Information provision system and information provision method

Abstract

We aim to reduce food waste by promoting the sale of expired food products. [Solution] The system comprises food 1B and identification information 4, where food 1B is a food item provided together with food 1A, and the identification information 4 allows access to a website listing candidate food items for food 1A.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information providing system and an information providing method. More specifically, it relates to an information providing system and an information providing method capable of reducing the amount of waste of various products.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, the safety of products centered on food has attracted the attention of consumers. When consumers select products, they have come to show interest even in points such as what the products themselves and the raw materials of the products are.

[0003] Therefore, product providers provide products by describing information such as the components, origin, manufacturing date, etc. of the products and their raw materials on labels attached to the product packaging or recording them on IC tags.

[0004] However, simply attaching the information described or recorded to the product is easy to tamper with or forge, and there is also a fact that tampering or forging of information is actually occurring. As a result, the credibility for consumers is low, and it has been difficult for consumers to safely select products.

[0005] Therefore, the inventor of the present invention has proposed a technique of providing food by attaching a sample of raw material powder obtained by making the raw materials of the food into powder instead of simply attaching the information described or recorded to the food (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0007] While the technology described in Patent Document 1 above enables the "visualization" of food quality, allowing consumers to choose food with confidence, it is unlikely to directly lead to a reduction in "food waste," which has become a problem in recent years. Furthermore, the need to reduce waste is not limited to food products.

[0008] This invention was conceived in view of the above points, and aims to provide an information provision system and information provision method that can reduce the amount of waste. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides an information provision system for providing information on candidate products that may become the first product to be provided together with the second product, wherein the predetermined deadline is defined as one of the following: the deadline when the number of days remaining until the best-before date, the shipping date, or the expiration date is reached, or the deadline when the number of days remaining until the use-by date is reached, and the information provides information on the predetermined deadline of the second product, information on one or more first candidate products which are products whose number of days remaining until the predetermined deadline is not less than the first predetermined number of days, and information on one or more second candidate products which are products different from the first candidate products which are products whose number of days remaining until the predetermined deadline is less than the first predetermined number of days. The system includes: product information recording means for recording information including information on a supplementary product; candidate product selection means for reading identification information displayed on the second product with the consumer's terminal, identifying the second product based on information transmitted from the consumer's terminal, checking the predetermined expiration date information of the second product recorded in the product information recording means, selecting the first candidate product as the candidate product if the number of days until the predetermined expiration date of the second product is less than the second predetermined number of days, and selecting the second candidate product as the candidate product if the number of days until the predetermined expiration date of the second product is not less than the second predetermined number of days; and output means for outputting information on the candidate product selected by the candidate product selection means to the consumer's terminal.

[0010] Furthermore, the information provision system of the present invention is an information provision system for providing information on candidate products that may become the first product to be provided together with the second product, wherein the predetermined deadline is defined as one of the following: the deadline when the number of days remaining until the best-before date, the shipping date, or the expiration date becomes a predetermined number of days, or the deadline when the number of days remaining until the use-by date becomes a predetermined number of days, and the information includes information on the predetermined deadline of the second product, information on one or more first candidate products which are The system includes a product information recording means for recording information, a candidate product selection means for reading identification information displayed on the second product with the consumer's terminal, identifying the second product based on information transmitted from the consumer's terminal, checking the predetermined expiration date information of the second product recorded in the product information recording means, selecting the first candidate product and the second candidate product as candidate products if the number of days remaining until the predetermined expiration date of the second product is less than the second predetermined number of days, and selecting the second candidate product as a candidate product if the number of days remaining until the predetermined expiration date of the second product is not less than the second predetermined number of days, and an output means for outputting information of the candidate products selected by the candidate product selection means to the consumer's terminal.

[0011] Here, the candidate product selection means can make the selected candidate product different depending on whether the number of days remaining until the expiration date of the second product is less than the second predetermined number of days, and whether the number of days remaining until the expiration date of the second product is less than the second predetermined number of days, and whether the number of candidates selected depends on whether the number of days remaining until the expiration date of the second product is less than the second predetermined number of days.

