Finance support device and finance support method

Abstract

To enable timely and flexible fund securement based on credit in a whole supply chain, while suitably eliminating limitation caused by business relationship between transacting parties of the supply chain or between the transacting party and a financial institution.SOLUTION: A finance support device 100 includes: a storage device 101 which holds members of a supply chain about products, and manufacture of the products or respective information pieces on sales; and an arithmetic device 104 which calculates capital requirements of the member who manufactures or sells the number according to a sales condition, of the products or the component based on a sales condition of the products and a cost for manufacturing or selling the products or components, and appropriates a credit frame which the member of at least one of the supply chains secures with respect to a financial institution, for all or a part of the capital requirements.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a finance support device and a finance support method.

Background Art

[0002] Among buyers and suppliers constituting a supply chain, there are often large differences in their financial strength and social credit. For suppliers with insufficient creditworthiness, depending on the order details and payment timing from the buyer, there may be cases where it is difficult to secure funds such as for material procurement. Therefore, in response to the above problems, a technology has been proposed in which digital debts are issued based on the credit limit of a buyer or the like with high creditworthiness in the supply chain, and these are used for payments and exchanges within the supply chain.

[0003] As a specific example of this technology, for example, there is a technology (see Patent Document 1) that accelerates cash collection and makes appropriate cash flow regardless of the position in the hierarchical structure of the supply chain.

[0004] This technology includes a storage device that holds information on a credit limit issued by a financial institution with a predetermined member of the supply chain as the debtor and guaranteed cash convertibility, information on digital currency issued based on the credit limit for the predetermined member, and account information of each member of the supply chain. When a payment application in digital currency from the terminal of the predetermined member who is the order placer in the supply chain to another member who is the order receiver in the supply chain is received, digital currency corresponding to the payment amount indicated by the payment application is divided from the digital currency of the predetermined member whose information is held in the storage device, and the digital currency corresponding to the payment amount is distributed to the terminal of the other member. This is a payment process. When a cash conversion application for the digital currency is received from the terminal of the other member, the account information of the other member is specified in the storage device, and cash with the face value indicated by the cash conversion application is deposited from the cash account associated with the credit limit to the account indicated by the account information. This is a conversion process. It is characterized by comprising an arithmetic device that executes the above processes. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2021-140371 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] According to the conventional technology described above, credit lines are set based on the buyer's creditworthiness, enabling financing under more favorable conditions (such as lower interest rates) than the Tier's own creditworthiness. Furthermore, it is expected that accounts receivable can be transferred at will as digital receivables, and early cash conversion before the payment due date will also be possible. However, further challenges remain due to circumstances unique to supply chains. When there are no direct transactions or capital relationships between companies in a supply chain, and each company uses different financial institutions, it is difficult to apply the conventional technologies mentioned above directly.

[0007] Originally, financial institutions set credit lines based on the type of business, financial condition, and past financial performance of their client companies, and it is unlikely that they would easily set credit lines or conduct debt transactions with companies other than their client companies. This situation is particularly disadvantageous when companies need to secure new suppliers and expand sales channels in order to rapidly increase production in response to a surge in demand. It is easily affected.

[0008] Consequently, factors such as a poor track record or small business scale at a particular tier in the supply chain can directly lead to the refusal or reduction of credit lines, meaning difficulty in securing necessary funds, which could become a bottleneck in production and sales within that supply chain. Therefore, the objective of the present invention is to provide a technology that enables timely and flexible fund securing based on creditworthiness throughout the entire supply chain, while appropriately eliminating restrictions arising from transaction relationships between parties in the supply chain and with financial institutions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention, which solves the above problems, is characterized by comprising: a storage device that holds information on members of a product supply chain and information on the manufacturing or sales of the product by those members; a processing unit that calculates the funding needs of members who manufacture or sell a number of the product or its components in proportion to the sales status, based on the sales status of the product indicated by the sales information and the cost of manufacturing or selling the product or its components indicated by the manufacturing or sales information; and a computing unit that performs a predetermined processing to allocate a credit line secured by at least one member of the supply chain with a financial institution to all or part of the funding needs. Furthermore, the present invention provides a financing support method in which an information processing device is equipped with a storage device that holds information on members of a supply chain relating to a product and information on the manufacturing or sales of the product by said members, and performs a process of calculating the funding needs of a member that manufactures or sells a number of the product or its components corresponding to the sales status, based on the sales status of the product indicated by the sales information and the cost of manufacturing or selling the product or its components indicated by the manufacturing or sales information, and a predetermined process of allocating a credit line secured by at least one member of the supply chain with a financial institution to all or part of the funding needs. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, it becomes possible to secure funds in a timely and flexible manner, taking into account creditworthiness throughout the entire supply chain, while appropriately eliminating restrictions arising from transaction relationships between parties in the supply chain and with financial institutions. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a network configuration diagram including the finance support device of this embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of the hardware configuration of the finance support device in this embodiment. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the configuration of the account information database in this embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of the configuration of the sales information database in this embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of the configuration of the loan information database in this embodiment. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of the configuration of the supply chain information database in this embodiment. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example of the configuration of the BOM management DB in this embodiment. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of the overall business flow applying the finance support method of this embodiment. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of the overall flow of the finance support method in this embodiment. [Figure 10] This figure shows an example of the sales volume calculation flow in the finance support method of this embodiment. [Figure 11] This figure shows an example of the loan facility allocation determination flow in the financing support method of this embodiment. [Figure 12] This figure shows an example of the credit processing flow in the finance support method of this embodiment. [Figure 13] This figure shows an example of the data provision decision flow in the finance support method of this embodiment. [Figure 14] This figure shows an example of the production cost calculation flow in the finance support method of this embodiment. [Figure 15] This figure shows an example of the component information acquisition flow in the finance support method of this embodiment. [Figure 16] This figure shows an example of the flow for determining the borrower and loan facility in the financing support method of this embodiment. [Figure 17] This is a diagram showing an example of a screen in this embodiment. **Mode for Carrying Out the Invention**

