Order management device and program

Abstract

To provide an order management device and a program which, when a menu is sold out, can perform processing of determining the corresponding other menus as sold out menus to reduce a load of processing for the sold out menus.SOLUTION: The order management device comprises: a storage unit for storing a first menu and a stock state corresponding to the first menu; and a management unit which, when receiving an order for a second menu to which link information to the corresponding first menu is given, from an external device, confirms the stock state corresponding to the first menu in accordance with the link information of the ordered second menu.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an order management device and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, restaurants have increasingly been using delivery services in addition to dine-in services. Delivery services accept orders for restaurant menu items from users' smartphones on their websites, share the order data with the restaurant, and deliver the prepared menu items to the customer.

[0003] In addition, restaurants often contract with multiple delivery agents. These delivery agents set their own prices depending on the delivery method and service content. In restaurants, the same menu item may have different prices depending on the delivery agent, so each delivery agent is assigned a different menu code and managed as a separate menu. Therefore, if a menu item is out of stock, it is necessary to process the out-of-stock status for each of the cooperating delivery agents, which is time-consuming for restaurant staff.

[0004] Regarding out-of-stock control, there is a method for setting up an ingredient table that associates ingredients with menu items, and searching the ingredient table using the out-of-stock ingredients as keywords, thereby simultaneously setting multiple menu items as out of stock and prohibiting the issuance of meal tickets (Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-57383 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, if an ingredient table is associated with a menu as in the prior art, when there is a change in the menu, two types of master files, the ingredient master and the menu master, must be changed. This means that it is time-consuming to correct the masters when a change is made. In addition, since the out-of-stock operation involves changing the ingredient master, in order to mark a menu as out of stock, the ingredients must be checked and marked as out of stock, which creates the problem of being difficult to operate intuitively.

[0007] Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide an order management device and program that can reduce the burden of processing out-of-stock items by automatically processing other linked menu items as out of stock when a menu item is out of stock. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The order management device of the first aspect includes a memory unit that stores a first menu and a stock status corresponding to the first menu, and a management unit that, when an order for a second menu to which link information to the corresponding first menu is attached is received from an external device, checks the stock status corresponding to the first menu from the link information of the ordered second menu.

[0009] According to the first aspect of the order management device, when a menu item is out of stock, it is possible to provide an order management device that can reduce the burden of processing out-of-stock items by processing other linked menu items as out of stock as well.

[0010] In addition, in the order management device of the second aspect, when the management unit checks the stock status and finds that there is no stock, it transmits to the external device a message that the second menu item is out of stock.

[0011] According to the second aspect of the order management device, it is possible to provide an order management device that can output the results of checking stock status to an external device.

[0012] In addition, in the order management device of a third aspect, the inventory status includes the inventory status of ingredients used in the first menu.

[0013] According to the third aspect of the order management device, when an ingredient runs out, it is possible to provide an order management device that can reduce the processing burden when an ingredient runs out by processing other menu items that use the same ingredient as being out of stock.

[0014] In addition, in the order management device of a fourth aspect, the second menu is provided with the link information to the first menu that uses the common ingredient.

[0015] According to the fourth aspect of the order management device, it is possible to provide an order management device that, when an ingredient runs out, can follow the link information to process other menu items that use the same ingredient as being out of stock.

[0016] In addition, if the order management device of the fifth aspect checks the inventory status of the ingredient and finds that it is out of stock, it sends a message to the external device that the second menu item, as well as other second menu items that use the same ingredient and for which no orders are being accepted, are out of stock.

[0017] According to the fifth aspect of the order management device, it is possible to provide an order management device that can notify the person placing the order that they cannot order other menu items that use ingredients that are out of stock, and can assist in selecting an alternative menu item for a menu item that uses ingredients that are out of stock.

[0018] In addition, the program of the order management device of the sixth aspect causes a computer to execute a process of reading out a first menu and an inventory status corresponding to a corresponding second menu from a memory unit that stores the first menu and the inventory status corresponding to the first menu, the first menu having link information associated with the first menu, and a process of confirming the inventory status corresponding to the first menu from the link information of the ordered second menu when an order for the second menu having link information associated with the corresponding first menu is received from an external device.

