Information processing device, method, and program

Abstract

To conceal conversion coefficients used to integrate data of companies included in a supply chain.SOLUTION: A supply chain includes an upstream company which manufactures a first product and a downstream company which manufactures a second product. A server device receives, from an account of the downstream company, a conversion coefficient to convert a value that is obtained from traceability information concerning the first product and represented by a first unit to a value represented by a second unit used in traceability related information concerning the second product. The server device stores the conversion coefficient in a first memory area to which access is granted only to the account of the downstream company. The server device converts a first value obtained from the traceability information concerning the first product to a second value represented by the second unit using the conversion coefficient, integrates it with a third value obtained from the traceability related information concerning the second product, and acquires and outputs the traceability information concerning the second product.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a supply chain.

Background Art

[0002] There is known a system for sharing information among a plurality of enterprises constituting a supply chain. In this regard, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system for sharing product information between adjacent suppliers.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of this disclosure is to provide an information processing apparatus, method, and program capable of concealing a conversion coefficient used when integrating data among enterprises included in a supply chain from other enterprises.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] One aspect of this disclosure is receiving an input of a conversion coefficient for converting a value represented in a first unit, obtained from traceability information regarding a first product, into a value represented in a second unit, which is adopted by a value obtained from traceability-related information regarding a second product, from an account of the downstream enterprise among an upstream enterprise that manufactures the first product and a downstream enterprise that manufactures the second product using the first product, both of which are included in the supply chain; storing the conversion coefficient in a first storage area to which access authority is granted, limited to the account of the downstream enterprise; Converting a first value expressed in the first unit, obtained from traceability information relating to the first product, into a second value expressed in the second unit using the conversion coefficient, To output a fourth value that indicates the first information included in the traceability information for the second product, obtained by integrating the second value and a third value obtained from the traceability-related information for the second product at the downstream company, A control unit that executes This is an information processing device equipped with [a specific feature / feature].

[0006] Another aspect of this disclosure is, The system accepts input from the account of the downstream company, which is one of the upstream companies that manufacture the first product and the downstream company that manufactures the second product using the first product, a conversion coefficient that converts a value expressed in a first unit obtained from traceability information relating to the first product to a value expressed in a second unit adopted for the value obtained from traceability-related information relating to the second product. The conversion coefficient is stored in a first storage area to which access rights are granted exclusively to the account of the downstream company. Converting a first value expressed in the first unit, obtained from traceability information relating to the first product, into a second value expressed in the second unit using the conversion coefficient, To output a fourth value that indicates the first information included in the traceability information for the second product, obtained by integrating the second value and a third value obtained from the traceability-related information for the second product at the downstream company, This is how to do it.

[0007] Another aspect of this disclosure is, On the computer, The system accepts input from the account of the downstream company, which is one of the upstream companies that manufacture the first product and the downstream company that manufactures the second product using the first product, a conversion coefficient that converts a value expressed in a first unit obtained from traceability information relating to the first product to a value expressed in a second unit adopted for the value obtained from traceability-related information relating to the second product. The conversion coefficient is stored in a first storage area to which access rights are granted exclusively to the account of the downstream company. Converting a first value expressed in the first unit, obtained from traceability information relating to the first product, into a second value expressed in the second unit using the conversion coefficient, To output a fourth value that indicates the first information included in the traceability information for the second product, obtained by integrating the second value and a third value obtained from the traceability-related information for the second product at the downstream company, This is a program to execute [the command / action].

[0008] Other embodiments include a program for causing a computer to execute the above method, or a computer-readable storage medium that non-temporarily stores the program. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to this disclosure, the conversion factors used when integrating data between companies included in a supply chain can be kept confidential from other companies. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] Figure 1 shows an example of the system configuration of an information processing system. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows an example of a product tree. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of the processing flow performed in an information processing system. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the hardware configuration of the server device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the hardware configuration of the enterprise terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the software configuration of the server device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the software configuration of the enterprise terminal according to the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is an example of product information. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an example of the linked destination setting screen of the enterprise terminal. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an example of the conversion coefficient registration screen of the enterprise terminal. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the storage area of the storage unit. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is an example of a product tree based on the setting of public permission. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is an example of a diagram for explaining the integrated processing of traceability-related information. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is an example of a flowchart of the conversion coefficient registration request processing by the enterprise terminal. [Figure 15A] FIG. 15A is an example of a flowchart of the traceability information calculation processing by the server device. [Figure 15B] FIG. 15B is an example of a flowchart of the traceability information calculation processing by the server device. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the storage area of the storage unit according to the second embodiment. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the inheritance of traceability information according to the second embodiment.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] In recent years, there has been a demand to track the amount of greenhouse gases emitted from the manufacturing of raw materials and components to the completion of products such as automobiles and batteries; in other words, to track the carbon footprint.

[0012] Now, consider a case where a product is supplied through a supply chain involving multiple companies. In one example, at least some companies in the supply chain (intermediate suppliers) may receive parts from one or more upstream companies, use those parts to produce their own products, and deliver the produced products to companies in the next stage (downstream companies). The upstream company may directly produce its own products and deliver the produced products to companies in the next stage. Some companies in the supply chain may deliver products received from other companies directly to other companies (i.e., participate in distribution). Multiple companies repeat this process until the final product is obtained at the final stage.

[0013] In the context of obtaining automotive products, the supply chain may consist of an OEM manufacturer and multiple suppliers. The OEM manufacturer may be the company that assembles the final product (the downstream company), while the suppliers may be companies that supply parts, materials, assemblies, etc., for producing that product. The companies included in the supply chain may be determined on a product-by-product basis.

[0014] In the following explanation, the parts and components produced by each of the multiple suppliers will be referred to as "products," and the final product will be referred to as the "final product." For example, the final product may be supplied to the consumer. Furthermore, suppliers and OEM manufacturers included in the supply chain will be simply referred to as "companies." In addition, each of the multiple layers in the supply chain will be referred to as a "tier."

[0015] In such a system, for example, in order to calculate the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted in the manufacture of the final product, it is necessary to clarify the supply relationships of products among multiple companies. This is because if the relationships between the multiple products that make up the final product are not clear, it is difficult to correctly calculate the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted in multiple processes. Information obtained by tracking from the manufacture of raw materials and parts to the manufacture of the final product using those raw materials and parts, such as the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted in the manufacture of the final product, is called traceability information.

[0016] Furthermore, for example, the units used to measure the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during the manufacturing of a product may differ depending on the company and / or product. Also, in order to calculate the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during the manufacturing of a product, it is necessary to integrate the amounts of greenhouse gases emitted during the manufacturing of the parts or materials used in the production of that product. Therefore, if the units used to measure the amount of greenhouse gases emitted differ between the parts or materials and the product manufactured using those parts or materials, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted for the parts or materials must be integrated with the amount emitted for the product. It is necessary to convert the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the units used for that purpose.

[0017] The conversion factors used for unit conversions reflect the usage patterns of products manufactured by upstream companies that produce components or materials, and therefore may be treated as confidential information by those upstream companies. In supply chains, for example, when clarifying the supply relationships between multiple companies in order to calculate the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in the manufacture of the final product, it is undesirable for the conversion factors to be made public.

[0018] Therefore, in one aspect of this disclosure, the conversion coefficient is stored in a memory area to which access rights are limited to the account of the relevant company. In addition, for example, when calculating the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted in connection with the manufacture of the final product, the conversion coefficient may be used in the calculation process, but the conversion coefficient itself is not output or made public. This keeps the conversion coefficient confidential from other companies.

[0019] More specifically, one aspect of this disclosure is an information processing device comprising a control unit. This information processing device is, for example, a server device and a user terminal. User terminals include, for example, PCs (Personal Computers), smartphones, and tablet devices. These components include, for example, processors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), and a DSP (Digital Signal Processor).

[0020] The control unit receives input of a conversion coefficient from the account of a downstream company, which is one of the upstream companies that manufacture the first product and the downstream companies that manufacture the second product using the first product, all of which are included in the supply chain. The conversion coefficient is a coefficient used to convert a value expressed in a first unit, obtained from traceability information relating to the first product, to a value expressed in a second unit, which is used for the value obtained from traceability-related information relating to the second product. The control unit stores the conversion coefficient in a first memory area to which access rights are granted exclusively to the downstream company's account. The control unit converts a first value expressed in a first unit, obtained from traceability information relating to the first product, to a second value expressed in a second unit, using the conversion coefficient. The control unit outputs a fourth value, which represents the first information included in the traceability information relating to the second product, obtained by integrating the second value and a third value obtained from traceability-related information relating to the second product.

[0021] In a supply chain, upstream and downstream are determined by the flow of products. For example, if company 1 manufactures product 1, and company 2 uses product 1 to manufacture product 2, then company 1 is the upstream company and company 2 is the downstream company. If there is a third company that uses product 2 to manufacture product 3, then the relationship between company 2 and company 3 is such that company 2 is the upstream company and company 3 is the downstream company. In other words, when focusing on a certain level in the supply chain, companies located upstream are called upstream companies, and companies located downstream are called downstream companies. The company at the very bottom of the supply chain is the company that assembles the final product (OEM manufacturer).

[0022] The first product is the product of an upstream company and is also called the upstream product. The second product is the product of a downstream company and is also called the downstream product. The first product is a material, raw material, or component for the second product. The second product may also be the final product. Traceability information is information obtained by tracking from the manufacture of raw materials and components to the manufacture of a specified product using those raw materials and components, and is information that is passed from the upstream product to the downstream product. The first information included in the traceability information is, for example, the Carbon Footprint of Products (CFP) value, the recycling rate, and a score indicating the degree of adequacy of due diligence (DD) information. The CFP value is the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacture of the product. This refers to the quantity of [unclear]. On the other hand, traceability-related information is information used to acquire traceability information, and is information measured or acquired in the manufacturing process of a given product. Traceability-related information itself is not information that is passed on to downstream companies.

[0023] If the first piece of information is a CFP value, the traceability information for a given product includes the CFP value generated up to the manufacture of that given product. In this case, the traceability-related information for a given product is the CFP value measured in the manufacturing process of that product at the company that manufactures the given product. The value obtained from the traceability information for the first product is the CFP value generated from the upstream product up to the manufacture of the first product. The third value obtained from the traceability-related information for the second product is the CFP value measured in the manufacturing process of the second product at the downstream company that manufactures the second product. The fourth value, which indicates the first piece of information included in the traceability information for the second product, is the CFP value generated from the upstream product up to the manufacture of the second product.

