Systems and methods

Abstract

To create an efficient visit plan.SOLUTION: A system for creating a visit plan comprises: a setting part for setting planning conditions including the number of days remaining until products run out, the number of vehicles available for transporting the products, and working hours of a person in charge of replenishment work of the products; a simulation part for simulating the replenishment work for visit destinations that need to replenish the products, based on the planning conditions to create a plurality of visit plans and calculate a remaining rate, a total travel distance, and a total operation time when the replenishment work is performed according to the visit plans; a calculation part for calculating a prescribed index value for each of the plurality of visit plans; and an output part for outputting a visit plan with a highest index value. The simulation part adds unexpected visit destinations to the visit destinations included in the output visit plan and then creates a new visit plan by newly simulating the replenishment work with the visit time to the added visit destinations as a constraint condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system and method. [Background technology]

[0002] Providers of products such as liquefied petroleum (LP) gas cylinders and vending machines regularly or irregularly visit the installation locations to replenish products (LP gas, drinking water, etc.) This type of replenishment work is generally carried out by replenishment personnel who create a visit plan in advance that specifies the installation locations and the order in which they will be visited.

[0003] Furthermore, because product shortages can lead to lost sales opportunities and sudden replenishment work, it is common to create a visit plan that prioritizes visiting locations with low product stocks. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-3493 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-293262 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, traditionally, visit plans have relied on the intuition and experience of the person creating them. This has resulted in inefficient visit plans, for example, without considering the locations of the visit destinations (in other words, the distance between visit destinations). Furthermore, resource conditions such as the number of vehicles needed to transport goods and the working hours of replenishment staff have not been considered, resulting in replenishment work being carried out with an excessive number of vehicles, or conversely, replenishment staff being forced to work excessive hours.

[0006] An embodiment of the present invention has been made in view of the above points, and aims to create an efficient visiting plan. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above object, a system according to one embodiment is a system for creating a visiting plan for replenishing products at at least some of a plurality of visiting locations, the system including a setting unit that sets planning conditions including the number of days remaining until the products run out, the number of vehicles available to transport the products, and the available working hours of a person in charge of the product replenishing work, and a simulator that creates the plurality of visiting plans by simulating the replenishing work for the visiting locations that require the products to be replenished based on the planning conditions set by the setting unit, and calculates the remaining product rate, the total traveling distance of the vehicles, and the total working hours of the person in charge of the product replenishing work when the replenishing work is performed in accordance with the visiting plan. a calculation unit that calculates a predetermined index value for each of the plurality of visiting plans created by the simulation unit from at least one of the remaining stock rate, the total travel distance, and the total operating time when the replenishment work is performed in accordance with the visiting plan; and an output unit that outputs the visiting plan among the plurality of visiting plans with the highest index value calculated by the calculation unit, wherein the simulation unit adds a visiting destination where it suddenly becomes necessary to replenish the products to the visiting destinations included in the visiting plan output by the output unit, and then creates a new visiting plan by simulating the replenishment work using the visiting time to the added visiting destination as a constraint. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] You can create an efficient visit plan. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the overall configuration of a visiting schedule creation system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2]FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of creating a visiting schedule. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a visiting schedule creation device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of a visiting schedule creation device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of product management information. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a visiting schedule creation process according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example of a case where a visiting schedule is re-created taking into account unexpected visiting destinations. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of a visiting schedule creation process according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Each embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In the following embodiments, LP gas is assumed as the product, and a case where a visit plan is created for refilling gas cylinders installed at various locations with LP gas will be described. However, this is just one example, and the present invention can be similarly applied to creating a visit plan for refilling, delivering, selling, repairing, etc. any product. Specifically, the present invention can be similarly applied to creating a visit plan for refilling products such as drinking water into vending machines installed at various locations, or creating a visit plan for performing maintenance and repairs on equipment such as printers installed at customer sites.

