Inventory management system, inventory management method, and program

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an inventory management system, an inventory management method, and a program which can notify a commodity owner of a revision made to an ordering point or a standard stock quantity of commodities in a warehouse at an appropriate timing. [Solution] An inventory management system 1 for managing the inventory of commodities stored in a warehouse comprises a generation unit 12 that generates a notification for prompting a revision of an ordering point or a standard inventory quantity of the commodities when a shipping instruction exceeding the standard inventory quantity of the commodities is received for a prescribed number of times.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an inventory management system, an inventory management method, and a program for managing inventory in a warehouse. [Background technology]

[0002] One of the businesses of warehouse operators is to store merchandise for consignors with retail stores and deliver the merchandise from the warehouse to the retail stores according to the consignors' shipping instructions. The merchandise and quantities delivered from the warehouse to the retail stores are based on the predictions of the retail store employees, making perfect predictions difficult. Therefore, in order to respond to sudden sales increases, warehouse operators, under the instructions of the consignors, store more inventory than the average sales amount. The minimum amount of inventory that will not cause stockouts or excess inventory even in the event of such a sudden increase in sales, is called the base inventory amount.

[0003] As prior art related to standard inventory, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a product logistics management method that tallies inventory at each store from the retailer's POS and places an order if the total value is less than the standard inventory quantity. Patent Document 2 also discloses a standard inventory management device that is an inventory management system for parts required for assembling final products, and that issues a warning when reviewing the standard inventory and determining that the revised value will lead to excess or insufficient inventory. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2002-39333 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-64277 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when a warehouse operator operates a warehouse on behalf of a shipper who owns a retail store, the technologies described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not allow the shipper to grasp the inventory status of products in the warehouse, and therefore the shipper is unable to grasp the timing for reviewing the standard inventory quantity or reorder point, which are the cause of product shortages. Furthermore, the warehouse operator is also unable to grasp the timing for reviewing the standard inventory quantity or reorder point of products in the warehouse. Therefore, reviewing the standard inventory quantity and reorder point of products in the warehouse at the appropriate time has been a challenge for both the shipper and the warehouse operator.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention provides an inventory management system, an inventory management method, and a program that notify a shipper of a review of the standard inventory quantity or order point of a product in a warehouse at an appropriate time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention provides an inventory management system that manages the inventory of products stored in a warehouse, and that includes a generation unit that generates a notification prompting a review of the standard inventory quantity or order point of the product when a shipping instruction exceeding the standard inventory quantity of the product is received a predetermined number of times.

[0008] The present invention also provides an inventory management system in which the notification includes evaluation information of the order point based on the order point inventory days obtained by converting the reference inventory quantity into days at the order point.

[0009] The present invention also provides an inventory management system in which the notification includes statistical data of past shipping instructions and displays the data in a list together with evaluation information of the ordering point.

[0010] The present invention also provides an inventory management system in which the notification displays information on multiple products in a table, the table including the number of shipping instructions that exceed the standard inventory quantity for each product, and the products are arranged in descending order of the number of shipping instructions.

[0011] The present invention also provides an inventory management system in which the notification includes a new reference stock quantity calculated based on the sales record of the product and the replenishment record of the product.

[0012] The present invention also provides a method executed by an inventory management system that manages the inventory of goods stored in a warehouse, the method including a step of generating a notification prompting a review of the standard inventory quantity or order point when a shipping instruction exceeding the standard inventory quantity of the goods is received a predetermined number of times.

[0013] The present invention also provides a program that causes an inventory management system that manages the inventory of goods stored in a warehouse to function as a generation unit that generates a notification prompting a review of the standard inventory quantity or order point when a shipping instruction that exceeds the standard inventory quantity of the goods is received a predetermined number of times. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to notify the shipper of a review of the standard inventory quantity or order point of a product in a warehouse at an appropriate time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an inventory management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an inventory management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 10 shows an example of a display of a notification sent to a terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart showing an inventory management process of an inventory management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments") will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following drawings, the same elements are designated by the same numbers or symbols throughout the description of the embodiments.

