Cooperation assistance method

Abstract

This cooperation assistance device 100 comprises: a provision unit 121 for providing, to a first business operator, preregistered sales information expressing information pertaining to sales by a second business operator; an acquisition unit 122 for acquiring sales policy information from the first business operator that expresses a sales policy in cooperation with the second business operator, and sales information that is based on sales by the second business operator; and a calculation unit 123 for calculating token information having a monetary value and provided from the second business operator to the first business operator, on the basis of the sales policy information from the first business operator and the sales information from the second business operator.

Description

Collaboration support method

[0001] The present invention relates to a collaboration support method, a collaboration support device, and a storage medium.

[0002] Patent Literature 1 describes a system for linking the sale of products and the like between multiple businesses. For example, a store introduces products from other stores to customers who purchase products from its own store. Specifically, Patent Literature 1 describes a system in which referral information, including product information from the other store, is written onto the membership card or receipt of a customer who purchases a product from the store that is the referrer. The other store that is the referrer then acquires the referral information provided by the customer, sells the product at the other store, and calculates a commission to be paid to the referrer store. This allows the referrer store to sell products to customers introduced by the referrer, and the referrer store to receive a referral fee, resulting in a sales collaboration that is beneficial to both parties.

[0003] Patent No. 4101176

[0004] However, in the above-mentioned sales collaboration, the target store must wait for the customer introduction from the referral store, which causes the problem that it is unable to encourage further sales collaboration and therefore is unable to promote sales.Furthermore, it is unable to encourage collaboration between businesses, not only in the sale of products in stores, but in any business, and therefore is unable to promote sales.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem of being unable to promote sales collaboration between businesses.

[0006] A collaboration support method according to one embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: providing a first business with sales information representing information relating to sales by a pre-registered second business; acquiring sales promotion information representing a sales promotion by the first business in collaboration with the second business and sales information from sales by the second business; and calculating token information having monetary value to be provided by the second business to the first business based on the sales promotion information by the first business and the sales information by the second business.

[0007] Furthermore, a collaboration support device according to one embodiment of the present invention is configured to include: a providing unit that provides a first business with sales information representing information relating to sales by a pre-registered second business; an acquiring unit that acquires sales promotion information representing a sales promotion by the first business in collaboration with the second business and sales information from sales by the second business; and a calculating unit that calculates token information having monetary value to be provided by the second business to the first business based on the sales promotion information by the first business and the sales information by the second business.

[0008] Furthermore, a program according to one aspect of the present invention is configured to cause a computer to execute the following processes: provide a first business with sales information representing information relating to sales by a pre-registered second business; acquire sales promotion information representing a sales promotion by the first business in collaboration with the second business and sales information from sales by the second business; and calculate token information having monetary value to be provided by the second business to the first business based on the sales promotion information by the first business and the sales information by the second business.

[0009] With the above-described configuration, the present invention can promote sales collaboration between businesses.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a collaboration support system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a collaboration support device disclosed in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the collaboration support device disclosed in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the flow of data in the collaboration support system disclosed in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the flow of data in the collaboration support system disclosed in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an overview of processing in the collaboration support system disclosed in FIG. 1. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of a collaboration support device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a collaboration support device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the collaboration support device according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] <First Embodiment> A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 7. Figures 1 and 2 are diagrams for explaining the configuration of a collaboration support system, and Figures 3 to 7 are diagrams for explaining the processing operations of the collaboration support system.

[0012] [Configuration] The collaboration support system of the present invention is used to support sales collaboration among multiple businesses. For example, the businesses may be businesses that sell products or provide services in stores, businesses that sell products wholesale to retail stores or vending machines, or businesses that provide services without a store. Note that, in the present invention, "sales" includes not only selling products but also providing services.

[0013] In the first example of this embodiment, a case will be described in which three different businesses sell different products at different stores A, B, and C. In this case, the three businesses agree to issue points to customers who purchase products at each of the stores A, B, and C in accordance with the purchase amount, and to allow these points to be used for payment at any of the three businesses' stores A, B, and C. In other words, the three businesses have previously collaborated on a common point system that can be used for payment for products. In addition to this situation, the collaboration support system in this embodiment supports further sales collaboration among the three businesses.

[0014] As shown in Figure 1, the collaboration support system is configured by connecting a collaboration support device 10 and business terminals At, Bt, and Ct that can be operated by employees of three business stores A, B, and C via a network N.

[0015] The business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct are configured with one or more information processing devices each equipped with a computing device and a storage device, and can be connected to the collaboration support device 10 via the network N. The business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct can acquire information from the collaboration support device 10 or register information in the collaboration support device 10 in response to operations by employees of each business operator.

[0016] Specifically, the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct have a function of registering "sales information," which is information related to the sales of products at the business operator's store, in the collaboration support device 10. For example, an employee of the business operator operates the business operator terminal to input the "sales information," which is then transmitted to the collaboration support device 10 for registration. The "sales information" is information that represents, for example, a sales method formulated by the business operator to promote sales of the business operator's products and information about the products to be sold. Examples of "sales information" include campaign information such as discount sales, the value of token information having monetary value as a reward to other businesses for sales collaboration, and information introducing the products to be sold. Note that the "sales information" is provided to other businesses for a fee, as described below. However, the "sales information" may also be provided free of charge.

