Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program

Abstract

An information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises an acquisition unit, an identification unit, a determination unit, and a display control unit. The acquisition unit acquires first feature information relating to at least one target object. The identification unit identifies at least one similar object that is similar to the target object by using the first feature information, and second feature information relating to each of a plurality of objects, in a design database that stores design information including the second feature information and transaction information relating to a customer. The determination unit determines, for individual target objects, a transaction destination included in the transaction information associated with the at least one similar object as at least one estimation request recommendation destination recommended as an estimation request destination candidate pertaining to manufacture of the target object. The display control unit displays the at least one estimation request recommendation destination on a terminal of an estimation request source pertaining to manufacture of the target object.

Description

Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Information Processing Program

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and an information processing program.

[0002] Conventionally, in the manufacturing industry, in the estimating work in the pre-order stage of goods, there are few systems that effectively support the entire estimating work, and the business process by substantial manual work while going back and forth between drawings, spreadsheet software, purchasing software, accounting software, etc. is the mainstream.

[0003] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2024-000702

[0004] Conventionally, the estimating order destination is mainly selected manually based on drawings, but it requires a great deal of time and labor. That is, conventionally, there is room for efficiency improvement in the estimating work.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to improve the efficiency of the estimating work.

[0006] The information processing apparatus according to the embodiment includes an acquisition unit, a specification unit, a determination unit, and a display control unit. The acquisition unit acquires first feature information regarding at least one target object. The specification unit specifies at least one similar object similar to the target object by using the first feature information and the second feature information in a design database that stores design information including second feature information regarding each of a plurality of objects and transaction information regarding a business partner. The determination unit determines, for each of the target objects, at least one estimating request recommendation destination that recommends, as a candidate for an estimating request destination for manufacturing the target object, a business partner included in the transaction information associated with the at least one similar object. The display control unit causes the at least one estimating request recommendation destination to be displayed on a terminal of a source of an estimating request for manufacturing the target object.

[0007] The information processing device according to the embodiment further includes a transmission unit. The display control unit causes at least the terminal of the person requesting the estimate to display a setting form for setting estimation conditions, which includes at least one of the quantity of the target object, the delivery date of the target object, the unit price of the target object, and the deadline for responding to the estimate for the target object, and a decision form for determining the candidate recipient of the estimate request from the recommended recipients of the estimate request. The transmission unit transmits notification content regarding the estimation conditions and the design data of the target object to the candidate recipient of the estimate request, as determined in the decision form.

[0008] The display control unit displays a quotation response screen for inputting quotation responses on the terminal of the quotation requesting party, and the acquisition unit acquires the quotation responses entered on the quotation response screen. On the quotation response screen, the drawings are aggregated for each quotation requesting party. That is, an information aggregation function for each quotation requesting party (aggregating the drawings to be requested from each specific quotation requesting party, for example, requesting drawings 001, 002, and 004 from Company A) and a response page (drawings 001, 002, and 004 on the quotation response screen for Company A) are automatically generated. As a result, the drawing information to be requested for quotation is aggregated and consolidated for each quotation requesting party, so a response page is created for each quotation requesting party, and quotation responses can be provided. Therefore, the quotation response function can be realized by the quotation requesting party via the quotation response screen (system).

[0009] In the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment, the display control unit causes the quote response for each of the target objects from the quote requesting party to be displayed on the terminal of the quote requesting party.

[0010] The display control unit in the information processing device according to the embodiment displays the status of the estimate and the content of the estimate response in a list on the terminal of the estimate requester for each of the estimate request recipients and each of the target objects. The estimate status includes not only the status of receipt of the estimate, but also the overall status including whether the estimate request details are not yet finalized or whether the estimate request details have been finalized but have not yet been sent to the estimate request recipient.

[0011] In the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment, the display control unit displays the status of the estimate and the content of the estimate response in a list on the terminal of the person who requested the estimate, for each of the target objects.

[0012] In the information processing device according to the embodiment, the transaction information includes at least one of the following: the transaction price for each of the plurality of objects at the trading partner, the transaction history, and past estimated prices. The display control unit causes at least one of the following to be displayed on the terminal of the source of the estimate request: the transaction price at the at least one recommended source for estimate requests or the past estimated prices at the at least one recommended source for estimate requests, and the transaction history. The transaction history includes, for example, the order date, delivery date, quantity, and history of defects or malfunctions. In addition to the above items, the transaction history may further include the transaction price (unit price, subtotal amount), etc.