[0011] [First embodiment] In this embodiment, we will describe a visit plan creation system 1 that can create an efficient visit plan by taking into consideration the location of the place where the gas cylinder to be replenished with LP gas is installed (i.e., the visit location), and resource conditions such as the number of vehicles required to transport the LP gas to the visit location and the working hours of the person in charge of replenishment.

[0012] <Overall configuration of visit planning system 1> First, the overall configuration of a visiting schedule creation system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the overall configuration of a visiting schedule creation system 1 according to a first embodiment.

[0013] 1, the visiting schedule creation system 1 according to this embodiment includes a visiting schedule creation device 10, one or more user terminals 20, and multiple measuring instruments 30. The visiting schedule creation device 10 and each user terminal 20 are communicatively connected via an arbitrary communication network such as the Internet. Similarly, the visiting schedule creation device 10 and each measuring instrument 30 are communicatively connected via an arbitrary communication network.

[0014] The visiting schedule creation device 10 creates an optimal visiting schedule that satisfies the planning conditions, based on the planning conditions including the remaining number of available days, the number of vehicles, and the operating hours. Here, the remaining number of available days refers to the number of days remaining until the LP gas in the gas cylinder runs out, and gas cylinders with less than or equal to this remaining number of available days are subject to replenishment. The number of vehicles refers to the number of vehicles available for transporting LP gas when replenishing the gas cylinders to be replenished, such as the number of vehicles owned by the LP gas vendor. The operating hours refer to the hours available for the person (replenisher) who replenishes the LP gas into the gas cylinders to be replenished, such as working hours.

[0015] The user terminal 20 is a terminal (for example, a PC (personal computer), smartphone, tablet terminal, etc.) used by a person in charge of creating a visiting schedule. The person in charge of creating a visiting schedule can use the user terminal 20 to set plan conditions in the visiting schedule creation device 10. Furthermore, when a visiting schedule is created by the visiting schedule creation device 10, the visiting schedule is displayed on the display of the user terminal 20.

[0016] The measuring device 30 is a device (e.g., a gas gauge) that measures the remaining amount of LP gas in a gas cylinder installed at each installation location. The measuring device 30 measures the remaining amount of LP gas in the gas cylinder being measured at predetermined time intervals (e.g., once a day) and transmits the measurement result to the visit schedule creation device 10 as remaining amount information. The remaining amount information includes, for example, gas cylinder identification information (hereinafter referred to as "product ID") and the remaining amount of LP gas in the gas cylinder. In this embodiment, it is assumed that gas cylinders are installed at multiple installation locations (e.g., installation location A representing the location of customer A's store, installation location B representing the location of customer B's store, etc.).

[0017] 1 is an example, and other configurations may be used. For example, a terminal used by a replenishment staff member may be included in the visiting schedule creation system 1, and the visiting schedule created by the visiting schedule creation device 10 may also be displayed on the display of this terminal. This allows the replenishment staff member to check the visiting schedule.

[0018] Here, an outline of a method by which the visiting schedule creation device 10 according to this embodiment creates a visiting schedule will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example of creating a visiting schedule.

[0019] The visiting schedule creation device 10 according to this embodiment executes a trial of "creating a visiting schedule by simulation based on planning conditions" multiple times while changing the planning conditions, and then outputs the visiting schedule with the best index value among the multiple visiting schedules created in these trials. The example shown in FIG. 2 shows how four trials, Trial 1 to Trial 4, were performed to create visiting schedules 1 to 4, respectively. Note that all planning conditions used in each trial may be set from the user terminal 20, or only one or some planning conditions may be set from the user terminal 20, and the remaining planning conditions may be created by having the visiting schedule creation device 10 change the planning conditions set from the user terminal 20.