[0019] According to the sixth aspect of the program for an order management device, when a menu item is out of stock, other linked menu items are also treated as out of stock, thereby making it possible to provide a program for an order management device that can reduce the burden of processing out-of-stock items. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an order management device and program that can reduce the burden of processing out-of-stock items by processing other linked menu items as out of stock when a menu item is out of stock. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an order management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic block diagram of an order management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an order management device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a menu information table stored in the order management device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of an out-of-stock table according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6]FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a menu information table stored in the server according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a sequence diagram showing an example of an operation of the order management system according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an order receiving process according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining another example of the menu information table according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining another example of an out-of-stock table of ingredients according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are used throughout the drawings to designate identical or equivalent components and parts. The dimensional proportions of the drawings are exaggerated for the sake of clarity and may differ from the actual proportions.

[0023] An example of an order management system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of an order management system 10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, an order management system 10 according to this embodiment includes an in-store system 20 housed in a store such as a restaurant, and a server 400 of a delivery agent connected to the in-store system 20 via an internet line or the like. The server 400 of the delivery agent accepts orders for restaurant menu items from users' smartphones 500 or the like via an internet line or the like, and transmits the accepted order information to the in-store system 20. Here, in this embodiment, the server 400 of the delivery agent is an example of an external device. The server 400 of the delivery agent includes servers 400 for the number of delivery agents contracted by the store.

[0024] The in-store system 20 comprises multiple order terminals 100, an order management device 200, and a printer 300. The order management device 200 is not limited to being housed within the store, but may also be installed outside the store by connecting to the order terminals 100 and printer 300 via an internet line or the like. The in-store system 20 may also comprise other devices such as a display device that displays information to be referenced during cooking.

[0025] The order terminal device 100 is a device used by store staff when entering orders from customers, and in this embodiment is a smartphone or tablet terminal device. The order terminal device 100 communicates with the order management device 200 via wireless communication such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network).

[0026] In this embodiment, the order management device 200 manages the order information input from the order terminal device 100 and the server 400, controls the printer 300 to print customer slips based on the order information, and checks the remaining number of menu items described below.

[0027] The printer 300 is a device that prints customer slips and other documents used during checkout. The printer 300 communicates with the order management device 200 via a wired network. Information sent from the order management device 200 to the printer 300 includes slip images and other information used to print customer slips. Note that the printer 300 is not limited to communicating with the order management device 200 via a wired network, and may also communicate with the order management device 200 via wireless communication such as a wireless LAN or the Internet.

[0028] (Order management device 200) FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an order management device 200 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the order management device 200 according to this embodiment includes a control unit 201, a storage unit 202, a communication unit 203, an input unit 204, and a display unit 205. Each component is connected to each other via a bus 206 so that they can communicate with each other.

[0029] The control unit 201 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executes various programs and controls each unit of the order management device 200. That is, the control unit 201 controls each of the above components and performs various arithmetic processing based on the programs recorded in the storage unit 202.

[0030] The control unit 201 also creates a slip image based on the order information input from the order terminal 100 or the server 400, and instructs the printer 300 to print it.

[0031] The storage unit 202 includes a read-only memory (ROM) and a random access memory (RAM), and stores various programs including an operating system and information. The storage unit 202 may be, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), or a flash memory.

[0032] Here, examples of information stored in the storage unit 202 in this embodiment include a menu information table M1 relating to orderable menu items shown in FIG. 4, an out-of-stock table S shown in FIG.

[0033] Here, the program stored in the storage unit 202 may be pre-installed in the order management device 200. Alternatively, the program may be stored in a non-volatile storage medium or distributed via a network and installed appropriately in the order management device 200. Examples of non-volatile storage media include CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, USB memories, memory cards, etc.

[0034] The communication unit 203 communicates with other devices such as the order terminal device 100, printer 300, and server 400, and outputs information received from the order terminal device 100, printer 300, and server 400 to the control unit 201 via a wired network, and also transmits input information input from the control unit 201 to the order terminal device 100, printer 300, and server 400 via wireless LAN.

[0035] The input unit 204 includes a keyboard and a pointing device such as a mouse, and is used to input various types of information.

[0036] The display unit 205 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays various information according to the control of the control unit 201. The display unit 205 may also function as the input unit 204 by adopting a touch panel system.