[0012] Furthermore, considering that the output means outputs the candidate product selected by the candidate product selection means, if "the number of days remaining until the expiration date of the second product is less than the second predetermined number of days," then "the first candidate product (the product whose number of days remaining until the expiration date is not less than the first predetermined number of days)" will be output. If "the number of days remaining until the expiration date of the second product is not less than the second predetermined number of days," then "the second candidate product (the product whose number of days remaining until the expiration date is less than the first predetermined number of days)" will be output. Thus, either the second product or the candidate product will either "have fewer days remaining until the expiration date of the second predetermined number of days" or "have fewer days remaining until the expiration date of the first predetermined number of days," and it can be expected that products nearing their expiration date will be provided to consumers.

[0013] Similarly, when the candidate product selection means selects the first and second candidate products as candidate products if "the number of days remaining until the second product's predetermined deadline is less than the second predetermined number of days," and selects the second candidate product as a candidate product if "the number of days remaining until the second product's predetermined deadline is not less than the second predetermined number of days," the candidate product selected can also differ depending on whether "the number of days remaining until the second product's predetermined deadline is less than the second predetermined number of days."

[0014] Furthermore, considering that the output means outputs the candidate products selected by the candidate product selection means, if "the number of days remaining until the expiration date of the second product is less than the second predetermined number of days," then "the first candidate product (a product whose number of days remaining until the expiration date is not less than the first predetermined number of days)" and "the second candidate product (a product whose number of days remaining until the expiration date is less than the first predetermined number of days)" will be output. If "the number of days remaining until the expiration date of the second product is not less than the second predetermined number of days," then "the second candidate product (a product whose number of days remaining until the expiration date is less than the first predetermined number of days)" will be output. Thus, either the second product or the candidate product will either "have fewer days remaining until the expiration date of the second predetermined number of days" or "have fewer days remaining until the expiration date of the first predetermined number of days," and it can be expected that products nearing their expiration date will be provided to consumers.

[0015] Furthermore, by outputting information about the candidate products selected by the candidate product selection means to the consumer's terminal, the candidate products can be made known to the consumer, which is expected to lead to the provision (sale) of the candidate products.

[0016] Furthermore, the candidate product selection means reads the identification information displayed on the second product using the consumer's terminal, identifies the second product based on the information transmitted from the consumer's terminal, and selects candidate products that could be the first product offered together with the identified second product. This means that the "second product" can be identified simply by reading the identification information, without the consumer having to identify the "second product" themselves.

[0017] Furthermore, in order to achieve the above objective, the present invention provides an information provision method that provides information on candidate products which may be the first product to be provided together with the second product, wherein the predetermined deadline is defined as one of the following: the deadline when the number of days remaining until the best-before date, shipping date, or expiration date arrives is a predetermined number of days, or the deadline when the number of days remaining until the use-by date arrives is a predetermined number of days, and the method includes the steps of: identifying the second product based on information transmitted from the consumer's terminal by reading the identification information displayed on the second product with the consumer's terminal; and confirming the product information recording means on which information including the predetermined deadline information of the second product is recorded, and confirming that the number of days remaining until the predetermined deadline arrives for the second product is less than the second predetermined number of days. If the number of days remaining until the predetermined expiration date of the second product is not less than the second predetermined number of days, the first candidate product is selected as the candidate product, and the information of the first candidate product is recorded in the product information recording means. If the number of days remaining until the predetermined expiration date of the second product is not less than the second predetermined number of days, the second candidate product is selected as the candidate product, and the information of the second candidate product is recorded in the product information recording means, and the information of the selected candidate product is output to the consumer's terminal.

[0018] Furthermore, the present invention provides an information provision method for providing information on candidate products that may become the first product to be provided together with the second product, wherein the predetermined deadline is defined as one of the following: the deadline when the number of days remaining until the best-before date, the shipping date, or the expiration date becomes a predetermined number of days, or the deadline when the number of days remaining until the use-by date becomes a predetermined number of days, and the second product is identified based on the information transmitted from the consumer's terminal by reading the identification information displayed on the second product with the consumer's terminal, and the product information recording means on which information including the predetermined deadline information of the second product is recorded is checked, and if the number of days remaining until the predetermined deadline of the second product is less than the second predetermined number of days, one or more products The system includes the steps of selecting a first candidate product, which is a product and whose number of days until the predetermined expiration date is less than a first predetermined number of days, and whose information is recorded in the product information recording means, and a second candidate product, which is one or more products, which are different from the first candidate product and whose number of days until the predetermined expiration date is less than the first predetermined number of days, and whose information is recorded in the product information recording means, as the candidate product, and if the number of days until the predetermined expiration date of the second product is less than a second predetermined number of days, then selecting the second candidate product as the candidate product, and outputting the information of the selected candidate product to the consumer's terminal.