[0020] For example, in trial 1, planning conditions 1 were set as remaining available days = 1 day, number of vehicles = 10, and operating hours = 9:00 to 17:00, and a simulation was performed based on this planning condition 1 to create visiting plan 1. In addition to visiting plan 1, the simulation also outputs the product remaining rate, which represents the percentage of remaining LPG in the gas cylinders when products are replenished according to visiting plan 1 (i.e., (total remaining amount of all gas cylinders after product replenishment / total capacity of all gas cylinders) × 100), the total vehicle mileage, and the total operating hours of the replenishment staff. In the example shown in FIG. 2, when planning conditions 1 were created, the product remaining rate = 50%, total mileage 500 km, and total operating hours = 80 hours were output.

[0021] In this embodiment, for simplicity, the total operating time is calculated assuming that one replenishment worker uses one vehicle and performs the replenishment work alone. However, for example, two workers may use one vehicle and perform the replenishment work together. In this case, the total operating time will be twice as long as when the replenishment work is performed by one person. Furthermore, whether to perform the replenishment work by one person using one vehicle or by two people using one vehicle may be determined based on the experience of the replenishment worker, etc.

[0022] Here, the simulation refers to simulating the case where gas cylinders with a remaining number of usable days or less are to be replenished, and each replenishment staff performs the replenishment work within their working hours using a number of vehicles. Such a simulation can be realized, for example, by using a known simulator that determines an optimal visit plan by solving an optimization problem such as a transportation route problem or a VRP (Vehicle Routing Problem) based on the installation locations of the gas cylinders to be replenished, the number of vehicles, and the working hours of the replenishment staff, and then simulates the replenishment work in accordance with this visit plan.

[0023] Similarly, in trial 2, planning conditions 2 were set as remaining available days = 3 days, number of vehicles = 10, and operating hours = 9:00 to 17:00, and a simulation was performed based on these planning conditions 2 to create visiting plan 2. In addition to visiting plan 2, the simulation also outputs the remaining product rate, total travel distance, and total operating time that would occur if products were replenished according to visiting plan 2. In the example shown in FIG. 2, when planning conditions 2 were created, the remaining product rate = 70%, total travel distance = 650 km, and total operating time = 80 hours were output.

[0024] Similarly, in trial 3, planning conditions 3 were set as remaining available days = 3 days, number of vehicles = 15, and operating hours = 9:00 to 17:00, and a simulation was performed based on these planning conditions 3 to create visiting plan 3. In addition to visiting plan 3, the simulation also outputs the remaining product rate, total travel distance, and total operating time that would occur if products were replenished according to visiting plan 3. In the example shown in FIG. 2, when planning conditions 3 were created, the remaining product rate = 80%, total travel distance = 1,000 km, and total operating time = 80 hours were output.

[0025] Similarly, in trial 4, planning conditions 4 were set as remaining available days = 3 days, number of vehicles = 10, and operating hours = 8:00 to 20:00, and a simulation was performed based on these planning conditions 4 to create visit plan 4. In addition to visit plan 4, the simulation also outputs the product remaining rate, total travel distance, and total operating time that would occur if products were replenished according to visit plan 4. In the example shown in FIG. 2, when planning conditions 4 were created, the product remaining rate = 90%, total travel distance = 800 km, and total operating time = 120 hours were output.

[0026] Then, the visiting plan creation device 10 according to this embodiment selects the visiting plan that has the best index value determined by at least one of the remaining product quantity rate, total travel distance, and total operating time from among the visiting plans created in each of these multiple trials, and outputs this visiting plan.

[0027] Generally, a higher product remaining rate can prevent lost sales opportunities and the need for unexpected replenishment. On the other hand, a shorter total mileage can reduce operating costs such as gasoline, and a shorter total operating time can increase operational efficiency and reduce labor costs such as overtime. Therefore, various index values ​​can be determined taking these factors into consideration.

[0028] For example, if you are only concerned with preventing lost sales opportunities and unexpected replenishment work, you can use the visiting plan with the highest index value, where index value = product remaining rate. In this case, in the example shown in Figure 2, visiting plan 4 would be adopted.