[0017] The business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct also have a function for registering "sales promotion information" representing sales promotions implemented in collaboration with other businesses in the sales of products at the business operator's store in the collaboration support device 10. For example, a business operator's employee operates the business operator terminal to input "sales promotion information," which is then transmitted to the collaboration support device 10 and registered. The "sales promotion information" is, for example, a sales method formulated by the business operator's employee, etc., after acquiring the "sales information" of the other businesses and taking into consideration the sales content of the other businesses. The "sales promotion information" represents the content of a sales promotion strategy for promoting the products of both businesses through sales collaboration between the business operator and the other businesses. Examples of "sales promotion information" include information indicating that the business operator will offer coupons introducing the products of the other businesses to customers who visit the business operator's store in conjunction with the other businesses' sales campaigns, and information indicating that the business operator will set the sales price of its own products sold at the other businesses' stores in conjunction with the other businesses' campaigns. When formulated by the business operator, the "sales promotion information" may also be notified to the other businesses with which the business operator is collaborating.

[0018] The business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct also have a function of registering "sales information" resulting from the sale of products at their own stores in the collaboration support device 10. For example, an employee of the business operator operates the business operator terminal to collect the "sales information," which is then transmitted to and registered in the collaboration support device 10. The "sales information" mainly includes information such as the price of products sold to customers at the store, points awarded for customer payments, points used by customers for payments, and coupons presented by customers at the time of payment. Therefore, at the time of sale, the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct read the customer U's identification information from an application or membership card installed on the mobile terminal Ut held by the customer U, and transmit the customer U's identification information and the identification information of the stores A, B, and C, along with the price, points, and coupons, to the collaboration support device 10.

[0019] The business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct also have a function of issuing points to the customer U according to the amount of merchandise sold at their stores. For example, the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct calculate points according to the amount of merchandise sold to the customer U and assign the points to the customer U's identification information read from the customer U's mobile terminal Ut. When selling merchandise to the customer U, the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct also read coupon information presented by the customer U and collect points used for payment. The business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct transmit the customer U's identification information, points, coupon information, and the like processed when selling merchandise to the customer U, together with sales information, as described above, to the collaboration support device 10. However, the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct may perform processes such as point assignment by the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct in the collaboration support device 10. In this case, when the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct sell a product to customer U, they send the product price, points to be used for payment, presented coupon information, etc., along with customer U's identification information to the collaboration support device 10, so that the collaboration support device 10 can perform processes such as point allocation.

[0020] The points described above may be points awarded in an existing point system. In this embodiment, the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct award points to the customer U in accordance with sales. However, these points do not necessarily need to be clearly displayed to the customer U. The business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct and the collaboration support device 10 may simply record information corresponding to the points. Furthermore, the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct do not necessarily need to award points. The business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct and the collaboration support device 10 may simply record information representing the purchase status, such as the purchase amount, of each customer U. In this case, the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct and the collaboration support device 10 may analyze the relationship between sales collaborations between stores based on the recorded point-equivalent information and purchase status information of the customer U, as described below, and calculate token information.

[0021] The business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct also have a function of acquiring, from the collaboration support device 10, "sales information" of other businesses registered in the collaboration support device 10 as described above. For example, an employee of a business operates the business operator terminal At to access the collaboration support device 10, browses a list of "sales information" of other businesses registered in the collaboration support device 10, and selects and requests one of the "sales information" to acquire the "sales information." At this time, the business operator that acquired the "sales information" of the other businesses pays a fee to the other business that provided the "sales information." For example, the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct pay the fee in accordance with a payment process performed by the collaboration support device 10.

[0022] The business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct also have a function of receiving payments from the collaboration support device 10. For example, the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct receive payment in return from other businesses for providing the aforementioned "sales information" of their own business to the other businesses, or payment in return from other businesses for implementing sales collaboration measures for the other businesses. Note that such return payments are based on token information having monetary value calculated based on the sales of the sales-collaborating businesses, as will be described later.

[0023] Next, the configuration of the collaboration support device 10 will be described. The collaboration support device 10 is configured with one or more information processing devices each including a calculation device and a storage device. As shown in FIG. 2 , the collaboration support device 10 includes a registration unit 11, a provision unit 12, an acquisition unit 13, and a calculation unit 14. The functions of the registration unit 11, the provision unit 12, the acquisition unit 13, and the calculation unit 14 can be realized by the calculation device executing a program for realizing each function stored in the storage device. The collaboration support device 10 also includes a business operator information storage unit 16 and a customer information storage unit 17. The business operator information storage unit 16 and the customer information storage unit 17 are configured with a storage device.

[0024] The registration unit 11 stores and registers "sales information," which is information about sales of products at each business's store, input and transmitted from the business terminals At, Bt, and Ct, in the business information storage unit 16. As described above, the "sales information" includes campaign information, token information to be given in return, and the like. As an example, it is assumed that campaign information for store B is registered as "sales information" from the business terminal Bt of store B.

