Shipping date acquisition device, shipping date acquisition method, and shipping date acquisition program

Abstract

To provide a shipping date acquisition device, a shipping date acquisition method, and a shipping date acquisition program capable of calculating and acquiring a shipping date while considering an order receiving time period.SOLUTION: In an aspect of the present embodiment, (1) from an order acceptance closing time control master having a record containing a shipping origin, a shipping direction, a delivery agent, a date range, a time range, and additional days, there acquired a record which has a shipping origin warehouse, a shipping direction, and a delivery agent input in an order input window, and in which the order acceptance date input in the order input window is in the date range, and order acceptance time is in the time range, and (2) the shipping date is calculated and acquired by adding the additional days in the acquired record to the input order acceptance date.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a shipping date acquisition device, a shipping date acquisition method, and a shipping date acquisition program.

Background Art

[0002] In paragraph 0035 of Patent Document 1, it is described that "in step S300, the carry-over quantity calculation unit 131 first assigns the shipping order group with the current-day shipping deadline extracted in step S100 to the current-day delivery service." Also, in paragraph 0039 of Patent Document 1, it is described that "in step S500, the required number of services calculation unit 132 first extracts the shipping order group with the next-day shipping deadline from the undelivered shipping order group, the undelivered shipping order group, and the prospective shipping order group extracted in step S400."

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the field of performing operations considering the timing of shipping as described in the above Patent Document 1, there may be a demand for delivery with a short lead time such as same-day order and same-day shipping. At this time, it is necessary to accurately determine whether to ship on the current day or on a day after the next day according to the order time.

[0005] Here, conventionally, since this determination was made by a person, there may have been judgment errors. As a result, an incorrect shipping date may have been calculated, and in conjunction with this, an incorrect delivery date may have been communicated to the customer.

[0006] This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a shipping date acquisition device, a shipping date acquisition method, and a shipping date acquisition program that can calculate and acquire the shipping date while also taking into account the order time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objective, the present invention provides a shipping date acquisition device comprising a control unit and a storage unit, wherein the storage unit stores an order closing time control master including records having a record having a shipping source warehouse identification data for identifying the shipping source warehouse, a shipping destination identification data for identifying the shipping destination, a delivery company identification data for identifying the delivery company, a date range, a time range, and an additional number of days which is the number of days to be added to the order date in order to calculate the shipping date, and the control unit comprises a record acquisition means for acquiring records from the order closing time control master that have the shipping source warehouse identification data, shipping destination identification data, and delivery company identification data entered into the order input screen, the order date entered into the order input screen is within the date range, and the order time entered into the order input screen is within the time range, and a shipping date acquisition means for calculating and acquiring the shipping date by performing a process of adding the additional number of days in the record acquired by the record acquisition means to the entered order date.

[0008] Furthermore, the shipping date acquisition device according to the present invention is characterized in that the storage unit further stores a calendar master in which business days and non-business days are set, and the shipping date acquisition means calculates and acquires the shipping date by performing a process in which the non-business days in the calendar master are excluded from the input order date and the number of added days in the record acquired by the record acquisition means is added.

[0009] Furthermore, the shipping date acquisition device according to the present invention is characterized in that the record in the order closing time control master further has a normal classification or a special classification as a classification for identifying the type of record, and if the classification is the special classification, it has a shipping date instead of the number of days added, and the shipping date acquisition means acquires the shipping date in the acquired record if the classification in the record acquired by the record acquisition means is the special classification, and calculates and acquires the shipping date by performing the addition process if the classification in the record acquired by the record acquisition means is the normal classification.

[0010] Furthermore, the shipping date acquisition device according to the present invention is characterized in that the storage unit further stores a lead time master including the shipping source warehouse identification data, the delivery company identification data, the delivery destination identification data for identifying the delivery destination, and the lead time days which are the number of days of lead time from the shipping date to the delivery date, and the control unit further comprises lead time days acquisition means for acquiring lead time days associated with the shipping source warehouse identification data, delivery company identification data, and delivery destination identification data entered in the order input screen from the lead time master, and delivery date acquisition means for calculating and acquiring the delivery date by adding the lead time days acquired by the lead time days acquisition means to the shipping date acquired by the shipping date acquisition means.

[0011] Furthermore, the shipping date acquisition device according to the present invention is characterized in that the storage unit further stores a calendar master in which business days and non-business days are set, and the delivery date acquisition means calculates and acquires the delivery date by adding the lead time days acquired by the lead time days acquisition means to the shipping date acquired by the shipping date acquisition means, after excluding the non-business days in the calendar master.