[0019] Here, if "the number of days remaining until the expiration date of the second product is less than the second specified number of days," then "the first candidate product (the product whose number of days remaining until the expiration date is not less than the first specified number of days)" is selected, and if "the number of days remaining until the expiration date of the second product is not less than the second specified number of days," then "the second candidate product (the product whose number of days remaining until the expiration date is less than the first specified number of days)" is selected, then the candidate product to be selected will differ depending on whether "the number of days remaining until the expiration date of the second product is less than the second specified number of days."

[0020] Considering outputting the information of the selected candidate product to the consumer's terminal, either the second product or one of the candidate products will be such that "the number of days until the predetermined deadline is less than the second predetermined number of days" or "the number of days until the predetermined deadline is less than the first predetermined number of days", and it can be expected to provide the consumer with a product nearing its expiration date.

[0021] Similarly, when selecting "the first candidate product (a product whose number of days until the predetermined deadline is not less than the first predetermined number of days)" and "the second candidate product (a product whose number of days until the predetermined deadline is less than the first predetermined number of days)" when "the second product has a number of days until the predetermined deadline less than the second predetermined number of days", and when selecting "the second candidate product (a product whose number of days until the predetermined deadline is less than the first predetermined number of days)" when "the second product does not have a number of days until the predetermined deadline less than the second predetermined number of days", the candidate products selected will differ depending on whether "the second product has a number of days until the predetermined deadline less than the second predetermined number of days or not".

[0022] Considering outputting the information of the selected candidate product to the consumer's terminal, either the second product or one of the candidate products will be such that "the number of days until the predetermined deadline is less than the second predetermined number of days" or "the number of days until the predetermined deadline is less than the first predetermined number of days", and it can be expected to provide the consumer with a product nearing its expiration date.

[0023] Incidentally, the "product" here includes both "primary products" and "secondary products". For example, it includes cosmetics, hair dyes, beverages treated as pharmaceuticals, etc., without limiting its content. Also, the "product" here can be singular or plural.

[0024] Furthermore, the "product" here includes "food", including both "food (primary product)" and "food (secondary product)". That is, it is intended to include not only food and beverages (fresh foods, animal foods, plant foods, processed foods, frozen foods, confectionery, seasonings, health foods, supplements, beverages, processing materials, etc.) for the purpose of nutrient intake and preferences, but also pharmaceuticals and quasi-drugs. For example, Chinese herbal medicines are also included. It is also intended to include feeds, aquaculture feeds, dog foods, etc. for fish and animals.

[0025] Here, the "food (primary product)" refers to fresh foods, animal foods, and plant foods before processing. For example, vegetables such as daikon radishes and cabbages, or raw meats such as chicken and beef themselves are applicable. Also, for example, fruits, beans, shellfish, and fish are also applicable.

[0026] Also, the "food (secondary product)" here refers to products obtained by processing unprocessed fresh foods, unprocessed animal foods, and unprocessed plant foods. Examples include mochi, pickles, stir-fried vegetables, steaks, hamburgers, ramen, bento boxes, bread, milk, cheese, beer, wine, sake, whiskey, frozen foods, canned foods, bottled tea, juice, coffee, soft drinks, etc.

[0027] Furthermore, the "secondary products" here of course include secondary products processed from primary products, and also secondary products processed from secondary products. For example, it includes tamagoyaki manufactured by purchasing seasoned eggs as raw materials and baking them. Furthermore, the "secondary products" here also include secondary products purchased with secondary products as raw materials. For example, it includes a bento box filled with tamagoyaki purchased with tamagoyaki as raw materials.

[0028] Also, the "provided together" here includes not only the case of selling the first product and the second product in a physical store, but also the case of selling the first product and the second product through Internet sales or catalog sales and providing the first product and the second product by courier or the like.

[0029] Also, regarding "provided together", the "first product" may be singular or plural, and the "second product" may also be singular or plural. In other words, "together offered" can be any of the following: (1) a combination of a single first product and a single second product, (2) a combination of a single first product and multiple second products, (3) a combination of multiple first products and a single second product, or (4) a combination of multiple first products and multiple second products.

[0030] Furthermore, the combination of "product 1" and "product 2" here may be any of the following: (1) the same product, (2) products of the same type and category, or (3) different products.