[0025] The providing unit 12 provides "sales information" of other businesses in response to requests from the business terminals At, Bt, and Ct. As an example, when the business terminal At of store A requests "sales information" of store B, the providing unit 12 provides the "sales information" of store B to the business terminal At of store A. At this time, the providing unit 12 charges store A for the provision of the "sales information," collects the fee from store A, and pays it to store B, and stores the payment information in the business information storage unit 16.

[0026] The acquisition unit 13 acquires "sales promotion information" input and transmitted from the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct and stores it in the business operator information storage unit 16. As described above, "sales promotion information" is information such as providing coupons introducing products of other businesses and setting sales prices for one's own products. Here, as an example, "sales promotion information" formulated by store A, which has received campaign information, which is "sales information" of store B, is acquired from the business operator terminal At and registered. In this case, the "sales promotion information" is assumed to be a sales promotion in which store A provides coupons introducing products of store B to customers who visit store A in order to promote sales at both store A and store B in conjunction with store B's campaign.

[0027] The acquisition unit 13 also acquires "sales information" input and transmitted from the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct, and stores it in the business operator information storage unit 16. As described above, "sales information" includes information such as the price of merchandise sold to customers at a store, points awarded for customer payments, points used by customers for payments, and coupons presented by customers at the time of payment. Here, as an example, it is assumed that "sales information" of store B is acquired from the business operator terminal Bt. In this case, the "sales information" includes information such as the price of merchandise sold to customers at store B, points awarded by store B for customer payments, points used by customers for payments at store B, and coupon information issued by store A introducing products from store B that the customer presented at the time of payment.

[0028] The calculation unit 14 performs a process of tallying up the common points linked to the three stores A, B, and C based on the "sales information" input and transmitted from the business terminals At, Bt, and Ct. For example, the calculation unit 14 checks information such as the identification information of customer U, the identification information of stores A, B, and C, the amount, and points included in the sales information to determine which store awarded points to which customer and which customer used points for payment at which store, thereby tallying up the points held by each customer and associating the points with information such as which store awarded the points held by the customer and storing the information in the customer information storage unit 17. Note that the customer information storage unit 17 previously registers information about customer U who has become a member of the common points system, and associates the information with an application installed in the mobile terminal Ut owned by customer U by an identification number or the like.

[0029] The calculation unit 14 may register the points transmitted from the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct for each customer U as described above, thereby being considered to have performed the process of granting points to the customer U, or may actually perform the process of granting points based on information such as the amount transmitted from the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct. In other words, the calculation unit 14 performs the tallying process, such as granting points, in cooperation with the business operator terminals At, Bt, and Ct.

[0030] An example of point allocation and point tallying will now be described. When customer U purchases a 100 yen item at store A, store A allocates 10 points to customer U. When customer U purchases a 50 yen item at store B, store B allocates 5 points to customer U. In this case, the calculation unit 14 stores a total of 15 points for customer U, with 10 points associated with store A and 5 points associated with store B.

[0031] Furthermore, the calculation unit 14 calculates token information having a monetary value to be provided from one store to the other store based on the "sales promotion information" and the "sales information." Specifically, the calculation unit 14 first calculates the degree of contribution to the sales of the other store due to the issuance of a coupon by one store based on information, included in the "sales promotion information," that one store will issue a coupon introducing the other store and information, included in the "sales information," on the coupon and points used at the time of sale. For example, the calculation unit 14 calculates the degree of contribution of one store to the other store based on the proportion of points associated with one store to all points held by the customer U. Furthermore, the calculation unit 14 calculates token information having a monetary value to be provided from the other store to the one store based on the calculated degree of contribution. In other words, the token information has a monetary value that is given to one store in return for the introduction of the coupon based on the sales of the other store.

[0032] As an example, a case will be described in which customer U purchases a product at store B using a coupon from store A introducing store B and uses points for payment. At this time, as described above, customer U holds a total of 15 points, and uses all 15 points for payment. As described above, of the 15 points held by customer U, 10 points are associated with store A and 5 points are associated with store B. In this case, the calculation unit 14 calculates the contribution degree of store A's issuance of the coupon to store B as 10 / 15 = 2 / 3, based on the points (15 points) held by customer U and the points (10 points) associated with store A. Then, the calculation unit 14 calculates token information with a value equivalent to 15 × (2 / 3) = 10 points, based on the points (15 points) used by customer U for payment at store B and the contribution degree (2 / 3). In other words, in this case, store A introduces store B through a coupon, and out of the points (15 points) used for payment at store B, token information (equivalent to 10 points) having monetary value that will be given back to store A by store B is calculated.

[0033] The calculation unit 14 then transmits the token information calculated as described above to each business operator terminal and provides it to each store. In the above example, for example, monetary data of store B is pre-registered in the collaboration support device 10, and monetary data equivalent to the value of the calculated token information is paid to store A from such monetary data. In this case, when store B provides "sales information" to store A, the calculation unit 14 determines that consideration will be paid from store A to store B, but the monetary data associated with the payment of consideration may be offset against the monetary data equivalent to the value of the token information.