[0017] [Basic concept / basic configuration] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an overview of an inventory management system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the inventory management system 1 includes an inventory management device 10 that manages inventory adjustments in a warehouse, a warehouse management device 20 that manages goods entrusted to it by a shipper who has a sales store, and a terminal 30 owned by the shipper's sales store or the like. The inventory management device 10, warehouse management device 20, and terminal 30 are connected via a network.

[0018] The warehouse management device 20 is called a WMS (Warehouse Management System) and performs inventory management and the like for goods received from a plurality of shippers.

[0019] The inventory management device 10 acquires necessary information from the warehouse management device 20 and manages inventory adjustments in the warehouse. In this embodiment, the inventory management device 10 is a cloud server and is managed, for example, by a warehouse manager (such as a logistics company). The inventory management device 10 may also be on-premise. In this embodiment, the inventory management device 10 is described as a separate device from the warehouse management device 20, but the warehouse management device 20 may have the functions of the inventory management device 10 described below, and the inventory management device 10 may be omitted.

[0020] Terminal 30 is a terminal used at a store or the like of the shipper, i.e., a terminal operated by the shipper or an employee of the shipper (hereinafter referred to as the shipper, etc. in this specification), and may be at least capable of sending shipping instructions to warehouse management device 20. Terminal 30 is, for example, a POS terminal or personal computer in the store, or a store server device that manages product information, product inventory status, sales history, etc. in the store.

[0021] In the inventory management system 1, first, a shipping instruction including product identification information for identifying the product, such as the product name and product code, and a desired shipping quantity is transmitted from the terminal 30 to the warehouse management device 20. Next, in response to receiving the shipping instruction, the warehouse management device 20 transmits to the inventory management device 10 a reference stock quantity that is preset and held for the product instructed to be shipped, and the desired shipping quantity in the shipping instruction.

[0022] Furthermore, when the desired number of ordered products to be shipped is stored in the warehouse in response to the shipping instruction, the warehouse management device 20 notifies a warehouse employee of the product identification information and desired number of products in the shipping instruction, the storage location of the products, etc., and ships the products. When the desired number of products instructed to be shipped is not stored in the warehouse, the warehouse employee is notified when the desired number of products is stored in the warehouse, and the products are shipped.

[0023] The inventory management device 10 determines whether the desired shipping quantity exceeds the standard stock quantity. If the desired shipping quantity exceeds the standard stock quantity, the inventory management device 10 adds 1 to the number of out-of-stocks for the order that exceeds the standard stock quantity for the product instructed to be shipped. If the number of out-of-stocks for the order that exceeds the standard stock quantity reaches a predetermined number or more, the inventory management device 10 sends a notification to the terminal 30 urging the shipper or the like to review the standard stock quantity or the order point for the product instructed to be shipped. Here, the order point is the inventory quantity at the retail store that serves as a guide for when to place an order. The order point is also set in advance by the shipper or the like.

[0024] In this way, the inventory management system prompts the shipper, etc. to review the standard stock quantity or order point for a product for which the number of orders for which the shipping quantity exceeds the standard stock quantity reaches a predetermined number or more, allowing the shipper, etc. to review the standard stock quantity or order point of the product in the warehouse at an appropriate time. As a result, stockouts of products in the warehouse can be prevented, and products for which shipping instructions have been issued can be smoothly shipped from the warehouse to sales stores, etc.

[0025] [Function Configuration] 2 is a diagram illustrating the functional configuration of an inventory management system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The inventory management system 1 includes an inventory management device 10, a warehouse management device 20, and a terminal 30, all of which are connected to the inventory management device 10 via a network.