[0031] The term "same type of product" means that products can be considered identical as products. For example, while cream buns and jam buns are both sweet buns, they are not the same type of product because they are different types of sweet buns. Furthermore, even among cream buns, if the color of the cream is different, they are not the same type of product. In other words, products with different appearances or colors are not the same type of product. Similarly, red wine and white wine, even if they are produced using the same farming method and from the same farm, cannot be considered identical as products and therefore cannot be said to be the same type of product.

[0032] Furthermore, the term "best before date" here refers to "the date by which the product can be enjoyed while maintaining its quality," and does not mean that the product becomes inedible immediately after the best before date has passed.

[0033] Furthermore, "expiration date" here refers to the date by which the food can be safely consumed, meaning that it becomes inedible after the expiration date.

[0034] Furthermore, the term "shipping deadline" here refers to "the deadline by which wholesalers and manufacturers can deliver goods to retailers." If the shipping deadline is missed, it means that, according to business practice, the goods will be returned from the retailer to the wholesaler or manufacturer. In business practice, the "shipping deadline" is often set at "one-third of the food's best-before date" (for example, if the best-before date for a food product is six months from the manufacturing date, the shipping deadline would be two months from the manufacturing date). However, the "shipping deadline" here could also be "one-quarter of the food's best-before date." Furthermore, it could also be "two months before the food's best-before date" or "one year before the food's expiration date."

[0035] Furthermore, "expiration date" here refers to the "period by which the product can be used," meaning that it will no longer be safe to use after the expiration date.

[0036] Furthermore, the "specified number of days" here can be a few days, a few months, or even zero days (if the specified number of days is zero, the specified expiration date will be the same day as the expiration or use-by date).

[0037] Furthermore, the "first specified number of days" here could be a few days, a few months, or even "0 days." In other words, it is sufficient to classify products based on the "number of days until the specified expiration date" as either "the first candidate product (a product that is not nearing its expiration date)" or "the second candidate product (a product that is nearing its expiration date)," and there are no particular restrictions on this classification.

[0038] Furthermore, the "second specified number of days" here could be a few days, a few months, or even "0 days." In other words, it is sufficient to classify the second product as either "a product nearing its expiration date" or "a product not nearing its expiration date" based on "the number of days until the specified expiration date arrives," and there are no particular restrictions (it may be the same number of days as the first specified expiration date, or it may be a different number of days). [Effects of the Invention]

[0039] The information provision system and information provision method of the present invention can reduce the amount of waste generated from various products. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0040] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a food product. [Figure 2(a)] This is a schematic diagram (1) to explain the content on the website. [Figure 2(b)] This is a schematic diagram (2) to explain the content on the website. [Figure 2(c)] This is a schematic diagram (3) to explain the content on the website. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the food information provision system of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram illustrating a means of recording food information. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0041] The following describes embodiments for carrying out the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiments"). In this embodiment, we will use April 21, 2022 as the reference point; in other words, if the best-before date is on or before April 20, 2022, the best-before date has expired, and if the best-before date is on or after April 21, 2022, the best-before date has not yet arrived.

[0042] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the explanation will be given assuming that "the predetermined period is the best-before date," "the first predetermined number of days is 30 days," and "the second predetermined number of days is 0 days." Specifically, we will explain how, if Food 1B (an example of "Second Product") has not yet reached its expiration date, "Food with 30 days or less remaining until its expiration date" is selected as a candidate for Food 1A, and if Food 1B (an example of "Second Product") has already passed its expiration date, "Food with more than 30 days remaining until its expiration date" is selected as a candidate for Food 1A. The explanation will be given in the following order. 1. Embodiment 2. Variations

[0043] <1. Embodiment> [Description of food product] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating food product A sold through a food information provision system to which the present invention is applied, and food product A shown here consists of food item 1. Specifically, food product A consists of food 1B wrapped in plastic 2, and a seal 3 is attached to plastic 2.

[0044] Here, food item 1B is a food item that is not traded (sold) on its own, but is provided (sold) together with food item 1A. In other words, consumers who wish to obtain (purchase) food item 1B must also obtain (purchase) food item 1A.

[0045] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 1, the seal 3 displays identification information 4 (for example, a two-dimensional barcode) that allows access to the information of food item 1A. The identification information 4 (two-dimensional barcode, etc.) here contains a URL, and by reading the identification information 4 with a consumer device such as a smartphone, it is possible to access a website containing "information on food 1A" via the internet.

