Advertisement selection system and advertisement selection method

Abstract

To provide an advertisement article determination device and an advertisement article determination method for selecting an advertisement article that can be properly packaged with a dispatch article.SOLUTION: An advertisement article determination device 11 refers to an advertisement DB 21 and a packaging means DB 22, and selects an appropriate size or a processing form of an advertisement article to be packaged in packaging means according to at least one of a dispatch article to be dispatched to a user and the packaging means that constitutes the dispatch article. The device further determines the advertisement article of the selected size and the processing form as the advertisement article to be dispatched with the dispatch article in the packaging means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to advertisement determination for determining and enclosing an advertisement item suitable for a shipment without changing the shipping fee of the shipment. system and an advertisement determination method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, when an advertiser ships a product stored in a warehouse to consumers, in order to promote the consumers' willingness to purchase, advertisement items such as advertising flyers and brochures are enclosed and shipped in packaging means such as cardboard boxes and envelopes. As a technique for enclosing an advertisement item with a shipment, there is a system described in Patent Document 1. When mailing a notice to a customer such as a statement of use or an invoice in an envelope, the process of determining the enclosure is performed as follows. When there is an access from a customer terminal, the data distribution server presents customer information and information on enclosures that can be sent to the customer terminal. When the customer selects an enclosure, the data distribution server calculates the weight of the notice to be sent and the enclosure, and displays whether it is within a predetermined weight. When the customer determines the selection, the notice and the enclosure are sealed and enclosed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the system of Patent Document 1, a customer can select an enclosure to be enclosed within a predetermined weight in a notice mailed in an envelope. However, in the system of Patent Document 1, the selection of the enclosure is entrusted to the customer's terminal operation. And since the enclosure is selected only by weight, there is a risk of selecting an enclosure such as an advertising flyer that does not fit the size of the shipment. Furthermore, in this system, the cost-effectiveness of advertising and the like are not considered.

[0005] Advertisers pack their products (shipments) according to their packaging methods and then include advertising materials before shipping them to customers. In this case, since the size, weight, and packaging method differ for each shipment, it may be difficult to include advertising materials with shipments, or including advertising materials may change the shipping cost of the shipment. Furthermore, advertisers must consider cost-effectiveness and keep the cost of advertising materials below a certain percentage of the product price.

[0006] This invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and aims to select an advertisement that can be appropriately included with a shipment using an advertisement selection device and an advertisement selection method. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In other words, the above-mentioned problems of the present invention are solved by the following configuration.

[0012] ( 1 ) An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects advertising items that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising items to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising items; a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising items; and a processing machine that creates the determined advertising items, wherein The aforementioned advertisement determination device is The processing form of the advertisement to be included in the packaging is determined according to the information of the shipment, at least one of the packaging means, and the determined size of the advertisement. Refer to the warehouse database of printed materials, The above decision If the advertisement is not stored in the warehouse's database of stored printed materials, the processing machine in the warehouse is instructed to process the advertisement. It is characterized by the following Wide A system for determining the nature of a complaint.

[0013] ( 2 ) An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects advertising items that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising items to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising items; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The advertising material determination device can further be packaged according to the size of the packaging means. size Advertisements As an advertising material to be included To decide It is characterized by the following Wide A system for determining the nature of a complaint.

[0014] ( 3 ) An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects advertising items that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising items to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising items; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The aforementioned advertising material determination device teeth,Referring to the weight and / or size of the packing means, the weight and / or size of the packed shipment, the shipping fee corresponding to the weight and / or size of the shipment, and the weight and / or size of each advertisement item held in the advertisement database, determining advertisement items that can be co-packed without changing the shipping fee. characterized in that Wide advertisement item determination system.

[0015] ( 4 ) An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects advertising items that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising items to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising items; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The advertisement item determination device teeth, Referring to the packing cost corresponding to the weight and / or size of each packing means, the weight and / or size of the shipment, and the weight and / or size of each advertisement item held in the advertisement database, determining advertisement items for which the packing cost by the packing means does not fluctuate. characterized in that Wide advertisement item determination system.

[0016] ( 5 ) An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects advertising items that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising items to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising items; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The advertising material determination device refers to the packaging cost corresponding to the weight and / or size of each packaging method, the weight and / or size of the shipment, and the weight and / or size of each advertising material held in the advertising database, and the packaging method Determining advertisement items that can be automatically co-packed without the packing cost fluctuating. characterized in that Wide advertisement item determination system.

[0017] ( 6 ) An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects advertising items that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising items to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising items; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The advertising material determination device refers to the packaging cost corresponding to the weight and / or size of each packaging method, the weight and / or size of the shipment, and the weight and / or size of each advertising material held in the advertising database, and the packaging method Determining advertisement items that can be manually co-packed without the packing cost fluctuating. characterized in that Wide advertisement item determination system.