[0029] Alternatively, for example, by considering both the prevention of lost sales opportunities and unexpected replenishment work and operational efficiency, the visiting plan with the highest index value (index value = product remaining rate x (1 / total operating time)) may be adopted. In this case, in the example shown in Figure 2, visiting plan 3 would be adopted.

[0030] Similarly, the index value may be, for example, the product remaining rate × (1 / total distance traveled), or the product remaining rate × (1 / total operating time) × (1 / total distance traveled).In addition, for example, the index value may be a weighted sum of the product remaining rate, total operating time, and total distance traveled, after adjusting the scales of these.

[0031] Since the most important purpose of creating a visiting schedule is thought to be to prevent lost sales opportunities and unexpected replenishment work, it is preferable to determine the index value using at least the product remaining rate.

[0032] As a result, the visiting schedule creation device 10 according to this embodiment can create an efficient visiting schedule by taking into consideration the location where the gas cylinders to be replenished are installed (i.e., the location of the place to be visited), the remaining LP gas rate in all gas cylinders, and various resource conditions (number of vehicles, working hours, etc.).

[0033] In this embodiment, since LP gas is assumed as the product, the product unit price is often constant, but there are cases where the product unit price varies depending on the product to be replenished. For example, when replenishing products in a vending machine, the product unit price may differ depending on the product to be replenished. In such a case, the index value may be determined using the product remaining rate for each product unit price in order to prioritize replenishing products with higher unit prices. Specifically, for example, if there is product A with a product unit price a, product B with a product unit price b, and product C with a product unit price c, and the product remaining rate of product A is p A , the remaining stock rate of product B is p B , the remaining stock rate of product C is p C In this case, the weighted sum of the product remaining rate with the product unit price as the weight is a × p A +b×p B +c×p C This makes it possible to create a visiting plan that takes into account the unit price of the product and prioritizes the replenishment of high-priced products, thereby preventing, for example, a drop in sales due to high-priced products being out of stock.

[0034] <Hardware Configuration of Visiting Schedule Creation Device 10> Next, the hardware configuration of the visiting schedule creation device 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the visiting schedule creation device 10 according to the first embodiment.

[0035] 3, the visiting schedule creation device 10 according to this embodiment is realized by the hardware of a general computer or computer system, and includes an input device 11, a display device 12, an external I / F 13, a communication I / F 14, a processor 15, and a memory device 16. Each of these pieces of hardware is connected to each other via a bus 17 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0036] The input device 11 is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc. The display device 12 is, for example, a display, etc. Note that the visiting schedule creation device 10 does not necessarily have to have at least one of the input device 11 and the display device 12.

[0037] The external I / F 13 is an interface with an external device such as a recording medium 13a. Examples of the recording medium 13a include a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), an SD memory card (Secure Digital memory card), and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory card.

[0038] The communication I / F 14 is an interface for connecting the visiting schedule creation device 10 to a communication network. The processor 15 is, for example, a variety of arithmetic devices such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The memory device 16 is, for example, a variety of storage devices such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), and flash memory.

[0039] The visiting schedule creation device 10 according to this embodiment has the hardware configuration shown in Fig. 3 and is therefore able to perform the visiting schedule creation process described below. Note that the hardware configuration shown in Fig. 3 is merely an example, and the visiting schedule creation device 10 may have other hardware configurations. For example, the visiting schedule creation device 10 may have multiple processors 15 or multiple memory devices 16.

[0040] <Functional configuration of the visiting schedule creation device 10> Next, the functional configuration of the visiting schedule creation device 10 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the visiting schedule creation device 10 according to the first embodiment.

[0041] 4, the visiting schedule creation device 10 according to this embodiment includes a product management unit 101, a condition setting unit 102, a simulation unit 103, an index value calculation unit 104, an end determination unit 105, a plan specification unit 106, and a plan presentation unit 107. Each of these units is realized by processing executed by a processor 15 in accordance with one or more programs installed in the visiting schedule creation device 10.

