Image forming system, method for controlling the image forming system, and control program

Abstract

This invention provides an image forming system that can provide printed materials in accordance with the shipping schedule of products, as well as a control method and control program for the image forming system. [Solution] An image forming system 500 is connected to a warehouse management system 100 that manages incoming goods in association with process information indicating which of multiple management processes the goods are in, and an image forming apparatus 400 that prints printed materials associated with the goods and shipped together with the goods, wherein the image forming apparatus 400 prints printed materials based on changes in the process information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming system, a control method for an image forming system, and a control program.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, BtoC (Business to Consumer) transactions through EC (Electronic Commerce) sites have been on the increase. Products purchased through an EC site are packed in cardboard boxes or the like, or enclosed in envelopes at a logistics center and delivered to a consumer (orderer). At this time, printed materials such as brochures related to the product are often sent together with the product.

[0003] Currently, among the brochures preprinted at a printing company or the like and stored in large quantities in the warehouse of a logistics center, an operator picks up the necessary brochures according to the instructions of an EC operator and manually creates a set of brochures by stacking them in the specified order. The created set of brochures is enclosed or packed together when the product is shipped.

[0004] Such a set of brochures is, for example, created in advance by an operator for each purchased product or number of purchases of a customer during the operator's free time and stored in a number of boxes arranged on a predetermined shelf for each product. The set of brochures is picked by the operator from the shelf when enclosing it with the product. By creating the set of brochures in advance, the picking work of the operator becomes easier. However, for example, if the content of the brochure is time-limited or for some other reason, if the set of brochures to be enclosed is changed, it is necessary to remake the set of brochures. Also, when the set of brochures to be enclosed is changed, brochures that cannot be reused have to be discarded. Furthermore, even if there are brochures that can be reused, space for storing them is required.

[0005] Furthermore, the shipping operations at the logistics center are managed according to a schedule, and in order to avoid storing excess flyers that result from delays in operations, it is necessary to produce flyers and other printed materials in accordance with this schedule.

[0006] In this regard, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for shipping printed materials using printed materials printed by a printer when the inventory in the inventory shelf for managing the inventory of printed materials is less than the number of copies ordered. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-257054 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] However, while the technology described in Patent Document 1 can compensate for shortages of printed materials on inventory shelves using printed materials produced by a printer, it does not take into account the shipping schedule. Therefore, if shipping is delayed and surplus flyers are generated, it is necessary to secure space to store those surplus flyers.

[0009] This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. The main objective of this invention is to provide an image forming system, a control method for the image forming system, and a control program that can provide printed materials in accordance with the schedule of product shipping operations. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The above objectives of the present invention are achieved by the following means.

[0011] (1) An image forming system in which a warehouse management system that manages incoming goods in association with process information indicating which of multiple management processes the goods are in, and an image forming apparatus that prints printed materials associated with the goods and shipped together with the goods, The system receives input that one of the processes in the aforementioned management process is the process for starting the printing of the printed material, and when it is detected that the process indicated by the process information has changed to the process for starting the printing of the printed material that was received, the system starts printing the printed material. , The printed material is generated based on image data selected in accordance with the shipping timing of the aforementioned product. Image forming system.

[0012] (2) The initiation of printing the aforementioned printed material includes the creation of a print job for producing the aforementioned printed material. The image forming system described in (1) above.

[0013] (3) The image forming apparatus is used in the product processing of the plurality of control processes. of Out Load process Change What I did If detected , the aforementioned printed matter of printing Start The image forming system described in (1) or (2) above.

[0014] (4) The process of shipping the aforementioned goods includes initiating any of the following: inventory allocation, picking, sorting, processing, inspection, packaging, and shipping of the aforementioned goods. the above( 3 The image forming system described in ). (5) The image forming apparatus, when it detects that the process has changed from the plurality of management processes to the process of picking the products, starts printing the printed material, as described in (1) or (2) above.

[0015] ( 6 Based on the code information formed in the work list containing information about the items to be picked, It is detected that the process has changed to picking the aforementioned products. , the image forming system described in (5) above.

[0016] ( 7 ) The code information is information that identifies the product to be picked, as described above ( 6 The image forming system described in ).

[0017] ( 8 ) The code information is information that identifies the work list, as described above ( 6 The image forming system described in ).

[0018] (9) Based on the print instruction of the work list on which information about the item to be picked is described, it is detected that the process information has changed to the picking process, the image forming system described in the above ( 5 ).

[0019] ( 10 ) Based on the printing of the work list, the image forming apparatus prints a printed matter to be sent together with the item, the image forming system described in the above ( 9 ).

[0020] ( 11 ) The image forming apparatus prints the work list and the printed matter on the same sheet, the image forming system described in the above (9).

[0021] ( 12 ) The image forming system includes a post-processing unit that performs post-processing on the sheet, and the post-processing unit forms a perforation for separating the work list and the printed matter on the sheet, the image forming system described in the above ( 11 ).

[0022] ( 13 ) The image forming apparatus processes the product among the multiple management processes. Perform shipping inspection In the process Changed If detected , the Seal Printed matter of Print Start The image forming system described in the above (1) or (2).

[0023] ( 14 ) The information for the shipping inspection is based on the reading of the code information associated with the item, It is detected that the process has changed to one in which the aforementioned product undergoes a final inspection before shipment. , the image forming system described in the above ( 13 ).

[0024] ( 15A control method for an image forming system connected to a warehouse management system that manages incoming goods in association with process information indicating which of multiple management processes the goods are in, and an image forming apparatus that prints printed materials associated with the goods and shipped together with the goods, The image forming system receives input that one of the processes in the plurality of management processes is the process for starting the printing of the printed material, and when it detects that the process indicated by the process information has changed to the process for starting the printing of the printed material that was received, it starts printing the printed material. , The printed material is generated based on image data selected in accordance with the shipping timing of the aforementioned product. A method for controlling an image forming system.

[0025] ( 16 A control program for an image forming system connected to a warehouse management system that manages incoming goods in association with process information indicating which of multiple management processes the goods are in, and an image forming apparatus that prints printed materials associated with the goods and shipped together with the goods, The system receives input that one of the processes in the aforementioned management process is the process for starting the printing of the printed material, and when it is detected that the process indicated by the process information has changed to the process for starting the printing of the printed material that was received, the system starts printing the printed material. , The printed material is generated based on image data selected in accordance with the shipping timing of the aforementioned product. A control program for an image forming system that causes a computer to execute a process that includes procedures. [Effects of the Invention]