[0018] ( 7 ) An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects advertising items that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising items to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising items; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The advertisement item determination device refers to the warehouse storage printed matter database and determines advertisement items that can be co-packed from the printed advertisements stored in the warehouse. [[ID=​​​​​​​​​ The advertising material determination device refers to the printing and processing schedule information, Decision made The printer determines whether the advertising material can be produced by the time the shipment is packed. It is characterized by the following Wide A system for determining the nature of a complaint. ( 9 ) An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects advertising items that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising items to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising items; a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising items; and a processing machine that creates the determined advertising items, wherein The advertising material determination device refers to the printing and processing schedule information, Decision made The machine determines whether the advertising material can be produced by the time the shipment is to be packed. It is characterized by the following Wide A system for determining the nature of a complaint. (1 0 ) An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects advertising items that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising items to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising items; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The advertisement determination device determines an advertisement such that the cost of the advertisement is less than or equal to a predetermined percentage of the price of the shipped item. It is characterized by the following Wide A system for determining the nature of a complaint. (1 1 ) The advertisement determination device, Depending on at least one of the shipping information and the packaging method, the packaging method and the package will be included together. The steps include selecting possible advertising materials and The selected advertisement is determined to be included in the packaging, and the determined The step of determining the size of the advertisement, Referencing the weight and / or size of the packaging means, the weight and / or size of the packaged shipment, the shipping fee corresponding to the weight and / or size of the shipment, and the weight and / or size of each advertisement held in the advertisement database, advertisements that can be included without changing the packaging means and without changing the shipping fee of the shipment Size The steps to determine, Decision made Advertisement images on print media based on size The steps include sending instructions to the printing press to print, A method for determining advertising materials, characterized by performing the following. (1 2 ) The advertisement determination device, A step of selecting an advertisement that can be included with the packaging means, depending on the information of the shipment and the packaging means, The steps include determining the selected advertisement to be included in the packaging means and determining the size of the determined advertisement, The aforementioned Shipping information and, The aforementionedAt least one of the packaging means , the size of the advertisement determined above and The steps include determining the processing form of the advertising material to be included with the packaging means accordingly, Referencing the weight and / or size of the packaging means, the weight and / or size of the packaged shipment, the shipping fee corresponding to the weight and / or size of the shipment, and the weight and / or size of each advertisement held in the advertisement database, advertisements that can be included without changing the packaging means and without changing the shipping fee of the shipment Size The steps to determine, The steps include sending instructions to a processing machine to create the determined advertisement, A method for determining advertising materials, characterized by performing the following. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] In this invention, the determination of advertising materials system And in the method for determining advertising materials, advertising materials that can be appropriately included with the shipped items decision do. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0021] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of an advertising item determination system equipped with an advertising item determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This diagram shows the information structure of the advertisement table. [Figure 3] This diagram shows the information structure of the packaging method table. [Figure 4] This diagram shows the information structure of the stored items table. [Figure 5] This diagram shows the information structure of the printed document table. [Figure 6] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of an advertising material determination device. [Figure 7] This is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of an advertising material selection device. [Figure 8] This is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the advertisement determination process by the advertisement determination system according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0022] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, in all the drawings in this specification, components corresponding to the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions are omitted as appropriate.

[0023] <Configuration of the embodiment> Figure 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an advertising item determination system equipped with an advertising item determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The advertising material determination system 10 automatically determines the appropriate advertising material to be included with the product (shipped item) in various packaging methods such as cardboard boxes and envelopes of different sizes. The advertising material determination system 10 consists of an advertising material determination device 11, a printing press 12, a processing machine 13, a printed material storage warehouse 14, a packaging area 15, an automatic packaging machine 16, an advertising DB (Data Base) 21, a packaging method DB 22, a warehouse storage DB 23, a warehouse stored printed material DB 24, a printing and processing schedule DB 25, and a shipping fee DB 26.

[0024] The advertising database 21 holds the advertising table 21T (advertising information) shown in Figure 2, which associates various information related to advertising materials such as advertising flyers and advertising booklets. The advertising table 21T associates information on various types of advertising materials A1...An with various information such as n types of advertising images G1...Gn, printing medium P1...Pn, size Z1...Zn, weight W1...Wn, production cost C1...Cn, and post-processing PP1...PPn.