[0026] The inventory management device 10 includes a transmission / reception unit 11 that transmits and receives data to and from the warehouse management device 20 and the terminal 30, a generation unit 12, and a storage unit 13. In this embodiment, since the inventory management device 10 is a cloud server, the storage unit 13 is configured with cloud storage or a distributed ledger, but it may also be configured with a hard disk, semiconductor memory, storage medium, memory card, or the like.

[0027] When the warehouse management device 20 receives a shipping instruction from the terminal 30 and receives orders for a product for which the warehouse management device 20 has received a shipping instruction from the terminal 30 for a predetermined number of times or more, the generation unit 12 generates a notification prompting the user to review the standard stock quantity or the order point for the product. Then, the generation unit 12 transmits the generated notification to the terminal 30 via the transmission / reception unit 11. In detail, the generation unit 12 includes a determination unit 120, a calculation unit 121, and a notification generation unit 122.

[0028] In response to the warehouse management device 20 receiving a shipping instruction from the terminal 30 and accepting an order, the determination unit 120 determines whether the number of shipping instructions for the ordered product that exceeds the standard inventory quantity set in the warehouse management device 20 has reached a predetermined number or more.

[0029] In detail, the determination unit 120 receives, from the warehouse management device 20, product identification information (e.g., product name and product code) that identifies the ordered product and the standard stock quantity of the product set in the warehouse management device 20 via the transmission / reception unit 11. The standard stock quantity is a value that the warehouse management device 20 has previously obtained by searching its own warehouse inventory database based on the product identification information in the shipping instruction.

[0030] Next, the determination unit 120 compares the desired shipping quantity received from the warehouse management device 20 with the standard inventory quantity to determine whether the desired shipping quantity exceeds the standard inventory quantity. If the desired shipping quantity exceeds the standard inventory quantity, the determination unit 120 adds 1 to the number of out-of-stocks for orders exceeding the standard inventory quantity for the ordered product. Here, the number of out-of-stocks for orders exceeding the standard inventory quantity is associated with the product identification information in the shipping instruction and is recorded or updated in the storage unit 13.

[0031] The determination unit 120 then determines whether the number of times that an order exceeding the standard stock quantity has become out of stock is equal to or exceeds a predetermined number. The predetermined number is a value set in advance by a shipper or warehouse operator, and is determined for each product, each product category, each shipper, etc.

[0032] The calculation unit 121 calculates evaluation information of the reorder point when the determination unit 120 determines that the number of stockouts for orders exceeding the standard inventory level has reached a predetermined number. As described above, the reorder point refers to the inventory level at a retail store, which serves as a guide for when to place an order. When the inventory level at a retail store reaches the reorder point, the retail store places an order. The reorder point is set in advance for each product, product category, shipper, etc., and is recorded in the warehouse management device 20.

[0033] The reorder point evaluation information is an index that evaluates the appropriateness of the reorder point and is determined according to the reorder point inventory days. The reorder point inventory days is the standard inventory quantity converted into the number of days at the reorder point, that is, an index that indicates how many days of standard inventory there is at the reorder point. For example, if the reorder point for a certain product is 10 units and the standard inventory quantity is 13 units, the reorder point inventory days is 1.3.

[0034] In this embodiment, the evaluation information for the reorder point is expressed in three levels depending on the number of days of inventory at the reorder point and a threshold set by the shipper or other party: "Low," which indicates that the reorder point is not suitable; "Suitable," which indicates that the reorder point is suitable; and "High," which indicates that the reorder point is perfectly suitable.