[0012] Furthermore, the method for obtaining a shipping date according to the present invention is a method for obtaining a shipping date that is executed by an information processing device comprising a control unit and a storage unit, wherein the storage unit stores an order closing time control master that includes records having a shipping warehouse identification data for identifying the shipping source warehouse, shipping destination identification data for identifying the shipping destination, delivery company identification data for identifying the delivery company, a date range, a time range, and an additional number of days which is the number of days to be added to the order date in order to calculate the shipping date, and is characterized by including a record acquisition step executed by the control unit to acquire a record from the order closing time control master that has the shipping warehouse identification data, shipping destination identification data, and delivery company identification data entered into the order input screen, the order date entered into the order input screen is within the date range, and the order time entered into the order input screen is within the time range, and a shipping date acquisition step that calculates and obtains the shipping date by performing a process of adding the additional number of days in the record acquired in the record acquisition step to the entered order date.

[0013] Furthermore, the shipping date acquisition program according to the present invention is a shipping date acquisition program to be executed by an information processing device comprising a control unit and a storage unit, wherein the storage unit stores an order closing time control master including records having a record having a shipping source warehouse identification data for identifying the shipping source warehouse, a shipping destination identification data for identifying the shipping destination, a shipping carrier identification data for identifying the shipping carrier, a date range, a time range, and an additional number of days which is the number of days to be added to the order date in order to calculate the shipping date, and is characterized by including a record acquisition step to be executed by the control unit, which acquires a record from the order closing time control master that has the shipping source warehouse identification data, shipping destination identification data, and shipping carrier identification data entered in the order input screen, the order date entered in the order input screen is within the date range, and the order time entered in the order input screen is within the time range, and a shipping date acquisition step that calculates and acquires the shipping date by performing a process of adding the additional number of days in the record acquired in the record acquisition step to the entered order date. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, there is an effect that the shipping date can be calculated and obtained in consideration of the order receiving time.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a shipping date acquisition device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an order closing time control master. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of an order input screen. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a calendar master (January). [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a calendar master (February). [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a calendar master (March). [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a lead time master. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of order data at the stage when the shipping date is calculated. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of order data at the stage when the delivery date is calculated.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of a shipping date acquisition device, a shipping date acquisition method, and a shipping date acquisition program according to the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited by this embodiment.

[0017] [1. Overview] In a machine manufacturer or the like, in order to deliver products to customers in a short delivery period, delivery may be made by direct flights. For this reason, an operation of receiving an order and shipping on the same day may occur, but it is necessary to accurately determine whether to ship on the same day or the next day according to the order receiving time.

[0018] However, this determination is a complex one that takes into account the shipping origin warehouse, the shipping direction, the carrier, the order date, and the order time, etc. As a result, an incorrect shipping date may be calculated, and in turn, an incorrect delivery date may be communicated to the customer. In particular, when the time from order placement to shipment (lead time) is short, the time available for this determination is also short, making such errors more likely to occur.

[0019] Therefore, in the present embodiment, even when the time from order placement to shipment is short, the shortest shipping date can be automatically presented while taking into account the order input time. Specifically, at the time of order entry, not only the shipping origin warehouse, the shipping direction, the carrier, and the order date, but also the time at the order placement time are taken into account so that the shipping date can be calculated. In addition, when the warehouse operations are stopped due to reasons such as inventory counting, etc., if an exclusion date is set in advance, instead of calculating the shipping date, the preset shipping date can be obtained, so it is possible to handle irregular cases such as different shipping timings from normal.

[0020] As a result, in the present embodiment, it becomes possible to quickly and accurately grasp the shipping date, and as a result, the risk of communicating incorrect deliveries to customers is eliminated. In addition, in the present embodiment, it is also possible to handle irregular cases such as when the warehouse operations are stopped due to reasons such as inventory counting. Hereinafter, the specific configuration and operation will be described.

[0021] [2. Configuration] An example of the configuration of the shipping date acquisition device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the shipping date acquisition device 100.

[0022] The shipping date acquisition device 100 is a commercially available desktop personal computer. However, the shipping date acquisition device 100 is not limited to stationary information processing devices such as desktop personal computers, but may also be portable information processing devices such as commercially available notebook personal computers, PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), smartphones, or tablet personal computers.