[0046] Specifically, when the identification information 4 displayed on sticker 3 is scanned with a consumer terminal, a website containing information about food product 1A, as shown in Figure 2, is displayed on the consumer terminal.

[0047] It should be noted that the "Information on Food 1A" listed on the website strictly refers to information on potential food items that consumers can purchase together with "Food 1B" as "Food 1A" by selecting them. In other words, it refers to food items that can become "Food 1A" when selected by consumers (potential food items for Food 1A).

[0048] Here, if the expiration date of food 1B is April 21, 2022 or later (i.e., the expiration date of food 1B has not yet arrived), the website accessed via identification information 4 will display "information on food aaa" and "information on food bbb" as "information on food 1A" (see Figure 2(a)). In other words, if the expiration date of food 1B has not yet arrived, then the website will display information on food 1A, specifically "food aaa" and "food bbb," which have an expiration date of 30 days or less remaining.

[0049] The "Information about Food AAA" includes the best-before date (specifically, "Best-before: May 20, 2022"), the expiration date (specifically, "Expiration date: August 20, 2022"), and the price (specifically, "Price: 1,500 yen").

[0050] Furthermore, the "food bbb information" includes information on the best-before date of food bbb (specifically, "Best-before date: May 19, 2022"), information on the expiration date of food bbb (specifically, "Expiration date: August 19, 2022"), and the price of food bbb (specifically, "Price: 800 yen").

[0051] Furthermore, if the expiration date of Food 1B is on or before April 20, 2022 (i.e., if the expiration date of Food 1B has expired), the website accessed via Identification Information 4 will display "Information about Food 1A," including "Information about Food eee" and "Information about Food fff" (see Figure 2(b)). In other words, if the expiration date of food item 1B has passed, then the website will display information about food items 1A, namely "food item eee" and "food item fff," which have more than 30 days remaining until their expiration date.

[0052] The "food eee information" includes the best-before date of the food eee (specifically, "Best-before date: August 20, 2022"), the expiration date of the food eee (specifically, "Expiration date: November 20, 2022"), and the price of the food eee (specifically, "Price: 1,000 yen").

[0053] Furthermore, the "food fff information" includes the best-before date of the food fff (specifically, "Best-before date: September 19, 2022"), the expiration date of the food fff (specifically, "Expiration date: December 19, 2022"), and the price of the food fff (specifically, "Price: 1,200 yen").

[0054] [System Configuration] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a food information provision system, which is an example of an information provision system to which the present invention is applied. It shows an example of a system configuration for providing (selling) food product A shown in Figure 1.

[0055] The food information provision system 11 shown in Figure 3 is configured to exchange various types of information with consumer terminals 13 used by people who wish to purchase food products (consumers) via the internet 12.

[0056] Furthermore, the food information provision system 11 includes a food information recording means 14, an inventory information confirmation means 15, a candidate food selection means 16, and an information output means 17.

[0057] Here, the food information recording means 14 is an example of a "product information recording means," and is configured to record "information on food 1B," "information on food aaa," "information on food bbb," "information on food ccc," "information on food ddd," "information on food eee," and "information on food fff." Furthermore, based on past sales data, it is clear that "Food ddd," "Food eee," and "Food fff" are popular products among consumers.

[0058] In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, the best-before date, expiration date, list price, and inventory quantity are recorded for food item 1B as "Management Number 1". Specifically, the information recorded includes the name "1B," the best-before date "April 25, 2022," the expiration date "July 25, 2022," the list price "1,000 yen," and the stock quantity "30." The stock quantity may increase or decrease due to sales and purchases of food item 1B.

[0059] Additionally, under "Management Number 2," the expiration date, best-before date, list price, and inventory quantity for food item AAA are recorded. Specifically, the information recorded includes the name "aaa," the best-before date "May 20, 2022," the expiration date "August 20, 2022," the list price "1,500 yen," and the stock quantity "100." The stock quantity will increase or decrease depending on the sale and purchase of food product aaa.

[0060] Furthermore, under the "Management Number 3" category, the expiration date, best-before date, list price, and inventory quantity of food item bbb are recorded. Specifically, the information recorded includes the name "bbb," the best-before date "May 19, 2022," the expiration date "August 19, 2022," the list price "800 yen," and the stock quantity "20." The stock quantity will fluctuate depending on the sales and purchases of food products.