[0012] <Network Configuration> The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram including a finance support device 100 according to this embodiment. The finance support device 100 shown in FIG. 1 is a computer that can timely and flexibly secure funds based on the credit in the entire supply chain while appropriately eliminating restrictions resulting from transaction relationships between parties in the supply chain and financial institutions.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the finance support device 100 according to this embodiment is communicably connected to a user terminal 200, a production management system 300, a sales management system 400, and a financial institution system 500 via a network 1. Therefore, these may be collectively referred to as a finance support system 10.

[0014] The finance support device 100 according to this embodiment can be said to be a server device that collects and manages necessary data from the supply chain related to various products, appropriately processes it using a predetermined algorithm, and provides information and services to buyers, suppliers, or financial institutions, etc. in the supply chain. Note that the network configuration illustrated in FIG. 1 is an example, and one or more systems or terminals connectable to the network 1 may be configured to have the functions and configurations of the finance support device 100 according to this embodiment either individually or in cooperation.

[0015] Among the above-described network configurations, the user terminal 200 is a terminal used by various parties such as business operators constituting the supply chain and financial institutions that provide funds through financing to such business operators. Specifically, a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, etc. can be assumed. In this embodiment, as an example, a terminal operated by a person in charge of the financial institution system 500 is assumed.

[0016] Furthermore, the Production Management System 300 is a business management system operated by buyers and suppliers in the supply chain, and it stores and manages various information such as the progress and results of production operations for products, costs, and lead times.

[0017] Furthermore, the Sales Management System 400 is a business management system operated by buyers, suppliers, and sales personnel in the supply chain. It stores and manages various information such as the progress and results of sales operations for products, costs, and lead times.

[0018] Furthermore, the financial institution system 500 is the business system of a financial institution that has a business relationship with the buyers, suppliers, or salespeople in the aforementioned supply chain. This financial institution is envisioned to be a bank or similar institution that conducts credit checks on buyers, suppliers, and salespeople, sets up credit lines, and provides loans as requested. <Hardware Configuration> Furthermore, the hardware configuration of the finance support device 100 in this embodiment is as shown in Figure 2 below.

[0019] In other words, the finance support device 100 comprises a storage device 101, a memory 103, an arithmetic unit 104, and a communication device 105.

[0020] Of these, the storage device 101 is composed of an appropriate non-volatile storage element such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) or a hard disk drive.

[0021] Furthermore, memory 103 is composed of volatile memory elements such as RAM (Random Access Memory).

[0022] Furthermore, the arithmetic unit 104 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes programs 102 stored in the storage device 101 by reading them into the memory 103, and performs overall control of the device itself, as well as performing various judgments, calculations, and control processes.

[0023] Furthermore, the communication device 105 is envisioned to be a network interface card, etc., that connects to network 1 and handles communication processing with user terminals 200, production management system 300, sales management system 400, and financial institution system 500.

[0024] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 may also include an input device that accepts direct key input or voice input from designated users, and an output device such as a display that shows processed data.

[0025] Furthermore, in addition to the program 102 for implementing the functions necessary for the finance support device of this embodiment, the storage device 101 also stores at least the account information DB 125, sales information DB 126, loan information DB 127, supply chain information DB 128, and BOM management DB 129. However, details of these databases will be described later. <Example Data Structure> Next, we will describe the various types of information used by the finance support device 100 of this embodiment. Figure 3 shows an example of the account information DB 125 in this embodiment.