[0026] According to the present invention, the warehouse management system and the image forming apparatus cooperate, and the image forming apparatus prints printed materials based on changes in process information output by the warehouse management system, so that printed materials can be provided in accordance with the schedule of product shipping operations. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0027] The advantages and features provided by one or more embodiments of the present invention will be better understood from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to define any limitations of the present invention. [Figure 1] This is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of an electronic commerce system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2A] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the arrangement of images for flyers, picking lists, and shipping labels in printed images. [Figure 2B] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the arrangement of images of flyers, picking lists, and invoices in printed images. [Figure 2C] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the placement of images for flyers, picking lists, and delivery slips in printed images. [Figure 3] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the management process in a warehouse management system. [Figure 4] This is a diagram showing an example of a shipping instruction list. [Figure 5] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming system shown. [Figure 6] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of the print information acquisition unit. [Figure 7] This is a schematic diagram illustrating typesetting settings. [Figure 8] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of the manuscript data generation unit. [Figure 9] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of the print job generation unit. [Figure 10] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming apparatus shown. [Figure 11] This flowchart illustrates the processing steps for printing a flyer using the image forming system of the first embodiment. [Figure 12] This is a subroutine flowchart illustrating the details of the processing procedure for step (S104) of generating a print job in the flowchart shown in Figure 11. [Figure 13] This diagram illustrates the setup of the process for printing printed materials. [Figure 14] This is a subroutine flowchart illustrating the process for generating a print job when a set of steps for printing a document has been established. [Figure 15] This is a subroutine flowchart illustrating the process for generating a print job when initiating the printing of a printed image during the product shipping process. [Figure 16] This diagram illustrates the information needed to begin picking. [Figure 17]This is a subroutine flowchart illustrating the process for generating a print job when starting the printing of a print image during the picking process. [Figure 18] This is a subroutine flowchart illustrating the process for generating a print job when initiating the printing of a print image during the shipping inspection process. [Figure 19] As a comparative example, this is a schematic diagram illustrating a shelf with numerous boxes for storing flyers. [Figure 20] This is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming system in the second embodiment. [Figure 21] This flowchart illustrates the processing steps for printing flyers using the image forming system of the second embodiment. [Figure 22] This is a subroutine flowchart illustrating the details of the processing procedure for step (S705) of generating a print job in the flowchart shown in Figure 21. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0028] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant descriptions are omitted. Also, the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for illustrative purposes and may differ from the actual ratios.

[0029] [First Embodiment] (Example of an e-commerce system) Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of an e-commerce (EC) system according to the first embodiment. In this EC system, a customer (orderer) uses a customer terminal 10 to order goods from EC businesses A, B, or C. The figure illustrates the case where an order is placed from the customer terminal 10 to A via the internet. Furthermore, if the customer orders goods from B and C, orders are similarly placed with B and C as well.

[0030] As shown in Figure 1, product orders are placed through cart systems 211, 221, and 231, which are installed in companies A, B, and C, respectively. The figure illustrates the case where company A's products are a1-a3, company B's products are b1 and b2, and company C's product is c1. Note that the display of the stock quantity for each product has been omitted.

[0031] E-commerce-focused logistics center 30 is a logistics center specializing in e-commerce. The inventory of each company's products is managed in warehouse 200 by warehouse management system 100. Depending on the remaining stock levels, products are transported from companies A, B, and C to e-commerce-focused logistics center 30 and replenished in warehouse 200.

[0032] The e-commerce-focused logistics center 30 is equipped with a warehouse management system 100, a warehouse 200, a printing support system 300, and an image forming apparatus 400 as components of the e-commerce system. The warehouse management system 100 and the printing support system 300 may be implemented by on-premise servers or by cloud servers. Both on-premise servers and cloud servers have computers, i.e., hardware processors.

[0033] When a customer places an order for a product, a picking list is printed from the image forming apparatus 400 at the e-commerce-focused logistics center 30 according to the order. The picking list, also called a shipping instruction sheet, is a list containing information necessary for the worker to pick the product (e.g., the product's storage location, product code, quantity, etc.). The picking list can be generated, for example, by the order-taking cart system 211, 221, or 231. The worker responsible for shipping the product checks the picking list, picks the product from the product storage area in warehouse 200, obtains a printed flyer image of the product, inspects the product and the flyer, and then packs them into cardboard boxes. Note that product picking can also be performed by machine (e.g., material handling).

[0034] Printed product flyers are discharged into the output tray of the image forming apparatus 400 at the time the product is shipped. These product flyers are not limited to those for the ordered product, but may also include flyers for related products or services.

[0035] Furthermore, images printed as printed materials (also called "printed images") are not limited to images of product flyers. Figure 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating the arrangement of images of flyers, picking lists, and shipping labels in printed images. Figure 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating the arrangement of images of flyers, picking lists, and delivery slips in printed images. Figure 2C is a schematic diagram illustrating the arrangement of images of flyers, picking lists, and delivery slips in printed images.

[0036] As shown in Figure 2A, the printed image may be an image that combines the product flyer, picking list, and invoice. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 2B, the printed image may be an image of a combined flyer-attached invoice that combines the product flyer, picking list, and invoice. Alternatively, as shown in Figure 2C, the printed image may be an image that combines the product flyer, picking list, and delivery note. Alternatively, the printed image may be an image of a combined flyer-attached invoice and a "mirror". Hereinafter, a printed image that combines at least the product flyer and picking list may also be referred to as "printed material". Note that the arrangement of the flyer, picking list, invoice, invoice, and delivery note in the printed image is not limited to the arrangements exemplified in Figures 2A to 2C.

[0037] The original data that forms the basis of the print image printed by the image forming apparatus 400 is generated by the print support system 300, as described later. When the image forming apparatus 400 prints a print image that combines a product flyer and a picking list, it can print the image of the product flyer and the image of the picking list on the same sheet of paper. The image forming apparatus 400 can also create perforations on the paper to separate the flyer and the picking list. In Figures 2A to 2C, the perforations are shown by dashed lines.

[0038] The order in which the printed materials are discharged by the image forming apparatus 400 corresponds, for example, to the order in which the products are packaged together with the printed materials. In this embodiment, the timing of printing the printed image is based on changes in process information. Process information indicates which of the multiple management processes for managing incoming products is currently in. Specific examples of the multiple management processes will be described later.

[0039] Companies A through C each have servers 21 through 23 installed as components of their e-commerce systems. The shopping cart systems 211, 221, and 231 are implemented by servers 21 through 23, respectively.

[0040] The customer terminal 10, the warehouse management system 100 of the e-commerce specialized logistics center 30, the warehouse 200, the printing support system 300, the image forming apparatus 400, and the servers 21 to 23 at companies A to C constitute the e-commerce system in this embodiment.

[0041] (Customer terminal 10) The customer terminal 10 is, for example, a computer such as a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet that a customer uses to order products. The customer terminal 10 is equipped with input / output devices such as a touchscreen, keyboard, and mouse (not shown). For example, on a shopping site provided on the internet by an e-commerce business operator, the customer uses the input / output devices of the customer terminal 10 to perform operations such as searching for products, selecting products they wish to purchase, and deciding on a payment method.