[0061] Additionally, under "Management Number 4," the expiration date, best-before date, list price, and inventory quantity of food products are recorded. Specifically, the recorded information includes the name "ccc," the best-before date "June 10, 2022," the expiration date "September 10, 2022," the list price "700 yen," and the stock quantity "0." The stock quantity will fluctuate depending on the sale and purchase of food ccc products.

[0062] Additionally, under "Management Number 5," the best-before date, expiration date, list price, and inventory quantity of food item ddd are recorded. Specifically, the recorded information includes the name "ddd," the best-before date "July 10, 2022," the expiration date "October 10, 2022," the list price "500 yen," and the stock quantity "0." The stock quantity will fluctuate depending on the sale and purchase of food products.

[0063] Additionally, under the "Management Number 6" section, the best-before date, expiration date, list price, and inventory quantity of food item eee are recorded. Specifically, the information recorded includes the name "eee," the best-before date "August 20, 2022," the expiration date "November 20, 2022," the list price "1,000 yen," and the stock quantity "20." The stock quantity will increase or decrease depending on the sale and purchase of food eee.

[0064] Additionally, under the "Management Number 7," the best-before date, expiration date, list price, and inventory quantity of the food product fff are recorded. Specifically, the information recorded includes the name "fff," the best-before date "September 19, 2022," the expiration date "December 19, 2022," the list price "1,200 yen," and the stock quantity "50." The stock quantity will fluctuate depending on the sale and purchase of food products.

[0065] Furthermore, the inventory information confirmation means 15 is configured to allow the consumer to check the inventory quantity recorded in the food information recording means 14 when the consumer requests information about food 1A (specifically, when the identification information 4 shown in Figure 1 is read). Specifically, the identification information 4 is read by the consumer terminal 13, and when information indicating a request for output of information on food 1A is received from the consumer terminal 13, the system accesses the inventory information for food aaa to food fff to check the inventory quantity.

[0066] Furthermore, the inventory information confirmation method 15 checks not only the "inventory quantity information for food items aaa to fff" but also the "expiration date information for food items aaa to fff". If the expiration date has passed, the system determines that the food item is out of stock.

[0067] In this embodiment, the inventory information confirmation means 15 confirms that there is inventory of "food aaa", "food bbb", "food eee", and "food fff". Furthermore, confirmation by the inventory information confirmation method 15 reveals that none of the food items from aaa to fff have expired.

[0068] Furthermore, if the expiration date of food 1B has not yet arrived, the candidate food selection means 16 selects "food aaa," "food bbb," and "food ccc" as potential food items (candidate foods) that could become food 1A. In other words, if the expiration date of food item 1B has not yet arrived, then "food item aaa," "food item bbb," and "food item ccc," which have an expiration date of 30 days or less, will be selected as candidate foods.

[0069] On the other hand, if the expiration date of food 1B has passed, "food ddd", "food eee", and "food fff" are selected as potential food items (candidate foods) that could become food 1A. In other words, if the expiration date of food item 1B has passed, then food items "ddd," "eee," and "fff," which have more than 30 days until their expiration date, will be selected as candidate foods.

[0070] In this embodiment, since the expiration date of food 1B has not yet arrived, the candidate food selection means 16 selects the foods that are in stock ("food aaa" and "food bbb") from among "food aaa", "food bbb", and "food ccc" as candidate foods.

[0071] Furthermore, since the expiration date of food 1B will have passed on April 26, 2022, five days later, the candidate food selection means 16 selects from "food ddd", "food eee", and "food fff" the food that is in stock (if the inventory situation after five days is as shown in Figure 4, then "food eee" and "food fff") as candidate foods.

[0072] Furthermore, the information output means 17 is configured to output information to the consumer terminal 13 based on the selection results of the candidate food selection means 16. Specifically, the information output means 17 in this embodiment outputs the information shown in Figure 2(a).

[0073] [effect] In the food information provision system 11 to which the present invention described above is applied, if the expiration date of food 1B has not yet arrived, "food with an approaching expiration date (food with an expiration date of 30 days or less)" is selected as a candidate food, thereby promoting the sale of food that is about to expire and reducing food waste.

[0074] Furthermore, if the expiration date of food item 1B has passed, a candidate food item will be selected that is "not close to its expiration date (food item with more than 30 days until its expiration date)." However, since food item 1B has passed its expiration date, food waste can be reduced by promoting the sale of food item 1B (food item that has passed its expiration date).