[0042] The visiting schedule creation device 10 according to this embodiment also has a product management information storage unit 108. This storage unit can be realized, for example, by the memory device 16. Note that this storage unit may also be realized by a storage device (for example, a database server) connected to the visiting schedule creation device 10 via a communication network.

[0043] The product management unit 101 receives remaining amount information from each measuring device 30, and updates the remaining amount and remaining number of days in the product management information stored in the product management information storage unit 108 using the product ID and remaining amount included in the remaining amount information. An example of the product management information stored in the product management information storage unit 108 is shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, the product management information includes the product ID, the installation location of the gas cylinder with that product ID, the name of the customer using that gas cylinder, the remaining amount in that gas cylinder, and the number of days remaining until the LP gas in that gas cylinder runs out.

[0044] At this time, the product management unit 101 predicts the number of remaining days from the remaining amount included in the remaining amount information received from the measuring device 30, and then updates the remaining amount and number of remaining days in the product management information corresponding to the product ID included in the remaining amount information with this remaining amount and number of remaining days. As a result, the remaining amount and number of remaining days included in each product management information are updated to the latest values ​​at predetermined time intervals.

[0045] The remaining number of days can be calculated by, for example, dividing the remaining amount by the average gas usage per day. In this case, the average gas usage per day may be calculated in advance for each customer, or may be calculated in advance for each type or category of business of the customer, or may be calculated in advance uniformly for all customers.

[0046] The condition setting unit 102 sets the plan conditions transmitted from the user terminal 20 as conditions to be used in the simulation by the simulation unit 103 .

[0047] The simulation unit 103 performs a trial simulation based on the planning conditions set by the condition setting unit 102, and outputs a visiting plan, as well as the remaining product quantity rate, total travel distance, and total operating time when products are replenished according to this visiting plan.

[0048] The index value calculation unit 104 calculates a predetermined index value using at least one of the remaining quantity of merchandise, the total travel distance, and the total operating time output by the simulation unit 103.

[0049] The termination determination unit 105 determines whether or not the trial by the simulation unit 103 should be terminated.

[0050] When the termination determination unit 105 determines that the trials should be terminated, the plan determination unit 106 determines the visiting plan with the best index value from among the multiple visiting plans created by these trials.

[0051] The plan presentation unit 107 transmits the visiting plan identified by the plan identification unit 106 to the user terminal 20. As a result, an efficient visiting plan is presented to the person in charge of creating the visiting plan, taking into consideration the locations of gas cylinders to be replenished, the remaining amount of LP gas in all gas cylinders, and various resource conditions.

[0052] <Visit plan creation process flow> Next, the flow of the visiting schedule creation process according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the visiting schedule creation process according to the first embodiment. Note that, hereinafter, it is assumed that the remaining amount and remaining days in the product management information stored in the product management information storage unit 108 have been updated to the latest values. It is also assumed that at least one plan condition has been sent from the user terminal 20 to the visiting schedule creation device 10.

[0053] First, the condition setting unit 102 sets the planning conditions transmitted from the user terminal 20 (if multiple planning conditions are transmitted from the user terminal 20, one of the planning conditions) as conditions to be used in the simulation by the simulation unit 103 (step S101). As described above, the planning conditions include the remaining number of available days, the number of vehicles, and the operating hours.

[0054] Next, the simulation unit 103 identifies the gas cylinder to be replenished and its installation location from the remaining number of usable days included in the planning conditions set by the condition setting unit 102 (step S102). That is, the simulation unit 103 refers to the product management information stored in the product management information storage unit 108 and identifies the product ID and installation location of the product management information that includes a remaining number of days equal to or less than the remaining number of usable days. This product ID and installation location are the product ID and installation location of the gas cylinder to be replenished, respectively.