[0042] (Servers 21-23) Servers 21-23 are computers installed in companies A-C, respectively, and each runs the cart systems 211, 221, and 231, outputting cart lists according to customer orders. The cart list includes information about the products ordered by the customer, customer name, address, and shipping requests to the warehouse management system 100. The cart systems 211, 221, and 231 are systems that provide a mechanism for customers to order and pay for products over the internet. In the mechanism provided by the cart systems 211, 221, and 231, customers search for products on e-commerce sites or mail-order sites, add the products they wish to purchase to their shopping cart, and order products by proceeding with the purchase procedure. Payment for purchased products is made, for example, by credit card. In addition to these cart and payment functions, the cart systems 211, 221, and 231 may also have order management functions, customer management functions, product management functions, sales promotion management functions, etc. Customers make purchases using a virtual shopping cart (basket) displayed on the screen of the customer terminal 10. For example, customers can select products by adding the items they wish to purchase to their shopping cart, just as they would when shopping in a physical store.

[0043] Servers 21-23 also generate product information and customer information from the information entered by the customer when ordering products. Hereinafter, product information will also be referred to as product information, and customer information as customer information. Product information includes product-specific information such as product name, serial number, and manufacturing date, as well as information about the product's location in warehouse 200 and the product's delivery company. Customer information includes information such as the customer's name, address, contact information, and the number of times each product has been purchased.

[0044] Furthermore, servers 21-23 transmit product flyer images, which have been pre-created by the e-commerce business operator, to the printing support system 300.

[0045] (EC-focused logistics center 30) <Warehouse Management System 100> The warehouse management system 100 is a WMS (Warehouse Management System) and has functions such as managing the inflow and outflow of goods to and from warehouse 200 and inventory management. When the warehouse management system 100 receives a shipping instruction, it generates a management number based on the cart list and information obtained from warehouse 200. The management number is a number that is managed in cooperation with the warehouse management system 100 and cart systems 211, 221, and 231. Shipping instructions can be generated, for example, based on shipping requests that each cart system 211, 221, and 231 sends to the warehouse management system 100 when it receives an order from a customer. Shipping requests can be included, for example, in the cart list. The warehouse management system 100 generates a shipping list containing the management number and instructions (orders) regarding the goods to be retrieved from warehouse 200, the quantity of goods, etc., every few hours to one day and sends it to the printing support system 300. The shipping list includes information about the timing of goods shipment, such as the shipping date and time.

[0046] In the example shown in Figure 1, warehouse 200 contains goods a1-a3 transported from company A, goods b1 and b2 transported from company B, and goods c1 transported from company C. Warehouse 200 is equipped with sensors to detect the remaining quantity of goods, and information regarding the remaining quantity of goods is transmitted sequentially to the warehouse management system 100. For example, if the remaining quantity of goods stored in warehouse 200 becomes zero or very low, a signal requesting replenishment of goods may be sent from warehouse 200 to the warehouse management system 100.

[0047] In this embodiment, the warehouse management system 100 and the image forming apparatus 400 are connected via the printing support system 300. The warehouse management system 100 and the image forming apparatus 400 cooperate via the printing support system 300 to print the printed image. This makes it possible to provide printed materials in accordance with the shipping schedule of the goods.

[0048] [Management process in warehouse management system 100] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating multiple management processes in the warehouse management system 100. These multiple management processes may include, for example, (1) receiving, (2) product processing, (3) inventory counting and inventory management, (4) order taking, (5) shipping instructions, (6) inventory allocation, (7) picking, (8) sorting, (9) product processing and inspection, (10) packaging and sorting, and (11) shipping. The processing (work) content in each of the processes (1) to (11) shown in Figure 3 is an example and is not limited to what is shown in the figure. Furthermore, the order in which each process is performed is not limited to the order shown in the figure; processes may be rearranged, processing (work) content in each process may be added, or some or all of the processing (work) content may be changed or deleted. The following describes an overview of the processing (work) content in the above (1) to (11).

[0049] (1) Incoming process Products and invoices are received from suppliers A through C, and the products are verified based on the invoices. The received products are then stored in warehouse 200 as needed.

[0050] (2)Product processing process The combination and quantity of goods are adjusted according to the instructions on the invoice. The adjusted combination and quantity of goods are then stored in warehouse 200.

[0051] (3) Inventory counting and inventory management process Inventory is taken based on the inventory list. In addition, inventory management is performed based on the inventory list.

[0052] (4) Order processing Customer order details (e.g., product name, quantity, delivery address, etc.) are registered.

[0053] (5) Shipping Instruction Process Picking lists are issued by cart systems 211, 221, and 231.

[0054] (6) Inventory allocation process The warehouse management system 100 checks the inventory quantity for each ordered item. Furthermore, inventory allocation is performed by subtracting the ordered quantity from the actual inventory quantity of goods stored in warehouse 200 to calculate the available inventory. Based on the available inventory, the number of items to be purchased is determined. Finally, a shipping reservation is made for the inventory items.

[0055] (7) Picking process The worker scans the barcodes of the picking number and product number on the picking list to confirm the shelf where the product is stored. Then, the worker goes to the shelf where the product is stored, scans the barcode to match it with the picking list, and picks the product after confirming the correspondence between the product number on the picking list and the barcode on the shelf. There are usually two methods of picking products: single picking and total picking. In total picking, the instructions on the picking list are combined for multiple products, and the ordered multiple products are classified by type. The worker picks all the products classified (grouped) according to the product classification. On the other hand, in single picking, the worker picks products one by one from the shelf in the product storage area.

[0056] (8) Sorting process The warehouse management system 100 outputs sorting instructions to the sorting equipment, and multiple items picked in total are sorted according to order. In the case of single picking, items are picked one by one, so sorting is not performed.

[0057] (9) Product processing and inspection process For example, a worker's terminal, carried by the worker, verifies the barcode on the shipping list against the barcode on the cardboard box or other packaging material used to pack the goods, and performs an inspection. The inspection results (inspection record) are uploaded from the worker's terminal to the warehouse management system 100 and registered.

[0058] (10) Packing and sorting process Inspected products are packaged by workers according to each order. In this embodiment, the product and printed materials are included in the package. The packaged products are then sorted according to their delivery destination.

[0059] (11) Shipping process The packaged and sorted goods are then loaded onto delivery trucks or other vehicles and shipped to their respective destinations.

[0060] In this specification, the process from (6) inventory allocation to (11) shipping is referred to as the "process corresponding to the shipment of goods."

[0061] [Process information] The warehouse management system 100 of this embodiment manages goods received into the warehouse 200 by associating them with process information indicating which of the above-mentioned management processes for managing the goods they are in. The warehouse management system 100 outputs the process information to the printing support system 300.

[0062] Furthermore, process information may include information for initiating product picking. Information for initiating product picking may include, for example, the reading of a barcode (code information) formed on a picking list (work list), an instruction to print the picking list, or the printing of the picking list. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the generation of a print job may be controlled according to the determination result of whether or not the process information has changed to information for initiating product picking.

[0063] Furthermore, process information may also include information for product shipment inspection. Information for shipment inspection may be obtained by reading code information associated with the product. As will be described in detail later, in this embodiment, the generation of print jobs may be controlled according to the result of determining whether or not the process information has changed into information for product shipment inspection.