[0024] If the first piece of information is the recycling rate for a specified raw material, the traceability information for a specified product includes, for example, the total amount of the specified raw material used from the upstream product to the manufacture of the specified product, and the recycling rate of the specified raw material used up to the manufacture of the specified product. In this case, the traceability-related information for a specified product can be understood as, for example, the total amount of the specified raw material used in the manufacturing process of the product by the company that manufactures the specified product, and the recycling rate or the amount of recycled material used or the amount of non-recycled material used. The first value obtained from the traceability information for the first product is, for example, the total amount of the specified raw material used from the upstream product to the manufacture of the first product. The third value obtained from the traceability-related information for a second product is the total amount of the specified raw material used in the manufacturing process of the second product by the downstream company that manufactures the second product. A fourth value indicating the first information included in the traceability information for the second product is, for example, the recycling rate, which is obtained by dividing the amount of recycled material used in a given raw material from the upstream product to the manufacture of the second product by the total amount of that given raw material used from the upstream product to the manufacture of the second product.

[0025] The traceability information and traceability-related information for a given product are not limited to the first information being the recycling rate for a given raw material. For example, the traceability information for a given product may include the total amount of the given raw material used from the upstream product to the manufacture of the given product, and, instead of the recycling rate, the amount of recycled material used from the upstream product to the manufacture of the given product. In this case, the traceability-related information for a given product may include the total amount of the given raw material used in the manufacturing process of the product by the company that manufactures the given product, and the amount of recycled or non-recycled material used. The first value obtained from the traceability information for the first product is, for example, two values: the total amount of the given raw material used from the upstream product to the manufacture of the first product, and the amount of recycled material used. The third value obtained from the traceability-related information for a second product is two values: the total amount of the given raw material used and the amount of recycled material used by the downstream company that manufactures the second product, in the manufacturing process of the second product.

[0026] If the first piece of information is a score indicating the degree of sufficiency of the DD information, the traceability information for the specified product includes, for example, the score indicating the degree of sufficiency of the DD information for the specified product, and aggregated values ​​of the DD information from the upstream product to the manufacture of the specified product. The DD information used to calculate the score indicating the degree of sufficiency of the DD information includes, for example, the amount of specified raw materials used from the upstream product to the manufacture of the specified product, and information on the smelter of those raw materials. In this case, the traceability-related information for the specified product is, for example, the DD information for that specified product.

[0027] In one aspect of this disclosure, a conversion coefficient is used to convert a value obtained from traceability information relating to a first product of an upstream company, from a first unit to a second unit used in the value obtained from traceability-related information relating to a second product of a downstream company. This conversion coefficient is stored in a first memory area to which access rights are limited to the downstream company's account. As a result, companies other than the downstream company cannot access the conversion coefficient, and the conversion coefficient can be kept confidential. In another aspect of this disclosure, a fourth value representing the first information included in the traceability information relating to the second product, which is the result of a calculation using the conversion coefficient, is output, but the conversion coefficient itself is not output. Therefore, the conversion coefficient can be kept confidential from other companies.

[0028] In one aspect of the present disclosure, the control unit may store traceability information relating to the second product in a second storage area to which access rights are limited to the account of the downstream company and the account of the third company that manufactures the third product using the second product.

[0029] By storing traceability information for the second product in the second memory area, the traceability information for the second product can be transferred to the third company while keeping it confidential from companies other than the third company. Furthermore, since the second memory area stores traceability information for the second product but not conversion coefficients, the conversion coefficients can be kept confidential from the third company.

[0030] In this case, the control unit may obtain traceability information relating to the first product from a third storage area to which access rights are limited to the accounts of the upstream company and the downstream company. Since the conversion coefficient is not stored in the third storage area, the conversion coefficient can be kept confidential even from the first company.

[0031] Furthermore, in one aspect of this disclosure, the control unit may store traceability information relating to the second product in a fourth storage area, which is a storage area to which access rights are limited to the account of a third company that manufactures the third product using the second product, and to which the account of the third company is granted write rights to the account of a downstream company.

[0032] Since the fourth memory area is inaccessible from accounts other than those of the third company, traceability information regarding the second product can be transferred to the third company while keeping it confidential from companies other than the third company. Furthermore, although traceability information regarding the second product is stored in the fourth memory area, the conversion coefficients are not stored there, thus keeping the conversion coefficients confidential from the third company.

[0033] In this case, the control unit may obtain traceability information for the first product from a first storage area to which the downstream company's account has been granted write permissions to the upstream company's account. The upstream company has write permissions to the first storage area but not access permissions, so it can write traceability information for the first product to the first storage area, but it cannot read the conversion coefficients. Therefore, the conversion coefficients can be kept confidential even from the first company.

[0034] Each of the first to fourth memory areas may be created, for example, within a memory unit provided in an information processing device, or within a memory device other than an information processing device. Furthermore, each of the first to fourth memory areas may be composed of, for example, a distributed database such as a blockchain.

[0035] Furthermore, in one aspect of this disclosure, the control unit, when the second product is the final product, The fourth value, which represents the first information included in the traceability information for the second product, may be transmitted to the terminal corresponding to the downstream company's account. This outputs the fourth value, which represents the first information included in the traceability information for the second product, i.e., the final product, but does not output the conversion coefficient, thus keeping the conversion coefficient confidential.

[0036] The following describes specific embodiments of this disclosure with reference to the drawings. Unless otherwise specified, the hardware configurations, module configurations, functional configurations, etc., described in each embodiment are not intended to limit the technical scope of the disclosure to those configurations alone.

[0037] (First Embodiment) The information processing system according to the first embodiment is a system that provides information about products supplied by a supply chain including multiple companies. Product information is typically traceability information. The companies belonging to the supply chain may be determined as appropriate according to the attributes of the products, etc.

[0038] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the system configuration of the information processing system 100. Figure 1 also shows an example of a supply chain according to the first embodiment. The supply chain shown in Figure 1 consists of an OEM company and multiple supplier companies. The example in Figure 1 assumes a supply chain for manufacturing automobiles themselves, batteries, and other automobile-related products. The OEM company assembles the final product. Multiple supplier companies (companies A-C) supply parts, materials, assemblies, etc., for manufacturing the final product. Each of the supplier companies produces one or more products and delivers them to a company located one level lower in the chain. This process is repeated among the multiple companies until the final product is obtained at the final stage (i.e., the OEM company).

[0039] In the first embodiment, at each level of the supply chain, the side that supplies products is referred to as the upstream side, and the side that procures those products and produces new products is referred to as the downstream side. In this specification, companies located on the upstream side are referred to as upstream companies, and companies located on the downstream side are referred to as downstream companies. Furthermore, products produced by upstream companies are referred to as upstream products, and products produced by downstream companies are referred to as downstream products. Downstream products include upstream products. In this embodiment, the levels included in the supply chain are referred to as Tiers. Tier 0 is the lowest level, where the final product is assembled (corresponding to OEM companies), and the level progresses upstream as one moves to Tier 1, 2, and 3. Depending on the level being considered, a downstream company may become an upstream company. For example, company B, located at Tier 2, is a downstream company in relation to Tier 3, but an upstream company in relation to Tier 1. Thus, the definitions of upstream and downstream companies can change depending on the level.

[0040] The information processing system 100 includes a server device 1 and a plurality of corporate terminals 2. The corporate terminals 2 are terminals corresponding to each of the multiple companies that make up the supply chain. The number of terminals corresponding to each company may be arbitrary. In addition, the terminals corresponding to the target company may include terminals of companies that perform operations related to the target company (for example, proxy companies).

[0041] Server device 1 collects information from each of the multiple corporate terminals 2 to generate the product tree described below, and generates the product tree based on the collected information. Furthermore, server device 1 can perform traceability-related processing (typically, processing to calculate carbon dioxide emissions, etc.) based on the generated product tree. It can also transmit the results of the processing to the corporate terminals 2.

[0042] Figure 2 is an example of a product tree. A product tree is a tree diagram that shows the relationships between products supplied by a supply chain. In the example shown in Figure 2, the final product X is composed of... The supply relationships of multiple products are represented by a tree diagram. In the example shown in Figure 2, the final product X is produced by assembling products A1, B1, C1, D1, etc. Product A1 is produced by assembling products A11, A12, A13, etc. In this way, the relationships between the multiple products that make up the final product can be represented by a tree diagram in which each product is a node.

[0043] The server device 1 according to the first embodiment collects information about the products produced by each company (hereinafter referred to as "product information") and information for linking the product information from terminals (corporate terminals 2) corresponding to each company, and generates a product tree based on these. In addition, the product information includes traceability information (for example, information on greenhouse gas emissions; hereinafter referred to as "traceability-related information"), and by following the product tree, it is possible to track carbon footprints and the like.

[0044] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the processing flow performed in the information processing system 100. In the example shown in Figure 3, it is assumed that there are downstream companies A and upstream companies B at any given hierarchy level. It is assumed that company B produces product B and delivers it to company A, and company A produces product A using product B. In other words, in the example shown in Figure 3, product B is a child node of product A in the product tree.

[0045] First, as step 1, each company's corresponding company terminal 2 transmits and registers product information about the products it produces to the server device 1. In the example shown in Figure 3, company terminal 2 corresponding to company A transmits product information about product A (referred to as product information A) to the server device 1. Similarly, company terminal 2 corresponding to company B transmits product information about product B (referred to as product information B) to the server device 1. The product information for each company is stored in the server device 1.

[0046] In step 2, the corporate terminal 2 corresponding to each company sets access permissions for companies that disclose the company's product information. This is because disclosing all products and information related to those products included in the supply chain would compromise the confidentiality of information about the companies that make up the supply chain, and information about the products that those companies produce. Furthermore, it may not be appropriate to disclose the entire product tree to a single supplier. Server device 1 allows downstream companies to access the information within the scope of the permissions granted.

[0047] In step 3, the corporate terminal 2, which corresponds to each company, sets up the linking of product information stored in the server device 1. In one example, a representative from a downstream company logs into the server device 1 from the corporate terminal 2 using the downstream company's account and selects the upstream product to which their own downstream product will be linked. In this way, the linking of product information is performed from downstream products to upstream products. The server device 1 links the product information based on the selection.