[0055] Next, the simulation unit 103 determines an optimal visiting plan by solving an optimization problem such as a transportation route problem or VRP, with the installation locations of the gas cylinders to be replenished identified in step S102 as the visiting destinations and the number of vehicles and operating time included in the planning conditions set by the condition setting unit 102 as constraints, and calculates and outputs the product remaining rate, total travel distance, and total operating time by simulating replenishment work according to this visiting plan (step S103). This completes one attempt to create a visiting plan. Note that it is assumed that data (e.g., road network data, etc.) required to solve the transportation route problem or VRP optimization problem are known. Furthermore, the optimization problem may be solved by simulation or by a known solution method.

[0056] When calculating the product remaining rate, the simulation unit 103 refers to the product management information stored in the product management information storage unit 108, and calculates the product remaining rate by (total remaining amount of all gas cylinders after the replenishment work according to the visit plan has been performed) / (total capacity of all gas cylinders) × 100. Note that the capacity of the gas cylinders is assumed to be known.

[0057] Next, the index value calculation unit 104 calculates a predetermined index value using at least one of the remaining product quantity, total travel distance, and total operating time output in step S103 (step S104). As mentioned above, the index value to be calculated is determined appropriately depending on the purpose (e.g., preventing lost sales opportunities and unexpected replenishment work, reducing operating costs such as vehicle gasoline costs, reducing labor costs by reducing working hours, etc.) that is to be achieved by creating a visiting plan.

[0058] Depending on the simulator that implements the simulation unit 103 and its settings, a visiting plan that does not visit some of the destinations may be accepted as a solution to the optimization problem in step S103 (i.e., some of the gas cylinders to be replenished may not be replenished). When such a visiting plan is obtained as a solution, the index value calculation unit 104 may impose a predetermined penalty on the index value corresponding to the visiting plan (for example, by adding a predetermined large negative value). This makes it possible to prevent a visiting plan that does not visit all of the gas cylinders to be replenished from being presented to the user.

[0059] Next, the termination determination unit 105 determines whether or not to terminate the trial by the simulation unit 103 (step S105). Here, the termination determination unit 105 may determine that the trial is terminated, for example, when the number of trials exceeds a predetermined number.

[0060] If it is not determined in step S105 above that the trial should be ended, the condition setting unit 102 changes the planning conditions, sets the new planning conditions after the change as the conditions to be used in the simulation by the simulation unit 103 (step S106), and returns to step S102. This causes an attempt to create the next visiting schedule.

[0061] If multiple planning conditions are transmitted from the user terminal 20, the condition setting unit 102 may set a planning condition that has not yet been set from among the multiple planning conditions as a new planning condition. If only one planning condition is transmitted from the user terminal 20 or if there are no planning conditions that have not yet been set, the condition setting unit 102 may create a new planning condition by changing a planning condition that has already been set according to a predetermined rule. Specifically, for example, the condition setting unit 102 may increase or decrease the number of remaining available days included in the planning condition set in the previous attempt by a predetermined number of days, increase or decrease the number of vehicles included in the planning condition by a predetermined number, change the operating time included in the planning condition to a predetermined operating time, or combine these.

[0062] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S105 above that the trial should be ended, the plan specifying unit 106 specifies the visiting plan with the best index value from among the multiple visiting plans created in each trial (step S107).

[0063] Then, the plan presentation unit 107 transmits the visiting plan identified in step S107 to the user terminal 20 (step S108). As a result, an efficient visiting plan is presented to the person in charge of creating the visiting plan, taking into consideration the locations of the gas cylinders to be replenished, the remaining amount of LP gas in all the gas cylinders, and various resource conditions.

[0064] As described above, the visiting schedule creation system 1 according to this embodiment creates multiple visiting plans by varying conditions such as product stock, number of vehicles, and operating hours, and then presents the user with the visiting plan that has the best target index value among these multiple visiting plans. This makes it possible to create the most efficient visiting plan that achieves various objectives, such as preventing lost sales opportunities and unexpected replenishment work, reducing operating costs such as vehicle gasoline costs, and reducing labor costs by reducing working hours.