[0025] Advertisement A1...An is identification information indicating the unique name and unique number of n types of advertisements. Advertisement images G1...Gn are image information for advertisements necessary to print advertisements A1...An on paper or other printing media. Printing media P1...Pn is information indicating the printing medium, such as paper or resin sheet, on which advertisements A1...An will be printed, according to each advertisement image G1...Gn. Printing media P1...Pn also includes information on the type of paper, such as whether the printing medium on which advertisements A1...An will be printed is ordinary paper or high-quality paper. Size Z1...Zn is information indicating the size, such as length, width, and height, for each advertisement A1...An. Weight W1...Wn is information indicating the weight of each advertisement A1...An. Production cost C1...Cn is information indicating the production cost of each advertisement A1...An. Post-processing PP1...PPn is information on the processing status, such as folding multiple advertisement flyers together or processing them into an advertisement booklet.

[0026] The packaging means DB22 (Figure 1) holds the packaging means table 22T (packaging means information) shown in Figure 3, which associates various information such as size related to packaging means for packaging goods, etc. The packaging means table 22T associates various information for each automatic packaging machine 16 and manual packaging, including n types of packaging means PC1...PCn, size Za1...Zan, weight Wa1...Wan, packaging cost Ca1...Can by the automatic packaging machine 16, and packaging cost Cm1...Cmn by manual packaging.

[0027] Packaging method PC1...PCn is information indicating n types of packaging methods, such as box-type (cardboard box) or envelope-type. Size Za1...Zan is information indicating the size, such as length, width, and height, for each packaging method PC1...PCn. Weight Wa1...Wan is information indicating the weight for each of the n types of packaging methods. Packaging cost Ca1...Can is information indicating the cost for each packaging method PC1...PCn using the automatic packaging machine 16. Packaging cost Cm1...Cmn is information indicating the cost, including fees, for each packaging method PC1...PCn using manual packaging.

[0028] However, the packaging method is selected based on the product's dimensions (length, width, and height), weight, and packaging costs. For example, if the product is frozen, the packaging method appropriate for frozen products is selected.

[0029] The warehouse inventory DB23 (Figure 1) holds the inventory table 23T (inventory information) shown in Figure 4, which associates various information related to the goods stored in the warehouse. The inventory table 23T associates information on n types of goods O1…On with various information such as the quantity Q1…Qn, size Zb1…Zbn, weight Wb1…Wbn, and price Cb1…Cbn.

[0030] Product O1...On is information indicating the unique name and unique number of n types of products stored in the warehouse. Quantity Q1...Qn is information indicating the quantity of each product O1...On stored. Size Zb1...Zbn is information indicating the size (length, width, height, etc.) of each product O1...On. Weight Wb1...Wbn is information indicating the weight per unit of each product O1...On. Price Cb1...Cbn is information indicating the price per unit of each product O1...On.

[0031] The Warehouse Storage Printed Materials DB24 (Figure 1) holds the Printed Materials Table 24T (Printed Materials Information) shown in Figure 5, which associates various information related to printed materials used as advertisements stored in the warehouse. The Printed Materials Table 24T associates information on n types of printed materials Ac1...Acn with various information such as shape K1...Kn, weight Wc1...Wcn, and production cost Cc1...Ccn.

[0032] Printed material Ac1...Acn is information indicating n types of advertising materials with different advertisements printed on them. Shape K1...Kn is information indicating the shape (size) of each printed material Ac1...Acn. Weight Wc1...Wcn is information indicating the weight per unit of printed material Ac1...Acn. Production cost Cc1...Ccn is information indicating the production cost per unit of printed material Ac1...Acn.

[0033] The printed material table 24T is referenced when selecting a suitable printed material (Ac1…Acn) from among the printed materials (Ac1…Acn) to be included as an advertisement. If no suitable advertisement is found among all the printed materials (Ac1…Acn), the printing press 12 or processing machine 13 will create a suitable advertisement. This created advertisement is temporarily stored in the printed material storage unit 14 shown in Figure 1 and then sent to the packaging area 15 or the automatic packaging machine 16.

[0034] The print processing schedule DB25 (Figure 1) holds information on the date and time when advertising materials can be produced by the printing press 12 and processing machine 13. The shipping fee database DB26 holds information about the shipping fee for each shipment, as well as information about the weight and size of shipments that can be shipped within that fee.

[0035] The advertisement determination device 11 shown in Figure 1 performs the following advertisement determination process when a user places an order for a product using a communication terminal such as a personal computer or smartphone. Specifically, the advertisement determination device 11 refers to the advertisement DB 21, packaging means DB 22, warehouse storage DB 23, warehouse storage printed materials DB 24, printing and processing schedule DB 25, and shipping fee DB 26, and performs the process of determining an appropriate advertisement according to the information related to the ordered product.

[0036] As shown in Figure 6, the advertisement determination device 11 is configured to include a selection unit 110, a determination unit 11k and IF (Interface) units 11m, 11n, a print instruction unit 111, a processing instruction unit 112, and a creation determination unit 113.