[0023] The shipping date acquisition device 100 comprises a control unit 102, a communication interface unit 104, a storage unit 106, and an input / output interface unit 108. Each part of the shipping date acquisition device 100 is connected to communicate via any communication path.

[0024] The communication interface unit 104 connects the shipping date acquisition device 100 to the network 300 via a communication device such as a router and a wired or wireless communication line such as a dedicated line. The communication interface unit 104 has the function of communicating data with other devices via a communication line. Here, the network 300 has the function of connecting the shipping date acquisition device 100 and the server 200 so that they can communicate with each other, and is, for example, the Internet or a LAN (Local Area Network). Data such as various masters, which will be described later, may be stored in the server 200, for example.

[0025] The input / output interface unit 108 is connected to an input device 112 and an output device 114. The output device 114 can be a monitor (including a home television), a speaker, or a printer. The input device 112 can be a keyboard, mouse, microphone, or a monitor that works in conjunction with a mouse to provide pointing device functionality. In the following, the output device 114 may be referred to as the monitor 114, and the input device 112 may be referred to as the keyboard 112 or mouse 112.

[0026] The memory unit 106 stores various databases, tables, and files. The memory unit 106 also stores computer programs that work in cooperation with the OS (Operating System) to give instructions to the CPU (Central Processing Unit) to perform various processes. As the memory unit 106, for example, memory devices such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and ROM (Read Only Memory), fixed disk devices such as hard disks, flexible disks, and optical disks can be used.

[0027] The storage unit 106 includes, for example, an order deadline control master 106a, a calendar master 106b, a lead time master 106c, and order data 106d.

[0028] As shown in Figure 2, the order closing time control master 106a includes records that, for example, include shipping warehouse identification data (shipping warehouse) to identify the shipping warehouse, shipping destination identification data (shipping destination) to identify the shipping destination, shipping carrier identification data (shipping carrier) to identify the shipping carrier, a date range (applicable start date and applicable end date), a special setting category, a time range (closing time start and closing time end), and so on.

[0029] The special setting category is a category for identifying the type of record. The special setting category is either a normal category, which indicates the usual method in which the shipping date is calculated and obtained, or a special category, which indicates a special method in which the shipping date is obtained directly rather than calculated.

[0030] Records that have the "Normal" category as the "Special" category further have an "Additional Days" (plus days), which is the number of days added to the order date in order to calculate the shipping date, as shown in Figure 2. Records that have the "Normal" category as the "Special" category do not necessarily have an "End Date" for application; in this case, the entire period from the "Start Date" for application onwards becomes the range of the dates.

[0031] Records having the aforementioned special setting category have a shipping date instead of the added days (plus days), as shown in Figure 2. Note that the period from the start date to the end date of application for records having the aforementioned special setting category is, for example, a period during which warehouse operations are suspended for reasons such as inventory taking.

[0032] The calendar master 106b contains settings for business days and non-business days. In the calendar master 106b shown in Figures 4 to 6, days with a holiday flag set to "0" are weekdays, and days with a holiday flag set to "1" are holidays.

[0033] As shown in Figure 7, the lead time master 106c includes, for example, the shipping warehouse identification data (shipping warehouse), the delivery company identification data (delivery company), the delivery destination identification data (delivery destination) for identifying the delivery destination, and the lead time days, which is the number of days of the lead time from the shipping date to the delivery date.

[0034] As shown in Figures 8 and 9, the order data 106d includes, for example, the order number, the shipping source warehouse identification data (shipping source warehouse), the shipping destination identification data (shipping destination), the delivery company identification data (delivery company), the order date, the order time, the delivery destination identification data (delivery destination), the shipping date, the delivery date, and so on.

[0035] In order data 106d, the shipping source warehouse identification data (shipping source warehouse), the shipping destination identification data (shipping destination), the delivery company identification data (delivery company), the order date, and the order time are information entered on the order input screen. In contrast, the shipping date is information calculated and obtained by the shipping date acquisition unit 102b described later, and the delivery date is information calculated and obtained by the delivery date acquisition unit 102d described later.

[0036] The control unit 102 is a CPU or similar component that comprehensively controls the shipping date acquisition device 100. The control unit 102 has internal memory for storing control programs such as the OS, programs that define various processing procedures, and required data, and executes various information processing based on these stored programs.