[0035] Furthermore, when the determination unit 120 determines that the number of stockouts for orders exceeding the standard inventory quantity has reached a predetermined number or more, the calculation unit 121 calculates a new standard inventory quantity based on the sales record and replenishment record of the product for which shipping instructions have been issued. In detail, the calculation unit 121 calculates a new standard inventory quantity using the maximum sales plan value for the week, the safety factor, and the sales plan overshoot as the sales record, and the replenishment lead time as the replenishment record, using the following formula:

[0036]

number

[0037] Here, the maximum weekly sales plan value is the maximum planned sales volume for one week. The safety factor is an index that indicates the maximum number of stockouts that are acceptable for 100 orders, and is also called the stockout tolerance rate. A safety factor of 1.65, which indicates that a 5% stockout is acceptable, is generally used. The sales plan overshoot is a numerical value that indicates the degree of variation in the planned sales volume. The replenishment lead time is the period from the shipping instruction from the shipper or other party to delivery to the retail store, and is stored in a database for each retail store and managed by the warehouse management device 20, and can be obtained based on the delivery destination included in the shipping instruction.

[0038] The standard inventory quantity is not limited to the above formula, and may be calculated using other conventional calculation methods, such as using the "inventory turnover rate" and "number of days for inventory turnover."

[0039] When the determination unit 120 determines that the number of stockouts for orders exceeding the standard stock quantity has reached a predetermined number or more, the notification generation unit 122 generates a notification for the ordered product urging the customer to review the standard stock quantity or the order point, and transmits the notification to the terminal 30 via the transmission / reception unit 11. Then, in response to transmitting the generated notification to the terminal 30, the notification generation unit 122 resets the number of stockouts for orders exceeding the standard stock quantity stored in the storage unit 13.

[0040] The notification generated by the notification generation unit 122 is a message prompting a review of the standard inventory quantity or order point of the product, for example, "The standard inventory quantity or order point of product 518 (the name of the product ordered) needs to be reviewed."

[0041] Furthermore, the notification generated by the notification generating unit 122 may be a message including the evaluation information of the reorder point calculated by the calculating unit 121. For example, "Product 518 (the name of the ordered product) has evaluation information of the reorder point as 'low', and the standard inventory quantity or the reorder point needs to be reviewed."

[0042] If the inventory days rating for the reorder point is "low," it is highly likely that the cause of the stockout is not the standard inventory quantity, but the setting of the reorder point. On the other hand, if the inventory days rating for the reorder point is "appropriate" or "high," there is no problem with the reorder point, and it is highly likely that the problem lies with the standard inventory quantity. By notifying shippers of the inventory days rating for the reorder point, it is possible to indicate areas that need review and support shippers in their review.

[0043] The notification generated by the notification generating unit 122 may also include statistical data on past shipping instructions (orders), and the terminal 30 that receives the notification displays a list of evaluation information on the order point and statistical data on past shipping instructions. Here, the statistical data on past shipping instructions includes the number of out-of-stock items, the average number of items shipped, the number of items requested for shipping, shipping fluctuations, etc., and can be obtained from the shipping information database that the warehouse management device 20 records and updates based on the receipt of shipping instructions and orders.

[0044] Fig. 3 shows an example of the display of a notification sent to the terminal 30 in this embodiment. One column of the table in Fig. 3 corresponds to the list described above. The list includes information such as the product code (product identification information), product name, reorder point, whether the reorder point needs to be revised, the number of stockouts (times) due to orders exceeding the standard inventory level, inventory days evaluation of the reorder point, inventory days at the reorder point, the number of stockouts (total), the average number of shipments, the number of shipment instructions (maximum), and the shipping deviation (σ).

[0045] The product code (product identification information) is the product code of a product determined by the determination unit 120 that the number of times an order exceeding the standard stock quantity has become out of stock is equal to or exceeds a predetermined number. It may also be the product name. The reorder point is the reorder point for each product that is set in advance in the warehouse management device 20. The need for review of the reorder point refers to whether a review of the standard stock quantity or the reorder point is necessary, and is determined to be "necessary" when the number of times an order exceeding the standard stock quantity has become out of stock exceeds a predetermined number. The number of times an order exceeding the standard stock quantity has become out of stock is the number of times that is incremented by one when the desired shipping quantity exceeds the standard stock quantity. The reorder point inventory days evaluation is evaluation information of the reorder point calculated by the calculation unit 121.