[0037] However, as shown in Figure 7, the advertisement selection device 11 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101a, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 101b storing a program 101e, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 101c, a storage device 101d such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and a communication interface 101f, and these components 101a to 101f are connected to a bus 102 in a typical configuration. In such a configuration, for example, the CPU 101a executes the program 101e written to the ROM 101b to control the selection process and decision process of the advertisement selection device 11 described above. The communication interface 101f corresponds to the IF units 11m and 11n (Figure 6), and receives data from other devices such as communication terminals via a communication network (not shown) and outputs it to the CPU 101a, and also transmits data generated by the CPU 101a to other devices via the communication network.

[0038] Next, the selection unit 110 shown in Figure 6 will be described. The selection unit 110 performs the selections described in (1) to (10) below.

[0039] (1) The selection unit 110 shown in Figure 6 selects an appropriate size or form of advertising material to be included with the packaging means, depending on at least one of the goods to be shipped to the user and the packaging means that constitute the goods to be shipped. When a user places an order for goods, the selection unit 110 selects the ordered goods Ox (where x is a natural number less than or equal to n) from the storage table 23T shown in Figure 4, which is held in the warehouse storage DB 23 via the IF unit 11m. The selection unit 110 obtains the selected goods Ox, as well as the inventory quantity Qx, size Zbx, weight Wbx, and price Cbx of goods Ox.

[0040] Next, the selection unit 110 selects a suitable packing method for packing product Ox, such as a cardboard box, from the packing method table 22T shown in Figure 3 within the packing method DB 22, according to the information it has acquired about product Ox. For example, suppose the packing method PCy (where y is a natural number less than or equal to n) related to the automatic packing machine 16 is selected. The selection unit 110 acquires the size Zay, weight Way, and packing cost Cay information for the selected packing method PCy.

[0041] Next, the selection unit 110 selects the advertising materials to be included with the product Ox in the acquired packaging means PCy from the advertising table 21T shown in Figure 2 in the advertising DB 21 as follows: The selection unit 110 selects from the advertising table 21T multiple advertising materials A1,An of a size (for example, size Z1,Zn) that fit within the size Zay of the packaging means PCy. Specifically, if the shipment is sent in an envelope such as a mail-order envelope, it is advisable to select a B5 or A4 size advertising flyer. If the shipment is packed in a cardboard box, it is advisable to select a booklet advertisement that fits inside the cardboard box. Note that the selection unit 110 is not limited to the packing method, and the size and processing condition of the advertising material to be included with the packing method may be selected based on the information of the shipment.

[0042] This allows the selection unit 110 to include advertising materials of the appropriate size and processing condition with the shipped items.

[0043] The determination unit 11k shown in Figure 6 determines that the advertisements A1 and An selected by the selection unit 110 will be included with the product Ox in the selected packaging means PCy. The processing instruction unit 112 then instructs the processing machine 13 (Figure 1) to perform post-processing PP1 on advertisement A1 and post-processing PPn on advertisement An. Note that post-processing for each advertisement is not mandatory, and some advertisements do not have post-processing defined.

[0044] (2) The selection unit 110 selects an advertisement of a size that can be included in the package from the advertisement table 21T (Figure 2) according to the size Zay of the packaging means PCy. When the product Ox is placed in the selected packaging means PCy, the selection unit 110 selects one or more advertisements of a size that can be included in the package from the advertisement table 21T. This allows the selection unit 110 to include advertising materials that are sized to fit in the packaging means PCy with the shipped items. Furthermore, the determination unit 11k determines that the selected one or more advertisements are advertisements that can be bundled with product Ox.

[0045] (3) The selection unit 110 selects from the advertising table 21T (Figure 2) an advertising item of a weight that can be included in the package without changing (increasing) the shipping fee, according to the weight of the product Ox and the packaging means PCy. If the weight of the shipment (product) including packaging is close to the weight at which shipping charges fluctuate, the selection unit 110 should choose an advertisement using B5 size paper or lightweight paper. If the weight of the shipment is far from the weight at which shipping charges fluctuate, the selection unit 110 should choose an advertisement using A3 size paper or high-quality paper.

[0046] For example, suppose the total weight of product Ox and packaging method PCy is 900g, and the shipping fee is 1000 yen when the total weight of the shipment is 0kg or more but less than 1kg, and 1500 yen when it is 1kg or more. The shipping fee DB26 (Figures 1 and 6) stores the relationship between the shipping fee of a shipment and its weight and size. In this case, since the 900g shipment has a margin of 100g up to 1kg, advertising items weighing less than 100g can be included without changing the shipping fee. Therefore, the selection unit 110 selects advertising items from the advertising table 21T (Figure 2) that are of a size and weight that can be included with the shipment, for example, advertising items of a size that can be included (for example, B5 size), until the total weight reaches, for example, 100g.

[0047] This allows the selection unit 110 to include a large number of advertising materials with the shipment without changing the shipping cost.