[0037] Functionally, the control unit 102 includes, for example, (1) a record acquisition unit 102a as a record acquisition means that acquires records from the order deadline control master that have shipping source warehouse identification data, shipping destination identification data, and delivery company identification data entered on the order input screen, where the order date entered on the order input screen is within the date range and the order time entered on the order input screen is within the time range, and (2) the shipping date is calculated by adding the number of days to be added in the record acquired by the record acquisition means to the entered order date. The system includes: (3) a shipping date acquisition unit 102b as a means for obtaining the shipping date; (4) a lead time days acquisition unit 102c as a means for obtaining the lead time days associated with the shipping warehouse identification data, delivery company identification data, and delivery destination identification data entered in the order input screen from the lead time master; and (5) a delivery date acquisition unit 102d as a means for obtaining the delivery date by adding the lead time days acquired by the lead time days acquisition unit to the shipping date acquired by the shipping date acquisition unit.

[0038] The record acquisition unit 102a acquires records from the order closing time control master 106a (see Figure 2) that have the shipping source warehouse identification data, shipping destination identification data, and delivery company identification data entered on the order input screen, and whose order date entered on the order input screen (see Figure 3) falls within the date range and whose order time entered on the order input screen falls within the time range.

[0039] The shipping date acquisition unit 102b calculates and acquires the shipping date by adding the number of additional days (plus days) in the record acquired by the record acquisition unit 102a to the input order date.

[0040] The shipping date acquisition unit 102b may perform the process of adding the number of additional days (plus days) from the record acquired by the record acquisition unit 102a to the input order date, after excluding the non-business days in the calendar master 106b (see Figures 4 to 6).

[0041] The shipping date acquisition unit 102b may, if the category (special setting category) in the record acquired by the record acquisition unit 102a is the special category, acquire the shipping date in the acquired record, and if the category (special setting category) in the record acquired by the record acquisition unit 102a is the normal category, calculate and acquire the shipping date by performing the addition process.

[0042] The lead time days acquisition unit 102c acquires the lead time days from the lead time master 106c (see Figure 7) that are associated with the shipping warehouse identification data, delivery company identification data, and delivery destination identification data entered in the order entry screen.

[0043] The delivery date acquisition unit 102d calculates and acquires the delivery date by adding the lead time days acquired by the lead time days acquisition unit 102c to the shipping date acquired by the shipping date acquisition unit 102b.

[0044] The delivery date acquisition unit 102d may calculate and acquire the delivery date by adding the lead time days acquired by the lead time days acquisition unit 102c to the shipping date acquired by the shipping date acquisition unit 102b, after excluding the non-business days in the calendar master 106b (see Figures 4 to 6).

[0045] [3. Specific examples of processing] This section describes specific examples of the processing according to this embodiment. In this section, [3-1] describes a specific example of obtaining the shipping date, and [3-2] describes a specific example of obtaining the delivery date. Before that, however, the logic for calculating the shipping date and the logic for calculating the delivery date will be briefly explained.

[0046] (Logic for calculating shipping date) (1) First, the record acquisition unit 102a uses the shipping source warehouse, shipping destination, delivery company, and order date entered in the order entry as keys to refer to the order closing time control master 106a and acquire the corresponding record.

[0047] Specifically, the record acquisition unit 102a is: • The entered shipping warehouse, shipping destination, and delivery company must exactly match the information in the order cutoff time control master 106a. The entered order date is on or before the application end date in the order closing time control master 106a, and on or after the most recent application start date in the order closing time control master 106a. • The entered order time falls within the range from the start of the closing time to the end of the closing time in the order closing time control master 106a. The record is retrieved. Note that the record retrieval unit 102a does not refer to the end date for records for which an end date has not been set in the order closing time control master 106a.

[0048] (2) Next, the shipment date acquisition unit 102b refers to the special setting category in the acquired record and performs the following processing (2-1) or (2-2). (2-1) If the special setting category is "special", the shipping date acquisition unit 102b acquires the shipping date from the acquired record. (2-2) If the special setting category is "normal", the shipping date acquisition unit 102b refers to the calendar master 106b to identify non-business days, excludes the identified non-business days, and then calculates and acquires the shipping date by adding the number of extra days in the record acquired in (1) to the entered order date.

[0049] (Delivery date calculation logic) (3) Next, the lead time days acquisition unit 102c uses the shipping warehouse, delivery company, and delivery destination entered in the order entry as keys to refer to the lead time master 106c and acquire the corresponding record. (4) Finally, the delivery date acquisition unit 102d refers to the calendar master 106b to identify non-business days, excludes the identified non-business days, and then calculates and acquires the delivery date by adding the lead time days in the record acquired in (3) to the shipping date calculated in (2).