[0064] [Shipping Instructions List] Figure 4 is an example of a shipping instruction list. The shipping instruction list is a list that includes items such as process information, work batch, shipping request number, shipper name, carrier name, delivery date, desired delivery time, recipient name, and recipient address for packages scheduled for shipment from the orders listed on the shipping list. The shipping request number corresponds to a management number managed in conjunction with the warehouse management system 100 and the cart systems 211, 221, and 231. The shipping instruction list is created based on the shipping list, taking into consideration items such as shipping date and time, product type, quantity, carrier, and delivery destination, from the perspective of enabling efficient shipping operations such as product picking and loading onto trucks.

[0065] For example, in the shipping instruction list, to streamline shipping operations, workers add work batches to group multiple shipments scheduled for dispatch. The worker creates a shipping instruction list for each work batch and inputs it into the printing support system 300. For example, in the example in Figure 4, the work batch consists of 20240930-TEST-01~04, scheduled for dispatch on September 30, 2024. The shipping instruction list can also be configured to be automatically generated based on the shipping list.

[0066] For example, filtering the same type of product from the shipping list that is scheduled to be shipped today, and then sorting them by quantity, makes the picking process easier because the same product is picked up consecutively, and the same size cardboard boxes are packed together. Furthermore, grouping work batches by delivery company makes sorting for loading onto trucks easier. Even with the same delivery company, if different trucks are used for different destinations, grouping work batches by destination makes sorting for loading onto trucks easier. In the example shown in the diagram, shipments are scheduled for September 30, 2024, and work batches have been created for each delivery company. Specifically, in work batches 20240930-TEST-01~04, the delivery company is the same, "XX Transportation."

[0067] <Image Forming System 500> Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming system 500 shown in Figure 1. The image forming system 500 is a system that generates printed materials to be shipped together with ordered goods. Here, in this specification, shipping goods and printed materials together means shipping the printed materials together with the goods, either in a package or enclosed. The image forming system 500 includes a printing support system 300 and an image forming apparatus 400.

[0068] <Printing Support System 300> The printing support system 300 is a system for supporting printing by the image forming apparatus 400, and together with the image forming apparatus 400, it constitutes the image forming system 500. The printing support system 300 includes a printing information acquisition unit 310, a document data generation unit 320, a print job generation unit 330, and a print control unit 340. The printing support system 300 outputs print jobs based on the shipping list, process information, cart list, and product flyer images.

[0069] The printing support system 300 generates print jobs for producing printed materials to be shipped together with products, in response to a customer's order for products. When generating print jobs, the printing support system 300 can change the original documents to be used for printing and their stacking order through typesetting. In this embodiment, the generation of print jobs is performed based on changes in process information.

[0070] [Print information acquisition unit 310] Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of the print information acquisition unit 310 shown in Figure 5. Figure 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating typesetting setting information. The print information acquisition unit 310 includes a shipping list import unit 311, a cart list database 312, a typesetting list generation unit 313, a shipping information database 314, and a print list generation unit 315.

[0071] The print information acquisition unit 310 generates a typesetting list and a print list based on the shipping list and the cart list. The typesetting list is information that combines customer information included in the cart list with the orders listed in the shipping list using management numbers, and is a list necessary when performing variable printing of the original data. The print list is a list of the orders to be printed from the orders listed in the shipping list, arranged in the order of printing.

[0072] [Shipping list import unit 311] The shipping list import unit 311 imports the shipping list output from the warehouse management system 100 and outputs the shipping list to the typesetting list generation unit 313. The shipping list includes a list of products to be shipped and shipping timing information for each product.

[0073] [Cartlist Database 312] The cart list database 312 stores cart lists entered from the respective cart systems 211, 221, and 231 of companies A through C in its database. The cart list database 312 outputs the cart list information stored in the database to the typesetting list generation unit 313 upon request from the typesetting list generation unit 313. For ordered products, the cart list information and the orders listed on the shipping list are not necessarily synchronized, but the cart list information can be read from the database by the typesetting list generation unit 313 at the necessary time. After receiving an order from a customer, the cart systems 211, 221, and 231 send a shipping request to the warehouse management system 100, so all information corresponding to the orders listed on the shipping list is included in the cart list information.

[0074] [Typesetting list generation unit 313] The typesetting list generation unit 313 generates a typesetting list based on the shipping list and cart list information, and outputs the typesetting list to the manuscript data generation unit 320. The typesetting list generation unit 313 compares the orders listed in the shipping list with the database information in the cart list, and generates a typesetting list by combining the customer information corresponding to the orders listed in the shipping list with the shipping list. At that time, the typesetting list generation unit 313 also includes typesetting setting information that defines the generation rules for variable manuscripts for each order in the typesetting list.

[0075] The typesetting list generation unit 313 can switch typesetting setting information according to the shipping timing information listed in the shipping list. As shown in Figure 7, the typesetting setting information has a structure consisting of an ID, a setting name, artwork data, and input coordinates. The figure illustrates data with IDs 1 and 2. For example, the data with ID:1 has a setting name of "September Promotion Campaign", artwork data of "September Campaign.pdf", and input coordinates of "Pattern 1.json". The artwork data is the base data into which variable information is input in variable printing, and in this embodiment, it is a product flyer image. The input coordinates are the coordinates into which the variable information is input. The product flyer image is, for example, stored in advance in association with the product in the manuscript data generation unit 320, which will be described later.

[0076] The typesetting list generation unit 313 extracts the corresponding data from the typesetting settings information according to the shipping timing information. For example, if the scheduled shipping date in the shipping timing information for an order in the shipping list is in August or early September, the typesetting list generation unit 313 determines that the data with ID:1 in the typesetting settings information is appropriate because the flyer for the "September sales promotion campaign" is suitable. In this case, ID:1 is recorded in the typesetting list as the typesetting settings information for the above order.

[0077] Thus, in this embodiment, the typesetting list generation unit 313 can select the original data to be printed, i.e., the image to be formed on the paper, by switching the typesetting setting data based on the shipping timing information. As a result, when the typesetting list generation unit 313 uses the above-mentioned promotional campaign flyers or flyers with limited-time content as typesetting data, it can select typesetting data with content appropriate for the timing of product shipment.

[0078] Furthermore, the typesetting list generation unit 313 can also switch typesetting settings information based on customer information listed in the cart list. Although not shown in the diagram, the typesetting settings information may include a setting name corresponding to the number of times the product has been purchased, artwork data, and input coordinates.

[0079] [Shipping Information Database 314] The shipping information database 314 is a database that stores shipping lists imported by the shipping list import unit 311. The shipping information database 314 outputs past shipping list information stored in the database in response to a request from the print list generation unit 315.

[0080] [Print list generation unit 315] The print list generation unit 315 generates a print list based on the shipping list. More specifically, the print list generation unit 315 determines the items to be printed from the multiple orders listed in the shipping list based on the shipping timing information included in the shipping list, and generates a print list. The print list generation unit 315 also refers to past shipping list information stored in the shipping information database 314 and adds it to the print list. More specifically, after the typesetting process by the typesetting execution unit 321 (described later) is successfully completed, the print list generation unit 315 determines the orders to be printed from the shipping timing information listed in the shipping list and adds the orders that should be printed at that time to the print list. At that time, the print list generation unit 315 refers to past shipping information in the shipping information database 314, determines the print orders from the shipping timing information, and adds them to the print list.