[0026] In this embodiment, the account information DB125 is a database in which stakeholders such as buyers, suppliers, and sales representatives, who are members of the supply chain, store various information regarding credit lines and their terms and conditions that they have secured with financial institutions.

[0027] This account information DB125 is a collection of records that link data such as attributes, company name, trading financial institution, credit line, and interest rate / year to a user ID that uniquely identifies each of the aforementioned stakeholders as a key. This data is provided from the appropriate business system of the stakeholder or from the financial institution system 400 of their trading partners.

[0028] Figure 4 also shows an example of the sales information DB 126 in this embodiment. The sales information DB 126 in this embodiment is a database that stores information provided by the stakeholders' sales management system 400 as described above.

[0029] Specifically, the sales information DB126 uses the supplier's user ID as a key and includes data such as the product model number, part name, company, trading partner (supplier), trading partner (sales destination), sales period, BOM structure (higher-level parts in the BOM), total number of finished products sold, number of shipments per record, and information disclosure (user IDs that can be used as information providers). It is a collection of records linked together.

[0030] Figure 5 also shows an example of the loan information DB127 in this embodiment. The loan information DB127 in this embodiment is a database that stores information such as the projects that financial institutions have financed, the details and conditions of the loans, the purpose, the supply chains of the financed projects, the production costs of stakeholders in the supply chain, and the borrowing status.

[0031] Specifically, the loan information DB127 is a collection of records that link data such as the name of the project in question, the ID of the lending financial institution, the period and delivery date, the total loan amount and limit for the entire project, the ID of the intermediary company that has a loan agreement with the financial institution and is intending to provide the loan limit to suppliers in the supply chain, the ID of the borrowing company that receives the loan limit through the intermediary company and its supply chain, the loan amount, sales / production and construction status on a project-by-project basis, loan purpose, transaction tree (ordering and receiving relationships for parts, etc., along the hierarchical structure of the supply chain), production costs, the borrowing status of the company in question (borrowing status of the borrowing company that receives the loan limit), and the credit assessment program (considerations and calculation formulas when assessing creditworthiness).

[0032] Figure 6 also shows an example of the supply chain information DB128 in this embodiment. The supply chain information DB128 in this embodiment is a database that stores information for each supply chain.

[0033] Specifically, the supply chain information DB128 is a collection of records that link data such as a unique ID that identifies the supply chain, a user ID that uniquely identifies the buyer, a user ID that uniquely identifies the supplier to which the order is placed, a classification of the work performed in the supply chain, a BOMID that uniquely identifies the BOM of the products etc. manufactured in the supply chain, a transaction tree that shows the supply chain structure, delivery date, work equipment, sales forecast, number of orders, finished goods inventory, estimated cost, work period, and information disclosure (user IDs that can be accepted as recipients of information).

[0034] Figure 7 also shows an example of the BOM management DB 129 in this embodiment. The BOM management DB 129 in this embodiment is a database that stores information on BOMs, which are bills of materials for products and parts manufactured in the supply chain described above.

[0035] Specifically, the BOM management DB129 is a collection of records that link data such as the BOM name, category, higher-level structure, constituent organizations, and lot number, using an ID that uniquely identifies the BOM as the key. <Overall Business Overview> Here, we will outline the workflow when applying the finance support method of this embodiment. Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the overall workflow when applying the finance support method of this embodiment.

[0036] Here, we will illustrate the business flow using the following as examples: a distributor S (sales) and its operating system in the supply chain; a buyer B and its operating system; a supplier manufacturer X and its operating system; a subcontractor manufacturer Y of manufacturer X and its operating system; a subcontractor manufacturer Z of manufacturer Y and its operating system; and a financial institution A with which manufacturer X has a business relationship and its operating system.

[0037] For example, in the process of calculating sales figures and production costs, retailer S, buyer B, and manufacturing companies X-Z (Tier) register business information using their respective operating systems. Execute towards the performance support device 100.

[0038] In this case, the information to be registered would include sales and revenue forecast information from retailer S, and sales and manufacturing plan information from buyer B and manufacturers X through Z.

[0039] Furthermore, the tasks involved in calculating the loan amount include, for a specific company (manufacturer Z in the example above) identified by the finance support device 100 as having a shortage of funds relative to production costs (insufficient credit line), manufacturer X notifying financial institution A of the necessary information to allow the provision of its own credit line, while financial institution A carries out credit assessment and various procedures for the loan agreement between manufacturer Z and financial institution A. <Example Flow: Overall Flow> The actual procedure of the finance support method in this embodiment will be described below with reference to the diagrams. The various operations corresponding to the finance support method described below are realized by a program that the finance support device 100 reads into memory or the like and executes. This program consists of code for performing the various operations described below.