[0048] In step 4, server device 1 creates a product tree and integrates traceability information about upstream products used in the manufacture of the final product with traceability-related information about the final product to output traceability information about the final product. Server device 1 creates a product tree by tracing the links of each product information. Traceability information is information obtained by tracking the product tree from upstream to downstream. Traceability-related information is information measured or acquired within the company.

[0049] In the example shown in Figure 3, enterprise terminal 2, which corresponds to upstream company B, sends a request (information) to server device 1 instructing it to "grant company A access rights to product information B." When server device 1 receives a request related to linking from enterprise terminal 2, which corresponds to company A, it provides only a list of product information for which company A has been granted access rights. The system allows the user to select a target for linking. Furthermore, when a request to access the product tree is received from company terminal 2, which corresponds to company A, server device 1 provides company terminal 2 with a product tree in which information other than that for which company A has access rights is kept confidential. This ensures that information about unrelated companies and products is kept secret.

[0050] Server device 1 acquires traceability information for a specified product in response to a request from, for example, a corporate terminal 2. For example, in the example shown in Figure 3, it is assumed that product A is manufactured using product B. It is also assumed that product B is manufactured using product C. In this case, traceability information for product A is acquired by integrating traceability-related information for product A measured at company A and traceability information for product B inherited from company B. Traceability information for product B is acquired by integrating traceability-related information for product B measured at company B and traceability information for product C inherited from company C. In the first embodiment, both traceability information and traceability-related information are CFP values. However, traceability-related information is the CFP value measured in the manufacturing of the company's own products measured at the company. Traceability information for a given product is a CFP value obtained by integrating the CFP value measured in the manufacturing of the given product and traceability information for upstream products inherited from upstream companies.

[0051] For example, the units of the values ​​obtained from traceability information for product A may differ from those obtained from traceability information for product B. In this case, it is necessary to convert the units of the values ​​obtained from traceability information for product B to those obtained from traceability information for product A. In other words, server device 1 cannot obtain traceability information for product A unless it uses this conversion factor.

[0052] In such cases, the corporate terminal 2 corresponding to company A transmits the conversion coefficient to the server device 1. The server device 1 stores the conversion coefficient in a memory area that can be kept confidential from other companies. Furthermore, when the server device 1 performs calculations for traceability information, it uses the conversion coefficient to perform the calculations and outputs the results, but the conversion coefficient itself is not made public.

[0053] Note that the execution order of processes such as product information registration, setting access permissions for product information, setting links between product information, generating a product tree and calculating traceability information, and registering conversion coefficients is not limited to the example shown in Figure 3. Each of these processes may be executed independently. For example, link settings may be performed later for product information that has been registered earlier.

[0054] [Device Configuration] Next, the hardware configuration of each device constituting the system will be described. Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the server device 1 according to the first embodiment. The server device 1 is configured as a computer having a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, a communication module 13, and an input / output device 14.

[0055] Server device 1 can be configured as a computer having a processor (CPU, GPU, etc.), main memory (RAM, ROM, etc.), and auxiliary storage (EPROM, hard disk drive, removable media, etc.). The auxiliary storage contains an operating system (OS), various programs, various tables, etc., and by executing the programs stored there, various functions (software modules) that match a predetermined purpose, as described later, can be realized. However, some or all of the functions may be realized as hardware modules by hardware circuits such as ASICs and FPGAs. It's okay.

[0056] The control unit 11 is a computing unit that realizes various functions of the server device 1 by executing a predetermined program. The control unit 11 can be implemented by a hardware processor such as a CPU. The control unit 11 may also be configured to include RAM, ROM (Read Only Memory), cache memory, etc.

[0057] The memory unit 12 is a means of storing information and is composed of storage media such as RAM, magnetic disks, and flash memory. The memory unit 12 stores programs executed by the control unit 11, data used by those programs, and so on. A database is also built into the memory unit 12, and this database stores product information collected from multiple corporate terminals 2, as well as account information related to the companies. Further details will be described later.

[0058] The communication module 13 is a communication interface for connecting the server device 1 to a network. The communication module 13 may be configured to include, for example, a network interface board, a wireless communication interface for wireless communication, etc. The server device 1 can communicate data with other computers (for example, each corporate terminal 2) via the communication module 13.

[0059] The input / output device 14 is a means of receiving input operations performed by the operator and presenting information to the operator. Specifically, the input / output device 14 includes devices for input such as a mouse and keyboard, and devices for output such as a display and speakers. The input / output device may be integrated with, for example, a touch panel display.

[0060] The specific hardware configuration of server device 1 can be appropriately omitted, replaced, and added depending on the embodiment. For example, the control unit 11 may include multiple hardware processors. The hardware processors may consist of microprocessors, FPGAs, GPUs, etc. The input / output device 14 may be omitted, or input / output devices other than those exemplified (e.g., optical drives) may be added. Also, server device 1 may consist of multiple computers. In this case, the hardware configurations of each computer may or may not be the same.

[0061] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the enterprise terminal 2 according to the first embodiment. The enterprise terminal 2 is configured as a computer having a control unit 21, a storage unit 22, a communication module 23, and an input / output device 24.

[0062] The enterprise terminal 2 can be configured as a computer having a processor (CPU, GPU, etc.), main memory (RAM, ROM, etc.), and auxiliary memory (EPROM, hard disk drive, removable media, etc.), similar to the server device 1. However, some or all of the functions (software modules) may be implemented as hardware modules by hardware circuits such as ASICs and FPGAs.

[0063] The control unit 21 is a computing unit that implements various functions (software modules) of the enterprise terminal 2 by executing a predetermined program. The control unit 21 can be implemented by a hardware processor such as a CPU. The control unit 21 may also be configured to include RAM, ROM (Read Only Memory), cache memory, etc.

[0064] The memory unit 22 is a means for storing information and is composed of storage media such as RAM, magnetic disks, and flash memory. The memory unit 22 stores programs executed by the control unit 21, data used by those programs, and so on.

[0065] The communication module 23 is a communication interface for connecting the enterprise terminal 2 to a network. The communication module 23 may be configured to include, for example, a network interface board, a wireless communication interface for wireless communication, etc. The enterprise terminal 2 can communicate data with other computers (for example, server device 1) via the communication module 23.

[0066] The input / output device 24 is a means of receiving input operations performed by the operator and presenting information to the operator. Specifically, the input / output device 24 includes devices for input such as a mouse and keyboard, and devices for output such as a display and speakers. The input / output device may be integrated with, for example, a touch panel display.

[0067] Furthermore, the specific hardware configuration of the enterprise terminal 2 can be modified as appropriate, depending on the embodiment, by omitting, substituting, or adding components, similar to the server device 1.

[0068] Next, the software configuration of each device constituting the system will be described. Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing the software configuration of the server device 1 according to the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the control unit 11 is configured to have four software modules: an information collection unit 111, an authorization setting unit 112, a linking unit 113, and an information provision unit 114. Each software module may be implemented by the control unit 11 (CPU) executing a program stored in the storage unit 12. Note that the information processing performed by the information collection unit 111, authorization setting unit 112, linking unit 113, and information provision unit 114 described below is synonymous with the information processing performed by the control unit 11.

[0069] The information collection unit 111 is configured to receive product information transmitted from the corporate terminal 2 and to store the product information in the storage unit 12. The authorization setting unit 112 is configured to receive information (hereinafter referred to as authorization information) from the corporate terminal 2 for setting access permissions to the product information. Furthermore, the authorization setting unit 112 is configured to perform a process to set access permissions to the product information stored in the storage unit 12 based on the received information.

[0070] The linking unit 113 is configured to interact with the enterprise terminal 2 and obtain information from the enterprise terminal 2 for linking product information together. Furthermore, the linking unit 113 is configured to perform a process of writing information representing the linking relationship to the product information stored in the storage unit 12 based on the obtained information. The linking unit 113 is also configured to receive a request to add termination information and, in response, perform a process of adding termination information to the product information stored in the storage unit 12. A product tree is formed by reflecting the linking and termination additions. In other words, the formation of a product tree is performed by saving the linking information and termination information in the storage unit 12. The linking unit 113 is configured to generate a product tree according to the results of the linking and termination additions.

[0071] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the linking unit 113 receives a conversion coefficient from the corporate terminal 2 to convert a value obtained from traceability information about an upstream product in an upstream company to the same unit as a value obtained from traceability-related information of a downstream product linked to that upstream product, and registers it in the storage unit 12. The conversion coefficient is stored in a secure storage area to which access rights are granted only to the downstream company to which the corporate terminal 2 belongs.

[0072] The information provision unit 114 is configured to perform information processing related to the product tree and output the results of the information processing. The information processing related to the product tree may include processing that performs traceability calculations on the product tree. Outputting the results of the information processing includes providing the generated product tree information to the enterprise terminal 2. That's fine. In one example, the information provision unit 114 generates information about the product tree and calculates traceability information about the product based on the generated product tree.

[0073] In the first embodiment, the storage unit 12 is configured to include a plurality of logical storage areas. Each of the plurality of storage areas can be set with different access permissions, for example, an area where access permissions are granted to company A, an area where access permissions are granted to company B, an area where access permissions are granted to both company A and B, etc. The permission setting unit 112 sets access permissions by storing product information received from the company terminal 2 in the appropriate storage area. The specific processing method will be described later.

[0074] Furthermore, account information is stored in the memory unit 12. In the first embodiment, interaction between the server device 1 and the corporate terminal 2 occurs when an operator from each company logs in to the server device 1 using the corresponding company's account via the corporate terminal 2. The account information is information about the account corresponding to each company that makes up the supply chain. Note that logging in using an account is one example of accessing the server device 1 as the corresponding company. However, the method of accessing the server device 1 is not limited to this example and may be appropriately selected depending on the embodiment.

[0075] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing the software configuration of the enterprise terminal 2 according to the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the control unit 21 is configured to have four software modules: an information generation unit 211, an authorization setting unit 212, an association request unit 213, and an information acquisition unit 214. Each software module may be implemented by the control unit 21 (CPU) executing a program stored in the storage unit 22. The information processing performed by the information generation unit 211, authorization setting unit 212, association request unit 213, and information acquisition unit 214 described below is synonymous with the information processing performed by the control unit 21.

[0076] The information generation unit 211 generates information (product information) about the company's products corresponding to the corporate terminal 2 and transmits it to the server device 1. The authorization setting unit 212 accepts user input for disclosure permission settings, for example, through the disclosure permission setting screen. Along with the user input for disclosure permission settings, it also accepts the identification information of the company to which the information will be disclosed, the identification information of the product to be disclosed, and information indicating the items to be disclosed.