[0048] As another example, consider the case where the total weight of the product and packaging is 700g. The selection unit 110 selects from the advertising table 21T until the total weight of advertising materials of a size that can be included (e.g., A4 size) reaches just before it reaches 300g. The determination unit 11k determines that the selected one or more advertising materials are advertising materials that can be included with the product.

[0049] (4) The selection unit 110 selects from the advertising table 21T (Figure 2) any advertising item that does not increase the packing cost (or packing fee) of the selected packing method PCy. Here, since the automatic packing machine 16 packs automatically, the packing cost Cay will not increase if the advertising flyer or booklet (advertising item) is of a size and weight that can be bundled with the product Ox. On the other hand, for the manual packing method PCy, the packing cost (packing fee) Cmy will not increase if the advertising flyer or booklet (advertising item) is of a size and weight that can be easily bundled with the product Ox by hand.

[0050] Under these conditions, the selection unit 110 selects one or more advertising items from the advertising table 21T (Figure 2) that are of a size and weight that can be automatically bundled with the product Ox, so as not to increase the packaging cost Cay of the packaging means PCy by the automatic packaging machine 16. Specifically, the selection unit 110 should select advertising items that can be bundled together with the product by the automatic packaging machine 16 in the warehouse and that do not incur additional fees. Alternatively, the selection unit 110 selects one or more advertisements from the advertisement table 21T that are of a size and weight that can be easily bundled with the product Ox by hand, so as not to increase the packing cost Cmy of the manual packing means PCy. The selection unit 110 determines whether or not an additional fee will be incurred by referring to the packaging means table 22T (Figure 3) of the packaging means DB22. The determination unit 11k then determines that the selected one or more advertisements are advertisements that can be packaged together with the product Ox in the packaging means PCy.

[0051] This allows the selection unit 110 to include many advertisements with the shipment without increasing the cost of packaging the advertisements with the shipment.

[0052] (5) When the selection unit 110 is to include the advertisement with the selected packaging means PCy, it selects one or more advertisements that can be automatically included from the advertisement table 21T (Figure 2). This selection process is performed because if the advertisement is automatically included, the packaging cost will be the same as when only the product Ox is packaged.

[0053] For example, the selection unit 110 selects one or more advertisements from the advertisement table 21T (Figure 2) that are of a size that can be automatically packaged by the automatic packaging machine 16, so as not to exceed a predetermined weight, when the advertisements are to be packaged by the automatic packaging machine 16 using the packaging means PCy selected from the packaging means table 22T (Figure 3) according to the product Ox. The determination unit 11k determines that the selected one or more advertisements are advertisements that can be packaged together with the product Ox using the packaging means PCy. The selection unit 110 should select advertisements that can be packaged together with the product by the automatic packaging machine 16 in the warehouse and that do not incur additional fees.

[0054] This allows the selection unit 110 to have the automatic packaging machine 16 pack the advertising materials into the shipment.

[0055] (6) When the selection unit 110 includes the advertising materials in the selected packaging means PCy, it selects from the advertising table 21T (Figure 2) advertising materials that can be included manually without changing (increasing) the packaging cost. This selection process is performed because, for example, when manually packaging goods and advertising materials in a cardboard box, the packaging cost does not change if the advertising materials consist of one or several advertising flyers.

[0056] For example, when the selection unit 110 packages the product Ox and the advertisement in the packaging means PCy, it selects one or more advertisements from the advertisement table 21T that are of a size that does not increase the packaging cost Cmy, and that do not exceed a predetermined weight. The determination unit 11k determines that the selected advertisements are advertisements that can be packaged with the product Ox in the packaging means PCy. In other words, the selection unit 110 selects advertisements that can be packaged without incurring additional fees when warehouse employees package the advertisements manually.

[0057] This allows the selection unit 110 to include many advertisements with the shipment without increasing the cost of packaging the advertisements with the shipment.

[0058] (7) The selection unit 110 selects an advertisement that can be bundled from among the printed advertisements stored in the printed materials storage room 14 (Figure 1) in the warehouse. In other words, multiple types of printed advertisements are stored in the printed materials storage room 14, and this information is stored in the printed materials table 24T shown in Figure 5 in the warehouse stored printed materials DB 24 (Figure 1). Therefore, the selection unit 110 refers to the printed materials table 24T and selects one or more printed materials (advertisements) that are suitable for bundling.

[0059] In other words, the selection unit 110 selects one or more printed materials from the printed material table 24T that are advertisements that can be included in the packaging means PCy in which the product Ox is packaged. The determination unit 11k determines that the selected printed material Acx is an advertisement that can be included.

[0060] This allows the selection unit 110 to select printed advertising materials stored in the warehouse to be included with the shipment.