[0081] [Manuscript data generation unit 320] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of the original data generation unit 320 shown in Figure 5. The original data generation unit 320 generates original data based on the product flyer image and the typesetting list, and outputs it to the print job generation unit 330. The original data generation unit 320 includes a typesetting execution unit 321, an output PDF (Portable Document Format) storage database 322, and a typesetting setting database 323.

[0082] The typesetting execution unit 321 executes typesetting processing based on the typesetting list and generates manuscript data for printing. The generated manuscript data is saved in the output PDF storage database 322 or on a cloud server. When executing typesetting processing, the typesetting execution unit 321 reads the information necessary for typesetting processing from the typesetting setting database 323 according to the typesetting setting information. The information necessary for typesetting processing is stored in the typesetting setting database 323. The information necessary for typesetting processing includes, for example, a typesetting setting information file that describes the contents of the above-mentioned typesetting setting information. The typesetting setting information file is written in, for example, JSON format. JSON is an abbreviation for JavaScript Object Notation. The typesetting setting information file may include a base plate data file into which variable information is inserted, an insertion coordinate file that indicates the coordinates into which variable information is inserted, and image data for insertion. The insertion coordinate file may also be a JSON file.

[0083] [Print job generation unit 330] Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of the print job generation unit 330 shown in Figure 5. The print job generation unit 330 generates and outputs print jobs based on the print list, document data, and print control signals. The generated print jobs are sent to the image forming apparatus 400. The print job generation unit 330 includes a job input unit 331 and a print setting database 332.

[0084] The job input unit 331 reads the print settings stored in the print settings database 332 based on the print specifications listed in the print list. Print settings include, for example, the number of pages, the number of copies, the type of paper (recording medium), size, basis weight, single-sided / double-sided printing, post-processing, and marking (barcode, QR code). Post-processing includes, for example, perforation, creasing, binding (staple, glued booklet), and punching. The job input unit 331 generates a print job based on the read print settings and the original data.

[0085] [Print control unit 340] The print control unit 340 controls the generation of print jobs by the print job generation unit 330. More specifically, the print control unit 340 acquires process information from the warehouse management system 100, outputs a print control signal based on changes in the process information, and controls the timing at which the print job generation unit 330 generates print jobs using the print control signal. As will be described in detail later, the print control signal may be output, for example, when it is detected that the process information has changed to a process set as a process for printing printed materials. The print control signal may also be output, for example, when it is detected that the process information has changed to a process corresponding to the shipment of goods, when the process information has changed to information for initiating picking, or when the process information has changed to information for shipment inspection.

[0086] The image forming apparatus 400 prints the print image based on the print job generated by the print job generation unit 330. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 400 starts printing the print image based on a change in process information.

[0087] <Image forming apparatus 400> Figure 10 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming apparatus 400 shown in Figure 1. The image forming apparatus 400 receives a print job from the print support system 300 and forms (prints) a print image based on the print job onto paper (recording medium). The print job includes, for example, print data and print settings in PDL (Page Description Language) format. The print data includes, for example, data consisting of the 1st to nth pages. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 400 prints printed materials associated with a product and shipped together with the product.

[0088] The image forming apparatus 400 comprises an image forming apparatus main unit 410, a paper feeder 420, a post-processing device 430, and a terminal device 440. The image forming apparatus main unit 410, the paper feeder 420, and the post-processing device 430 are interconnected via an internal bus for communication. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus main unit 410, the paper feeder 420, and the post-processing device 430 are interconnected via a network 450 for communication with the terminal device 440.

[0089] [Image forming apparatus main unit 410] The image forming apparatus main unit 410 generates print image data based on the print settings and print data included in the print job received from the print support system 300. More specifically, the image forming apparatus main unit 410 includes an image processing unit (not shown), an image forming unit, a fixing unit, a paper transport unit, a control unit, etc. The image processing unit analyzes the print job received from the print support system 300 and performs processing such as color conversion, screening, and rasterization for each page of the print data to generate print image data in bitmap format. The image forming unit receives paper supplied from the paper feeder 420 and forms an image on the paper based on the print image data using a well-known image formation process such as an electrophotographic method, which includes the steps of charging, exposure, development, and transfer. The image forming unit is composed of a photosensitive drum as an image carrier and a charging unit, a light writing unit, a developing unit, a transfer unit, etc. arranged around it. The fixing unit fixes the toner image formed on the paper. The paper transport unit transports the paper between the image forming unit, the fixing unit, and the output tray. The control unit controls the image processing unit, image forming unit, fixing unit, and paper transport unit. The control unit is a computer that includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), auxiliary storage device, etc.

[0090] [Paper feeder 420] The paper feeder 420 supplies paper, which will be used as a recording medium, to the image forming apparatus main unit 410. The paper feeder 420 has, for example, upper, middle, and lower trays, and each tray can accommodate different types of paper, such as plain paper and fine paper, and different sizes of paper.

[0091] [Post-treatment device 430] The post-processing device 430 functions as a post-processing unit, receiving printed paper sent from the preceding image forming apparatus main unit 410 and performing post-processing on the paper according to the print settings. As post-processing, the post-processing device 430 performs, for example, perforation, creasing, binding (stapling, gluing), punching, etc., according to the print settings. The post-processing device 430 also performs an discharge process, discharging the post-processed paper into the discharge tray.

[0092] [Terminal device 440] The terminal device 440 may be, for example, a personal computer, a tablet terminal, a smartphone, etc. The terminal device 440 is used by an operator who operates the image forming apparatus main unit 410, etc. Operations by the operator include, for example, setting up processes for printing printed materials. As will be described in detail later, by setting at least one of the above-mentioned multiple management processes as a process for printing printed materials, a print image is printed based on the change in process information indicating the set process.

[0093] Furthermore, the operator can also operate the image forming apparatus 410 and other components from the control panel 411 located on the image forming apparatus 410.

[0094] (How to print flyers in an e-commerce system) Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating the processing steps for printing a flyer using the image forming system 500 of the first embodiment. Figure 12 is a subroutine flowchart illustrating the details of the processing steps for the step (S104) of generating a print job in the flowchart shown in Figure 11.

[0095] The following example illustrates the case where a customer orders product a1 from company A. The same applies when the customer orders other products from company A, or products from company B or C. The process in step S101 in Figure 11 is performed by company A's server 21. The processes in steps S102 to S104 in the same figure are performed by the server of the e-commerce specialized logistics center 30. The processes in steps S105 and S106 in the same figure are performed by the CPU of the image forming apparatus 400 executing a control program.

[0096] First, the customer operates the customer terminal 10 to order product a1 on Company A's e-commerce site. The customer terminal 10 sends order information to Company A's shopping cart system 211. The order information may include, for example, the order date and time for product a1, product name, quantity, customer's name, address, contact information, delivery destination name, and delivery destination address.