[0077] When the authorization setting unit 212 receives a user operation for setting disclosure permissions, it generates permission information. The permission information includes the identification information of the company corresponding to the corporate terminal 2, the identification information of the recipient company, the identification information of the product to be disclosed, and information indicating the items to be disclosed, all of which were received along with the user operation for setting disclosure permissions. The identification information of the company included in the permission information may be the company name or the company identifier. The identification information of the product to be disclosed may be, for example, the product number. The information indicating the items to be disclosed may be, for example, the item name or the item identifier. The authorization setting unit 212 sends the request for setting disclosure permissions and the permission information to the server device 1.

[0078] The linking request unit 213 sends a request to the server device 1 to link the company's product information, which has been sent to the server device 1, with an upstream product. Along with this request, the identifier of the company's product (downstream product) that is the source of the linking and the identifier of the upstream product to which it is linked are also sent to the server device 1 as a pair. The server device 1 can then link the product information accordingly. Information regarding the source downstream product and the destination upstream product is entered by the user, for example, through the linking destination setting screen described later.

[0079] Furthermore, in the first embodiment, the linking request unit 213 obtains a value indicated by traceability information relating to the upstream product from traceability-related information relating to the downstream product. Requests for registration of conversion coefficients to convert values ​​to the units used are accepted, for example, through user input via the conversion coefficient registration screen described later. The linking request unit 213 sends a conversion coefficient registration request to the server device 1. Along with the request, conversion coefficient information is also sent, including the identifier of the upstream product, the identifier of the downstream product, the conversion coefficient, and the type of information whose units are converted by the conversion coefficient. When the linking unit 113 of the server device 1 receives the conversion coefficient registration request, it registers the identifier of the upstream product, the identifier of the downstream product, the conversion coefficient, and the type of information whose units are converted by the conversion coefficient as conversion coefficient information in the storage unit 12. The setting of the conversion coefficient may be performed, for example, immediately after setting the linking of product information, or it may be performed independently of the setting of the linking of product information by selecting a downstream product whose linking has already been set.

[0080] The information acquisition unit 214 requests the server device 1 to provide a product tree and outputs the information transmitted from the server device 1.

[0081] Figure 8 shows an example of product information. Product information may be received from the company terminal 2 or entered via the operator of the server device 1. In the example shown in Figure 8, the product information consists of the following fields: Company ID, Company Name, Product ID, and Product Name. The Company ID field stores the identifier of the company that produces the target product. The Company Name field stores the name of the company that produces the target product. The Product ID field stores the identifier of the target product. The Product Name field stores the name of the target product.

[0082] Furthermore, the product information is comprised of linking-related information. Linking-related information is information for identifying the upstream product associated with the target product. In the first embodiment, the linking-related information includes the fields "upstream product information" and "termination flag".

[0083] The upstream product information field is a field that stores information to identify product information corresponding to upstream products associated with the target product (i.e., products necessary for producing the target product and included in the target product). In other words, the upstream product information field functions as a pointer to the upstream product associated with the target product.

[0084] The Termination Flag field stores a flag indicating whether the target product is a leaf node, i.e., the node located at the very top of the product tree. For example, if the value of the Termination Flag field is "1", it indicates that the target product is the node located at the end of the product tree. For example, if the value of the Termination Flag field is "0", it indicates that the target product is the node located at the end of the product tree.

[0085] If a value is stored in the upstream product information field, the termination flag field will be "0". On the other hand, if the termination flag field is "1", the upstream product information field will be empty. The values ​​in the upstream product information and termination flag fields are received, for example, from enterprise terminal 2 or entered by the operator of server device 1. If the target product is manufactured using multiple upstream products, the product information for the target product will include linking information for each upstream product.

[0086] The information provision unit 114 identifies upstream products from the linking information contained in the product information of the final product, then identifies the next upstream product by referring to the linking information contained in the product information of that upstream product, and so on, traversing the linking information to generate a product tree for the final product. At this time, the information provision unit 114 determines that the product tree ends with that product when the termination flag becomes "1".

[0087] Furthermore, product information is structured to include traceability-related information. For example, traceability-related information may include the amount of material (e.g., upstream product) used per unit of product production, information on the recycling rate of specific raw materials used in the manufacturing process of the product at the company, greenhouse gas emissions generated during product production, due diligence information, or a combination thereof. Specific raw materials may be, for example, lithium, nickel, cobalt, lead, graphite, etc. The recycling rate may be expressed directly or indirectly, such as a combination of total usage and recycled material usage. Due diligence information (DD information) includes the amount of raw materials contained in the product and smelters, etc., as shown in technical documentation to demonstrate that the company is fulfilling its "responsible mineral sourcing obligations" with respect to products containing the target raw materials (e.g., cobalt, natural graphite, lithium, nickel, etc.). Note that DD information as part of traceability-related information may also be a score (percentage or ratio, etc.) indicating the degree to which the above obligations are being fulfilled. These values ​​are measured at the company and correspond to the processes involved in producing the target product.

[0088] For example, in the example shown in Figure 8, the traceability-related information included in product information A contains the total amount of lithium, nickel, cobalt, and lead used in the manufacturing process of product A, the amount of recycled materials used, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during the production activities of product A, and due diligence information (DD information) related to product A. The traceability-related information included in product information A does not include information about the processes leading up to the production of the upstream product (for example, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted until upstream product B is produced).

[0089] Furthermore, traceability-related information may be appropriately selected depending on the embodiment. For example, greenhouse gas emissions (carbon footprint) may include Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions. Scope 1 may be direct greenhouse gas emissions from the company itself. Scope 2 may be indirect emissions resulting from the use of electricity, heat, and steam supplied by other companies. Scope 3 may be indirect emissions other than those from Scope 1 and Scope 3.

[0090] Figure 9 shows an example of the linking destination setting screen for enterprise terminal 2. The linking destination setting screen shown in Figure 9 includes the product number of the company's own product (downstream product) to be linked, a list of upstream companies to be linked, a list of upstream products, a checkbox to set that the downstream product is the end of the tree, and a linking destination setting button.

[0091] The list of upstream companies includes, for example, companies that have previously transacted with the company corresponding to enterprise terminal 2 (downstream company). When an upstream company is selected from the list of upstream companies, a list of products from the selected upstream company that have previously transacted with the company corresponding to enterprise terminal 2 is displayed as the list of upstream products.

[0092] If the target downstream product is at the end of the tree, that is, if there is no upstream product associated with the target downstream product, this can be explicitly indicated by checking the checkbox indicated by reference numeral 1001 in Figure 9. In this case, no linking of product information is performed, and the server device 1 sets the end flag of the corresponding product information to "1" (see Figure 8). If an upstream product is selected, the checkbox will not be displayed or will be unavailable for selection.

[0093] When a user selects the linking destination setting button, the linking request unit 213 receives a request to link with an upstream product, the identifier of the target downstream product, and the identifier of the upstream product, or a termination flag. Upon receiving this input, the linking request unit 213 may, for example, display the conversion coefficient registration screen described later, or process the request to link with the upstream product. It transmits to the trans device 1.

[0094] Figure 10 shows an example of the conversion coefficient registration screen for enterprise terminal 2. The conversion coefficient registration screen is displayed, for example, when the link destination setting button is selected on the link destination setting screen. Alternatively, the conversion coefficient registration screen may be displayed, for example, when the conversion coefficient setting is selected on the menu screen.

[0095] The conversion coefficient registration screen is displayed on the enterprise terminal 2 corresponding to the downstream company. The conversion coefficient registration screen shown in Figure 10 includes a display field for information on the target upstream product, a display field for information on the target downstream product, an input field for the conversion coefficient for each traceability-related piece of information, a check button to indicate that no conversion coefficients have been registered, and a registration button.

[0096] The upstream and downstream products displayed on the conversion coefficient registration screen are, for example, the products selected on the previously displayed linking destination setting screen (Figure 9) or the upstream and downstream product selection screen. The product part numbers are displayed in the information fields for both the upstream and downstream products.

[0097] The input fields for conversion coefficients regarding traceability-related information include, for example, input fields for the conversion coefficient of CO2 emissions (CFP value) and input fields for the conversion coefficient of the amount of a given raw material used. In the example shown in Figure 10, the input fields for conversion coefficients for each piece of traceability-related information include input boxes for the units used in the upstream product before conversion, the units used in the downstream product after conversion, and the conversion coefficient. The values ​​of the conversion coefficients may be determined in advance, for example, through negotiations between the upstream and downstream companies.

[0098] Figure 10 shows an example of a CFP value conversion coefficient as one of the traceability-related pieces of information. In Figure 10, for upstream products, the unit of the CFP value is kg / m³ (amount of CO2 per cubic meter of upstream product (kg)). For downstream products, the unit of the CFP value is kg / m (amount of CO2 per meter of downstream product (kg)). The coefficient used to convert the CFP value of the upstream product, expressed in terms of CO2 per cubic meter (kg), to CO2 per meter (kg) is the CFP value conversion coefficient.

[0099] The amount of a specified raw material used, as part of traceability-related information, is used, for example, to obtain recycling rates and due diligence information. For example, if the upstream product is in sheet form and the downstream product is in granular form, the units used to indicate the amount of the specified raw material may differ. For example, suppose the upstream product is in sheet form and the unit used to indicate the amount of the specified raw material is g / m (amount of lithium contained in 1 meter of upstream product). On the other hand, suppose the downstream product is in granular form and the unit used to indicate the amount of the specified raw material is g / kg (amount of lithium contained in 1 kg of downstream product). In such cases, the conversion coefficient for the amount of the specified raw material is used to convert the amount of the specified raw material for the upstream product to the unit used for the downstream product.

[0100] Checking the checkbox indicated by symbol 2001 in Figure 10 shows that there is no unit conversion for any traceability-related information between the upstream and downstream products in question.

[0101] When the registration button is selected, the user operation for the registration of the conversion coefficient is input to the linking request unit 213. In response, the linking request unit 213 sends the registration request for the conversion coefficient to the server device 1.

[0102] For example, if the conversion coefficient registration screen shown in Figure 10 is displayed following the linking destination setting screen shown in Figure 9, and the user inputs a request to register the conversion coefficient to the linking request unit 213 by selecting the registration button on the conversion coefficient registration screen, the linking request unit 213 sends a request to link with the upstream product and a request to register the conversion coefficient to the server device 1. Note that the linking destination setting screen shown in Figure 9 and the conversion coefficient registration screen shown in Figure 10 are examples and are not limited to the examples shown in Figures 9 and 10, respectively.