[0075] <2. Variant> [Example 1] In the embodiment described above, the example is given of selecting "food eee information" and "food fff information" instead of "food aaa information" and "food bbb information" when food 1B has passed its expiration date. However, it is sufficient to make consumers want to obtain (purchase) food 1A, and in addition to "food aaa" and "food bbb", "food eee" and "food fff" may also be selected.

[0076] [Differentiation 2] In the embodiment described above, we focused on the "best before date" and explained using the example of a case where the candidate food selection means 16 selects different candidate foods depending on whether "food 1B has passed its best before date" or "food 1B has not passed its best before date," based on "expired best before date (i.e., 0 days remaining until the best before date)." However, the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, you could use "approaching best-before date (e.g., 10 days remaining until best-before)" as the criterion, or you could focus on the "shipping date" and use "shipping date" or "approaching shipping date (e.g., 7 days remaining until shipping date)" as the criterion, or you could focus on the "use-by date" and use "approaching use-by date (e.g., 14 days remaining until best-before)" as the criterion.

[0077] [Difference 3] In the embodiments described above, the example given is that the products handled are "food items." However, the products handled do not necessarily have to be "food items"; they may be "non-food items." [Explanation of symbols]

[0078] 1 food 2 vinyl 3 Seals 4. Identification information (2D barcode) 11. Food Information Provision System 12 Internet 13 Consumer terminals 14. Food Information Recording Means 15. Inventory Information Confirmation Methods 16. Candidate Food Selection Method 17 Information output means

Claims

1. An information provision system for providing information on candidate products that could become the first product to be offered together with the second product, The specified deadline is defined as one of the following: the date until which the best-before date, shipping date, or expiration date arrives, or the date until which the use-by date arrives, Products whose remaining days until the aforementioned predetermined deadline are not less than the first predetermined number of days are defined as first candidate products, and products whose remaining days until the aforementioned predetermined deadline are less than the first predetermined number of days are defined as second candidate products. The information regarding the predetermined expiration date of the second product, The information regarding the predetermined expiration date of the candidate product, A product information recording means that records information including, A candidate product selection means reads the identification information displayed on the second product using the consumer's terminal, identifies the second product based on the information transmitted from the consumer's terminal, checks the information on the predetermined expiration date of the second product recorded in the product information recording means, selects the first candidate product from the candidate products if the number of days remaining until the predetermined expiration date of the second product is less than the second predetermined number of days, and selects the second candidate product from the candidate products if the number of days remaining until the predetermined expiration date of the second product is not less than the second predetermined number of days, The system includes an output means that outputs information about the candidate products selected by the candidate product selection means to the consumer's terminal. Information provision system.

2. An information provision system for providing information on candidate products that could become the first product to be offered together with the second product, The specified deadline is defined as one of the following: the date until which the best-before date, shipping date, or expiration date arrives, or the date until which the use-by date arrives, Products whose remaining days until the aforementioned predetermined deadline are not less than the first predetermined number of days are defined as first candidate products, and products whose remaining days until the aforementioned predetermined deadline are less than the first predetermined number of days are defined as second candidate products. The information regarding the predetermined expiration date of the second product, The information regarding the predetermined expiration date of the candidate product, A product information recording means that records information including, A candidate product selection means reads the identification information displayed on the second product using the consumer's terminal, identifies the second product based on the information transmitted from the consumer's terminal, checks the information on the predetermined expiration date of the second product recorded in the product information recording means, selects the first candidate product and the second candidate product from the candidate products if the number of days until the predetermined expiration date of the second product is less than the second predetermined number of days, and selects the second candidate product from the candidate products if the number of days until the predetermined expiration date of the second product is not less than the second predetermined number of days, The system includes an output means that outputs information about the candidate products selected by the candidate product selection means to the consumer's terminal. Information provision system.

3. The aforementioned product information recording means is The inventory information for the aforementioned candidate products is recorded. The aforementioned candidate product selection means is: Select the first candidate product that is in stock, and the second candidate product that is in stock. The information provision system according to claim 1 or claim 2.

4. The aforementioned product information recording means is The expiration date of the aforementioned candidate product is recorded. The first candidate product, which has expired, is deemed to be out of stock. The second candidate product, which has expired, is deemed out of stock. The information provision system according to claim 3.

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