[0097] Company A's cart system 211 receives an order (step S101) and generates product information for product a1 and customer information based on the received order information and production information for product a1 (e.g., manufacturing number, manufacturing date, production line, etc.). Company A's cart system 211 outputs a cart list containing product information and customer information to the warehouse management system 100 and the printing support system 300. In addition, the cart system 211 generates a picking list based on the product information for product a1 and outputs it to the warehouse management system 100 and the printing support system 300.

[0098] When the warehouse management system 100 receives a shipping instruction, it generates a management number based on the cart list and information about the inventory items obtained from the warehouse 200, creates a shipping list of the items, and outputs it to the printing support system 300. The warehouse management system 100 also outputs process information to the printing support system 300. Process information may be output to the printing support system 300 when changes occur or periodically.

[0099] Next, the print information acquisition unit 310 acquires the shipping list, and the print control unit 340 acquires process information (step S102). More specifically, the shipping list acquisition unit 311 acquires the shipping list and transmits it to the typesetting list generation unit 313 and the shipping information database 314. The shipping list is stored in the shipping information database 314.

[0100] Next, the print information acquisition unit 310 acquires the cart list (step S103). The acquired cart list is stored in the cart list database 312.

[0101] The typesetting list generation unit 313 generates a typesetting list based on the shipping list and cart list information, and outputs the typesetting list to the manuscript data generation unit 320. The manuscript data generation unit 320 generates manuscript data based on the typesetting list and the typesetting setting information file stored in the typesetting setting database 323. The print list generation unit 315 generates a print list.

[0102] Next, the print job generation unit 330 generates a print job based on the print list and original data and sends it to the image forming apparatus 400 (step S104). As shown in Figure 12, the print control unit 340 acquires process information from the warehouse management system 100 (step S201). Subsequently, the print control unit 340 determines whether the process information has changed (step S202), and if it determines that the process information has changed (step S202: YES), it controls the print job generation unit 330 to generate a print job (step S203). Then, the print control unit 340 terminates the process of generating a print job (return).

[0103] On the other hand, if the print control unit 340 determines that the process information has not changed (step S202: NO), it controls the process to return to step S201. In other words, the print control unit 340 waits until the process information changes.

[0104] Next, the image forming apparatus main unit 410 receives the print job and executes it (step S105). Based on the print job generated in step S104, the image forming apparatus main unit 410 prints the printed materials to be included with product a1, and the post-processing device 430 performs post-processing on the printed materials according to the print settings.

[0105] Next, the post-processing device 430 discharges the printed material into the output tray (step S106) and terminates the process (end).

[0106] In this embodiment, the print control unit 340 monitors whether the process information has changed and controls the timing of generating a print job based on the change in process information. For example, the print control unit 340 instructs the print job generation unit 330 to generate a print job when the process information has changed. As a result, the print job generation unit 330 generates a print job in response to the instruction to generate a print job, and the image forming apparatus 400 generates printed materials to be included with product a1 based on the print job generated by the print job generation unit 330. Consequently, a print image is printed based on the change in process information.

[0107] (Specific examples of changes in process information) <Setting up the process for printing printed materials> Figure 13 is an example of setting up the process for printing a printed document, and Figure 14 is a subroutine flowchart illustrating the processing steps for generating a print job when the process for printing a printed document has been set up.

[0108] As shown in Figure 13, for each product a1-a3, b1, b2, and c1, the processes from order placement (process number: PR1) to shipment (process number: PR8) are carried out sequentially. The figure illustrates the management processes being carried out for each product at a certain point in time by the warehouse management system 100. For example, at this point, the inventory allocation process (process number: PR3) is carried out for product a2, and the packaging process (process number: PR7) is carried out for products a1 and b1.

[0109] At least one of the multiple control processes in process numbers PR1 to PR8 may be set as a process for printing printed materials. The setting of a process for printing printed materials can be entered by an operator, for example, through a terminal device 440. For example, for product a2, the inventory allocation process is set as a process for printing printed materials, as indicated by the circle in the figure. Also, "a2.pdf" is set as the printed material (the file to be printed).

[0110] Furthermore, if multiple processes are set for printing, the print control unit 340 may be configured to select, for example, one of the multiple processes to be used for actual printing, depending on the ordered product. The print control unit 340 may, for example, select the process that is performed at the earliest, middle, or latest timing from among the multiple processes to be used for printing. In addition, the print control unit 340 may select the process for printing from among the multiple processes, taking into account, for example, the number of products and the time required to perform each process.

[0111] As shown in Figure 14, the print control unit 340 acquires process information for the product (step S301) and determines whether the process information has changed to a process set as a process for printing printed materials (step S302). For example, let's assume that the inventory allocation process is set as a process for printing printed materials. If the print control unit 340 determines that the process information has changed from the shipping instruction process to the inventory allocation process (step S302: YES), it controls the print job generation unit 330 to generate a print job. The print job generation unit 330 generates a print job in response to instructions from the print control unit 340 (step S303).

[0112] In this way, at least one of the above-mentioned management processes is set as a process for printing a printed material. The print control unit 340 controls the print job generation unit 330 to generate a print job based on the fact that the process information has changed to a process set as a process for printing a printed material. The image forming apparatus 400 prints a print image based on the print job generated by the print job generation unit 330. Therefore, a print image is printed based on the fact that the process information has changed to a process set as a process for printing a printed material.

[0113] On the other hand, if the print control unit 340 determines that the process information has not changed from the shipping instruction process to the inventory allocation process (step S302: NO), it proceeds back to the process in step S301 without generating a print job.

[0114] <Process for shipping products> Figure 15 is a subroutine flowchart illustrating the process for generating a print job when printing printed materials in the process corresponding to product shipment. As mentioned above, the process corresponding to product shipment is one of the following processes: inventory allocation, picking, sorting, product processing, inspection, packaging, and shipping.

[0115] As shown in Figure 15, the print control unit 340 acquires the process information of the product (step S401) and determines whether the process information has changed to a process corresponding to the shipment of the product (step S402). If the print control unit 340 determines that the process information has changed to a process corresponding to the shipment of the product (step S402: YES), it controls the print job generation unit 330 to generate a print job. The print job generation unit 330 generates a print job in response to instructions from the print control unit 340 (step S403).

[0116] In this manner, the print control unit 340 controls the print job generation unit 330 to generate a print job based on the change in process information to a process corresponding to the shipment of the product. The image forming apparatus 400 prints the print image based on the print job generated by the print job generation unit 330. Therefore, the print image is printed based on the change in process information to a process corresponding to the shipment of the product among the multiple management processes described above.

[0117] On the other hand, if the print control unit 340 determines that the process information does not change to a process that corresponds to the shipment of the product (step S402: NO), it controls the process to return to the processing in step S401 without generating a print job.

[0118] <Information to begin picking> Figure 16 is an example of the information required to start picking, and Figure 17 is a subroutine flowchart illustrating the process for generating a print job when printing a print image is started during the picking process.

[0119] As explained in "(7) Picking Process" above, the worker scans the barcodes of the picking number and product number on the picking list to confirm the shelf where the product is stored. Then, the worker goes to the shelf where the product is stored, scans the barcode to compare it with the picking list, and picks the product for which the correspondence between the product number on the picking list and the barcode on the shelf has been confirmed.