[0034] In the above, the calculation unit 14 calculates the value of the token information based on the points held by customer U, but the above-mentioned degree of contribution and value of the token information may also be calculated based on the amount paid by customer U at each store.

[0035] Furthermore, the calculation unit 14 may calculate and update information regarding tokens having monetary value provided by the other store, which is included in the "sales information" of the other store, based on the "sales policy information" and the "sales information." For example, when the "sales policy information" of store A includes information that store A will issue a coupon introducing store B, and the calculation unit 14 determines, based on the information on coupons and points used at the time of sale included in the "sales information" of store B, that the issuance of the coupon by store A has contributed greatly to the sales of store B, the calculation unit 14 may calculate to increase the value of the token information to be given in return, and update the sales information of store B.

[0036] Furthermore, the calculation unit 14 may generate new "sales promotion information" based on the "sales promotion information" and the "sales information." For example, when the "sales promotion information" of store A includes information indicating that store A will issue a coupon introducing store B, and the calculation unit 14 determines that the issuance of the coupon by store A will contribute significantly to the sales of store B based on information on coupons and points used at the time of sale included in the "sales information" of store B, the calculation unit 14 may generate new sales promotion information indicating that a coupon introducing another store (for example, store C) will be issued. Then, the calculation unit 14 may send the generated new sales promotion information to the business terminal At of store A to propose it to store A, or, if store A agrees, may register it as the sales promotion information of store A.

[0037] [Operation] Next, the operation of the above-mentioned collaboration support system will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of Fig. 3 and the data flow diagrams of Fig. 4 to Fig. 7. Note that the sequence diagram of Fig. 3 shows the operations of stores A and B, and omits the operation of store C.

[0038] First, as described above, three different stores A, B, and C cooperate in issuing common points. Furthermore, customer U is registered as a common point user and has an application for using the common points installed on his / her mobile terminal Ut.

[0039] In order to further promote sales collaboration, each of stores A, B, and C registers "sales information," which is information about the sales of products at its own store, in the collaboration support device 10. The "sales information" is, for example, information that represents the sales methods and sales details formulated by each of stores A, B, and C to promote sales of its own store's products. Examples of the "sales information" include campaign information such as discount sales, and the value of token information having monetary value that is provided to other businesses in return for sales collaboration. In this example, store B has registered "sales information" including campaign information such as discount sales and the value of token information in return in the collaboration support device 10 (step S1 in FIG. 3 ). Store C has also registered "sales information" including campaign information such as discount sales in the collaboration support device 10.

[0040] In the above situation, it is assumed that store A is considering further sales collaboration with store B. In this case, store A requests and acquires "sales information" of store B from the collaboration support device 10 (step S2 in FIG. 3, arrow Y1 in FIG. 4). At this time, store A will pay a fee to store B for receiving the "sales information." The payment of the fee is made, for example, electronically via the collaboration support device 10.

[0041] Next, store A considers store A's sales measures based on the campaign information included in store B's "sales information" and the value of the token information to be given in return, and registers "sales measure information" representing the content of the decided sales measure in the collaboration support device 10 (step S3 in FIG. 3, arrow Y2 in FIG. 4). For example, store A registers a sales measure such as offering coupons introducing products from store B to customers U who visit its store in conjunction with store B's campaign. The sales measure by store A is also notified to store B, which is its partner.

[0042] Similarly, assume that store B is considering further sales collaboration with store C. In this case, store B requests and acquires "sales information" of store C from the collaboration support device 10 (arrow Y3 in FIG. 4). Then, store B considers a sales strategy for store B based on the campaign information included in the "sales information" of store C, and registers "sales strategy information" indicating the content of the decided sales strategy in the collaboration support device 10 (arrow Y4 in FIG. 4).

[0043] Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 5, assume that customer U purchases a product at store A (step S4 in FIG. 3). At this time, customer U presents customer U's identification information on his / her mobile terminal Ut, and store A reads customer U's identification information using the business operator's terminal At, enters the product price, and performs payment processing. As a result, store A's business operator terminal At issues customer U points P corresponding to the payment amount and a coupon Q from store A to introduce store B, which are stored in the mobile terminal Ut (arrow Y11 in FIG. 5). In addition, store A's business operator terminal At transmits "sales information" relating to the sale, such as customer U's identification information, store A's identification information, the sales price, and points, to the collaboration support device 10 (step S5 in FIG. 3, arrow Y12 in FIG. 5).

[0044] The collaboration support device 10 performs a process of tallying the common points based on the "sales information" transmitted from the business terminal At of store A (step S6 in FIG. 3). For example, if customer U purchases a 100-yen item at store A and store A awards 10 points to customer U, customer U will have a total of 10 points, of which 10 points are tallied and stored in association with store A.

[0045] Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6 , assume that customer U purchases a product at store B (step S7 in FIG. 3 ). At this time, customer U presents customer U's identification information and a coupon promoting store B issued by store A for the previous purchase on his / her mobile terminal Ut. Store B then reads customer U's identification information and the coupon on its business operator terminal Bt, enters the product price, and performs payment processing. As a result, store B's business operator terminal Bt issues customer U points P corresponding to the payment amount and store B's coupon Q promoting store C, which are then stored in the mobile terminal Ut (arrow Y13 in FIG. 6 ). At this time, customer U uses his / her accumulated points to pay for the purchase at store B (arrow Y14 in FIG. 6 ). In addition, store B's business operator terminal Bt transmits "sales information" related to the sale, such as customer U's identification information, store B's identification information, the sales price, points, and coupon, to the collaboration support device 10 (step S8 in FIG. 3 , arrow Y15 in FIG. 6 ).