[0040] Figure 9 shows an example of the flow of the finance support method in this embodiment. In this case, the finance support device 100 obtains various information such as accounts and credit lines of financial institutions of buyers, suppliers, or sales partners from the business systems of the buyers, etc., or from appropriate terminals, and registers this information in the account information DB 125 (S01).

[0041] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 acquires sales information from the business systems of sales (sales support companies) affiliated with the aforementioned buyers and suppliers, or from appropriate terminals, and stores this information in the sales information DB 126 (S11).

[0042] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 aggregates the sales information obtained in S11 from each sales support company and makes a forecast for increased production of products, etc., in the supply chain that was included in the aggregation (S12).

[0043] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 refers to the BOM management DB 129 with respect to the products handled in the supply chain described above and generates a product configuration tree (S13).

[0044] In this case, as shown in the flowchart of Figure 15, the finance support device 100 acquires information on the product names (part names) and supply chains that are subject to the production increase forecast in S11 and S12 (S131).

[0045] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 uses the product name obtained in S131 as a key to retrieve the part name and sales period values ​​from the BOM configuration of the sales information DB 126 (S132).

[0046] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 uses the relevant part name and sales period as keys to obtain the BOMID and various related information from the BOM management DB 129 (S133), and generates a product configuration tree based on this.

[0047] At this time, the finance support device 100 determines whether the components of the product to be increased in production are manufactured in multiple supply chains, that is, whether they are handled redundantly in different supply chains.

[0048] If the above determination reveals duplicates, the finance support device 100 returns to process S12 and reconstructs the tree structure.

[0049] On the other hand, if the above determination indicates no overlap, the finance support device 100 calculates the sales volume at which increased production of a specific product in a particular supply chain may be necessary (S14). At this time, for example, as shown in the flow in Figure 10, the device predicts the quantity and value at which each Tier, i.e., supplier in the supply chain will produce, based on the sales volume indicated by the BOM management DB 129 and sales information obtained from sales in the supply chain that includes the buyer "SSS".

[0050] For example, let's say that based on sales information obtained from sales 1, 2, and 3, the sales figures for part LLL (wheels) are predicted to be 100 units for buyer SSS in Tier X (for EV bikes) and 32 units for buyer TTTT in Tier 0000 (for pitching machines). This prediction itself could be calculated by using the increase or decrease in sales per unit period in the most recent period (e.g., 25 units / week) to estimate sales for a certain period in the future (e.g., 4 weeks ahead) (e.g., 25 x 4 = 100 units), or simply by interpreting the number of orders that have not yet been produced as the number of sales.

[0051] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 obtains the financial status and production (inventory) status of each Tier from the business systems of the Tier, i.e., buyers and suppliers, such as production management systems 300 and sales management systems 400 (S22). At this time, as shown in Figure 10, the quantity to be actually produced is calculated by subtracting the inventory from the sales quantity calculated in S14.

[0052] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 calculates the funds required for production of the aforementioned specific product at Tier, i.e., the amount of additional financing (S23). This calculation can be performed by multiplying the production volume obtained in S22 by the manufacturing cost of the product (the value in the assumed cost column of the supply chain information DB128).

[0053] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 determines whether the additional loan amount calculated in S23 exceeds the remaining credit limit (S24), based on the usage status of the credit limit in the Tier of the specific product mentioned above (the value in the credit limit column of the account information DB125 and the value in the borrowing status column of the relevant company in the loan information DB127). In the example in Figure 11, Tier Z would be determined to be insufficient, meaning there is a funding shortage.

[0054] If an excess is found as a result of the above determination, the finance support device 100 selects the credit limit with the lowest interest rate among the credit limits held by each Tier, based on the remaining credit limits and conditions such as the interest rate of each Tier (values ​​in the credit limit and interest rate / year columns of the account information DB 125), and identifies the details of the inquiry (e.g., loan amount) for the provision of the credit limit to financial institution A responsible for Tier X (provision of the specified product to Tier Z as described above) (S25).

[0055] This specific process is illustrated, for example, in the flow chart in Figure 16. Specifically, the finance support device 100 obtains the IDs of all supply chains for the product / project to be calculated from the supply chain information DB 128 (S251).

[0056] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 searches for the supplier user ID using the supply chain ID as the key (S252).