[0013] The display control unit in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment displays the design data of the target object on the terminal of the person requesting the estimate and the terminal of the person requesting the estimate, using the language and / or units selected by the user requesting the estimate.

[0014] In the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment, the design information further includes at least one of the following: manufacturing information relating to the manufacture of each of the plurality of objects; specification information relating to the specifications of the finished product for each of the plurality of objects; and evaluation information relating to the risks and capabilities of the trading partner. The decision unit uses the at least one piece of information to narrow down the trading partners corresponding to the at least one similar object to the recommended trading partners for quotation requests, or uses only the at least one piece of information to determine the candidates for quotation requests, or further narrows down the candidates for quotation requests determined using only the at least one piece of information using the similar objects. For example, narrowing down trading partners using evaluation information corresponds to limiting the selection to trading partners with risks below a predetermined level, and / or to trading partners who possess predetermined machine tools related to the manufacture of the target object.

[0015] In the information processing device according to the embodiment, the performance includes transaction prices and past estimated prices for similar objects, the determination unit calculates a recommended limit price for the target object based on the performance, and the display control unit displays the recommended limit price on the terminal of the quote requester. Alternatively, in the information processing device according to the embodiment, the determination unit calculates a recommended limit price for the related object based on the transaction information associated with related objects that share the same specification information, and the display control unit displays the recommended limit price on the terminal of the quote requester. The related object is, for example, an object that shares the same specification information as the target object.

[0016] In the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment, the transaction information includes delivery date information for a plurality of objects, the design information further includes at least one of the following for each of the plurality of objects: manufacturing information relating to manufacturing, specification information relating to the specifications of the finished product for each of the plurality of objects, and evaluation information relating to the risks and capabilities of the trading partner, the determination unit calculates a recommended delivery date for the target object based on at least one of the delivery date information or design information for the similar object or the related object, and the display control unit displays the recommended delivery date on the terminal of the quote requester. Note that the delivery date information is not limited to data relating to actual results, but may also be an inference result based on information of similar cases. For example, if predetermined processing conditions are included in the design information of the target object, the recommended delivery date is calculated to be longer than the delivery date under normal processing conditions. Specifically, the determination unit calculates the recommended delivery date for the target object by multiplying the delivery date under normal processing conditions by one or more predetermined numerical values ​​corresponding to the predetermined processing conditions.

[0017] In the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment, the design information includes at least one of the following for each of the plurality of objects: manufacturing information relating to manufacturing, specification information relating to the specifications of the finished product for each of the plurality of objects, and evaluation information relating to the risks and capabilities of the trading partner. The transaction information includes at least one of the following for each of the plurality of objects at the trading partner: transaction price, transaction history, and past estimated price. The determination unit determines whether there is any caution information relating to at least one of the quality, price, or delivery date of the target object, based on the design information and at least one of the transaction information. At this time, the identification unit may function as a caution information determination unit, and the information processing apparatus further comprises a caution information determination unit. If the determination result by the caution information determination unit is positive (i.e., if there is caution information), the display control unit causes the caution information to be displayed on the terminal of the quote requestor. The caution information is, for example, a defect in the transaction history and / or general processing difficulty that can be inferred from the drawings relating to the target object, and is information that reminds the user at the quote requestor to pay attention.

[0018] In the information processing device according to the embodiment, the display control unit displays the communication between the source requesting the estimate and the recipient of the estimate request in a dialogue format on the terminal of the source requesting the estimate.

[0019] In the information processing device according to the embodiment, the at least one recommended quote provider is a plurality of recommended quote providers, and the display control unit displays the plurality of recommended quote providers on the terminal of the quote requester in a manner that can be switched to display them in the following order: in descending order of similarity between the target object and the similar object, in descending order of the number of successful transactions, in descending order of the date and time of the successful transactions, and in descending order of the transaction price or the estimated price.

[0020] In the information processing device according to the embodiment, the transaction information includes the transaction price at the trading partner, the at least one recommended quote provider is one of several recommended quote providers, the determination unit determines the display order of the multiple recommended quote providers based on the degree of similarity between the target object and the similar object, the frequency of the actual transactions, the date and time of the actual transactions, and the transaction price or the estimated price, and the display control unit causes the multiple recommended quote providers to be displayed on the terminal of the quote requester in the display order.