[0046] The collaboration support device 10 performs a process of tallying the common points based on the "sales information" transmitted from the business terminal Bt of store B (step S9 in FIG. 3). As an example, if customer U purchases a 50-yen item at store B and store B awards customer U with 5 points, customer U will have a total of 15 points, of which 10 points are associated with store A and 5 points are associated with store B. The collaboration support device 10 tallies and stores the points.

[0047] In this case, customer U uses a coupon from store A introducing store B and also uses points to pay for store B. Therefore, the collaboration support device 10 calculates the value of token information to be given back from store A based on the "sales collaboration information." As an example, assume that customer U holds 15 points and uses all 15 points to pay for store B. Of the 15 points held by customer U, 10 points are associated with store A and 5 points are associated with store B. In this case, the collaboration support device 10 calculates the contribution level of store A's coupon issuance to store B as 10 / 15 = 2 / 3, based on the points (10 points) associated with store A out of the total points (15 points) held by customer U. Then, the collaboration support device 10 calculates token information with a value equivalent to 15 x (2 / 3) = 10 points, based on the points (15 points) used by customer U to pay for store B and the contribution level (2 / 3).

[0048] The collaboration support device 10 then stores the calculated token information so as to provide it to store A (step S10 in FIG. 3 ). As a result, store B will return money or tokens having monetary value equivalent to the value of the calculated token information to store A (arrow Y16 in FIG. 6 ).

[0049] Here, as another example different from the above, a case will be described in which customer U purchases a product of a different price and uses points of a different value. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 5 , if customer U purchases a product for 200 yen at store A and store A awards customer U with 20 points, customer U will have a total of 20 points, of which 20 points are associated with store A. Subsequently, in the example shown in FIG. 6 , if customer U purchases a product for 100 yen at store B and store B awards customer U with 10 points, customer U will have a total of 30 points, of which 10 points are associated with store B. In this situation, assume that customer U uses a coupon that store A offers to promote store B and uses 15 points to pay at store B. In this case, of the 30 points that customer U has, 20 points are associated with store A and 10 points are associated with store B. In this case, the collaboration support device 10 calculates the degree of contribution of store A's issuance of a coupon to store B as 20 / 30 = 2 / 3, based on the points (20 points) associated with store A out of the total points (30 points) held by customer U. Then, the collaboration support device 10 calculates token information with a value equivalent to 15 x (2 / 3) = 10 points, based on the points (15 points) used by customer U to pay at store B and the degree of contribution (2 / 3). In this way, token information having a monetary value equivalent to the calculated 10 points is given by store B to store A in return. Note that customer U will have 15 points remaining, but of the 20 points associated with store A, 10 points minus 10 points corresponding to the degree of contribution remain associated with store A, and 5 points remain associated with store B.

[0050] In the above-described situation, as shown in FIG. 7 , if customer U purchases a 400 yen item at store C and receives 40 points from store C (arrow Y17 in FIG. 7 ), customer U will have a total of 55 points, with 10 points associated with store A, 5 points associated with store B, and 40 points associated with store C. At this time, customer U uses a coupon introduced by store B to purchase store C, using 30 points to pay at store C (arrow Y18 in FIG. 7 ). When store C transmits the sales information to the collaboration support device 10 (arrow Y19 in FIG. 7 ), the collaboration support device 10 calculates token information to be given by store C to stores A and B as follows: First, for store A, token information equivalent to 5.5 points is calculated as (10 / 55)×30 points (arrow Y20 in FIG. 7 ). For store B, token information equivalent to 2.7 points is calculated as (5 / 55)×30 points (arrow Y21 in FIG. 7 ).

[0051] As described above, in this embodiment, by providing the sales information of the second business to the first business, the first business encourages collaboration with the second business, and a sales measure is set by the first business in collaboration with the second business. Then, token information to be given by the second business to the first business is calculated according to the sales measure of the first business and the sales of the second business. This increases the willingness to collaborate between businesses and promotes sales collaboration.

[0052] [Other Examples] Next, a case where the businesses in the above-described collaboration support system are different from those described above will be described. In this example, businesses D, E, and F will be used instead of the stores A, B, and C described above. For example, business D is a business that provides "electricity" for charging electric vehicles, and business E is a "retail store" business that has installed chargers for electric vehicles. Furthermore, business F is a "distribution business" that performs delivery work using electric vehicles.