[0065] [Second embodiment] Next, a second embodiment will be described. Generally, a visit schedule is often a plan for a replenishment operation to be performed N days in advance. In other words, a visit schedule is often created N days before the actual replenishment operation is to be performed. Note that N differs depending on the type of product, etc., but in the case of LP gas, it is thought that N is often about N=1 to N=3.

[0066] However, there is a possibility that a sudden need for replenishment may arise on the day of or the day before the replenishment work, such as when a sudden increase in LPG usage makes replenishment necessary.

[0067] Therefore, in the second embodiment, we will explain the case where the visiting schedule created in the first embodiment is recreated so that when such a visiting destination (hereinafter referred to as an "unexpected visiting destination") occurs on the day of or the day before the replenishment work, the unexpected visiting destination is also visited.

[0068] That is, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, when a visiting plan is created N days before a replenishment job, "visit destination X," "visit destination Y," and "visit destination Z" are assumed to be unexpected visits. Also, assume that a visiting time of "9:00" is specified for "visit destination Z." In this case, in the second embodiment, these unexpected visit destinations (and visiting times) are added, and a re-simulation is performed to re-create the visiting plan by changing some of the planning conditions (for example, operating hours, etc.) as necessary. This makes it possible to re-create a visiting plan that can also visit unexpected visit destinations, based on the visiting plan created in the first embodiment.

[0069] In the second embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and descriptions of components that are the same as those in the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0070] <Visit plan creation process flow> Next, the flow of the visiting schedule creation process according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the visiting schedule creation process according to the second embodiment. Note that hereinafter, it is assumed that the day of or the day before the replenishment work is the day of the replenishment work, and the visiting schedule described in the first embodiment has been created N days before the replenishment work. Furthermore, for example, it is assumed that information regarding a sudden visit destination has been sent from the user terminal 20 to the visiting schedule creation device 10.

[0071] First, the condition setting unit 102 acquires information about the unexpected visit destination transmitted from the user terminal 20 (step S201). Here, the information about the unexpected visit destination includes, for example, at least the product ID of the gas cylinder that suddenly needs to be refilled. However, it is not limited to the product ID, and any information that can identify the gas cylinder that suddenly needs to be refilled may be used. Furthermore, in addition to the product ID, for example, the visit time specified by the customer or the like may also be included in the information about the unexpected visit destination.

[0072] Next, the simulation unit 103 refers to the product management information stored in the product management information storage unit 108, and identifies the installation location of the gas cylinder corresponding to the product ID included in the information acquired in step S201 (step S202). This installation location is the installation location of the gas cylinder for which the unexpected refill occurred.

[0073] Next, the simulation unit 103 adds the installation locations identified in step S202 to the visit destinations included in the visit plan created N days ago, and then creates an optimal visit plan by solving an optimization problem such as a transportation route problem or VRP, with the number of vehicles and operating hours at the time of creating the visit plan as constraints (step S203). If a visit time is specified for the unexpected visit destination, the visit time is also set as a constraint. The number of vehicles and operating hours may be changed. For example, the visit plan created N days ago had a number of 10 vehicles. However, if more vehicles become available later (e.g., if there are more vehicles or replenishment personnel), the number of vehicles may be increased. Similarly, the visit plan created N days ago had an operating time from 9:00 to 17:00, but if overtime is permitted later, the operating hours may be increased. In addition to increasing the number of vehicles and operating hours, the number of vehicles may be reduced if, for example, an employee is absent on the day of the replenishment work, or if there is sufficient personnel available even after taking the unexpected visit into account.

[0074] Then, the plan presentation unit 107 transmits the visiting plan identified in step S203 to the user terminal 20 (step S204). As a result, an efficient visiting plan is presented to the person in charge of creating the visiting plan, taking into consideration the locations of gas cylinders to be replenished, the remaining LP gas rate of all gas cylinders, various resource conditions, and also unexpected visiting destinations.