[0021] In the information processing device according to the embodiment, if the recommended supplier for the quotation request or the candidate supplier for the quotation request is not a business partner of the supplier for the quotation request, the display control unit displays the recommended supplier or the candidate supplier for the quotation request on the supplier's terminal in a different display manner than that of a business partner with whom the supplier has already done business.

[0022] In the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment, when the acquisition unit acquires the first characteristic information for each of the plurality of target objects, the identification unit identifies the similar object for each of the plurality of target objects, the determination unit determines the at least one recommended quote provider for each of the plurality of target objects, and the display control unit displays the at least one recommended quote provider and the design data for each of the plurality of target objects on the terminal of the quote requester, enabling the display of a first display that shows a list of the at least one recommended quote provider for each of the plurality of target objects, and a second display that shows a list of the plurality of target objects for each of the at least one recommended quote provider.

[0023] The information processing method according to the embodiment acquires first feature information relating to at least one target object, and stores design information including second feature information relating to each of a plurality of objects and transaction information relating to business partners in a design database, using the first feature information and the second feature information to identify at least one similar object similar to the target object, and for each of the target objects, determines at least one recommended business partner to be recommended as a candidate for requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object, based on the business partners included in the transaction information associated with the at least one similar object, and displays the at least one recommended business partner on the terminal of the person requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object.

[0024] The information processing program according to the embodiment enables the computer to acquire first characteristic information relating to at least one target object, and to store design information in a design database that includes second characteristic information relating to each of a plurality of objects and transaction information relating to business partners, to use the first characteristic information and the second characteristic information to identify at least one similar object similar to the target object, to determine, for each of the target objects, that the business partners included in the transaction information associated with the at least one similar object be recommended as candidates for requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object, and to display the at least one recommended quote provider on the terminal of the person requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object.

[0025] According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to quickly and easily determine a recommended supplier for obtaining an estimate for the manufacturing of a target part and present that supplier to the user. Thus, according to one aspect of the present invention, the estimation process can be made more efficient.

[0026] Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an information processing device according to an embodiment. Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block in the processor according to an embodiment. Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the procedure for determining a recommended quote provider according to an embodiment. Figure 4 is a diagram showing an example of the initial screen for registering a target object when performing the recommended quote provider determination process according to an embodiment. Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the details screen in a quote project according to an embodiment. Figure 6 is a diagram showing an example of the details screen of a selected project according to an embodiment. Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of the details screen of a quote project according to an embodiment, showing an example of the display of recommended quote providers for each of two target objects. Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of manually adding a business partner to the "Candidates for Quote Providers" column according to an embodiment. Figure 9 is a diagram showing an example of manually adding a business partner to the "Candidates for Quote Providers" column according to an embodiment. Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of the details screen of a quote project according to an embodiment. Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of the display after clicking the "Create" button shown in Figure 10 according to an embodiment. Figure 12 is an example of a transition screen after clicking the "Project Estimate Request" button in Figure 11, relating to an embodiment. Figure 13 is an example of the same project estimate request screen as in Figure 12, relating to an embodiment. Figure 14 is an example of an email sent from the estimate requester to the estimate requester and the screen displayed when the estimate response URL in the email is clicked, relating to an embodiment. Figure 15 is an example of an estimate response screen related to the estimate response displayed on the terminal of the estimate requester, relating to an embodiment. Figure 16 is an example of an estimate confirmation screen for each estimate requester, relating to an embodiment. Figure 17 is an example of an estimate confirmation screen when responses from estimate requesters have been received, relating to an embodiment. Figure 18 is an example of an estimate confirmation screen for each estimate requester, relating to an embodiment. Figure 19 is an example of the details of the estimate confirmation screen for each target object on a project basis, relating to an embodiment. Figure 20 is an example of the details of the estimate confirmation screen for each target object across all projects, relating to an embodiment.

[0027] The information processing apparatus according to the embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, parts with the same reference numerals perform similar operations, and redundant explanations will be omitted as appropriate. The following embodiments do not limit the disclosed technology. Furthermore, each embodiment can be combined as appropriate, as long as the processing content is not inconsistent.