[0037] When executing the above programs, the order management device 200 uses the above hardware resources to realize various functions. The functional configuration realized by the order management device 200 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the control unit (CPU) 201 of the order management device 200. As shown in FIG.

[0038] 3, the order management device 200 has, as its functional components, a reception unit 210, a transmission unit 220, and a management unit 230. Each functional component is realized by a control unit (CPU) 201 reading and executing a program stored in a storage unit 202.

[0039] (Reception unit 210) The reception unit 210 receives order information including the ordered food, the ordered quantity of the food, etc., sent from the order terminal device 100 or the server 400 of the delivery agent.

[0040] (Transmitter 220) The transmitting unit 220 replies to the server 400 of the delivery agent with information on whether the received order information has been accepted or is out of stock.

[0041] (Management Department 230) When the management unit 230 receives an order for a delivery menu with link information to a corresponding in-store menu from the server 400 of a delivery agent, the management unit 230 checks the stock status corresponding to the in-store menu from the link information of the ordered delivery menu. Furthermore, if the management unit 230 finds that the product is out of stock as a result of checking the stock status, the management unit 230 uses the transmission unit 220 to transmit to the server 400 of the delivery agent that the product is out of stock.

[0042] (Server 400) Furthermore, the server 400 of the delivery agent stores a menu information table M2 relating to menus that can be ordered from the delivery agent, as shown in Fig. 6. In this example, an example of the menu information table M2 stored in the server 400 of delivery agent A is shown.

[0043] 4 to 6, the menu information table M1 and out-of-stock table S stored in the order management device 200, and the menu information table M2 stored in the server 400 of the delivery agent will be described.

[0044] Fig. 4 is an example of the menu information table M1 stored in the order management device 200. As shown in Fig. 4, the menu information table M1 stored in the order management device 200 stores an in-store menu and a delivery menu. Here, the in-store menu is an example of a first menu, and the delivery menu is an example of a second menu.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 4, the menu information table M1 stored in the order management device 200 contains menu codes for identifying menu items, menu names, unit prices, and link menu codes. The link menu code is assigned to delivery menu items and is link information that indicates an association with the corresponding in-store menu items. In this example, link information is assigned to "Hamburg steak for Company A" on the delivery menu with menu code "1001," "Hamburg steak for Company B" with menu code "2001," and "Hamburg steak for Company C" with menu code "3001" to "Hamburg steak" on the in-store menu with menu code "0001." Similarly, link information is assigned to "Beef stew for Company A" on the delivery menu with menu code "1002," "Beef stew for Company B" with menu code "2002," and "Beef stew for Company C" with menu code "3002" to "Beef stew" on the in-store menu with menu code "0002." The delivery menu to which link information is attached and the corresponding in-store menu are not limited to having the same menu name, but may have different menu names. For example, for the menu item "hamburger steak," the specific name of the in-store menu may be "hamburger steak," the specific name of "hamburger steak for company A" may be "special hamburger steak," and the specific name of "hamburger steak for company B" may be "hamburger steak." For example, the menu items may have the same menu name or different menu names.

[0046] FIG. 5 is an example of the out-of-stock table S stored in the order management device 200. As shown in FIG. 5, the out-of-stock table S stored in the order management device 200 stores the remaining quantity as the inventory status for in-store menu items. Here, the remaining quantity "0" shown in FIG. 5 indicates an out-of-stock state, "10" indicates that the remaining quantity is "10", and "9999" indicates that no remaining quantity is set, i.e., the menu item is not managed for out-of-stock status. Furthermore, the remaining quantity is entered into the out-of-stock table S using the input unit 204 of the order management device 200 or the order terminal device 100.

[0047] The out-of-stock table S is not limited to being provided separately from the menu information table M1, and the menu information table M1 may be configured to store more items and also include the "remaining quantity."

[0048] Also, referring to FIG. 6, a menu information table M2 stored in the server 400 of a delivery agent will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the server 400 stores the menu of the delivery agent among the in-store menus. In this example, the menu information table M2 stored in the server 400 of delivery agent Company A is shown. Therefore, the menu information table M2 stores the same menu as the delivery (Company A) menu among the menu information table M1 stored in the order management device 200. Note that the menu of the delivery agent may not be stored in the server 400 of the delivery agent, but may be stored in the order management device 200, and the menu of the delivery agent stored in the order management device 200 may be displayed on the display unit of the server 400 of the delivery agent to accept orders from users.