[0050] [3-1. Obtaining the shipping date] This section provides a detailed explanation of the process leading up to obtaining the shipping date. In this section [3-1], it is assumed that the order deadline control master 106a is pre-configured as shown in Figure 2, and the calendar master 106b is pre-configured as shown in Figures 4 to 6. Furthermore, in this section [3-1], each record will be identified using the number assigned to the left of each record in the order deadline control master 106a in Figure 2. For example, a record with the number "1" will be referred to as "Record 1".

[0051] When the shipping source warehouse, shipping destination, delivery company, order date, order time, and delivery address are entered from the order entry screen shown in Figure 3, the portion to the left of the arrow in the order data 106d in Figure 8 is generated. Then, the shipping date is calculated and retrieved for each order detail in the order data 106d in Figure 8.

[0052] Here, each order detail in the order data 106d in Figure 8 can be classified into the following three patterns depending on how the shipping date is obtained. Specifically, the first pattern is one in which the shipping date is calculated without considering holidays (order details J0001, J0002, J0004, J0008, and J0011), the second pattern is one in which the shipping date is calculated considering holidays (order details J0005 to J0007), and the third pattern is one in which the shipping date is obtained directly rather than calculated (order details J0009 and J0010). Each pattern will be explained below.

[0053] (1) Pattern 1: A pattern that calculates the shipping date without considering holidays. This section explains how to calculate the shipping date without considering holidays, using the order details for J0002 as an example from among the order details for J0001, J0002, J0004, J0008, and J0011.

[0054] In the order entry screen shown in Figure 3, when the shipping source warehouse "Kansai Center", shipping destination "Destination X", delivery company "Delivery Company A", order date "2022 / 1 / 6", order time "15:00", and delivery destination "Delivery Destination B" are entered, the record acquisition unit 102a acquires record 2 from the order closing time control master 106a shown in Figure 2 as a record that matches this entered information.

[0055] Next, the shipping date acquisition unit 102b acquires "2022 / 1 / 7" as the shipping date by adding the number of days (1) from record 2 acquired by the record acquisition unit 102a to the input order date "2022 / 1 / 6".

[0056] Since the remaining order details can be retrieved using the same method, including the shipping date, a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0057] (2) Second pattern: A pattern that calculates the shipping date taking holidays into consideration. This section explains how to calculate the shipping date while taking holidays into account, using order details J0005 as an example from among order details J0005 to J0007.

[0058] In the order entry screen shown in Figure 3, when the shipping source warehouse "Kanto Center", shipping direction "Y direction", delivery company "Delivery company B", order date "2022 / 1 / 6", order time "12:00", and delivery destination "Delivery destination B" are entered, the record acquisition unit 102a acquires record 4 from the order closing time control master 106a in Figure 2 as a record that matches this entered information.

[0059] Referring to the calendar master 106b in Figure 4, the three days from 2022 / 1 / 8 to 2022 / 1 / 10 have a holiday flag of "1" and are holidays. In this case, the shipping date acquisition unit 102b excludes the three days from 2022 / 1 / 8 to 2022 / 1 / 10 from the input order date "2022 / 1 / 6", and then adds the number of days plus 2 from record 4 acquired by the record acquisition unit 102a to obtain "2022 / 1 / 11" as the shipping date.

[0060] Since the remaining order details can be retrieved using the same method, including the shipping date, a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0061] (3) Third pattern: A pattern where the shipping date is obtained directly rather than calculated. This section explains the pattern of directly obtaining the shipping date rather than calculating it, using the order details for J0009 as an example, out of the order details for J0009 and J0010.

[0062] In the order entry screen shown in Figure 3, when the shipping source warehouse "Tohoku Center", shipping destination "Y area", delivery company "Delivery company A", order date "2022 / 2 / 1", order time "12:00", and delivery destination "Delivery destination C" are entered, the record acquisition unit 102a acquires record 8 from the order deadline control master 106a in Figure 2 as a record that matches this entered information.

[0063] In this case, the special setting category in the acquired record 8 is "special". In this case, the shipping date acquisition unit 102b does not calculate the shipping date, but instead acquires the shipping date "2022 / 2 / 7" from the acquired record 8 as is.

[0064] Since the remaining order details can be retrieved using the same method, including the shipping date, a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0065] As explained in item (3) above, by setting "Start Date 2022 / 2 / 1 to End Date 2022 / 2 / 3" in record 8 of Figure 2 as the period during which warehouse operations will be suspended, it is possible to perform a special procedure where, instead of calculating the shipping date in the usual way when an order is received during that period, a predetermined shipping date after the end of that period is obtained.