[0028] The information processing device according to this embodiment is typically configured as a server on a cloud network that implements SaaS (Software as a Service). However, it is not limited to this example, and can also be implemented, for example, by installing an application that implements the functions described in the embodiment on a server connected to a limited network such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or a standalone computer.

[0029] The information processing device according to the embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0030] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of an information processing device 1 according to an embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the information processing device 1 may be connected to an external device 9A via a communication network 5. The information processing device 1 may also include an external device 9B connected via a device interface 39.

[0031] The information processing device 1 may include a computer 30 and an external device 9B connected to the computer 30 via a device interface 39. The computer 30 may, for example, include a processor 31, a main memory 33, an auxiliary memory 35, a network interface 37, and a device interface 39. The information processing device 1 may be implemented as a computer 30 in which the processor 31, the main memory 33, the auxiliary memory 35, the network interface 37, and the device interface 39 are connected via a bus 41.

[0032] The computer 30 shown in Figure 1 has one of each component, but it may have multiple identical components. Also, although Figure 1 shows one computer 30, the software may be installed on multiple computers, and each of these multiple computers may execute the same or different parts of the software's processing. In this case, it may be a distributed computing configuration in which each computer communicates via a network interface 37 or the like to execute processing.

[0033] In other words, the information processing device 1 in this embodiment may be configured as a system that realizes various functions described later by having one or more computers execute instructions stored in one or more storage devices. Alternatively, information transmitted from a terminal may be processed by one or more computers located on the cloud, and the processing results may be transmitted to a terminal such as a display device (display unit) corresponding to the external device 9B.

[0034] The various calculations performed by the information processing device 1 in this embodiment may be executed in parallel using one or more processors, or using multiple computers connected via a network. Alternatively, the various calculations may be distributed to multiple processing cores within a processor and executed in parallel. Furthermore, some or all of the processing and means of this disclosure may be executed by at least one of a processor and a storage device located on a cloud that can communicate with the computer 30 via a network. Thus, the various methods described later in this embodiment may take the form of parallel computing using one or more computers.

[0035] The processor 31 may be an electronic circuit (processing circuit, processing circuit, processing circuitry, CPU (Central Processing Unit), GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), etc.) including the control device and arithmetic unit of the computer 30. Alternatively, the processor 31 may be a semiconductor device including a dedicated processing circuit. The processor 31 is not limited to an electronic circuit using electronic logic elements, but may also be realized by an optical circuit using optical logic elements. Furthermore, the processor 31 may include arithmetic functions based on quantum computing.

[0036] The processor 31 performs calculations based on data and software (programs) input from various devices within the computer 30, and can output calculation results and control signals to these devices. The processor 31 may also control the various components of the computer 30 by executing the computer 30's OS (Operating System) or applications.

[0037] The information processing device 1 in this embodiment may be implemented by one or more processors 31. Here, the processor 31 may refer to one or more electronic circuits arranged on one chip, or to one or more electronic circuits arranged on two or more chips or two or more devices. When multiple electronic circuits are used, each electronic circuit may communicate by wire or wireless.

[0038] The main memory 33 is a storage device that stores instructions executed by the processor 31 and various data, and the information stored in the main memory 33 is read by the processor 31. The auxiliary storage device 35 is a storage device other than the main memory 33. These storage devices refer to any electronic component capable of storing electronic information, and may be semiconductor memory. The semiconductor memory may be either volatile memory or non-volatile memory. The storage device for storing various data used in the information processing device 3 according to this embodiment may be realized by the main memory 33 or the auxiliary storage device 35, or by the built-in memory of the processor 31. For example, the storage unit in this embodiment may be realized by the main memory 33 or the auxiliary storage device 35.

[0039] Multiple processors may be connected to (combined with) one memory device, or a single processor 31 may be connected to it. Multiple memory devices may be connected to (combined with) one processor. If the information processing device 1 in this embodiment consists of at least one memory device and multiple processors connected to (combined with) this at least one memory device, it may include a configuration in which at least one of the multiple processors is connected to (combined with) at least one memory device. Furthermore, this configuration may be realized by memory devices and processors 31 included in multiple computers. In addition, it may include a configuration in which the memory device is integrated with the processor 31 (for example, a cache memory including an L1 cache and an L2 cache).