[0061] On the other hand, if advertising materials other than those listed in printing table 24T (Ac1...Acn) are required as bundled advertising materials, these will be created using the printing press 12 or processing machine 13 shown in Figure 1 within the warehouse. In this case, the following selection process takes place.

[0062] (8) The creation determination unit 113 determines whether the advertisement can be printed by the printing press 12 in the warehouse or whether it can be processed by the processing machine 13 in the warehouse. The selection unit 110 selects the advertisement that the creation determination unit 113 has determined can be output by the printing press 12 or processing machine 13 in the warehouse. That is, the selection unit 110 selects, for example, an advertisement image Gn from the advertisement images G1...Gn of the advertisement table 21T (Figure 2) to print the advertisement that is needed by the printing press 12. The print instruction unit 111 sends this advertisement image Gn to the printing press 12 to instruct it to print. The printing press 12 prints the advertisement image Gn to create the advertisement.

[0063] Alternatively, the selection unit 110 selects printed materials Ac1 and Acn, as shown in Figure 5, from the printed material table 24T (Figure 5) for use in the processing machine 13 to create the necessary booklets or folded advertisements. The processing instruction unit 112 transmits the information of the selected printed materials Ac1 and Acn to the processing machine 13 to instruct it to process. The processing machine 13 uses the information of the selected printed materials Ac1 and Acn to perform processing to create the necessary advertisements by folding the printed materials Ac1 and Acn into booklets or folded advertisements.

[0064] This allows the selection unit 110 to select advertising materials that can be produced by the printing machine 12 or processing machine 13 in the warehouse as items to be included with the shipment.

[0065] The determination unit 11k determines that printed materials printed by the printing press 12, according to the information (advertising images G1...Gn) related to the advertisement selected by the selection unit 110, are advertisements that can be included. Alternatively, the determination unit 11k determines that advertisements that have been processed by the processing machine 13 into booklets or folded in multiples, based on printed materials Ac1,Acn selected by the selection unit 110, are advertisements that can be included.

[0066] (9) The creation determination unit 113 determines, based on the schedule information stored in the print processing schedule DB 25 (Figures 1 and 6), whether the advertisement can be printed by the printing press 12 in the warehouse or processed by the processing machine 13 in the warehouse. Based on the determination of the creation determination unit 113, the selection unit 110 selects the advertisement that can be created by the time of packaging using the printing press 12 or processing machine 13 in the warehouse. The schedule information is information that indicates the date and time when the printing press 12 or processing machine 13 is operational. For example, it may indicate that the printing press 12 will be available to print in 3 hours and that the advertisement can be created by printing completion 10 minutes after the start of printing, that the processing machine 13 requires 3 days to process the advertisement, or that the processing machine 13 is available on September 26th and can process the advertisement.

[0067] In other words, the selection unit 110 selects advertisements that can be produced by the time of packaging according to the schedule information using the printing press 12 and processing machine 13. The determination unit 11k then determines that the selected printed materials are advertisements that can be included.

[0068] This allows the selection unit 110 to include advertising materials that can be produced by the printing machine 12 or processing machine 13 in the warehouse by the packing date and time as items to be included with the shipment.

[0069] (10) The selection unit 110 selects one or more advertisements such that the cost of creating the advertisements (printed materials Acx) relative to the price Cbx of the goods Ox to be sent to the user is less than or equal to a predetermined percentage. However, it may be assumed that the cost of the selected advertisements is borne by the sender, and that the shipping cost of the shipment containing the advertisements remains the same as the shipping cost of the shipment before the advertisements were included. The selection unit 110 obtains information on the price Cbx of product Ox by referring to the stored items table 23T (Figure 4), and obtains information on the production cost Ccx of advertising materials (printed materials Acx) by referring to the printed materials table 24T (Figure 5).

[0070] For example, if an advertisement costing 100 yen is included in a shipment containing a product priced at 500 yen, the proportion of the advertisement cost becomes 20%, resulting in poor cost-effectiveness of the advertisement. However, if an advertisement costing 100 yen is included in a shipment containing a product priced at 100,000 yen, the proportion of the advertisement cost becomes 0.1%, resulting in desirable cost-effectiveness of the advertisement. The selection unit 110 selects an advertisement with such desirable cost-effectiveness. The decision unit 11k determines that the selected advertisement is an advertisement that can be included.

[0071] This allows the selection unit 110 to set the cost-effectiveness of the price of the goods packaged in the shipment and the cost of the advertising materials to a desirable predetermined ratio or less.

[0072] <Operation of the Embodiment> Next, an example of the operation of the advertisement determination process by the advertisement determination system 10 according to this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 8. As a prerequisite, assume that a user has placed an order for goods stored in a warehouse using a communication terminal (not shown).