[0049] Next, the operation of the order management system 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the operation of the order management system 10.

[0050] In step S100, a user ordering food accesses the website of the delivery agent's server 400 and places an order using a terminal such as the user's smartphone 500. The CPU of the server 400 that receives the order transmits the received order data to the order management device 200 in step S102.

[0051] The control unit 201 of the order management device 200 that has received the order data refers to the out-of-stock table S to determine whether the item is out of stock, and replies to the server 400 whether the item is out of stock or the order has been completed. The CPU of the server 400 that has received this reply replies to the user's terminal whether the item is out of stock or the order has been completed. Note that the determination of whether the item is out of stock by referring to the out-of-stock table S is not limited to being made by the control unit 201 of the order management device 200; the server 400 of the delivery agent may also determine whether the item is out of stock by referring to the out-of-stock table S stored in the order management device 200. Also, a copy of the out-of-stock table S stored in the order management device 200 may be stored in the server 400 of the delivery agent, and the server 400 of the delivery agent may determine whether the item is out of stock by referring to the copy of the out-of-stock table S.

[0052] Next, the operation of the order management device 200 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of order reception processing by the order management device 200. The control unit 201 reads out a program from the storage unit 202, expands it, and executes it to perform this processing.

[0053] In step S200, the CPU (reception unit 210) of the control unit 201 determines whether a menu order has been accepted. That is, it determines whether the user has connected to the server 400 of a delivery agent, for example, the server 400 of delivery agent Company A, using a smartphone 500 or the like, and placed an order for a menu for Company A via the server 400. If it is determined that the menu order has not been accepted, the process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the menu order has been accepted, the process proceeds to the next step S202.

[0054] In step S202, the CPU (management unit 230) of the control unit 201 determines whether the ordered menu item is out of stock. That is, the control unit 201 obtains the menu code of the corresponding in-store menu item from the link information of the menu associated with the ordered menu item for Company A from the menu information table M1, and determines whether the remaining quantity is "0" by referring to the out-of-stock table S of the obtained menu code. Specifically, when one "Hamburg steak for Company A" with menu code "1001" from delivery agent Company A is ordered, the CPU (management unit 230) of the control unit 201 obtains the menu code "0001" of the in-store menu item that is listed in the linked menu code of "Hamburg steak for Company A" with menu code "1001" from the menu information table M1. Then, it determines whether the remaining quantity in the out-of-stock table S for the obtained menu code "0001" is "0". If it is determined that the item is out of stock, the process proceeds to the next step S204.

[0055] In step S204, the CPU (transmission unit 220) of the control unit 201 sends a reply to the server 400 of delivery agent A, notifying the server 400 that the item is out of stock, and then ends the process.

[0056] On the other hand, if it is not determined in step S202 that the item is out of stock, the process proceeds to step S206, where the CPU (transmission unit 220) of the control unit 201 sends a reply to the server 400 of delivery agent A indicating that the order has been completed, and the process then ends. At the time of receiving an order, the remaining quantity corresponding to each menu code stored in the out-of-stock table S may be counted down by the number of orders to update the remaining quantity.

[0057] According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide an order management device 200 and a program that can reduce the burden of processing out-of-stock items by processing other corresponding menu items as out-of-stock when a menu item is out of stock. In other words, it is only necessary to manage the inventory status of in-store menu items, and it is not necessary to manage the inventory status of delivery menu items. This is particularly effective in reducing the processing burden when there are multiple delivery agents and out-of-stock processing is performed for each delivery agent.

[0058] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0059] In the above-described embodiment, it may be determined whether the menu itself is out of stock, or whether a menu item serving as an ingredient is out of stock in addition to or in addition to the menu itself, and based on the determination result, it may be determined whether a derived menu item using the common ingredient is available for order. For example, as will be described in detail later, if the menu item "hamburger steak" serving as an ingredient is out of stock, it may be determined that the derived menu item "cheese hamburger steak" using the common "hamburger steak" is also out of stock. Note that the determination is not limited to determining whether a menu item serving as an ingredient is out of stock, and it may also be determined whether an ingredient of the menu, such as beef or cabbage, is out of stock. For example, if beef is out of stock, it may be determined that a menu item using beef is out of stock.