[0057] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 extracts the supply chain ID from the record where the ordering user ID is the ordering user ID (S253). This process is repeated using the supply chain ID as the key until the value of the ordering user ID is no longer available at the end of the supply chain.

[0058] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 uses the relevant user ID to determine the I of the ordering / receiving company. Register D or the name in the transaction tree column of loan information DB127 as "Buyer → TierX → TierY → TierZ → TierZ++" (S254).

[0059] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 retrieves the loan limit and interest rate / year from the account information DB 125 based on the corresponding user ID (S255).

[0060] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 obtains the current borrowing information of the loan management status in the loan information DB 127 based on the corresponding user ID (S256).

[0061] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 determines the outstanding loan amount and interest rate according to the regulations, identifies the combination of user (Tier) and financial institution that yields the lowest annual interest rate, and determines the financial institution (S257).

[0062] Here, the finance support device 100 notifies the Tier X identified in S25 above of the request for the provision of a credit line (S26). The details of this loan request are also notified to the Tier Z user terminal 200 of the specified product mentioned above.

[0063] In the example shown in Figure 11, financial institution A, which has a business relationship with TierX, decides to allocate the remaining 3 billion yen of its credit limit to TierZ's necessary funds, and notifies TierZ of this decision. At this time, TierZ's user terminal 200 notifies TierX's user terminal 200 of a request for mediation regarding the use of the credit limit.

[0064] On the other hand, TierX user terminal 200, upon receiving notification of the aforementioned mediation request, requests the finance support device 100 to provide a credit line. Upon receiving this request, the finance support device 100 notifies the financial institution system 500 of financial institution A of the information regarding Tier Z, i.e., the supplier of the specific product (information necessary for credit assessment), and receives a determination of the loan amount and loan conditions based on the credit assessment (S27).

[0065] Furthermore, when providing information regarding Tier Z to financial institution system 500 by financial institution A in S27 as described above, control will be implemented in accordance with the information disclosure policy, as shown in the flow chart in Figure 13.

[0066] In this case, the registered data to be provided and the user IDs specifying the disclosure target are received in advance from the sales, buyer, and supplier systems, etc., and these are associated and set in the information disclosure fields of the sales information DB126 and supply chain information DB128 (S271~S273).

[0067] Then, the finance support device 100 determines in S27 whether the user ID of the financial institution system 500 to which information is to be provided (e.g., one relating to financial institution A) is set in the information disclosure field mentioned above (S274), and only if the financial institution is deemed to be an appropriate recipient of the information disclosure as a result of this determination, it transmits the relevant data to the financial institution system 500 (S275).

[0068] Upon receiving such information disclosure, the financial institution system 500 will, for example, distribute screen 1000, as exemplified in Figure 17, to designated terminals of credit assessment personnel, thereby supporting the internal business procedures of the financial institution.

[0069] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 11, the finance support device 100 receives the credit assessment algorithm from the financial institution system 500 of financial institution A mentioned above and stores it in the "credit assessment program" column of the loan information DB 127 (S30).

[0070] The finance support device 100 performs the credit processing shown in Figure 12 (S31) and responds with the result to, for example, the financial institution system 500 of financial institution A, or the user terminals 200 of Tier X and Tier Z. If the credit decision algorithm has not been obtained in S30, the above credit processing may be requested from the financial institution system 500 and the result may be obtained.

[0071] The details of the credit-related processing (S30, S31) described above are illustrated in the flow shown in Figure 12, for example. Here, the finance support device 100 obtains the relevant financial institution ID, i.e., the ID of financial institution A in the example above (S301), and uses this as a key to perform a search in the loan information DB 127 to obtain the credit determination program (S302).

[0072] The finance support device 100 determines whether a credit assessment has been obtained, that is, whether it was set by default (S303).

[0073] If, as a result of the above determination, the credit decision algorithm has not been obtained from the financial institution system 500, i.e., it is not the default (S303: No), the values ​​of each variable required for credit decision (e.g., various information regarding Tier Z) are sent to the financial institution system 500 of the relevant financial institution as a credit request (S304).

[0074] On the other hand, if the above determination indicates that the credit assessment algorithm has already been acquired, i.e., that the default is (S303: Yes), the finance support device 100 acquires the transaction tree of the trading partners related to sales, buyers, Tier X, Y, Z, etc., for example from the supply chain information DB 128 (S305).

[0075] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 verifies (S306) whether the transaction tree structure obtained in S305 is consistent. This verification process, for example, checks whether the sequence of information on trading partners (suppliers) and trading partners (customers) related to the target parts, etc. in the sales information DB 126 is consistent among the buyer, supplier, and sales.