[0103] [Example of memory area configuration] Figure 11 shows an example of the configuration of the storage area of ​​the storage unit 12. In the example shown in Figure 11, Company A is a downstream company, and Company B is an upstream company. The product produced by Company A is called Product A, and the product produced by Company B is called Product B. The product information corresponding to Product A is called Product Information A, and the product information corresponding to Product B is called Product Information B. In the example shown in Figure 11, it is assumed that Company B sets a permission to disclose Product Information B to Company A.

[0104] Product information B is stored in a storage area (hereinafter referred to as "storage area B") to which access rights are granted only to company B. A storage area to which access rights are granted only to a specific company will be referred to as a "dedicated storage area" below. Server device 1 has access rights to the dedicated storage areas of any company. Having access rights to a predetermined storage area means, for example, having the right to view the information stored in that storage area and the right to write information to that storage area. Furthermore, server device 1 reads and provides the information stored in the predetermined storage area only to accounts that have been granted access rights (viewing rights) to that storage area. Also, server device 1 stores only information related to accounts that have been granted access rights (writing rights) to the predetermined storage area in that storage area. At this point, company A's account does not have access rights to company B's dedicated storage area B, so product information B stored in storage area B is not made public to company A.

[0105] Next, the authorization setting unit 112 of the server device 1 receives a request from the corporate terminal 2 of company B to set permission for access to company A for product information B. Along with the request to set the access permission, permission information is also received, which includes the identification information of company B as the publishing company, the identification information of company A as the publishing destination company, product B as the product to be published, and information indicating which items of product information B are permitted to be published. The request to set permission for access of product information B to company A, a downstream company, is received from the corporate terminal 2 of company B, an upstream company, for example, when a publishing request for product information B is sent from the corporate terminal 2 of downstream company A, and the operator of the corporate terminal 2 of the upstream company B responds with permission to the publishing request, or when the operator of the upstream company B inputs a setting to the corporate terminal 2 of company B that permits the publication of product information B to company A.

[0106] In the first embodiment, the authorization setting unit 112 copies product information B stored in storage area B to a storage area to which both company A and company B are granted access rights. As a result, product information B becomes accessible to both company A and company B and is made public to company A. The storage area to which both company A and company B are granted access rights will hereinafter be referred to as the shared storage area AB of company A and company B. The server device 1 has access rights to the shared storage area AB of company A and company B.

[0107] In other words, in the first embodiment, permission from company B to disclose product information B to company A is established by storing a copy of product information B in a shared storage area AB between company A and company B. Note that items of product information B other than those permitted for disclosure are stored in a shared storage area B between company A and company B. It will be excluded from the copy to area AB.

[0108] In the first embodiment, the linking unit 113 of the server device 1 receives a registration request for a conversion coefficient from the corporate terminal 2 and stores the received information regarding the conversion coefficient in a storage area dedicated to the corporate terminal 2. In the example shown in Figure 11, the linking unit 113 receives a registration request from the corporate terminal 2 corresponding to corporate A for a conversion coefficient that converts a value indicated by traceability information regarding upstream product B to a unit of value obtained from traceability-related information regarding downstream product A, and stores the information regarding the conversion coefficient in a storage area A dedicated to corporate A.

[0109] In this case, the conversion coefficient is not stored in any of the following locations: for example, shared storage areas AB between companies A and B, storage area B dedicated to company B, storage areas dedicated to companies A and other companies, or shared storage areas between company B and companies other than company A. Therefore, the conversion coefficient used by company A is kept secret from companies other than company A.

[0110] The information provision unit 114 generates information about the product tree based on the stored product information and outputs information about the product tree. The information provision unit 114 can generate an image representing a tree diagram based on the product information. Furthermore, when generating information about the product tree, the information provision unit 114 can integrate the traceability-related information registered for each product and output the result as traceability information for each product. When integrating values ​​indicated by traceability information of upstream products inherited from upstream companies with values ​​obtained from traceability-related information of downstream products measured at downstream companies, if the units of the two differ, the information provision unit 114 reads a conversion coefficient from the downstream company's dedicated storage area and uses this conversion coefficient to convert the values ​​indicated by the traceability information of upstream products to the units of the values ​​obtained from the traceability-related information of downstream products. In this case, although traceability information for downstream products is output as a result of the integration, the conversion coefficient used is not output.

[0111] The information provision unit 114 may generate a product tree in response to a request from a corporate terminal 2 and provide it to the corporate terminal 2. However, it is not appropriate to disclose the entire product tree to a specific company. Therefore, when the information provision unit 114 provides a product tree to a corporate terminal 2 corresponding to a certain company, it may perform a process to keep the portion that has not been granted permission for disclosure to that company confidential. Whether or not permission for disclosure has been granted is determined by whether or not product information about the product is stored in a shared storage area between the company that manufactures the product in question and the company corresponding to the corporate terminal 2 requesting the product tree.

[0112] Figure 12 shows an example of a product tree based on disclosure permission settings. In the example shown in Figure 12, products for which the company's account viewing the product tree does not have access rights (i.e., is not permitted to be disclosed) are displayed as "Private" in the product tree. For private products, detailed information, or even their very existence, is kept secret from the company's account viewing the product tree.

[0113] Furthermore, the setting of disclosure permission is not limited to the product itself, but can also be set for individual items included in the product information. In Figure 12, items for which disclosure permission has not been set are indicated by dotted lines. In Figure 12, it is shown that the carbon dioxide emissions during the production of product A121 are not disclosed and are therefore kept secret. Even if there are products or items in the product tree for which access rights are not granted, the acquisition of traceability information for each product, as described above, will be carried out without being affected. For example, in the illustrated example, the carbon dioxide emissions for product A121 are not disclosed, but this does not affect the process of calculating the total carbon dioxide emissions for product A12.

[0114] [Integration processing of traceability-related information] Figure 13 is an example of a diagram illustrating the integration process of traceability-related information. In the example shown in Figure 13, Company A is a downstream company in Tier N, and Company B is an upstream company in Tier N+1. The product produced by Company A is called Product A, and the product produced by Company B is called Product B. The following describes the process of integrating the traceability information for Product B and the traceability-related information for Product A in Tier N to obtain traceability information for Product A.

[0115] In the first embodiment, traceability information for product B is stored in a shared storage area AB between company A and company B, and is then transferred from company B to company A. In the example shown in Figure 13, since product B is the upstream product of product A, traceability information for product A is obtained by integrating traceability-related information for product A and traceability information for product B. Traceability-related information for product A is read from storage area A, which is dedicated to company A.

[0116] If the traceability information for product A is a CFP value, the traceability-related information for product A and the traceability information for product B are integrated as shown in Equation 1 below.

number

[0117] The activity level is the amount of product B used per unit of production of product A. The conversion coefficient from the CFP value of product B to the CFP value of product A is read from a memory area A dedicated to company A. In Equation 1, the CFP value of product A corresponds to traceability information related to product A. The measured CFP value of product A in company A corresponds to traceability-related information related to product A. The CFP value of product B corresponds to traceability information related to product B.

[0118] Traceability information (CFP value) for product A is passed down to companies further downstream of product A. For example, if company D (Tier N-1) is a downstream company to company A, the traceability information (CFP value) for product A is passed down to company D by being stored in a shared memory area AD between company A and company D. If company A's product is product D, the traceability information (CFP value) for product D is obtained in the same way as the traceability information for product A, by integrating the traceability-related information (measured CFP value) for product D and the traceability information (CFP value) for product A.

[0119] Therefore, generalizing Equation 1, the CFP value of a product in Tier N is expressed by the following Equation 2.

number

[0120] k is a variable that points to an upstream product. If a Tier N product is called product N, and product N is manufactured using multiple Tier N+1 products N+1, then the variable k will be 1 to product The value can be up to the number of products N+1 used in the manufacture of N. The conversion coefficient Ck to product N is a conversion coefficient that converts the CFP value of the k-th product N+1 to the units of the CFP value of product N. The activity amount Uk in product N is the amount of the k-th product N+1 used per unit of production of product N. For example, if one unit of production of product N is 1, then the activity amount Uk in product N is the amount of the k-th product N+1 used per unit of product N. For example, if one unit of production of product N is 1 kg, then the activity amount Uk in product N is the amount of the k-th product N+1 used per 1 kg of product N. For each tier of products, the CFP value of the final product (downstream product) can be obtained by sequentially performing the calculation in Equation 2 from the upstream product.

[0121] In Equation 2, the CFP value of product N corresponds to traceability information related to product N. The measured CFP value in Tier N companies corresponds to traceability-related information related to product N. The CFP value of product k (Tier N+1) corresponds to traceability information related to product k (Tier N+1).

[0122] The CFP value of product N obtained through the process of integrating the traceability-related information described above may be stored in the storage unit 12 as part of the product information of product N, or it may be stored in the storage unit 12 independently of the product information of product N.

[0123] Next, for a given raw material, the recycling rate of product N is obtained by dividing the amount of recycled material used up to the manufacture of product N by the total amount used up to the manufacture of product N. The total amount of the given raw material used up to the manufacture of product N represents the total amount of recycled and non-recycled raw materials used up to the manufacture of product N. Hereinafter, the total amount used and the recycling rate in the manufacturing process of product N as measured by a Tier N company will be simply referred to as the total amount used in the manufacture of product N and the recycling rate of product N manufacture. The amount of recycled material used and the total amount used of the given raw material up to the manufacture of product N will be simply referred to as the amount of recycled material used up to product N and the total amount used, respectively. The recycling rate of the given raw material included up to the manufacture of product N will be simply referred to as the recycling rate of product N. The recycling rate of product N is expressed by the following formula 3.

number

[0124] The units used for the total amount used up to product N+1 and the total amount used in manufacturing product N may differ between Tier N+1 companies and Tier N companies. Therefore, when calculating the recycling rate of product N, the conversion coefficient Ck to product N is the total amount used up to the k-th product N+1. This is a conversion factor that converts the total usage amount to the total usage amount for the manufacture of product N.