[0053] Business operator D, which provides electric vehicles with electricity via chargers, acquires, via the collaboration support device 10, sales campaign information, which is "sales information," from business operator E, a retail store that has installed chargers for charging the electricity provided by business operator D. Based on business operator E's sales campaign information, business operator D then considers a sales strategy for selling electricity using the chargers installed by business operator D at business operator E's store and registers the "sales strategy information" in the collaboration support device 10. For example, business operator D takes advantage of business operator E's ability to attract customers through a sales campaign to develop a sales strategy such as lowering the charging fees for the chargers installed at business operator E's store. Business operator D anticipates an increase in sales of electricity sold by business operator D and a further increase in the number of visitors to business operator E's store due to the lower charging fees. Business operator D may also advertise the lower charging fees at business operator E's store to its customers who charge their electric vehicles.

[0054] Thereafter, business operator E, which has been linked by business operator D and has set a sales measure, registers the "sales information" of the store in the collaboration support device 10. Then, if the collaboration support device 10 determines that there is a correlation between the reduction in charging fees by business operator D, which is the "sales measure information," and an increase in sales at business operator E's store, the collaboration support device 10 calculates token information having monetary value to be given in return from business operator E to business operator D, based on the sales amount of business operator E. For example, if business operator E's sales increase more than in other periods during a period in which business operator D reduces the charging fees for chargers installed at business operator E's store, or if customers who use chargers installed at business operator E's store purchase products related to business operator E's store, the collaboration support device 10 determines that there is a correlation and calculates token information to be given in return from business operator E to business operator D.

[0055] Furthermore, business operator D, which provides charging power for electric vehicles, acquires, via the collaboration support device 10, information on the delivery area, delivery routes, and charging locations as "sales information" from business operator F, which is a delivery business. Then, business operator D considers measures for selling the electricity provided by business operator D based on the information on the delivery area, routes, and charging locations of business operator F, and registers such "sales policy information" in the collaboration support device 10. For example, business operator D formulates a sales policy such as lowering the charging fees for the chargers installed at business operator E's stores, and anticipates an increase in sales of electricity sold by business operator D and an increase in delivery requests from business operator F from business operator E's stores due to the lower charging fees.

[0056] Thereafter, business operator F, which has been linked by business operator D and for which a sales measure has been set, registers "sales information" accompanying the delivery request in the collaboration support device 10. If the collaboration support device 10 determines that there is a correlation between the reduction in charging fees by business operator D, which is the "sales measure information," and an increase in delivery sales by business operator F, the collaboration support device 10 calculates token information having monetary value to be given in return from business operator F to business operator D, based on the sales amount of business operator F. For example, if business operator F uses a charger at business operator E's store during a period in which business operator D reduces the charging fees for a charger installed at business operator E's store, and business operator F receives a delivery request from business operator E and its sales increase, the collaboration support device 10 determines that there is a correlation and calculates token information to be given in return from business operator F to business operator D.

[0057] Furthermore, business operator F can acquire store delivery fee information as business operator E's "sales information" and register "sales promotion information" that proposes a reduction in delivery fees. This could potentially lead to an increase in online shopping sales at business operator E's store if business operator F reduces delivery fees. Therefore, if there is a correlation between these two, token information to be given in return by business operator E to business operator F is calculated.

[0058] As described above, in the other example described above, the first business operator is encouraged to collaborate with the second business operator by providing the second business operator with sales information, and the first business operator sets up a sales strategy in collaboration with the second business operator. Then, token information to be given to the first business operator by the second business operator is calculated based on the sales strategy of the first business operator and the sales of the second business operator. This increases the willingness to collaborate between businesses and promotes sales collaboration.

[0059] <Embodiment 2> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 8 to 10. Figures 8 to 9 are block diagrams showing the configuration of a collaboration support device in embodiment 2, and Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the collaboration support device. Note that this embodiment shows an outline of the configuration of the collaboration support device described in the above embodiment.

[0060] First, the hardware configuration of the collaboration support device 100 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. The collaboration support device 100 is configured as a general information processing device, and is equipped with the following hardware configuration, for example: - CPU (Central Processing Unit) 101 (arithmetic unit) - ROM (Read Only Memory) 102 (storage device) - RAM (Random Access Memory) 103 (storage device) - Programs 104 loaded into RAM 103 - Storage device 105 storing the programs 104 - Drive device 106 for reading and writing from / to a storage medium 110 external to the information processing device - Communication interface 107 for connecting to a communication network 111 external to the information processing device - Input / output interface 108 for inputting and outputting data - Bus 109 for connecting the various components

[0061] The collaboration support device 100 can be equipped with the provision unit 121, acquisition unit 122, and calculation unit 123 shown in FIG. 9 by having the CPU 101 acquire and execute the program group 104. The program group 104 is, for example, stored in advance in the storage device 105 or the ROM 102, and is loaded into the RAM 103 and executed by the CPU 101 as needed. The program group 104 may be supplied to the CPU 101 via the communication network 111, or may be stored in advance in the storage medium 110, and the drive device 106 may read the program and supply it to the CPU 101. However, the provision unit 121, acquisition unit 122, and calculation unit 123 described above may be constructed using dedicated electronic circuits for realizing such means.

[0062] 8 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the information processing device that is the collaboration support device 100, and the hardware configuration of the information processing device is not limited to the above-described case. For example, the information processing device may be configured with only a part of the above-described configuration, such as not including the drive device 106.