[0076] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 calculates the production status and progress of Tier Z projects that are subject to financing, based on the production time required to produce the necessary number of units and the production period per unit (e.g., the value in the production / construction status column for each project in the financing information DB 127, or the value in the work period column in the supply chain information DB 128) (S307).

[0077] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 calculates the remaining production quantity (i.e., the quantity remaining after deducting inventory from the required production quantity) and the production cost (e.g., the estimated cost column in the supply chain information DB 128). (Multiply the production quantity by the value obtained from the financial institution system 500) (S308) .

[0078] Next, the finance support device 100 compares the remaining credit limit of TierX (e.g., 300 million yen) with the production costs obtained in S308 (250 million yen required for additional production), i.e., the amount of necessary funds (S309).

[0079] If, as a result of the above comparison, the amount of funds required is less than the loan amount, the finance support device 100 executes the necessary processes to transfer 250 million yen from Tier X's credit line (and the interest rate applied to Tier X) to Tier Z (S310), and then terminates the process. This process includes, for example, the process by which TierX's user terminal 200 requests the aforementioned loan facility provision from the aforementioned financial institution system 500, and the notification to TierZ when financial institution A approves the credit for TierZ and the request is accepted. TierZ then enters into a loan agreement with financial institution A that corresponds to the details of the loan facility provision. The necessary procedures will be followed appropriately to receive the loan. Furthermore, the finance support device 100 may not unconditionally perform the various loan-related processes described above, but rather perform them in stages according to the results of monitoring the manufacturing status or sales status of the products or components targeted for manufacture. For example, it may perform processing (such as requesting loans from financial institutions) for a predetermined percentage of the planned loan amount according to the progress rate of the manufacturing performance of the target products, etc. (number manufactured / number required) or the progress rate of sales performance (number sold / number ordered).

[0080] Furthermore, the specific flow for calculating the production costs described above can be assumed to be as shown in Figure 14. In this case, the finance support device 100 receives the name of the relevant product that is the target of increased production, etc., obtained in S11 (S121).

[0081] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 acquires information on each order and receipt in the supply chain and registers it in the sales information DB 126 (S122).

[0082] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 receives the target user ID as a specification of the scope of information that can be disclosed at the time of registration and stores it in the information disclosure field (S123).

[0083] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 constructs a supply chain tree and stores it in the transaction tree column of the supply chain information DB 128 (S124).

[0084] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 manages which supply chain is responsible for production, eliminating double counting, by identifying the supply chain that connects the distributor to the buyer of a specific product using BOMID and extracting only that, or by obtaining only the BOMID of the component configuration of the above supply chain (S125).

[0085] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 obtains a list of BOMIDs that call management in the dynamic BOM shown in Figure 15 (S126).

[0086] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 uses BOMID as a key to obtain sales forecasts, order quantities, and estimated cost values ​​from the supply chain information DB 128 (S127).

[0087] Furthermore, the finance support device 100 sums up the production costs for each component from each supplier and stores them in the total production cost in the supply chain information DB 128 (S128).

[0088] Although the best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited thereto and can be modified in various ways without departing from its essence.

[0089] According to this embodiment, it becomes possible to secure funds in a timely and flexible manner, taking into account creditworthiness throughout the entire supply chain, while appropriately eliminating restrictions arising from transaction relationships between parties in the supply chain and with financial institutions.

[0090] The description herein makes at least the following clear: In the finance support device of this embodiment, the storage device further holds a bill of materials relating to the product, and the computing device, in calculating the funding needs, identifies the components necessary for manufacturing the product and the responsible member responsible for their manufacture or sale, based on the manufacturing targets of the member indicated by the member's information and the bill of materials for the product, and calculates the funding needs of the responsible member for manufacturing or selling a number of the product or components corresponding to the sales status, based on the sales status of the product and the cost of manufacturing or selling the product or its components as indicated by the manufacturing or sales information.

[0091] According to this method, it is possible to accurately identify each supplier and their hierarchical structure based on the specific composition of the semi-finished products and components that make up the product. As a result, manufacturing costs and the corresponding funding requirements can be clearly separated and calculated for each supplier, i.e., each component.

[0092] Ultimately, this will enable more timely and flexible fundraising, taking into account creditworthiness throughout the entire supply chain, while appropriately resolving restrictions arising from trading relationships between parties in the supply chain and with financial institutions.

[0093] Furthermore, in the finance support device of this embodiment, the storage device may further store information regarding the credit lines of the members of the supply chain, and the computing device may, when performing the predetermined process of allocating the credit lines, identify the member in charge whose funding needs for the products or components that he or she is responsible for manufacturing or selling cannot be met with the credit lines held by that member, and allocate the credit lines to at least the shortfall in the funding needs of that member.