[0125] In Equation 3, the information transferred from Tier N+1 product N+1 to Tier N product N is the recycling rate of product k (Tier N+1) and the total amount used up to product k (Tier N+1). Therefore, in Equation 3, the traceability information for product k (Tier N+1) corresponds to the set of the recycling rate of product k (Tier N+1) and the total amount used up to product k (Tier N+1). Furthermore, in Equation 3, the traceability information for product N is a set of the total amount used in the manufacture of product N and the recycling rate of product N, as measured by the Tier N company. In this case, the traceability information for product N that is passed down from the Tier N company to the Tier N-1 company further downstream is a set of the recycling rate of product N and the total amount used up to product N.

[0126] Furthermore, the total amount used up to product N in the denominator of Equation 3 and the amount of recycled material used up to product N in the numerator may be obtained and stored in the storage unit 12 as part of the product information or separately. Note that if the predetermined raw materials are not used in the manufacturing process of product N at a Tier N company, both the total amount used in the production of product N and the recycling rate in the production of product N in Equation 3 will be 0.

[0127] Furthermore, when calculating the recycling rate of product N, the following equation 3-1, which is a modified version of equation 3 above, may be used.

number

[0128] When the recycling rate of product N is determined using Equation 3-1, the information carried over from Tier N+1 product k to Tier N product N is the amount of recycled material used up to product k (Tier N+1) and the total amount used up to product k (Tier N+1). Therefore, in Equation 3-1, the traceability information for product k (Tier N+1) is the amount of recycled material used up to product k (Tier N+1) and the total amount used up to product k (Tier N+1). In Equation 3-1, the traceability-related information for product N is a set of the amount of recycled material used in the manufacture of product N and the total amount used.

[0129] If a score indicating the degree of satisfaction of the DD information for product N is determined according to a predetermined method, for example, one of the DD pieces of information, the amount of a predetermined raw material used, can be converted in units of the amount of that predetermined raw material used in product N inherited from Tier N. In this case, the conversion coefficient Ck is calculated by including the amount of the predetermined raw material used in the k-th product N+1 in product N. This is a conversion coefficient used to convert a predetermined amount of raw material into a unit. The method for calculating the score indicating the degree of sufficiency of DD information is not limited to a specific method. When a score indicating the degree of sufficiency of DD information for product N is required, the traceability-related information for product N is, for example, the DD information for product N. When a score indicating the degree of sufficiency of DD information for product N is required, the traceability information for product N+1 is, for example, the score indicating the degree of sufficiency of DD information for product N+1 and the aggregate value of the DD information up to product N+1. However, the definitions of traceability-related information for product N and traceability information for product N+1 when a score indicating the degree of sufficiency of DD information for product N is required are not limited to the above and are defined according to the method of calculating the score.

[0130] [Process Flow] Figure 14 is an example of a flowchart for processing a conversion coefficient registration request by the enterprise terminal 2. The process shown in Figure 14 is executed repeatedly, for example, at a predetermined interval. The main entity executing the process shown in Figure 14 is the control unit 21 of the enterprise terminal 2, but for convenience, the functional components will be described as the main components.

[0131] In OP101, the linking request unit 213 determines whether a user operation for a conversion coefficient registration request has been entered through the conversion coefficient registration screen. Along with the conversion coefficient registration request, the upstream product identifier, the downstream product identifier, and exchange coefficient information including information indicating that there is no conversion coefficient or conversion are also entered. If a user operation for a conversion coefficient registration request has been entered (OP101:YES), the process proceeds to OP102. If a user operation for a conversion coefficient registration request has not been entered (OP101:NO), the process shown in Figure 14 ends.

[0132] In OP102, the linking request unit 213 determines whether or not a conversion coefficient has been registered. If a conversion coefficient has been registered (OP102:YES), the process proceeds to OP103. If a conversion coefficient has not been registered (OP102:NO), the process shown in Figure 14 ends.

[0133] In OP103, the linking request unit 213 determines whether the production unit of the downstream product is a quantity. If the production unit of the downstream product is a quantity (OP103: YES), the process proceeds to OP104. If the production unit of the downstream product is not a quantity (OP103: NO), the process proceeds to OP105.

[0134] In OP104, the linking request unit 213 further converts the input conversion coefficient entered on the conversion coefficient registration screen, for example, a conversion coefficient such that the converted CFP value represents the amount of CO2 per downstream product. The converted conversion coefficient is then sent to the server device 1.

[0135] In OP105, the linking request unit 213 sends a conversion coefficient registration request to the server device 1. Along with the conversion coefficient registration request, the conversion coefficient information is also sent to the server device 1. When the server device 1 receives the conversion coefficient registration request, it registers the conversion coefficient information in the storage unit 12. After that, the process shown in Figure 14 is completed.

[0136] Figures 15A and 15B are examples of flowcharts for traceability information calculation processing by server device 1. The process shown in Figure 15A is executed repeatedly, for example, at a predetermined interval. The main entity executing the processes shown in Figures 15A and 15B is the control unit 11 of server device 1, but for convenience, the functional components will be described as the main focus. As a prerequisite for the processes in Figures 15A and 15B, it is assumed that, for example, a product tree with a predetermined product as the final product is generated in response to a request from enterprise terminal 2 and displayed on enterprise terminal 2. Figures 15A and 15B do not specify which of the following the traceability information to be acquired is being described: for example, CFP value, recycling rate, and a score indicating the degree of sufficiency of DD information. It is possible that multiple of the following are the traceability information to be acquired: CFP value, recycling rate, and a score indicating the degree of sufficiency of DD information.

[0137] In OP201, the information provision unit 114 determines whether or not it has received a request to acquire traceability information from the corporate terminal 2. A request to acquire traceability information is sent from the information acquisition unit 214 of the corporate terminal 2 when, for example, one of several products in the displayed product tree is selected by a user operation on the corporate terminal 2. Along with the request to acquire traceability information, for example, the identifier of the product for which traceability information is to be acquired is also received. Let's say the product for which traceability information is to be acquired is product P.

[0138] If a request to obtain traceability information is received from enterprise terminal 2 (OP201:YES), the process proceeds to OP202. If no request to obtain traceability information is received from enterprise terminal 2 (OP201:NO), the process shown in Figure 15A ends.

[0139] In OP202, the information provision unit 114 identifies the nodes corresponding to upstream products that reach the node corresponding to the target product P in the product tree, in the Tier upstream from the node corresponding to the target product P, and identifies the products that are subject to the following processing. The Tier in which the node corresponding to the target product is located is called TierP. The nodes identified in OP202 include the node corresponding to the target product P.

[0140] Next, OP203 and OP204 are executed for each node identified in OP202 among the nodes in the topmost Tier M of the product tree. The node targeted by OP203 and OP204 is node m, and the product corresponding to node m is product m.

[0141] In OP203, the information provision unit 114 acquires traceability information related to product m. Since product m is the upstream product, traceability-related information related to product m is acquired as traceability information related to product m.

[0142] In OP204, the information provision unit 114 transfers traceability information about product m to downstream products in Tier M-1 relative to product m. In the first embodiment, the transfer of traceability information about product m in OP204 is performed by storing the traceability information about product m in a shared memory area between the company that manufactures product m and the company that manufactures downstream products in Tier M-1 relative to product m.

[0143] Once OP204 is completed, OP203 and OP204 are executed on another node in Tier M, which was identified in OP202, and designated as target node m. If OP203 and OP204 have been executed on all nodes identified in OP202 in Tier M, the process proceeds to OP205.

[0144] In OP205, the information provision unit 114 determines whether TierM is TierP, that is, whether a node corresponding to the target product P is located in TierM. If TierM is TierP (OP205: YES), the process proceeds to OP206. If TierM is TierP, traceability information regarding the target product P has been obtained by repeating the processes of OP203 and OP204, so in OP206, the information provision unit 114 transmits the traceability information regarding the target product P to the enterprise terminal 2. The enterprise terminal 2 receives traceability information regarding the target product P from the server device 1 and displays it, for example, on its display. After that, the process shown in Figure 15A is completed.

[0145] If TierM is not TierP (OP205:NO), the process proceeds to OP211 in Figure 15B. The processes from OP211 to OP217 are executed for each node identified in OP202 in the product tree, from TierM-1 to TierP. Specifically, first, the processes from OP211 to OP217 are executed sequentially for each node identified in OP202 in TierM-1. After that, the processes from OP211 to OP217 are executed sequentially for each node identified in OP202 in TierM-2. In this way, the processes from OP211 to OP217 are repeatedly executed until all nodes identified in OP202 in TierP have been processed.

[0146] Tier N is the Tier targeted for processing from OP211 to OP218, node n is the node targeted for processing, and product n is the product corresponding to node n. In OP211, the information provision unit 114 acquires traceability-related information regarding product n. In the first embodiment, traceability-related information regarding product n is acquired from a dedicated storage area of ​​the company that manufactures product n.

[0147] In OP212, the information provision unit 114 acquires traceability information regarding product k, which is an upstream product in Tier N+1 for product n. In the first embodiment, the traceability information regarding product k is acquired from a shared storage area between the company that manufactures product n and the company that manufactures product k.

[0148] In OP213, the information provision unit 114 determines whether or not there is a conversion coefficient related to traceability information from product k to product n. This determination may be made by referring to the conversion coefficient information in the storage unit 12, or by determining whether the units of the value indicated by the traceability-related information for product n and the value obtained from the traceability information for product k are the same. If there is a conversion coefficient from product k to product n (OP213:YES), the process proceeds to OP214. If there is no conversion coefficient related to traceability information from product k to product n (OP213:NO), the process proceeds to OP216.

[0149] In OP214, the information provision unit 114 obtains a conversion coefficient for product n from product k, from a dedicated storage area for the company that manufactures product n. In OP215, the information provision unit 114 converts the value obtained from the traceability information for product k into a value expressed in the units used for the value indicated by the traceability-related information for product n, using the conversion coefficient obtained in OP214. If there are multiple products k that are upstream products in Tier N+1 for product n, the processing from OP212 to OP215 is executed for each of these multiple products k.

[0150] In OP216, the information provision unit 114 integrates traceability-related information for product n and traceability information for product k to obtain traceability information for product n. The integration of traceability-related information for product n and traceability information for product k is as described above.

[0151] In OP217, the information provision unit 114 transfers traceability information about product n to downstream products in Tier N-1 relative to product n. In the first embodiment, the transfer of traceability information about product n in OP217 is performed by storing the traceability information about product n in a shared memory area between the company that manufactures product n and the company that manufactures downstream products in Tier M-1 relative to product n.