[0046] The number of out-of-stock items (total) is the total number of items that are out of stock in the warehouse when the number of items requested for shipping exceeds the standard inventory number. The average number of shipments is the average daily shipping amount on working days or shipping days. The maximum number of shipping instructions is the maximum number of items requested for shipping in shipping instructions. The shipping variation (σ) indicates the standard deviation of the number of shipments. The number of out-of-stock items, number of shipments, maximum number of shipping instructions, and shipping variation are values ​​per specified period such as month or week.

[0047] The number of out-of-stock items, the number of shipments, the maximum number of shipment instructions, and the shipping deviation are information that can be used as reference when a shipper, etc., reviews the standard inventory quantity or the reorder point. For example, the product name "Product 518" has an inventory days rating of "Low" and the average number of shipments is 10 units, but the number of shipment instructions (maximum) is 80 and the shipping deviation is 19.4. From this, shippers, etc., can infer that there was a day when the store had short-term demand and placed a large order, and this can be used as reference when deciding whether to review the standard inventory quantity or the reorder point, and what the revised figures should be.

[0048] Furthermore, the notification generated by the notification generation unit 122 may include information on multiple products, and as shown in FIG. 3, the notification is displayed in a table listing the above-mentioned multiple products. The list includes the number of orders received in excess of the standard inventory level, and the products in the table are arranged in descending order of the number of orders received in excess of the standard inventory level. As shown in FIG. 3, by sorting the products in descending order of the number of stockouts in excess of the standard inventory level, it is possible to display products that require review in the order in which they require review. Note that the table may only include products that have been out of stock in excess of the standard inventory level a predetermined number of times or more, or may only include products for which shipping instructions have been issued within a predetermined period, such as within one month.

[0049] The functional configuration of the system described above is merely an example. A single functional block (database and functional processing unit) may be divided, or multiple functional blocks may be combined into a single functional block. Each functional processing unit is realized by a central processing unit (CPU) built into a device or terminal that reads and executes a computer program (e.g., core software or an application that causes the CPU to execute the various processes described above) stored in a storage device (memory unit) such as a read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state drive (SSD), or hard disk. That is, each functional processing unit is realized by the computer program reading and writing necessary data, such as tables, from a database (DB) stored in the storage device or a memory area in memory, and, in some cases, controlling related hardware (e.g., an input / output device, a display device, or a communication interface device).

[0050] The inventory management process of the inventory management system 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 4. This process is executed by the inventory management device 10.

[0051] First, the determination unit 120 receives, via the transmission / reception unit 11, from the warehouse management device 20 that has received a shipping instruction from the terminal 30 and accepted the order, the desired shipping quantity of the ordered product and the standard inventory quantity of the product set in the warehouse management device 20 (S1).

[0052] Next, the determination unit 120 compares the desired shipping quantity received in S1 with the standard stock quantity and determines whether the desired shipping quantity exceeds the standard stock quantity (S2). If the desired shipping quantity exceeds the standard stock quantity, the process proceeds to S3. On the other hand, if the desired shipping quantity does not exceed the standard stock quantity, the process proceeds to S4.

[0053] Next, if the determination result of S2 shows that the desired shipping quantity exceeds the standard stock quantity, the determination unit 120 adds 1 to the number of stockouts for orders exceeding the standard stock quantity for the ordered product (S3). Next, the determination unit 120 determines whether the number of stockouts for orders exceeding the standard stock quantity, which is the result of the addition in S3, or the number of stockouts for orders exceeding the standard stock quantity stored in the memory unit 13, for the ordered product, is equal to or greater than a predetermined number (S4). If the number of stockouts for orders exceeding the standard stock quantity is equal to or greater than the predetermined number, the process proceeds to S5; on the other hand, if the number of stockouts for orders exceeding the standard stock quantity is less than the predetermined number, the process ends.