[0073] In step S1 shown in Figure 8, the selection unit 110 (Figure 6) of the advertisement determination device 11 selects an ordered product Ox (where x is a natural number less than or equal to n) from the storage table 23T (Figure 4) in response to a product order from the user. The selection unit 110 acquires the selected product Ox, along with information on the quantity Qx of the product Ox in stock, its size Zbx, its weight Wbx, and its price Cbx.

[0074] In step S2, the selection unit 110 selects a suitable packing means PCy, such as a corrugated cardboard box, from the packing means table 22T (Figure 3) according to the information obtained regarding the product Ox. For example, the selection unit 110 selects the smallest packing means capable of packing the product Ox with size Zbx.

[0075] In step S3, the selection unit 110 selects a packaging means PCy (where y is a natural number less than or equal to n) from the packaging means table 22T (Figure 3) according to the size Zbx of the acquired product Ox. Furthermore, when the product Ox is packaged in the selected packaging means PCy, the selection unit 110 selects one or more advertisements of a size that can be included (Figure 2) from the advertisement table 21T (Figure 2).

[0076] In step S3, the selection unit 110 may refer to the shipping fee DB26 (Figures 1 and 6) and select one or more advertising items of size 1 that can be bundled, up to a weight that does not increase the shipping fee.

[0077] In step S4, the selection unit 110 selects one or more advertising items from the advertising table 21T that are of a size and weight that can be automatically bundled with product Ox, so that the packaging cost Cay of packaging means PCy does not change (increase) when packaging means PCy is selected in step S3.

[0078] Alternatively, the selection unit 110 may select one or more advertisements from the advertisement table 21T that are of a size and weight that can be easily attached to the product Ox by hand, so as not to increase the packing cost Cmy of the manual packing means PCy in step S3.

[0079] In step S5, the selection unit 110 selects one or more advertisements such that the total price of all advertisements included with the product Ox in the storage table 23T (Figure 4) is less than or equal to a predetermined percentage, for example, 0.1%.

[0080] The selections in steps S3 to S5 above may be limited to just one of them.

[0081] After selecting such advertising materials, in step S6, the selection unit 110 determines, based on the printed material table 24T (Figure 5), whether or not the selected one or more advertising materials are stored in the warehouse. If the result of this determination is that the selected advertising materials are stored (Yes), then in step S7, the creation determination unit 113 determines whether or not post-processing is required for the selected advertising materials. If post-processing is required for the advertising materials (Yes), the creation determination unit 113 proceeds to step S9; if post-processing is not required for the advertising materials (No), it proceeds to step S8. When the mailing is inexpensive, the selection unit 110 selects an advertisement that uses inexpensive paper and does not require any special processing. In this case, no post-processing is required for the selected advertisement. However, when the mailing is expensive, the selection unit 110 may select an advertisement that uses expensive paper and requires post-processing. In this case, post-processing is required for the selected advertisement. In step S8, the advertisement is placed inside the packaging means PCy in which the product Ox is packaged. This placement is done manually by workers at the packaging facility 15 (Figure 1) or automatically by an automatic packaging machine 16.

[0082] On the other hand, if, in the determination in step S6 above, any of the selected one or more advertisements are not stored (No), proceed to step S9.

[0083] In step S9, the creation determination unit 114 determines whether the advertisement selected in step S8 can be produced by the packing deadline, based on the schedule information stored in the printing and processing schedule DB 25. If the result of this determination is that it is not possible to produce the advertisement using the printing press 12 or processing machine 13 in the warehouse (No), the process proceeds to step S11, and the selection unit 110 selects an alternative advertisement again, then returns to step S6.

[0084] If the result of step S9 indicates that the advertisement can be produced (Yes) using the printing press 12 or processing machine 13 in the warehouse, then in step S10, the printing instruction unit 111 instructs the printing press 12 to print, or the processing instruction unit 112 instructs the processing machine 13 to process, thereby producing the advertisement. In step S8, the advertisement is then packaged by an employee or by an automatic packaging machine 16.

[0085] According to the advertising material determination device 11 of the advertising material determination system 10 of the above-described embodiment, it is possible to select advertising materials that can be appropriately included with the shipment packaged in the packaging means.

[0086] Although the configuration according to this embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0087] 10. Advertisement Selection System 11. Advertisement Determination Device 110 Selection Section 11k decision section 111 Print instruction section 112 Processing instruction section 113 Creation Decision Department 11m,11n IF section 12 Printing machine 13 Processing machine 14 Print storage 15 Packing Station 16 Automatic Packaging Machine 21 Advertising Database 22 Packaging Methods DB 23 Warehouse storage DB 24 Warehousing printed matter DB 25 Printing and Processing Schedule Database 26 Shipping Fee DB

Claims

1. An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects an advertising item that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising item to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising item; a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item; and a processing machine that creates the determined advertising item, The advertising material determination device determines the processing form of the advertising material to be included in the packaging means, based on the information of the shipment, at least one of the packaging means, and the determined size of the advertising material. The system refers to the warehouse-stored printed materials database, and if the determined advertisement is not stored in the warehouse-stored printed materials database, it instructs the processing machine in the warehouse to process the advertisement. An advertising material determination system characterized by the following features.