[0152] Once processing of OP217 is completed for node n, processing from OP211 to OP217 is executed for another node in Tier N that was identified in OP202, with node n being the target node. If processing from OP211 to OP217 has been executed for all nodes identified in OP202 in Tier N, the process proceeds to OP218.

[0153] In OP218, the information provision unit 114 determines whether TierN is TierP, that is, whether a node corresponding to the target product P is located in TierN.

[0154] If TierN is not TierP (OP218:NO), the information provision unit 114 treats TierN-1 as the new TierN and executes the processes from OP211 to OP217 for each node identified in OP202 within TierN.

[0155] If TierN is TierP (OP218:YES), the process proceeds to OP219. If TierN is TierP, traceability information regarding the target product P has been obtained by repeatedly performing the processes from OP211 to OP217 for all nodes identified in OP202 in TierN. Therefore, in OP219, the information provision unit 114 transmits the traceability information regarding the target product P to the enterprise terminal 2. After that, the process shown in Figure 15B is completed. Note that the processes shown in Figures 14, 15A, and 15B are examples, and the processes executed by the enterprise terminal 2 and the server device 1 can be appropriately changed depending on the embodiment.

[0156] [Effects of the First Embodiment] In the first embodiment, a conversion coefficient for converting values ​​obtained from traceability information relating to upstream products to the units used in the traceability-related information relating to downstream products is stored in a dedicated memory area for the downstream company that manufactures the downstream product. Furthermore, although this conversion coefficient is used when acquiring traceability information relating to downstream products, which integrates the traceability information relating to upstream products and the traceability-related information relating to downstream products, this conversion coefficient is not output. In this way, the conversion coefficient, which is a type of confidential information, can be kept secret from other companies.

[0157] [Second Embodiment] The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the configuration of the memory area. As a result, the method of transferring traceability information regarding upstream products to downstream companies differs from that of the first embodiment in the second embodiment. Note that explanations common to the first embodiment are omitted in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the system configuration of the information processing system 100, the hardware and software configuration of the server device 1, and the hardware and software configuration of the enterprise terminal 2 are the same as in the first embodiment.

[0158] Figure 16 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the storage area of ​​the storage unit 12 according to the second embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 16, Company A is a downstream company. Company B is an upstream company. The product produced by Company A is called Product A. The product produced by Company B is called Product B. Product information corresponding to Product A is called Product Information A. Product information corresponding to Product B is called Product Information B. In the example shown in Figure 16, it is assumed that Company B sets a disclosure permission for disclosing Product Information B to Company A.

[0159] In the second embodiment, a shared storage area between the two companies is not used. For example, when the authorization setting unit 112 of the server device 1 receives a request from the company terminal 2 of company B to set permission to access product information B of upstream product B of downstream company A, the product information B stored in the storage area B dedicated to upstream company B is accessed by the server device 1. The data is copied to storage area A. As a result, the account of company A, a downstream company, will be able to access product information B of upstream product B from storage area A, which is dedicated to company A, and product information B of upstream product B will be made public to company A, a downstream company.

[0160] However, if the authorization setting unit 112 of server device 1 has not granted write permissions to the storage area A, which is dedicated to the downstream company A, to the account of the upstream company B, it cannot copy product information B, which is information about company B, to storage area A. Therefore, before copying product information B to storage area A, the authorization setting unit 112 of server device 1 grants write permissions to storage area A to the account of the upstream company B.

[0161] One possible method for granting write access to storage area A, which is exclusively for downstream company A, to the account of upstream company B is as follows: The authorization setting unit 112 issues a key to the account of upstream company B for writing information to storage area A, which is exclusively for downstream company A. The authorization setting unit 112 uses this key to copy product information B, which is stored in storage area B, which is exclusively for upstream company B, to storage area A, which is exclusively for downstream company A.

[0162] Similar to the first embodiment, when the linking unit 113 of the server device 1 receives a conversion coefficient registration request from the corporate terminal 2, it stores the received conversion coefficient information in a dedicated storage area for the company corresponding to the corporate terminal 2. Also, similar to the first embodiment, the information provision unit 114 generates a product tree based on the product information stored in the dedicated storage area for each company.

[0163] Figure 17 shows an example of the transfer of traceability information according to the second embodiment. In the example shown in Figure 17, company A is a downstream company in Tier N. Company B is an upstream company in Tier N+1. The product produced by company A is called product A. The product produced by company B is called product B. Furthermore, company D is a Tier N-1 company further downstream of company A.

[0164] In the second embodiment, the information provision unit 114 transfers traceability information related to upstream product B from upstream company B to downstream company A by storing it in a dedicated storage area A for downstream company A. The information provision unit 114 integrates the traceability-related information related to product A and the traceability information related to upstream product B, which are stored in the dedicated storage area A for downstream company A, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, to obtain traceability information related to product A. At this time, a conversion coefficient stored in the dedicated storage area A for downstream company A is used to align the units between the information to be integrated.

[0165] The information provision unit 114 stores traceability information for product A in a dedicated memory area D for company D, which is Tier N-1 further downstream of company A, thereby transferring it from company A to company D further downstream. By repeatedly performing this process down to the lowest Tier, traceability information from the upstream product to the final product is integrated, and traceability information for the final product can be obtained.

[0166] In the second embodiment, since traceability information is passed on as described above, the upstream company's account is granted write access to a dedicated storage area for the downstream company. The granting of write access to the dedicated storage area for the downstream company to the upstream company's account is performed by the permission setting unit 112, for example, when a link is established between the upstream product and the downstream product, or when the downstream company's account is granted access to the product information of the upstream product.

[0167] In the second embodiment, traceability information for upstream products and traceability information for downstream products are also provided. The conversion coefficients used when integrating traceability-related information are stored in a memory area dedicated to downstream companies and are not copied to memory areas dedicated to other companies, thus remaining confidential from other companies. Furthermore, upstream companies have write access to the memory areas dedicated to downstream companies in order to store traceability information related to upstream products, but they are not granted read access. Therefore, upstream company accounts cannot view the conversion coefficients stored in the memory areas dedicated to downstream companies, thus keeping these conversion coefficients confidential from upstream companies.

[0168] (Modifications of the first and second embodiments) In the first and second embodiments, the server device 1 integrates traceability information for upstream products and traceability-related information for downstream products to obtain traceability-related information for downstream products. Alternatively, the enterprise terminals 2 corresponding to downstream companies may each integrate traceability information for upstream products and traceability-related information for downstream products to obtain traceability-related information for downstream products.

[0169] In this case, the information provision unit 114 of the server device 1 sends requests to the corresponding company terminals 2 in order from the upstream companies included in the product tree to obtain traceability information about the products included in the product tree, and then passes it on to the next downstream company, thereby obtaining traceability information about a given product. That is, in the first embodiment, the server device 1 performed the processing of OP203 and OP204 in Figure 15A and OP211 to OP217 in Figure 15B for each node included in the product tree. In the second embodiment, the information provision unit 114 of the server device 1 controls the company terminals 2 of the companies that manufacture the products corresponding to each node to perform this processing.

[0170] Thus, when each corporate terminal 2 acquires traceability information regarding the corresponding company's products, the server device 1 may receive the traceability information from the corporate terminal 2 and transfer the information to downstream companies as in the first or second embodiment.

[0171] Furthermore, as in the second embodiment, if the upstream company's account is granted write access to a storage area dedicated to the downstream company, and product information and traceability information of the upstream product are copied to the storage area dedicated to the downstream company, the corporate terminal 2 may directly copy the information to the storage area dedicated to the downstream company. In this case, access control to the storage area for the downstream company is performed, for example, using an electronic certificate as follows.

[0172] For example, the authorization setting unit 112 of server device 1, or the authorization setting unit 212 of the downstream company's enterprise terminal 2, requests a certification authority to issue an electronic certificate to be granted to the upstream company's account. The electronic certificate may be configured to include the downstream company's public key and an electronic signature for said public key. By receiving the electronic certificate from the downstream company's account, the upstream company's account can obtain write access to the storage area dedicated to that downstream company.

[0173] The upstream company's enterprise terminal 2 uses the acquired digital certificate (key) of the downstream company's account to write product information or traceability information of the upstream product to a storage area dedicated to the downstream company. At this time, the upstream company's enterprise terminal 2 may encrypt the product information or traceability information of the upstream product using the public key contained in the digital certificate and write the encrypted information to the storage area dedicated to the downstream company. The downstream company can decrypt the written information using the private key generated in correspondence with the public key. Note that the functional components executed will vary depending on the information to be written. For example, when writing product information of an upstream product to a storage area dedicated to the downstream company, the information generation unit 211 performs the writing as described above. For example, when writing traceability information related to an upstream product to a storage area dedicated to the downstream company, the information acquisition unit 2 User 14 writes the above message.

[0174] (Other variations) The embodiments described above are merely examples, and this disclosure may be modified as appropriate without departing from its essence. For example, the processes and means described in this disclosure can be freely combined and implemented as long as no technical inconsistencies arise.

[0175] Furthermore, in the description of the embodiment, the server device 1 stores product information in a database, but product information may be stored by means other than a database.

[0176] Furthermore, while the description of the embodiment illustrates a configuration in which the server device 1 completes the product tree by executing steps 1 to 4 (Figure 3), the role of the server device 1 may be distributed among multiple corporate terminals 2. For example, product information may be stored in a distributed database using a blockchain platform. In this case, the product information database may be composed of multiple corporate terminals 2. In this case, smart contracts may be used to execute the processing of each of the steps described above. For example, the processing in step 2 (setting access rights) may be triggered when an account of a certain company writes permission information to the database. Alternatively, the processing in step 3 (setting up the link) may be triggered when an account of a certain company writes a linking request to the database.

[0177] The storage areas where each product information is stored may also be distributed across multiple corporate terminals 2. In this case, each company's dedicated storage area may be located only within the corporate terminal 2 of the corresponding company. Furthermore, the shared storage area among multiple companies in the first embodiment may be distributed across multiple corporate terminals 2 involved in the sharing.

[0178] Furthermore, the setting of access rights to the storage area may be implemented by the operating system of server device 1, or by other authentication methods. For example, public-key cryptography can be used. Also, when implementing the system using a blockchain platform, access rights may be granted using electronic keys.