[0120] Process information may include information for initiating product picking. As shown in Figure 16, information for initiating product picking may be, for example, detection results of actions, events, or states that may trigger the start of the picking process. More specifically, information for initiating product picking may include the reading of code information formed on the picking list, the issuance of a print instruction for the picking list, or the printing of the picking list.

[0121] Code information can be, for example, information that identifies the item to be picked, or information that identifies the work list. Code information can be, for example, a barcode for the item number, a barcode for the picking number, etc. Based on the reading of the code information formed on the picking list, the process information is changed to information for initiating picking.

[0122] As shown in Figure 17, the print control unit 340 acquires the process information of the product (step S501) and determines whether the process information has changed to information for starting picking (step S502). If the process information has changed to information for starting picking (step S502: YES), the print control unit 340 controls the print job generation unit 330 to generate a print job. The print job generation unit 330 generates a print job in response to instructions from the print control unit 340 (step S503).

[0123] Thus, the print control unit 340 controls the print job generation unit 330 to generate a print job based on the fact that the process information has changed to information for initiating picking. The image forming apparatus 400 prints the print image based on the print job generated by the print job generation unit 330. Therefore, the print image is printed based on the fact that the process information has changed to information for initiating picking.

[0124] On the other hand, if the print control unit 340 determines that the process information has not changed to information necessary to start picking (step S502: NO), it controls the process to return to step S501 without generating a print job.

[0125] <Information for shipping inspection> Figure 18 is a subroutine flowchart illustrating the process for generating a print job when printing a print image is initiated during the shipping inspection process.

[0126] Process information may include information for product shipment inspection. This information could, for example, be the reading of code information associated with the product.

[0127] As shown in Figure 18, the print control unit 340 acquires the process information of the product (step S601) and determines whether the process information has changed to information for shipment inspection (step S602). If the process information has changed to information for shipment inspection (step S602: YES), the print control unit 340 controls the print job generation unit 330 to generate a print job. The print job generation unit 330 generates a print job in response to instructions from the print control unit 340 (step S603).

[0128] The print control unit 340 controls the print job generation unit 330 to generate a print job based on the fact that the process information has changed to information for shipping inspection. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 400 prints the printed material based on the fact that the process information has changed to information for shipping inspection.

[0129] Thus, the print control unit 340 controls the print job generation unit 330 to generate a print job based on the fact that the process information has changed to information for shipping inspection. The image forming apparatus 400 prints the print image based on the print job generated by the print job generation unit 330. Therefore, the print image is printed based on the fact that the process information has changed to information for shipping inspection.

[0130] On the other hand, if the print control unit 340 determines that the process information has not been changed to information for shipping inspection (step S602: NO), it controls the process to return to the process of step S601 without generating a print job.

[0131] (Current shipping process as a comparative example) Figure 19 is a schematic diagram illustrating a shelf 610 on which numerous boxes 620 for storing flyers 700 are arranged. Currently, the flyer storage area 600 of the e-commerce specialized logistics center 30 has a shelf 610 installed, and numerous boxes 620 for storing flyers 700 are arranged in a row on this shelf 610. When shipping products, workers pick the flyers 700 from the shelf 610 where the corresponding flyers 700 are located and pack them together with the products being shipped.

[0132] However, the flyers 700 included with the product come in various patterns depending on the product, subscription status, and purchase frequency. Furthermore, if multiple flyers 700 are included, the stacking order is usually specified in advance by the brand owner. Workers manually pick the flyers 700 while referring to a pattern chart. Because the picking of flyers 700 is done manually, errors are prone to occur.

[0133] Furthermore, as mentioned above, currently, for example, workers create sets of 700 flyers in advance during their free time, depending on the purchased items and purchase frequency, and pick up the created sets of 700 flyers at the same time as picking the products. However, there are cases where the 700 flyers included with products are changed depending on the product, subscription, purchase frequency, etc. Also, the 700 flyers included may change frequently due to changes in seasons or product models. In such cases, the workload of workers at the product shipping site increases. In addition, in such cases, 700 flyers that can still be used after the change may be disassembled from the set and reused, but 700 flyers that cannot be used must be discarded.

[0134] (Effects of the image forming system 500 of this embodiment) The image forming system 500, the control method for the image forming system 500, and the control program according to this embodiment have the following effects.

[0135] The warehouse management system 100 and the image forming apparatus 400 work together, and the image forming apparatus 400 prints printed materials based on changes in the process information output by the warehouse management system 100, so that printed materials can be provided in accordance with the shipping schedule. Therefore, even if the set of included flyers changes, the amount of flyers that have to be discarded because they cannot be reused can be reduced. As a result, the space required to store flyers can also be reduced.

[0136] [Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment, a case was described in which the printing support system 300 controls the printing of a print image by the image forming apparatus 400 by controlling the generation of a print job based on a change in process information. In the second embodiment, a case was described in which the image forming apparatus 400 controls the printing of a print image by controlling the execution of a print job based on a change in process information. In order to avoid duplication of explanation, the explanation of the same configuration as in the first embodiment will be omitted or simplified.

[0137] (Example of an image forming system configuration) <Printing support system> Figure 20 is a schematic block diagram illustrating the configuration of the image forming system in the second embodiment.

[0138] Unlike the printing support system 300 in the first embodiment, the printing support system 301 of this embodiment does not have a printing control unit. Therefore, the printing control unit does not control the printing job generation of the printing job generation unit 330.

[0139] <Image forming apparatus 401> The image forming apparatus 401 of this embodiment has the function of executing a print job and printing a printed material based on a change in process information. Aside from the above function, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 401 is the same as that of the image forming apparatus 400 in the first embodiment.

[0140] (How to print flyers in an e-commerce system) Figure 21 is a flowchart illustrating the processing procedure for printing a flyer using the image forming system of the second embodiment. Figure 22 is a subroutine flowchart illustrating the details of the processing procedure for step (S705) of executing the print job in the flowchart shown in Figure 21. The processing of the subroutine flowchart shown in Figure 22 is realized by the CPU (hardware processor) of the image forming apparatus 401 executing a control program.

[0141] The processes in steps S701 to S703 and S706 in Figure 21 are the same as the processes in steps S101 to S103 and S106 in Figure 11 of the first embodiment, respectively, so a detailed explanation is omitted.

[0142] In step S704, the print job generation unit 330 generates a print job based on the print list and original data and sends it to the image forming apparatus 401.

[0143] In step S705, the image forming apparatus 401 executes a print job. Specifically, as shown in Figure 22, the control unit of the image forming apparatus main body 410 acquires process information for the product (step S801) and determines whether the process information has changed (step S802). If the control unit of the image forming apparatus main body 410 determines that the process information has changed (step S802: YES), it controls the image forming unit to execute a print job. The image forming unit executes the print job in accordance with the instructions of the image forming apparatus main body 410 (step S803). Then, the image forming apparatus 401 finishes the process of executing the print job (return) and proceeds to the process in step S706 in Figure 21.