[0075] As described above, the visiting schedule creation system 1 according to this embodiment presents the user with a visiting schedule that also visits unexpected destinations based on the visiting schedule with the best index value desired by the user (i.e., the visiting schedule created in the first embodiment). This makes it possible to create the most efficient visiting schedule that also takes into account destinations where unexpected replenishment is required, for example, on the day of or the day before the replenishment work.

[0076] The present invention is not limited to the above-described specifically disclosed embodiments, and various modifications, changes, and combinations with known technologies are possible without departing from the scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0077] 1. Visit planning system 10. Visit planning device 11 Input Devices 12 Display device 13 External I / F 13a Recording media 14 Communication I / F 15 processors 16 Memory Device 17 Bus 101 Product Management Department 102 Condition setting section 103 Simulation Department 104 Index value calculation unit 105 End Determination Unit 106 Planning and Specific Department 107 Planning Presentation Section 108 Product management information storage unit

Claims

1. A system for creating a visiting plan for replenishing products at at least some of a plurality of visiting locations, a setting unit that sets planning conditions including the number of days remaining until the products run out, the number of vehicles available to transport the products, and the available working hours of a person in charge of replenishing the products; a simulation unit that creates a plurality of visiting plans by simulating replenishment work for visiting locations that require replenishment of the products based on the planning conditions set by the setting unit, and calculates the remaining rate of the products, the total mileage of the vehicle, and the total working time of the person in charge when the replenishment work is performed in accordance with the visiting plans; a calculation unit that calculates a predetermined index value for each of the plurality of visiting plans created by the simulation unit from at least one of the remaining quantity rate, the total mileage, and the total operating time when the replenishment work is performed in accordance with the visiting plan; an output unit that outputs a visiting plan having the highest index value calculated by the calculation unit among the plurality of visiting plans; and The simulation unit The system creates a new visiting plan by adding visiting destinations where there is a sudden need to replenish the products to the visiting destinations included in the visiting plan output by the output unit, and then simulating the replenishment work again using the visiting time to the added visiting destinations as a constraint.

2. The calculation unit The system according to claim 1 , wherein if at least some of the plurality of destinations are not included in the visiting plan, a penalty value that takes a negative value is added to the index value for the visiting plan.

3. The calculation unit The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the index value for the visit plan is calculated based on the remaining quantity rate when the replenishment work is performed according to the visit plan and the unit price of the products replenished by the replenishment work.

4. A method for creating a visiting schedule by a computer for replenishing products at least some of a plurality of visiting locations, the method comprising: a setting procedure in which the computer sets planning conditions including the number of days remaining until the products run out, the number of vehicles available to transport the products, and the available working hours of a person in charge of replenishing the products; a simulation procedure in which the computer creates a plurality of visiting plans by simulating replenishment work for visiting locations that require replenishment of the products based on the planning conditions set in the setting procedure, and calculates the remaining rate of the products, the total traveling distance of the vehicle, and the total working time of the person in charge when the replenishment work is performed in accordance with the visiting plans; a calculation step in which the computer calculates a predetermined index value for each of the plurality of visiting plans created in the simulation step from at least one of the remaining quantity rate, the total mileage, and the total operating time when the replenishment work is performed in accordance with the visiting plan; an output step in which the computer outputs a visiting plan having the highest index value calculated in the calculation step from among the plurality of visiting plans; Run The simulation procedure includes: a visiting destination where the need to suddenly replenish the products arises is added to the visiting destinations included in the visiting plan output in the output procedure, and a new visiting plan is created by simulating the replenishment work with the visiting time to the added visiting destinations as a constraint.

5. The calculation procedure is as follows: The method according to claim 4 , wherein if at least some of the plurality of destinations are not included in the visiting plan, a penalty value that takes a negative value is added to the index value for the visiting plan.

6. The calculation procedure is as follows: The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the index value for the visiting plan is calculated based on the remaining quantity rate when the replenishment operation is performed according to the visiting plan and the unit price of the products replenished by the replenishment operation.

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