[0094] According to this, it becomes possible not only to comprehensively meet the funding needs of the entire supply chain through credit lines provided by buyers, etc., but also to provide credit lines to salaried suppliers who lack the financial resources (their own cash holdings or credit lines) to meet their funding needs.

[0095] Ultimately, this will enable more timely and flexible fundraising, taking into account creditworthiness throughout the entire supply chain, while appropriately resolving restrictions arising from trading relationships between parties in the supply chain and with financial institutions.

[0096] Furthermore, in the finance support device of this embodiment, the computing device may, when processing the allocation of the credit line, select from the credit lines of the members of the supply chain that has remaining credit lines that can cover at least the shortfall in the funding needs of the member in charge, and that have the most favorable loan terms.

[0097] According to this, for example, it becomes possible to meet funding needs by using the largest possible loan amount at the lowest interest rate.

[0098] Ultimately, this will enable more timely and flexible fundraising, taking into account creditworthiness throughout the entire supply chain, while appropriately resolving restrictions arising from trading relationships between parties in the supply chain and with financial institutions.

[0099] Furthermore, in the finance support device of this embodiment, the storage device may also store monitoring information on the manufacturing status or sales status of the product or components by the responsible member, and the computing device may perform the allocation of the shortfall using the credit line in stages according to the actual trends in the manufacturing status or sales status indicated by the monitoring information.

[0100] According to this approach, it is possible to realistically address situations where the initially projected sales or production figures are not achieved in a short period, but rather take a certain amount of time to reach them, and to effectively avoid securing funds through loans that involve taking unnecessary risks.

[0101] Ultimately, this will enable more timely and flexible fundraising, taking into account creditworthiness throughout the entire supply chain, while appropriately resolving restrictions arising from trading relationships between parties in the supply chain and with financial institutions.

[0102] Furthermore, in the finance support device of this embodiment, the storage device may further maintain disclosure policies regarding the members of the supply chain and the manufacturing or sales information of the products by those members, and the computing device may, when processing the allocation of the credit line to all or part of the funding needs, notify the financial institution that set up the credit line of a request to use the credit line, which includes only the information of the members included in the allocation that conforms to the disclosure policy.

[0103] This makes it possible to effectively avoid the risk of inadvertently disclosing sensitive information handled within a supply chain between companies that do not have a direct trading relationship with each other, or between companies that are competitors in the same industry.

[0104] Ultimately, this will enable more timely and flexible fundraising, taking into account creditworthiness throughout the entire supply chain, while appropriately resolving restrictions arising from trading relationships between parties in the supply chain and with financial institutions.

[0105] Furthermore, in the financing support method of this embodiment, the information processing device may further maintain a bill of materials for the product in its storage device, and when calculating the funding needs, it may identify the components necessary for manufacturing the product and the responsible member responsible for their manufacture or sale based on the manufacturing targets of the member indicated by the member's information and the bill of materials for the product, and calculate the funding needs of the responsible member for manufacturing or selling a number of the product or components corresponding to the sales status, based on the sales status of the product and the cost of manufacturing or selling the product or its components as indicated by the manufacturing or sales information.

[0106] Furthermore, in the financing support method of this embodiment, the information processing device may further store information regarding the credit lines of the members of the supply chain in the storage device, and in the predetermined process of allocating the credit lines, it may identify the member in charge whose funding needs for the products or components that he or she is responsible for manufacturing or selling cannot be met with the credit lines held by that member, and allocate the credit lines to at least the shortfall in the funding needs of that member in charge.

[0107] Furthermore, in the financing support method of this embodiment, the information processing device may, when processing the allocation of the credit line, select from the credit lines of the members of the supply chain whether there is a remaining credit line that can cover at least the shortfall in the funding needs of the member in charge, and which has the most favorable loan terms.

[0108] Furthermore, in the financing support method of this embodiment, the information processing device may also store monitoring information in its storage device regarding the manufacturing status or sales status of the product or components by the responsible member, and may perform the allocation of the shortfall using the credit line in stages according to the actual trends in the manufacturing status or sales status indicated by the monitoring information.