[0066] The process described in section [3-1] above generates the order data 106d shown in Figure 8, which includes the shipping date.

[0067] [3-2. Obtaining the delivery date] This section provides a detailed explanation of the process from obtaining the shipping date to obtaining the delivery date. In this section [3-2], it is assumed that the lead time master 106c is pre-configured as shown in Figure 7.

[0068] Here, each order detail in the order data 106d in Figure 8 can be classified into the following two patterns depending on how the delivery date is obtained. The first pattern is one in which the delivery date is calculated without considering holidays (order details J0001 and J0004-J0011), and the second pattern is one in which the delivery date is calculated considering holidays (order detail J0002). The following describes each pattern.

[0069] (1) Pattern 1: A pattern in which the delivery date is calculated without considering holidays. This section explains how to calculate the delivery date without considering holidays, using order details J0005 as an example from the order details J0001 and J0004-J0011.

[0070] As explained in (2) of [3-1], when the shipping warehouse "Kanto Center", delivery company "Delivery Company B", and delivery destination "Delivery Destination B" are entered in the order entry screen shown in Figure 3 for the order details of J0005, the lead time days acquisition unit 102c acquires a record from the lead time master 106c in Figure 7 that matches this entered information, with J0005 added and hatched. The lead time days acquisition unit 102c then acquires the lead time days "1 day" from the acquired record.

[0071] Next, the delivery date acquisition unit 102d acquires "2022 / 1 / 12" as the delivery date by adding the lead time days "1 day" acquired by the lead time days acquisition unit 102 to the shipment date "2022 / 1 / 11" acquired by the shipment date acquisition unit 102b for the order details of J0005.

[0072] The lead time and delivery date for the remaining order details can be obtained in the same way, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0073] (2) Second pattern: A pattern in which the delivery date is calculated taking holidays into consideration. This section explains how to calculate the delivery date while taking holidays into account, using the order details for J0002 as an example.

[0074] As explained in (1) of [3-1], when the shipping source warehouse "Kansai Center", delivery company "Delivery Company A", and delivery destination "Delivery Destination B" are entered in the order entry screen shown in Figure 3 for the order details of J0002, the lead time days acquisition unit 102c acquires a record from the lead time master 106c in Figure 7 that matches this entered information, with J0002 added and hatched. The lead time days acquisition unit 102c then acquires the lead time days "1 day" from the acquired record.

[0075] Referring to the calendar master 106b in Figure 4, the three days from 2022 / 1 / 8 to 2022 / 1 / 10 have a holiday flag of "1" and are holidays. In this case, the delivery date acquisition unit 102d acquires "2022 / 1 / 11" as the delivery date by adding the lead time days "1 day" acquired by the lead time days acquisition unit 102c to the shipment date "2022 / 1 / 7" acquired by the shipment date acquisition unit 102b for the order details of J0002, which excludes the three days from 2022 / 1 / 8 to 2022 / 1 / 10.

[0076] As described above in section [3-2], the order data 106d shown in Figure 9 is generated, which includes the delivery date in addition to the shipping date.

[0077] [4. Summary of this embodiment] As explained above, the shipping date acquisition device 100 according to this embodiment can calculate and acquire the shipping date while also taking into account the order time, as described in (1) and (2) of [3-1]. This makes it possible to acquire an accurate shipping date without errors, even when the time from order to shipment is short.

[0078] Furthermore, according to the shipping date acquisition device 100 of this embodiment, as explained in [3-1](3), if an order is received during a period when warehouse operations are suspended, instead of calculating the shipping date, it is possible to acquire a predetermined shipping date after the end of that period. This makes it possible to acquire an appropriate shipping date even in special circumstances, such as when warehouse operations are suspended for inventory work or the like.

[0079] Furthermore, according to the shipment date acquisition device 100 of this embodiment, as explained in [3-2], the acquired shipment date can be used to calculate and acquire the delivery date to be communicated to the customer. This eliminates the possibility of, for example, informing the customer of an incorrect delivery date.

[0080] [5. Contribution to the United Nations-led Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)] This embodiment can contribute to improving operational efficiency and promoting appropriate management decisions by companies, thereby contributing to SDGs Goals 8 and 9.

[0081] Furthermore, this embodiment can contribute to reducing waste and promoting paperless and digital processes, thereby contributing to SDGs Goals 12, 13, and 15.