[0144] On the other hand, if the control unit of the image forming apparatus 410 determines that the process information has not changed (step S802: NO), it proceeds back to step S801 without executing the print job. In other words, the control unit of the image forming apparatus 410 waits until the process information changes.

[0145] As described above, in this embodiment, the control unit of the image forming apparatus body 410 monitors whether or not the process information has changed, and controls the timing of executing the print job based on whether or not the process information has changed. For example, the control unit of the image forming apparatus body 410 instructs the image forming unit to execute the print job when the process information has changed. As a result, the image forming unit starts printing the printed materials to be included with the product based on the print job generated by the print job generation unit 330. Consequently, the print image is printed based on the change in process information.

[0146] (Effects of the image forming system 501 of this embodiment) The image forming system 501, the control method for the image forming system 501, and the control program according to this embodiment have the following effects in addition to the effects of the first embodiment.

[0147] In the image forming system 501, the timing of executing a print job is controlled based on changes in process information. Therefore, compared to the image forming system 500 of the first embodiment, the time between a change in process information and the execution of a print job is shorter by the time required to generate the print job. As a result, even when printing of printed materials is started in a downstream process in the product process management, such as product processing or inspection, it is possible to complete the printing of printed materials before the start of the product packaging and sorting process, thereby enabling the product and printed materials to be bundled together.

[0148] As described above, the image forming systems 500, 501, the control method for the image forming systems 500, 501, and the control program have been described in the embodiments. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can be appropriately added to, modified, and omitted by those skilled in the art within the scope of its technical concept.

[0149] For example, in the first and second embodiments described above, the present invention was explained using examples where the warehouse management system 100 and the image forming apparatus 400 are connected via the printing support system 300, but the present invention is not limited to such cases. In the second embodiment, the warehouse management system 100 and the image forming apparatus 401 may be directly connected, and the image forming apparatus 401 may be configured to acquire process information from the warehouse management system 100.

[0150] Furthermore, while the first and second embodiments described above illustrate cases where the printing support systems 300 and 301 are configured as separate systems from the warehouse management system 100 and the image forming apparatuses 400 and 401, the present invention is not limited to such cases. The printing support systems 300 and 301 may be incorporated into the warehouse management system 100 or the image forming apparatuses 400 and 401 as part of the warehouse management system 100 or the image forming apparatuses 400 and 401.

[0151] Furthermore, the printing support system 300 may generate shipping labels, delivery slips, and flyers by combining the entered shipping list with information previously stored in the cart list database 312, etc., without using pre-created manuscript data (for example, in PDF format).

[0152] Furthermore, the means and methods for performing various processing in the system according to the above embodiment can be implemented by either a dedicated hardware circuit or a programmed computer. The program may be provided, for example, on a computer-readable recording medium such as a flexible disk or CD-ROM, or it may be provided online via a network such as the Internet. In this case, the program recorded on the computer-readable recording medium is usually transferred to and stored in a storage unit such as a hard disk. The program may also be provided as a standalone application software, or it may be incorporated into the software of the device as a function of the system.

[0153] While embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated in detail, the disclosed embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting. The scope of the present invention should be interpreted in accordance with the language of the appended claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0154] 10 Customer terminals, Servers 21-23 30 E-commerce-focused logistics centers, 100 Warehouse Management Systems, 200 warehouses, 300,301 Print support system, 310 Print information acquisition unit, 311 Shipping list import unit, 312 Cart List Database, 313 Typesetting list generation unit, 314 Shipping Information Database, 315 Print list generation unit, 320 Manuscript data generation unit, 321 Typesetting Execution Department, 322 Output PDF storage database, 330 Print job generation unit, 331 Job submission section, 332 Print Settings Database 400,401 Image forming apparatus, 410 Image forming apparatus main unit, 420 Paper feeder, 430 Post-processing equipment, 440 terminal devices, 450 networks, 500,501 Image forming system, 600 product storage area, 610 shelves, 630 boxes.

Claims

1. In an image forming system, a warehouse management system that manages incoming goods in association with process information indicating which of multiple management processes the goods are in, and an image forming apparatus that prints printed materials associated with the goods and shipped together with the goods, The system accepts input that one of the processes in the aforementioned multiple management processes is the process of starting the printing of the printed material. When it is detected that the process indicated by the process information has changed to the process of starting to print the received printout, the printing of the printout is started. An image forming system that generates the printed material based on image data selected in accordance with the shipping timing of the aforementioned product.

2. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the initiation of printing the printed material includes the generation of a print job for producing the printed material.

3. The image forming apparatus starts printing the printed material when it detects that the process has changed from the plurality of management processes to the process of shipping the product, according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The image forming system according to claim 3, wherein the process of shipping the product includes initiating any of the following: inventory allocation, picking, sorting, product processing, inspection, packaging, and shipping of the product.

5. The image forming apparatus starts printing the printed material when it detects that the process has changed from the plurality of management processes to the process of picking the product, according to claim 1 or 2.

6. The image forming system according to claim 5, wherein a change to the process of picking an item is detected based on the reading of code information formed in a work list containing information about the item to be picked.

7. The image forming system according to claim 6, wherein the code information is information that identifies the product to be picked.

8. The image forming system according to claim 6, wherein the code information is information that identifies the work list.

9. The image forming system according to claim 5, wherein, based on a print instruction for a work list containing information about the items to be picked, it is detected that the process information has changed to the picking process.

10. The image forming apparatus prints a printed document to be sent together with the product based on the printing of the work list, according to claim 9.

11. The image forming apparatus prints the work list and the printed material on the same sheet of paper, according to claim 10.

12. The image forming system includes a post-processing unit that performs post-processing on the paper, The image forming system according to claim 11, wherein the post-processing unit forms perforations on the paper for separating the work list and the printed material.

13. The image forming apparatus, when it detects that the process has changed from the plurality of management processes to the process of inspecting the product before shipment, starts printing the printed material, according to claim 1 or 2.

14. The image forming system according to claim 13, wherein the information for the shipment inspection is detected to have changed to the process of shipment inspection of the product based on the reading of code information associated with the product.

15. A control method for an image forming system connected to a warehouse management system that manages incoming goods in association with process information indicating which of multiple management processes the goods are in, and an image forming apparatus that prints printed materials associated with the goods and shipped together with the goods, The aforementioned image forming system is The system accepts input that one of the processes in the aforementioned multiple management processes is the process of starting the printing of the printed material. When it is detected that the process indicated by the process information has changed to the process of starting to print the received printout, the printing of the printout is started. A control method for an image forming system that generates the printed material based on image data selected in accordance with the shipping timing of the aforementioned product.

16. A control program for an image forming system connected to a warehouse management system that manages incoming goods in association with process information indicating which of multiple management processes the goods are in, and an image forming apparatus that prints printed materials associated with the goods and shipped together with the goods, The system accepts input that one of the processes in the aforementioned multiple management processes is the process of starting the printing of the printed material. When it is detected that the process indicated by the process information has changed to the process of starting to print the received printout, the printing of the printout is started. A control program for an image forming system that causes a computer to perform a process including a procedure for generating the printed material based on image data selected in accordance with the shipping timing of the aforementioned product.

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