[0063] The collaboration support device 100 then executes the service construction support method shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 using the functions of the providing unit 121, the acquiring unit 122, and the calculating unit 123, which are constructed by the program as described above.

[0064] As shown in FIG. 10 , the collaboration support device provides sales information representing information regarding sales by a pre-registered second business to an information processing device of a first business (step S101); acquires sales promotion information representing a sales promotion by the first business in collaboration with the second business and sales information from sales by the second business (step S102); and calculates token information having monetary value to be provided by the second business to the first business based on the sales promotion information by the first business and the sales information by the second business (step S103).

[0065] Here, the sales information is, for example, sales campaign information by the second business operator, token information to be given as a reward in cooperation with the second business operator, etc. The sales measure information is a sales measure by the first business operator that is provided with the sales information from the second business operator and that is advantageous to both the first business operator and the second business operator.

[0066] With the above configuration, the present invention provides the sales information of the second business to the first business, encouraging the first business to collaborate with the second business, and sets up a sales strategy for collaboration between the first business and the second business. Then, token information to be given by the second business to the first business is calculated according to the sales strategy of the first business and the sales of the second business. This increases the willingness to collaborate between businesses and promotes sales collaboration.

[0067] The above-described program can be stored and supplied to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (e.g., flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (e.g., magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD-Rs, CD-R / Ws, and semiconductor memories (e.g., mask ROMs, PROMs (Programmable ROMs), EPROMs (Erasable PROMs), flash ROMs, and RAMs (Random Access Memory)). The program may also be supplied to a computer by various types of transitory computer-readable media. Examples of transitory computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. The transitory computer-readable media can be supplied to a computer via wired communication paths such as electric wires and optical fibers, or via wireless communication paths.

[0068] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the above-described embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Various modifications that are understandable to those skilled in the art can be made to the configuration and details of the present invention within the scope of the present invention. Furthermore, at least one or more of the functions of the providing unit 121, the acquiring unit 122, and the calculating unit 123 described above may be executed by an information processing device installed and connected anywhere on a network, i.e., may be executed by so-called cloud computing.

[0069] <Supplementary Notes> Some or all of the above embodiments can also be described as in the following supplementary notes. Below, an outline of the configurations of the collaboration support method, collaboration support device, and program of the present invention will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to the following configurations. (Supplementary Note 1) A collaboration support method that provides a first business with sales information representing information on sales by a pre-registered second business, acquires sales promotion information representing a sales promotion by the first business in collaboration with the second business and sales information from the sales of the second business, and calculates token information having monetary value to be provided by the second business to the first business based on the sales promotion information by the first business and the sales information by the second business. (Supplementary Note 2) The collaboration support method according to Supplementary Note 1, further comprising providing the first business with the sales information including information on the value of the token information having monetary value to be provided by the second business. (Supplementary Note 3) The collaboration support method according to Supplementary Note 1, further comprising: acquiring the sales promotion information indicating that the first business will provide referral information introducing the second business to a customer of the first business. (Supplementary Note 4) The collaboration support method according to Supplementary Note 1, further comprising: acquiring the sales promotion information indicating that the first business will set a sales price at a location where the second business will make sales. (Supplementary Note 5) The collaboration support method according to Supplementary Note 1, further comprising: calculating a degree of contribution of the first business's sales promotion to the second business's sales based on the sales promotion information by the first business and the sales information by the second business, and calculating a value of the token information to be provided by the second business to the first business based on the degree of contribution.(Supplementary Note 6) The collaboration support method according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein points are issued to customers in accordance with the sales by the first business and the sales by the second business, and point information corresponding to the points is stored in association with the customer to whom the points were issued and the first business or the second business that issued the points, and further, when the points are used to pay for sales at the second business, the value of the token information provided by the second business to the first business is calculated based on the proportion of the points associated with the first business to all the points held by the customer who used the points, and the value of the points used by the customer to pay for sales at the second business. (Supplementary Note 7) The collaboration support method according to Supplementary Note 2, wherein information regarding the value of the token information provided by the second business to be included in the sales information of the second business is calculated based on the sales promotion information by the first business and the sales information by the second business. (Supplementary Note 8) The collaboration support method according to Supplementary Note 1, further comprising generating new sales promotion information based on the sales promotion information by the first business operator and the sales information by the second business operator. (Supplementary Note 9) A collaboration support device comprising: a providing unit that provides sales information representing information on sales by a pre-registered second business operator to a first business operator; an acquiring unit that acquires sales promotion information representing a sales promotion by the first business operator in collaboration with the second business operator and sales information from sales by the second business operator; and a calculating unit that calculates token information having monetary value to be provided by the second business operator to the first business operator based on the sales promotion information by the first business operator and the sales information by the second business operator.(Supplementary Note 10) A program causing a computer to execute the following processes: providing a first business with sales information indicating information regarding sales by a pre-registered second business; acquiring sales promotion information indicating a sales promotion by the first business in collaboration with the second business and sales information from the second business; and calculating token information having monetary value to be provided by the second business to the first business based on the sales promotion information by the first business and the sales information by the second business. (Supplementary Note 11) A collaboration support device according to Supplementary Note 9, wherein the providing unit provides the first business with the sales information including information regarding the value of the token information having monetary value to be provided by the second business. (Supplementary Note 12) A collaboration support device according to Supplementary Note 9, wherein the acquiring unit acquires the sales promotion information indicating that the first business will provide referral information introducing the second business to a customer of the first business. (Supplementary Note 13) The collaboration support device according to Supplementary Note 9, wherein the acquisition unit acquires the sales promotion information indicating that the first business will set a sales price at a location where the second business will make sales. (Supplementary Note 14) The collaboration support device according to Supplementary Note 9, wherein the calculation unit calculates a degree of contribution of the first business's sales promotion to the second business's sales based on the sales promotion information by the first business and the sales information by the second business, and calculates a value of the token information to be provided by the second business to the first business based on the degree of contribution.(Supplementary Note 15) The collaboration support device according to Supplementary Note 9, wherein the calculation unit issues points to customers in accordance with sales by the first business and sales by the second business, and stores point information corresponding to the points in association with the customer to whom the points were issued and the first business or the second business that issued the points, and further calculates, when the points are used to pay for sales at the second business, a value of the token information provided to the first business by the second business based on a ratio of the points associated with the first business to all the points held by the customer who used the points, and a value of the points used by the customer to pay for sales at the second business. (Supplementary Note 16) The collaboration support device according to Supplementary Note 11, wherein the calculation unit calculates information related to the value of the token information provided by the second business to be included in the sales information of the second business, based on the sales promotion information by the first business and the sales information by the second business. (Supplementary Note 17) The collaboration support device according to Supplementary Note 9, wherein the calculation unit generates new sales strategy information based on the sales strategy information by the first business operator and the sales information by the second business operator.