[0060] 9 is an example of a menu information table M3 stored in the order management device 200. The menu information table M3 stores ingredient menus and derived menus. Here, the ingredient menus are an example of first menus, and the derived menus are an example of second menus.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 9, the menu information table M3 contains a menu code for identifying the menu, the menu name, the unit price, and a link menu code. Multiple link menu codes can be entered to accommodate cases where there are multiple common ingredients. Here, the link menu code is link information that is assigned to a derived menu and indicates an association with a common ingredient menu. In this example, for "Cheese Hamburger" in the derived menu with menu code "9002," link information is assigned to "Hamburger" in the ingredient menu with menu code "0101." Similarly, for "Hamburger & Fried Shrimp" in the derived menu with menu code "9003," link information is assigned to "Hamburger" in the ingredient menu with menu code "0101" and "Fried Shrimp" in "0102."

[0062] Figure 10 is an example of the out-of-stock table S2 stored in the order management device 200. As shown in Figure 10, the out-of-stock table S2 stored in the order management device 200 stores the remaining quantity as the inventory status for each ingredient menu item. Here, a remaining quantity of "0" shown in Figure 10 indicates an out-of-stock state, "10" indicates that the remaining quantity is "10", and "9999" indicates that no remaining quantity is set, i.e., the menu item is not managed for out-of-stock status.

[0063] For example, when one "Hamburg steak & fried shrimp" with menu code "9003" is ordered, the control unit 201 of the order management device 200 obtains the menu codes "0101" and "0102" of the ingredient menus listed in the linked menu code of the "Hamburg steak & fried shrimp" from the menu information table M3. The control unit 201 then determines whether the remaining quantities in the out-of-stock table S for the obtained menu codes "0101" and "0102" are "0". In the example of the out-of-stock table S shown in FIG. 10, the remaining quantity for menu code "0102" is "10", so it is not out of stock, but the remaining quantity for menu code "0101" is "0", so the control unit 201 of the order management device 200 determines that "Hamburg steak & fried shrimp" is out of stock. In this example, since it is clear that the remaining quantity for menu code "0101" is "0", a notification may be sent to the terminal operated by the user who ordered "Hamburger steak & fried shrimp" that "Hamburger steak" with menu code "0101" and its derived menus with link menu codes containing "0101" are out of stock. In other words, the user ordering the food may be notified that "Cheese Hamburger steak" with menu code "9002", which includes "Hamburger steak" with menu code "0101", is also out of stock, and the user may be informed of other out-of-stock menu items as well, to assist in selecting an alternative menu for the out-of-stock menu item.

[0064] According to this modified example, it is possible to provide an order management device 200 and a program that, when an ingredient runs out, can follow the link information to process other menu items that use the same ingredient as being out of stock. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 10. Order Management System 100 Order terminal device 200 Order Management Device 201 Control Unit 202 Storage section 203 Communications Department 204 Input section 205 Display section 206 Bus 300 printers 400 servers M Menu Information Table S Out of Stock Table

Claims

1. a storage unit that stores a first menu and an inventory status corresponding to the first menu; a management unit that, when receiving an order for a second menu item from an external device to which link information to the corresponding first menu item is attached, checks the stock status of the first menu item from the link information of the ordered second menu item, and if the result of checking the stock status shows that the first menu item is out of stock, sends a message to the external device that the second menu item is out of stock; An order management device comprising:

2. The order management device according to claim 1 , wherein the inventory status includes the inventory status of ingredients used in the first menu.

3. The order management device according to claim 2 , wherein the second menu item is provided with the link information to the first menu item that uses the common ingredient.

4. The order management device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein if the result of checking the inventory status of the ingredient indicates that the ingredient is out of stock, the device sends a message to the external device that the second menu item, as well as other second menu items that do not accept orders and use the same ingredient, are out of stock.

5. On the computer, A process of reading out a first menu and an inventory status corresponding to the first menu from a storage unit that stores the first menu and the inventory status; A program for executing a process in which, when an order for a second menu that has link information to the corresponding first menu is received from an external device, the program checks the stock status corresponding to the first menu from the link information of the ordered second menu, and if the result of checking the stock status shows that the first menu is out of stock, the program sends a message to the external device that the second menu is out of stock.

Images