[0179] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the multiple companies included in the supply chain were described as companies that produce products. However, the companies included in the supply chain do not necessarily have to be companies that produce products. For example, companies that transport, import, store, or wholesale products may also be included in the companies that make up the supply chain. For example, some of the companies among the multiple companies may be companies that do not perform the manufacturing process, such as trading companies, sales agents, or import agents, and may receive products from companies located one level up (upstream companies) and deliver products to companies located one level down (downstream companies).

[0180] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a supply chain for automobile-related products was assumed, with OEM manufacturers described as the lowest-level companies and companies supplying parts, materials, assemblies, etc., described as suppliers. However, the companies belonging to the supply chain are not necessarily limited to these. The companies at each stage may be determined as appropriate depending on the product, etc. Also, the manufacturing activities carried out by each company until the final product is obtained may be determined as appropriate depending on the embodiment, and may include, for example, all activities that can be carried out until the final product is obtained, such as excavation, processing, assembly, transportation, and storage.

[0181] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, it was assumed that each company places an order with one company for a certain material. However, in the above embodiment, the ordering format of each company is not limited to this example. At least some of the companies belonging to the supply chain are related to the same product. It is also possible to place orders with multiple upstream companies and selectively use the obtained upstream products in one's own products. For example, in the example shown in Figure 2, the Tier 1 product A1 may selectively use Tier 2 products A11_1, A11_2, or A11_3. In this case, Server device 1 may maintain a linking relationship for each pattern used. In the above example, server device 1 may maintain linking information for Tier 1 product A1 as follows: pattern 1 "Tier 2 product A11_1, ...", pattern 2 "product A11_2, ...", and pattern 3 "product A11_3, ...". Accordingly, server device 1 may perform the above traceability information calculation (integration) for each pattern. In this case, in one example, server device 1 may output the calculation result for each pattern. In another example, server device 1 may calculate statistics such as the maximum value, minimum value, mean, variance, standard deviation, and median from the calculation result and output the calculated statistics.

[0182] Furthermore, the conversion coefficient may be made public to a designated company (e.g., a downstream company) if the company that registered the conversion coefficient permits its disclosure to that designated company. The conversion coefficient is made public to the designated company by copying the conversion coefficient information to a shared storage area with the designated company (first embodiment) or a storage area dedicated to the designated company (second embodiment).

[0183] Furthermore, a process described as being performed by a single device may be divided and executed by multiple devices. Conversely, a process described as being performed by different devices may be executed by a single device. In a computer system, the hardware configuration (server configuration) by which each function is implemented can be flexibly changed.

[0184] The present disclosure can also be realized by supplying a computer program implementing the functions described in the embodiments above to a computer, and having one or more processors in the computer read and execute the program. Such a computer program may be provided to the computer by a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium that can be connected to the computer's system bus, or it may be provided to the computer via a network. Non-temporary computer-readable storage mediums include, for example, any type of disk such as magnetic disks (floppy disks, hard disk drives (HDDs), etc.), optical disks (CD-ROMs, DVDs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic cards, flash memory, optical cards, and any type of medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. [Explanation of symbols]

[0185] 1. Server device 2. Enterprise terminals 11,21...Control Unit 12,22...Storage section 13,23 ·· Communications Department 14,24... Input / Output Devices 100. Information Processing Systems 111. Information Gathering Department 112. Permissions setting section 113. String attachment part 114·Information Department 211...Information generation section 212. Permissions setting section 213 ··Linked Request Section 214...Information acquisition department

Claims

1. The system accepts input from the account of a downstream company, which is one of the upstream companies that manufacture the first product and the downstream company that manufactures the second product using the first product, a conversion coefficient that converts a value expressed in a first unit obtained from traceability information relating to the first product to a value expressed in a second unit adopted for the value obtained from traceability-related information relating to the second product. The conversion coefficient is stored in a first storage area to which access rights are granted exclusively to the account of the downstream company. Converting a first value expressed in the first unit, obtained from traceability information relating to the first product, into a second value expressed in the second unit using the conversion coefficient, To output a fourth value that indicates the first information included in the traceability information for the second product, obtained by integrating the second value and a third value obtained from the traceability-related information for the second product at the downstream company, A control unit that executes Equipped with, The control unit stores traceability information relating to the second product in a second storage area to which access rights are limited to the account of the downstream company and the account of the third company that manufactures the third product using the second product.

2. The first piece of information included in the aforementioned traceability information is one of the following: Carbon Footprint of Products (CFP) value, recycling rate, or a score indicating the degree of adequacy of due diligence (DD) information. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The control unit obtains traceability information relating to the first product from a third storage area to which access rights are limited to the accounts of the upstream company and the downstream company. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

4. The control unit receives the first information included in the traceability information relating to the second product. The fourth value indicating the report is sent to the terminal corresponding to the downstream company's account. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1.

5. The system accepts input of a conversion coefficient from the account of a downstream company, which is part of a supply chain that manufactures a first product and manufactures a second product using the first product, to convert a value expressed in a first unit obtained from traceability information relating to the first product to a value expressed in a second unit adopted for the value obtained from traceability-related information relating to the second product, The conversion coefficient is stored in a first storage area to which access rights are granted exclusively to the account of the downstream company. Converting a first value expressed in the first unit, obtained from traceability information relating to the first product, into a second value expressed in the second unit using the conversion coefficient, To output a fourth value that indicates the first information included in the traceability information for the second product, obtained by integrating the second value and a third value obtained from the traceability-related information for the second product at the downstream company, A control unit that executes Equipped with, The control unit stores traceability information relating to the second product in a fourth storage area, which is a storage area to which access rights are limited to the account of a third company that manufactures a third product using the second product, and to which the account of the third company is granted write rights to the account of the downstream company.

6. The control unit obtains traceability information relating to the first product from the first storage area, which has been granted write permissions to the upstream company's account by the downstream company's account. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5.

7. Computers The system accepts input from the account of a downstream company, which is one of the upstream companies that manufacture the first product and the downstream company that manufactures the second product using the first product, a conversion coefficient that converts a value expressed in a first unit obtained from traceability information relating to the first product to a value expressed in a second unit adopted for the value obtained from traceability-related information relating to the second product. The conversion coefficient is stored in a first storage area to which access rights are granted exclusively to the account of the downstream company. Converting a first value expressed in the first unit, obtained from traceability information relating to the first product, into a second value expressed in the second unit using the conversion coefficient, To output a fourth value that indicates the first information included in the traceability information for the second product, obtained by integrating the second value and a third value obtained from the traceability-related information for the second product at the downstream company, Execute, A method in which the computer stores traceability information relating to the second product in a second storage area to which access rights are limited to the account of the downstream company and the account of the third company that manufactures the third product using the second product.

8. The first piece of information included in the aforementioned traceability information is one of the following: Carbon Footprint of Products (CFP) value, recycling rate, or a score indicating the degree of adequacy of due diligence (DD) information. The method according to claim 7.

9. The computer obtains traceability information relating to the first product from a third storage area to which access rights are limited to the accounts of the upstream company and the downstream company. The method according to claim 7.

10. The computer transmits the fourth value, which indicates the first information included in the traceability information relating to the second product, to a terminal corresponding to the downstream company's account. The method according to claim 7.

11. A computer, The system accepts input from the account of a downstream company, which is one of the upstream companies that manufacture the first product and the downstream company that manufactures the second product using the first product, a conversion coefficient that converts a value expressed in a first unit obtained from traceability information relating to the first product to a value expressed in a second unit adopted for the value obtained from traceability-related information relating to the second product. The conversion coefficient is stored in a first storage area to which access rights are granted exclusively to the account of the downstream company. Converting a first value expressed in the first unit, obtained from traceability information relating to the first product, into a second value expressed in the second unit using the conversion coefficient, To output a fourth value that indicates the first information included in the traceability information for the second product, obtained by integrating the second value and a third value obtained from the traceability-related information for the second product at the downstream company, Execute, A method in which the computer stores traceability information relating to the second product in a fourth storage area, which is a storage area to which access rights are granted exclusively to the account of a third company that manufactures a third product using the second product, and to which the account of the third company is granted write rights to the account of the downstream company.

12. The computer obtains traceability information relating to the first product from the first storage area, which has been granted write permissions to the upstream company's account by the downstream company's account. The method according to claim 11.

13. On the computer, The system accepts input from the account of a downstream company, which is one of the upstream companies that manufacture the first product and the downstream company that manufactures the second product using the first product, a conversion coefficient that converts a value expressed in a first unit obtained from traceability information relating to the first product to a value expressed in a second unit adopted for the value obtained from traceability-related information relating to the second product. The conversion coefficient is stored in a first storage area to which access rights are granted exclusively to the account of the downstream company. Converting a first value expressed in the first unit, obtained from traceability information relating to the first product, into a second value expressed in the second unit using the conversion coefficient, To output a fourth value that indicates the first information included in the traceability information for the second product, obtained by integrating the second value and a third value obtained from the traceability-related information for the second product at the downstream company, A program to execute, A program that causes the computer to store traceability information relating to the second product in a second memory area, where access rights are limited to the account of the downstream company and the account of the third company that manufactures the third product using the second product.

14. The computer is instructed to retrieve traceability information relating to the first product from a third storage area to which access rights are limited to the accounts of the upstream company and the downstream company. The program according to claim 13.

15. The program according to claim 13, which causes the computer to transmit the fourth value, which indicates the first information included in the traceability information relating to the second product, to a terminal corresponding to the account of the downstream company.

16. A computer, The system accepts input from the account of a downstream company, which is one of the upstream companies that manufacture the first product and the downstream company that manufactures the second product using the first product, a conversion coefficient that converts a value expressed in a first unit obtained from traceability information relating to the first product to a value expressed in a second unit adopted for the value obtained from traceability-related information relating to the second product. The conversion coefficient is stored in a first storage area to which access rights are granted exclusively to the account of the downstream company. Converting a first value expressed in the first unit, obtained from traceability information relating to the first product, into a second value expressed in the second unit using the conversion coefficient, To output a fourth value that indicates the first information included in the traceability information for the second product, obtained by integrating the second value and a third value obtained from the traceability-related information for the second product at the downstream company, A program to execute, A program that causes the computer to store traceability information relating to the second product in a fourth storage area, which is a storage area to which access rights are limited to the account of a third company that manufactures a third product using the second product, and to which the account of the third company is granted write rights to the account of the downstream company.

17. The computer is made to obtain traceability information relating to the first product from the first storage area, which has been granted write permissions to the upstream company's account by the downstream company's account. L as described in claim 16.

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