[0070] The present invention claims the benefit of priority based on patent application No. 2022-071414 filed in Japan on April 25, 2022, and all contents described in the patent application are herein.

[0071] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Collaboration support device 11 Registration unit 12 Providing unit 13 Acquisition unit 14 Calculation unit 16 Business operator information storage unit 17 Customer information storage unit A, B, C Store At, Bt, Ct Business operator terminal N Network 100 Collaboration support device 101 CPU 102 ROM 103 RAM 104 Program group 105 Storage device 106 Drive device 107 Communication interface 108 Input / output interface 109 Bus 110 Storage medium 111 Communication network 121 Providing unit 122 Acquisition unit 123 Calculation unit

Claims

1. providing sales information representing information related to sales by a preregistered second business to a first business; Acquire sales promotion information representing a sales promotion implemented by the first business operator in cooperation with the second business operator and sales information from the second business operator; Calculating token information having a monetary value to be provided by the second business operator to the first business operator based on the sales promotion information by the first business operator and the sales information by the second business operator; Collaboration support methods.

2. The collaboration support method according to claim 1, providing the sales information to the first business operator, the sales information including information regarding the value of the token information having a monetary value provided by the second business operator; Collaboration support methods.

3. The collaboration support method according to claim 1, acquiring the sales promotion information indicating that the first business will provide introduction information introducing the second business to a customer of the first business; Collaboration support methods.

4. The collaboration support method according to claim 1, acquiring the sales promotion information indicating that the first business will set a sales price at a location where the second business will sell the product; Collaboration support methods.

5. The collaboration support method according to claim 1, Calculating a degree of contribution of the first business's sales measures to the second business's sales based on the sales measures information by the first business and the sales information by the second business, and calculating a value of the token information provided by the second business to the first business based on the degree of contribution; Collaboration support methods.

6. The collaboration support method according to claim 1, issue points to the customer in accordance with the sale by the first business operator and the sale by the second business operator, respectively, and store point information corresponding to the points in association with the customer to whom the points are issued and the first business operator or the second business operator that issued the points; Furthermore, when the points are used to pay for the sale of the second business, a value of the token information provided by the second business to the first business is calculated based on a ratio of the points associated with the first business to all the points held by the customer who used the points and a value of the points used by the customer to pay for the sale of the second business. Collaboration support methods.

7. The collaboration support method according to claim 2, Calculating information regarding the value of the token information provided by the second business operator, which is to be included in the sales information of the second business operator, based on the sales promotion information of the first business operator and the sales information of the second business operator; Collaboration support methods.

8. The collaboration support method according to claim 1, generating new sales promotion information based on the sales promotion information by the first business operator and the sales information by the second business operator; Collaboration support methods.

9. a providing unit that provides sales information representing information related to sales by a preregistered second business to the first business; an acquisition unit that acquires sales promotion information representing a sales promotion by the first business operator in cooperation with the second business operator and sales information from the second business operator; A calculation unit that calculates token information having a monetary value to be provided from the second business operator to the first business operator based on the sales promotion information by the first business operator and the sales information by the second business operator; A collaboration support device equipped with the above.

10. providing sales information representing information related to sales by a preregistered second business to a first business; Acquire sales promotion information representing a sales promotion implemented by the first business operator in cooperation with the second business operator and sales information from the second business operator; Calculating token information having a monetary value to be provided by the second business operator to the first business operator based on the sales promotion information by the first business operator and the sales information by the second business operator; A program that causes a computer to execute a process.