[0082] Furthermore, this embodiment can contribute to strengthening control and governance, thereby enabling contributions to SDG Goal 16.

[0083] [6. Other Embodiments] In addition to the embodiments described above, the present invention may be implemented in various different embodiments within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims.

[0084] For example, among the processes described in the embodiments, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or all or part of the processes described as being performed manually can be performed automatically by known methods.

[0085] Furthermore, the processing procedures, control procedures, specific names, information including parameters such as registration data and search conditions for each process, screen examples, and database configuration shown in this specification and in the drawings may be changed at will unless otherwise specified.

[0086] Furthermore, with respect to the shipping date acquisition device 100, each component shown in the illustration is a functional concept and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as shown.

[0087] For example, the processing functions of the shipping date acquisition device 100, particularly those performed in the control unit, may be implemented entirely or partially by a CPU and a program interpreted and executed by the CPU, or they may be implemented as wired logic hardware. The program is recorded on a non-temporary computer-readable recording medium containing programmed instructions for the information processing device to execute the processing described in this embodiment, and is mechanically read by the shipping date acquisition device 100 as needed. That is, a storage unit such as ROM or HDD (Hard Disk Drive) contains a computer program that works in cooperation with the OS to give instructions to the CPU and perform various processing tasks. This computer program is executed by being loaded into RAM and works in cooperation with the CPU to constitute the control unit.

[0088] Furthermore, this computer program may be stored on an application program server connected to the shipping date acquisition device 100 via any network, and all or part of it can be downloaded as needed.

[0089] Furthermore, the program for executing the processing described in this embodiment may be stored on a non-temporary computer-readable recording medium, or it may be configured as a program product. Here, "recording medium" includes any "portable physical medium" such as memory cards, USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory, SD (Secure Digital) cards, flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, EPROMs (Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), EEPROMs (Registered Trademark) (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory), CD-ROMs (Compact Disk Read Only Memory), MOs (Magneto-Optical disks), DVDs (Digital Versatile Disks), and Blu-ray (Registered Trademark) Discs.

[0090] Furthermore, "program" refers to a data processing method described in any language or writing method, regardless of its format, such as source code or binary code. Note that "program" is not necessarily limited to a single, monolithic structure; it also includes distributed structures consisting of multiple modules or libraries, and those that work in cooperation with other programs, such as an operating system, to achieve their functions. Regarding the specific configuration and reading procedures for reading the recording medium in each device shown in the embodiments, as well as the installation procedures after reading, well-known configurations and procedures can be used.

[0091] The various databases stored in the memory unit are memory devices such as RAM and ROM, fixed disk devices such as hard disks, flexible disks, and optical disks, and store various programs, tables, databases, and web page files used for various processes and website provision.

[0092] Furthermore, the shipping date acquisition device 100 may be configured as an information processing device such as a known personal computer or workstation, or as an information processing device to which any peripheral device is connected. Alternatively, the shipping date acquisition device 100 may be implemented by installing software (including programs or data, etc.) that enables the processing described in this embodiment onto the device.

[0093] Furthermore, the specific forms of distribution and integration of the devices are not limited to those shown in the figures, and all or part of them can be configured by functionally or physically distributing and integrating them in any unit according to various additions or functional loads. In other words, the embodiments described above may be implemented in any combination, or the embodiments may be implemented selectively. [Industrial applicability]

[0094] The present invention is useful, for example, in industries where the lead time from order to shipment is short and same-day order and same-day shipment is possible, and is particularly useful in manufacturers, wholesalers, manufacturers, and retailers. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0095] 100 Shipment date acquisition device 102 Control Unit 102a Record acquisition unit 102b Shipping Date Acquisition Section 102c Lead time day acquisition unit 102d Delivery Date Acquisition Section 104 Communication Interface Section 106 Storage section 106a Order Deadline Control Master 106b Calendar Master 106c Lead Time Master 106d Order Data 108 Input / Output Interface Section 112 Input device 114 Output device 200 servers 300 Networks

Claims

1. A shipping date acquisition device comprising a control unit and a storage unit, The aforementioned storage unit includes: The system stores an order closing time control master containing records that include shipping warehouse identification data to identify the shipping warehouse, shipping destination identification data to identify the shipping destination, shipping carrier identification data to identify the shipping carrier, a date range, a time range, and an additional number of days which is the number of days added to the order date to calculate the shipping date. The control unit, A record acquisition means that acquires records from the aforementioned order deadline control master that have shipping source warehouse identification data, shipping destination identification data, and delivery company identification data entered on the order entry screen, where the order date entered on the order entry screen falls within the aforementioned date range, and the order time entered on the order entry screen falls within the aforementioned time range. A shipping date acquisition means calculates the shipping date by adding the number of days to be added in the record acquired by the record acquisition means to the input order date, and obtains the shortest shipping date. To be equipped, A device for acquiring the shipping date, characterized by the following features.