[0040] The network interface 37 is an interface for connecting to the communication network 5 wirelessly or via a wired connection. The network interface 37 can be any appropriate interface, such as one conforming to existing communication standards. Information may be exchanged between the network interface 37 and an external device 9A connected via the communication network 5.

[0041] Note that the communication network 5 may be any one of a WAN (Wide Area Network), a LAN (Local Area Network), a PAN (Personal Area Network), or a combination thereof, as long as information can be exchanged between the computer 30 and the external device 9A. Examples of a WAN include the Internet, etc., examples of a LAN include IEEE802.11, Ethernet (registered trademark), etc., and examples of a PAN include Bluetooth (registered trademark), NFC (Near Field Communication), etc.

[0042] The device interface 39 is an interface such as an output device such as a display device, an input device, and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) that directly connects to the external device 9B. Note that the output device may have a speaker that outputs sound, etc.

[0043] The external device 9A is a device connected to the computer 30 via a network. The external device 9B is a device directly connected to the computer 30.

[0044] The external device 9A or the external device 9B may be, for example, an input device (input unit). The input device is, for example, a device such as a camera, a microphone, a motion capture, various sensors, a keyboard, a mouse, or a touch panel, and provides the acquired information to the computer 30. Also, the external device 9A or the external device 9B may be a device including an input unit, a memory, and a processor, such as a personal computer, a tablet terminal, or a smartphone.

[0045] Also, for example, the external device 9A or the external device 9B may be an output device (output unit). The output device may be, for example, a display device (display unit) such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), a PDP (Plasma Display Panel), or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel, or may be a speaker or the like that outputs sound or the like. Also, the external device 9A or the external device 9B may be a device including an output device, a memory, and a processor such as a personal computer, a tablet terminal, or a smartphone.

[0046] Also, the external device 9A or the external device 9B may be a storage device (memory). For example, the external device 9A may be a network storage or the like, and the external device 9B may be a storage such as an HDD.

[0047] Also, the external device 9A or the external device 9B may be a device having some functions of the components of the information processing apparatus 1 in the present embodiment. That is, the computer 30 may transmit or receive part or all of the processing results of the external device 9A or the external device 9B.

[0048] Hereinafter, for the sake of specific explanation, the external device 9A will be described as including, for example, the terminal of the quotation requester and the terminal of the quotation recommendation destination. When the information processing apparatus 1 is installed at the quotation requester, the terminal of the quotation requester corresponds to the external device 9B.

[0049] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of functional blocks in the processor 31. The processor 31 includes, as functions realized by the processor 31, for example, an acquisition unit 310, a specification unit 312, a determination unit 313, a transmission unit 316, a storage unit 314, and a display control unit 315.

[0050] The acquisition unit 310 acquires first feature information relating to at least one target object. The target object corresponds to, for example, a part or finished product to be manufactured. The first feature information includes, for example, feature quantities relating to the design data of the target object. Here, the design data relating to the target object is data that may include information related to the design, procurement, manufacturing, inspection, etc. of the target object, and may include information such as dimensions and material as OCR-readable information (handwritten information, etc.) or structured information. The design data is data that may include information related to the design, procurement, manufacturing, inspection, etc. of the target object.

[0051] The data format of the design data can be anything, including numerical data, text, and images, and it can be either structured or unstructured data; it does not need to be in a specific file format. The design data may be, for example, PDF data, text data, or other image data generated by reading a drawing (paper) of the object in question, 2D CAD data (DXF format, etc.), 3D CAD data, etc., and may include information such as dimensions and materials as OCR-readable information (handwritten information, etc.) or structured information.

[0052] The first feature information is obtained, for example, by inputting it into a trained model that takes design data as input and determines (outputs) the shape of the target object. Specifically, the first feature information corresponds to the data output from at least one intermediate layer of the trained model when the design data of the target object is input into the trained model. In other words, the first feature information corresponds to the intermediate output output from at least one intermediate layer of the trained model.

[0053] At least one intermediate layer is, for example, the intermediate layer immediately preceding the output layer in the trained model, i.e., the final intermediate layer. The trained model is a model capable of outputting feature information between input and output, and is, for example, a model composed of a multi-layer neural network. The intermediate output is represented, for example, by a vector (feature vector) that indicates the shape features of the target object.

[0054] A trained model is implemented using a trained CNN (Convolutional Neural Network). Examples of trained CNNs include EfficientNet, as described in [1905.11946] EfficientNet: Rethinking Model Scaling for Convolutional Neural Networks.