[0054] Then, the notification generation unit 122 generates a notification urging a review of the standard inventory quantity or order point for products for which the number of times the standard inventory quantity has been out of stock is equal to or greater than a predetermined number of times, and transmits the notification to the terminal 30 via the transmission / reception unit 11 (S5).

[0055] As explained above, the inventory management system prompts the shipper, etc. to review the standard inventory quantity or reorder point for products whose desired shipping quantity has exceeded the standard inventory quantity a predetermined number of times or more, allowing the shipper, etc. to review the standard inventory or reorder point for products in the warehouse at an appropriate time. As a result, shortages of products in the warehouse can be prevented, and products that have been instructed to be shipped can be shipped smoothly to retail stores.

[0056] Furthermore, by notifying the inventory days evaluation of the reorder point, it is possible to indicate to the shipper whether they should review the base inventory or the reorder point, thereby supporting the shipper's review. Furthermore, by displaying the reorder point evaluation information and statistical data of past shipping instructions in a list, the shipper can infer trends in shipping instructions and can be provided with information that will serve as a reference when reviewing the base inventory quantity or the reorder point. Furthermore, by presenting in a table the products whose desired shipping quantity has exceeded the base inventory quantity a predetermined number of times or more in order of the number of times a review is required, the shipper can be informed of the priority of the review.

[0057] While the present invention has been described above using embodiments, it goes without saying that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiments. Furthermore, it is clear from the claims that such modifications and improvements are also included within the technical scope of the present invention. While the above embodiments describe the present invention as an inventory management system, it can also be considered as an invention of a method executed by the inventory management system or a program that causes the inventory management system to function as various means. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 1. Inventory management system 10 Inventory control device 11 Transmitter / Receiver 12 Generation part 120 Judgment section 121 Calculation Unit 122 Notification generator 13 Storage section 20 Warehouse management equipment 30 devices

Claims

1. An inventory management system for managing inventory of goods stored in a warehouse, a determination unit that acquires a standard inventory quantity of the product and a desired shipping quantity of the product based on a shipping instruction, compares the standard inventory quantity with the desired shipping quantity, and counts the number of times the desired shipping quantity exceeds the standard inventory quantity; and a notification generating unit that generates a notification prompting a review of the standard stock quantity or order point for the product when the number of times exceeds a predetermined number.

2. The inventory management system according to claim 1 , wherein the notification includes evaluation information of the reorder point based on the reorder point inventory days obtained by converting the reference inventory quantity into days at the reorder point.

3. 3. The inventory management system according to claim 2, wherein the notification includes statistical data of past shipping instructions and displays the statistical data together with evaluation information of the reorder point in a list.

4. The notification displays information about the plurality of products in a table, The inventory management system according to claim 1 , wherein the table includes the number of times shipping instructions have been issued that exceed the standard inventory quantity for each product, and the products are arranged in descending order of the number of times shipping instructions have been issued.

5. An inventory management system as described in claim 1, which is equipped with a calculation unit that calculates a new standard inventory quantity based on the sales history of the product and the replenishment history of the product when the number of times becomes a predetermined number or more.

6. A method executed by an inventory control system for managing inventory of goods stored in a warehouse, comprising: a step of acquiring a standard inventory quantity of the product and a desired shipping quantity of the product based on a shipping instruction, comparing the standard inventory quantity with the desired shipping quantity, and counting the number of times the desired shipping quantity exceeds the standard inventory quantity; When the number of times is equal to or exceeds a predetermined number, a step of generating a notification prompting a review of the standard inventory quantity or the order point; A method comprising:

7. An inventory management system that manages the inventory of products stored in a warehouse. a determination unit that acquires a standard inventory quantity of the product and a desired shipping quantity of the product based on a shipping instruction, compares the standard inventory quantity with the desired shipping quantity, and counts the number of times the desired shipping quantity exceeds the standard inventory quantity; a notification generating unit that generates a notification to prompt a review of the standard stock quantity or order point of the product when the number of times reaches or exceeds a predetermined number; A computer-readable program that functions as a

Images