2. The aforementioned storage unit includes: A calendar master with business days and non-business days set is further stored. The means for obtaining the shipping date is, The process involves adding the number of days to be added in the record obtained by the record acquisition means to the entered order date to calculate the shipping date, and if, based on the calendar master, non-business days are included between the entered order date and the calculated shipping date, the number of non-business days is further added to the calculated shipping date to update the calculated shipping date and obtain the shortest shipping date. A shipping date acquisition device according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

3. The record in the aforementioned order deadline control master is The system further includes a normal classification or a special classification as a classification for identifying the type of record, and if the classification is the special classification, the shipping date is used instead of the number of days added. The means for obtaining the shipping date is, If the category in the record obtained by the record acquisition means is the special category, the shipment date in the obtained record is acquired. If the category in the record obtained by the record acquisition means is the normal category, the shipping date is calculated and obtained by performing the addition process. A shipping date acquisition device according to claim 1, characterized by the following:

4. The aforementioned storage unit includes: A lead time master is further stored, which includes the aforementioned shipping source warehouse identification data, the aforementioned delivery carrier identification data, delivery destination identification data for identifying the delivery destination, and the lead time days, which is the number of days of the lead time from the shipping date to the delivery date. The control unit, Lead time days acquisition means that acquires the lead time days associated with the shipping warehouse identification data, delivery company identification data, and delivery destination identification data entered in the order entry screen from the aforementioned lead time master, A delivery date acquisition means calculates and obtains the delivery date by adding the lead time days obtained by the lead time days acquisition means to the shipping date obtained by the shipping date acquisition means, To further equip, A shipping date acquisition device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by the above.

5. The aforementioned storage unit includes: A calendar master with business days and non-business days set is further stored. The means for obtaining the delivery date is, The delivery date is calculated by adding the lead time days obtained by the lead time days acquisition means to the shipping date obtained by the shipping date acquisition means, and if there are non-business days between the obtained shipping date and the calculated delivery date based on the calendar master, the number of non-business days is further added to the calculated delivery date to update and acquire the calculated delivery date. The shipping date acquisition device according to claim 4, characterized by the above.

6. A method for obtaining a shipping date, which is performed by an information processing device comprising a control unit and a storage unit, The aforementioned storage unit includes: The system stores an order closing time control master containing records that include shipping warehouse identification data to identify the shipping warehouse, shipping destination identification data to identify the shipping destination, shipping carrier identification data to identify the shipping carrier, a date range, a time range, and an additional number of days which is the number of days added to the order date to calculate the shipping date. The control unit executes the following: A record acquisition step that acquires records from the aforementioned order deadline control master that have shipping source warehouse identification data, shipping destination identification data, and delivery company identification data entered on the order entry screen, where the order date entered on the order entry screen falls within the aforementioned date range, and the order time entered on the order entry screen falls within the aforementioned time range. A shipping date acquisition step calculates the shipping date by adding the number of days to be added in the record acquired in the record acquisition step to the input order date, and obtains the shortest shipping date. Including, A method for obtaining the shipping date characterized by the following.

7. A shipping date acquisition program to be executed by an information processing device comprising a control unit and a storage unit, The aforementioned storage unit includes: The system stores an order closing time control master containing records that include shipping warehouse identification data to identify the shipping warehouse, shipping destination identification data to identify the shipping destination, shipping carrier identification data to identify the shipping carrier, a date range, a time range, and an additional number of days which is the number of days added to the order date to calculate the shipping date. To be performed by the control unit, A record acquisition step that acquires records from the aforementioned order deadline control master that have shipping source warehouse identification data, shipping destination identification data, and delivery company identification data entered on the order entry screen, where the order date entered on the order entry screen falls within the aforementioned date range, and the order time entered on the order entry screen falls within the aforementioned time range. A shipping date acquisition step calculates the shipping date by adding the number of days to be added in the record acquired in the record acquisition step to the input order date, and obtains the shortest shipping date. Including, A shipping date acquisition program characterized by the following.

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