which access is permitted from a first storage area allocated to the second company to a second storage area accessible by the designated first company and the second company; The information processing method according to claim 14.

16. receiving a participation request from the first company's account, the participation request including a designation of the second company; In response to the received participation request, sending a participation request to a specified address of the second company; generating an account for the second company in response to the request to join; receiving the authorization information from the second company account is performed after creating the second company account; The information processing method according to claim 12.

17. An information processing method executed by an information processing device of a target company that can communicate with a server device that stores product information on products of each company included in a supply chain for each company, comprising: the supply chain includes a first company and a second company; the server device stores first product information of the first company and second product information of the second company; The information processing method includes: If the target company is the second company, receiving an input request transmitted from the server device according to the content of association between first identification information included in the first product information and second identification information included in the second product information; In response to receiving the input request, outputting an input screen according to the content of the linkage, for inputting whether or not the first company is permitted to access the second product information; Transmitting the information input via the input screen to the server device. An information processing method, including:

18. and, in response to a permission request from the account of the first company to request permission to access second product information, the permission request including first identification information of first product information linked to the second product information that is the subject of the request, transmitting second identification information of the second product information to the server device, thereby causing the server device to link the first identification information included in the first product information with the second identification information included in the second product information.

18. The information processing method according to claim 17.

19. The input screen is a screen for specifying information included in the second product information to which the first company is permitted to access.

18. The information processing method according to claim 17.

20. 20. A program for causing the information processing device to execute the information processing method according to any one of claims 17 to 19.

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