[0109] Furthermore, in the financing support method of this embodiment, the information processing device may further maintain in the storage device a disclosure policy regarding the members of the supply chain and the manufacturing or sales information of the products by those members, and when processing the allocation of the credit line to all or part of the funding needs, it may notify the financial institution that set up the credit line of a request to use the credit line, which includes only the information of the members included in the allocation that conforms to the disclosure policy. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0110] 1 Network 10. Finance support systems 100 Finance support devices 101 Storage device 102 Programs 103 memory 104 Arithmetic unit 105 Communication equipment 125 Account Information Database 126 Sales Information Database 127 Loan information DB 128 Supply Chain Information Database 129 BOM management DB 200 user terminals 300 Production Management Systems 400 Sales Management System 500 Financial Institution Systems

Claims

1. A storage device that holds information on the members of the supply chain related to the product, and information on the manufacturing or sale of the said product by those members, A computing device that performs the following: a process of calculating the funding needs of a member who manufactures or sells a number of the product or its components corresponding to the sales status, based on the sales status of the product as indicated by the sales information and the cost of manufacturing or selling the product or its components as indicated by the manufacturing or sales information; and a process of allocating a credit line secured by at least one member of the supply chain with a financial institution to all or part of the funding needs; Equipped with, The aforementioned storage device is The system further holds information including, at a minimum, a bill of materials relating to the said product, the loan amount, loan terms, and outstanding loan amount of the said credit facility to the members of the said supply chain, The aforementioned computing device is In calculating the aforementioned funding needs, based on the information of the member indicating the products manufactured by that member and the bill of materials for the product, the components necessary for manufacturing the product and the member responsible for their manufacture or sale are identified, and based on the sales status of the product and the cost of manufacturing or selling the product or its components by the responsible member, as indicated by the manufacturing or sales information, the funding needs of the responsible member for manufacturing or selling a number of the product or its components corresponding to the sales status are calculated. In the process of allocating the aforementioned credit line, identify the member in charge whose funding needs cannot be met by the credit line held by that member, and allocate the aforementioned credit line to at least the shortfall in the funding needs of that member. Of the credit lines of the members of the supply chain, the one with the most favorable terms is selected, provided that there is a remaining credit line that can cover at least the shortfall in the funding needs of the member in charge. A finance support device characterized by the following:

2. The storage device is The aforementioned member in charge further maintains monitoring information regarding the manufacturing or sales status of the product or its components. The aforementioned computing device is The aforementioned shortfall will be covered by the aforementioned credit line in stages, according to the actual trends in the manufacturing or sales status as indicated by the monitoring information. The finance support device according to feature 1.

3. The aforementioned storage device is Furthermore, the system maintains disclosure policies that specify the disclosure conditions for information regarding the members of the supply chain and the manufacturing or sale of the products by those members. The aforementioned computing device is When allocating the aforementioned credit line to all or part of the aforementioned funding needs, the financial institution that established the credit line will be notified of a request to use the credit line that includes only the information relating to the members included in the allocation that conforms to the disclosure policy. The finance support device according to feature 1.

4. The information processing device is A storage device that holds information including, at a minimum, the members of the supply chain for the product, information on the manufacturing or sale of the product by those members, a bill of materials for the product, the loan amount, loan terms, and outstanding loan amount of the credit line at the members of the supply chain, Based on the sales status of the product as indicated by the sales information and the cost of manufacturing or selling the product or its components as indicated by the manufacturing or sales information, a process is performed to calculate the funding needs of a member who manufactures or sells a number of the product or its components corresponding to the sales status, and a credit line secured by at least one member of the supply chain with a financial institution is used to cover all or part of the funding needs. In calculating the aforementioned funding needs, based on the information of the member indicating the products manufactured by that member and the bill of materials for the product, the components necessary for manufacturing the product and the member responsible for their manufacture or sale are identified, and based on the sales status of the product and the cost of manufacturing or selling the product or its components by the responsible member, as indicated by the manufacturing or sales information, the funding needs of the responsible member for manufacturing or selling a number of the product or its components corresponding to the sales status are calculated. In the process of allocating the aforementioned credit line, identify the member in charge whose funding needs cannot be met by the credit line held by that member, and allocate the aforementioned credit line to at least the shortfall in the funding needs of that member. The process of selecting the most favorable loan terms from among the credit lines of the members of the supply chain, which have remaining credit lines that can cover at least the shortfall in the funding needs of the member in charge. A method of providing financial support characterized by the execution of a procedure.

5. The information processing device, The storage device further stores monitoring information regarding the manufacturing or sales status of the product or components by the responsible member. The shortfall shall be covered by the aforementioned credit line in stages according to the actual trends in the manufacturing status or sales status indicated by the monitoring information. The financing support method described in feature 4.

6. The information processing device The storage device further maintains a disclosure policy that specifies the disclosure conditions for information regarding the members of the supply chain and the manufacturing or sale of the products by those members, When allocating the aforementioned credit line to all or part of the aforementioned funding needs, the financial institution that established the credit line shall notify the financial institution of the request for use of the credit line, which includes only the information relating to the members included in the allocation that conforms to the disclosure policy. The financing support method described in feature 4.

Images