[0055] The image format input to the trained model can be any drawing format, such as PNG (Portable Network Graphics) or TIFF (Tagged Image File Format). The design data input to the trained model may also be handwritten information (drawings, dimensions, materials, etc.) by the user.

[0056] Furthermore, if the target drawing is a three-dimensional CAD drawing (CAD data), the drawing input to the trained model may be an image rendered from the three-dimensional CAD drawing (hereinafter referred to as a rendered image). The rendering process may be performed by the processor 31, or by another unit or an external device via the communication interface and communication network 5. The rendered image may be, for example, a three-view drawing (plan view, front view, side view (right side view)). The image format is not limited to the above and may also be three-dimensional CAD data. In this case, different trained models corresponding to the dimensions of the input image are stored in the memory 13 in advance.

[0057] A pre-trained model is generated by inputting each of multiple design data sets into a pre-trained model, and then training the pre-trained model using the shapes of each of the multiple parts corresponding to those design data sets as training data. For example, a pre-trained model can be generated by training a multi-layer neural network capable of outputting from an intermediate layer, using design data from a database and the shapes of the parts corresponding to that design data as training data. Specifically, a pre-trained model is generated by inputting the design data as images into a CNN (Convolutional Neural Network) and training the CNN to classify the shape classes into multiple classes. Since known methods can be applied to the generation of pre-trained models, the explanation will be omitted.

[0058] The identification unit 312 identifies at least one similar object similar to the target object using the first and second feature information in a design database that stores design information including second feature information for each of a plurality of objects and transaction information for business partners. The design database is a group of information generated by accumulating and organizing the design information for each of a plurality of objects. The second feature information is generated by inputting the design data corresponding to each of the plurality of objects into a trained model. The design information includes, for example, at least one of manufacturing information relating to manufacturing and specification information relating to the specifications of the finished product. The transaction information is information about companies that have business dealings with companies that request the manufacture of the target part (the company requesting a quote for the target part) (business partners). The transaction information includes, for example, at least one of evaluation information regarding the capabilities or risks of the business partner of the company requesting the quote and information regarding the financial status of the business partner.

[0059] Transaction information includes, for example, the name of the customer, the customer ID, the name of the product, the product number, the date of the quote, the delivery date, the lead time, and the actual unit price and quantity of the transaction. Transaction information may also include the quoted price. In this case, the value of the quoted price is stored in a field called "Quoted Price" or "Quoted Unit Price" in the design database. This allows the design database to store transaction information for manufacturers who have previously submitted quotes but did not proceed to actual transactions, as well as manufacturers with no actual transaction history.

[0060] In the design database, each of multiple objects is associated with its design information. In other words, in the design database, the second feature information and transaction information are associated with each of the multiple objects. This association is achieved by an identifier (ID) that identifies each of the multiple objects. Examples of such identifiers include the file name, title, drawing number, and / or part number of each of the multiple drawings used in the manufacture of the multiple objects. In response to the input of design data to the information processing device 1 and the input of design data to the trained model, the design information of the object related to that input is registered in the design database. The design database is stored, for example, in the main memory 33 or the auxiliary memory 35.

[0061] To make the explanation more concrete, the first feature information of the target object is assumed to be a first feature vector, and the second feature information of each of the multiple objects is assumed to be a second feature vector. The identification unit 312 calculates the distance between the first feature vector and each of the multiple second feature vectors stored in the design database. This distance is, for example, the Mahalanobis distance and corresponds to an index (hereinafter referred to as similarity) that indicates the similarity between the target object and each of the multiple objects. The smaller the distance, the greater the similarity. The identification unit 312 identifies at least one similar object that corresponds to the second feature vector for a distance smaller than a predetermined value among the calculated multiple distances. The predetermined value is a value that can distinguish the similarity between the shape of the target object and the shapes of the multiple objects, and is set in advance and stored in the storage unit 314.

[0062] In other words, the identification unit 312 identifies second feature vectors that are less than or equal to a predetermined value in the metric space defined by the first feature vector and each of the plurality of second feature vectors. Next, the identification unit 312 identifies at least one similar object (one or more similar objects) corresponding to the identified second feature vector. For example, the identification unit 312 identifies a predetermined number of similar objects from among the second feature vectors less than or equal to the predetermined value, in order of decreasing similarity. The predetermined number is any natural number, for example, 3.