2. An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects an advertising item that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising item to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising item; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The advertising material determination device further determines, according to the size of the packaging means, that the advertising material to be included is of a size that can be included in the package. An advertising material determination system characterized by the following features.

3. An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects an advertising item that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising item to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising item; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The advertising material determination device refers to the weight and / or size of the packaging means, the weight and / or size of the packaged shipment, the shipping fee corresponding to the weight and / or size of the shipment, and the weight and / or size of each advertising material held in the advertising database, and determines which advertising materials can be included without changing the shipping fee. An advertising material determination system characterized by the following features.

4. An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects an advertising item that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising item to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising item; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The advertisement determination device refers to the packaging cost corresponding to the weight and / or size of each packaging means, the weight and / or size of the shipment, and the weight and / or size of each advertisement held in the advertisement database, and determines an advertisement for which the packaging cost by the packaging means does not change. An advertising material determination system characterized by the following features.

5. An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects an advertising item that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising item to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising item; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The advertising material determination device refers to the packing cost corresponding to the weight and / or size of each packing method, the weight and / or size of the shipment, and the weight and / or size of each advertising material held in the advertising database, and determines advertising materials that can be automatically included without the packing cost of the packing method changing. An advertising material determination system characterized by the following features.

6. An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects an advertising item that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising item to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising item; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The advertising material determination device refers to the packing cost corresponding to the weight and / or size of each packing method, the weight and / or size of the shipment, and the weight and / or size of each advertising material held in the advertising database, and determines advertising materials that can be manually included without changing the packing cost by the packing method. An advertising material determination system characterized by the following features.

7. An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects an advertising item that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising item to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising item; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The aforementioned advertising material determination device refers to a database of printed materials stored in the warehouse and determines which advertising materials can be included from among the printed advertising materials stored in the warehouse. An advertising material determination system characterized by the following features.

8. An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects an advertising item that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising item to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising item; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The advertising material determination device refers to the printing and processing schedule information and determines whether the determined advertising material can be produced by the printing press by the time of packaging of the shipment. An advertising material determination system characterized by the following features.

9. An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects an advertising item that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising item to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising item; a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item; and a processing machine that creates the determined advertising item, The advertising material determination device refers to the printing and processing schedule information and determines whether the determined advertising material can be produced by the processing machine by the time of packaging of the shipment. An advertising material determination system characterized by the following features.

10. An advertising item determination system comprising: an advertising item determination device that selects an advertising item that can be included with the packaging means according to at least one of the information of the shipment and the packaging means, determines the selected advertising item to be included with the packaging means, and determines the size of the determined advertising item; and a printing machine that prints an advertising image on a printing medium corresponding to the determined advertising item, The advertisement determination device determines an advertisement such that the cost of the determined advertisement relative to the price of the shipped item is less than or equal to a predetermined percentage. An advertising material determination system characterized by the following features.

11. The advertising material determination device, A step of selecting an advertisement that can be included with the packaging means, depending on the information of the shipment and the packaging means, The steps include determining the selected advertisement to be included in the packaging means and determining the size of the determined advertisement, A step of determining the size of an advertisement that can be included without changing the packaging means and without changing the shipping cost of the shipment, by referring to the weight and / or size of the packaging means, the weight and / or size of the packaged shipment, the shipping cost corresponding to the weight and / or size of the shipment, and the weight and / or size of each advertisement held in the advertisement database. The steps include sending instructions to the printing press to print the advertising image onto the print medium based on the determined size, A method for determining advertising materials, characterized by performing the following.

12. The advertising material determination device, A step of selecting an advertisement that can be included with the packaging means, depending on the information of the shipment and the packaging means, The steps include determining the selected advertisement to be included in the packaging means and determining the size of the determined advertisement, A step of determining the processing form of the advertisement to be packaged with the packaging means, based on the information of the shipment, at least one of the packaging means, and the size of the determined advertisement. A step of determining the size of an advertisement that can be included without changing the packaging means and without changing the shipping cost of the shipment, by referring to the weight and / or size of the packaging means, the weight and / or size of the packaged shipment, the shipping cost corresponding to the weight and / or size of the shipment, and the weight and / or size of each advertisement held in the advertisement database. The steps include sending instructions to a processing machine to create the determined advertisement, A method for determining advertising materials, characterized by performing the following.

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