[0063] The determination unit 313 determines, for each target object, at least one recommended supplier (which may also be called a recommended supplier) that is included in the transaction information associated with at least one similar object, and recommends it as a candidate supplier (which may also be called a candidate supplier) for requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object. Specifically, the determination unit 313 identifies transaction information relating to the second characteristic information of the identified similar object in the design database. Then, the determination unit 313 determines the supplier included in the identified transaction information as a recommended supplier for requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object.

[0064] The storage unit 314 corresponds to the internal memory of the processor 31. The storage unit 314 may also be implemented by the main memory 33 and the auxiliary memory 35. The storage unit 314 stores a dedicated program for executing the estimation recommendation determination process described later, a design database, and predetermined thresholds. Furthermore, the storage unit 314 stores the design data of the target object and first feature information output from the trained model.

[0065] The display control unit 315 displays at least one recommended supplier on the terminal of the customer requesting a quote for the manufacture of the target object. The display control unit 315 may also display a setting form for setting the quote conditions and a decision form for determining the supplier for the quote request for the target object from the recommended suppliers on the customer's terminal. The quote conditions include, for example, at least one of the following: the quantity of the target object, the delivery date of the target object, the unit price of the target object, and the deadline for responding to the quote for the target object. The delivery date may or may not include, for example, the manufacturing lead time (LT) and the delivery time (inventory LT + shipping LT). The unit price is not composed solely of manufacturing costs.

[0066] Furthermore, the display control unit 315 displays the quotation response for each target object from the quotation requesting party on the requesting party's terminal. The display control unit 315 also displays the status of receipt of quotation responses in a list on the requesting party's terminal for each quotation requesting party and each target object. Alternatively, instead of the status of receipt of quotation responses, the status of the quotation and the content of the quotation response may be displayed in a list on the requesting party's terminal. The status of the quotation includes all statuses, such as whether the quotation request details are not yet finalized or whether the quotation request details have been finalized but the quotation response has not yet been sent. In other words, the status of the quotation includes not only the status of the quotation response but also statuses related to the quotation, such as whether the request has been submitted. Furthermore, the display control unit 315 displays the content of the quotation response in a list on the requesting party's terminal for each target object. For example, the display control unit 315 displays the status of the quotation and the content of the quotation response in a list on the requesting party's terminal for each target object. Furthermore, the display control unit 315 displays the design data of the target object on the terminal of the person requesting the estimate and the terminal of the person recommending the estimate, using the language and / or units selected by the user requesting the estimate.

[0067] The transmission unit 316 sends the notification content to the quotation request recipient determined in the decision form. The notification content includes, for example, the URL of the dedicated web page for quotation responses corresponding to the quotation request, as well as the quotation response ID and password. For example, the transmission unit 316 sends the notification content to the quotation request recipient via the input unit in response to the user's instruction and the pressing of the submit button on the decision form.

[0068] The configuration of the information processing device 1 has been described above. Next, we will describe the process by which the information processing device 1 determines and displays recommended suppliers for estimates of the target drawing (referred to as the estimate recommendation determination process). The estimate recommendation determination process aims to determine recommended suppliers for the manufacturing of the target object. The estimate recommendation determination process will be explained below using Figures 3 to 20.

[0069] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the procedure for determining a recommended supplier for a quote. Prior to the execution of the recommended supplier determination process, various inputs related to the registration of the target object are performed. For example, the processor 31 registers the design information (specifically, drawing files, etc.) and transaction information of multiple objects in the design database, according to the instructions of the user who requested the quote. In addition, the processor 31 generates the following three pieces of information to be registered in the design database by analyzing the design data of multiple objects.

[0070] (1) The feature information processor 31 inputs the entire design data into a trained model (for example, a trained convolutional neural network (CNN)). The processor 31 obtains feature vectors from the intermediate layer just before the output layer of the trained model. As a result, the processor 31 stores the feature vectors of the object corresponding to the drawing file as feature information (second feature information), associating them with the ID of the design data (for example, a drawing ID) in the design database.

[0071] (2) Structured information on the drawing For example, the processor 31 stores the contents of the title block in the design data as structured data in the design database, for example, using the technology described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7377565. For example, if the cell next to the cell containing the word "product name" in the title block contains the word "bracket", the processor 31 reads the word in the title block using a technology such as Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and registers the data "bracket" in the product name field in the design database. Note that even if the word "product name" is read by OCR, the system may be configured not to register the read data in the design database.

[0072] (3) Information on drawings that could not be structured, other than the title block, that the processor 31 was able to read using OCR or the like is registered as free text in the remarks field of the design database. Examples of information registered here include the values ​​of dimensions in various parts of the drawing, notes, and handwritten memos. For example, the processor 31 stores data separated by commas for each block of data it has read (for example, CSV: comma separated values) in the design database, such as "220, 10, 35, no scratches, scratches that cannot be felt with a fingernail are OK (confirmed by Mr. Suzuki), 8 / 15".

[0073] First, the processor 31 creates a new project at the beginning of the quotation process, based on instructions from the user who requested the quotation. The project will be explained below. In the manufacturing industry, a user who requests a quotation may request quotations for components necessary for the manufacture of some of their own products from external manufacturers, for example, for a group of parts numbering in the thousands. In practice, quotation-related work is sometimes treated as a single procurement block (group) for each of the above-mentioned "manufacturing of some of their own products". Therefore, it is useful for the user's work if the procurement system can handle procurement in blocks of the same granularity. For these reasons, in this embodiment, a mechanism will be described that can handle a group of parts related to procurement as a single unit. Handling a group of parts related to procurement as a single unit will be referred to as a "project". Furthermore, the drawings of individual parts within the group of parts will be referred to as "details".

[0074] Here, "procurement" typically refers to outsourced manufacturing. The items subject to quotation are not limited to these, and may also include parts, materials, tools, etc., which are standardized and priced in the industry and are referred to as purchased goods. Given the complexity of having multiple potential suppliers for each of the multiple parts groups, the recommended supplier determination process contributes to the efficiency and accuracy of the entire quotation-related work.

[0075] Figure 4 shows an example of the initial screen for registering a target object during the process of determining a recommended quotation provider. As shown in Figure 4, when the "New" button is pressed, a small screen 43 named "New Quotation Project" is displayed. The new quotation project relates to a new quotation plan. When an arbitrary string about the target object related to the quotation is entered into the small screen 43 and the "Create" button on the small screen 43 is pressed, the processor 31 creates a new quotation project. The display control unit 315 displays the created project row by row on the terminal of the quotation requester, as shown in Figure 4. At this time, when a row is selected by the user via the input unit, the display control unit 315 transitions to the details screen of the project corresponding to the selected row and displays it on the terminal of the quotation requester.

[0076] Next, the processor 31 registers individual drawing IDs related to the estimate within the selected project. Figure 5 shows an example of the details screen 51 in an estimate project. When an estimate project corresponding to one row is selected on the top screen 45 shown in Figure 4, according to the instructions of the user requesting the estimate, the display control unit 315 displays the details screen 51 of the estimate project shown in Figure 5 on the terminal of the user requesting the estimate. When the "Register Details" button 53 on the far right of the details screen 51 is clicked according to the user's instructions, the display control unit 315 displays a small screen 55 called "Register Details" on the terminal of the user requesting the estimate.

[0077] In the "Detail Registration" sub-screen 55 in Figure 5, the user enters the drawing ID of the drawing relating to the object for which they wish to request a quote. When the "Detail Registration" button 57 in the lower right corner of sub-screen 55 is clicked, the individual drawing relating to the object is registered in that project. Once the individual drawing ID is registered in the selected project, it becomes possible to obtain recommended quote providers for each drawing.

[0078] The user requesting the quote selects the project for which they wish to receive a quote via the input interface on their terminal. This project selection corresponds, for example, to the selection of the project ID on the initial screen shown in Figure 4. At this time, the display control unit 315 displays a details screen for the selected project on the terminal. The user then selects the drawing for which they wish to receive a quote from the details screen of the selected project via the input interface on their terminal.

[0079] Figure 6 shows an example of the details screen 61 of a selected project. As shown in Figure 6, on the project details screen 61, the user selects the drawing of the object to be estimated (the target object) (hereinafter referred to as the target drawing). The selection of the target drawing is achieved, for example, by checking the checkbox 63 on the far left of the details screen 61 and clicking the "Automatically Select Estimate Provider" button 65 in the upper left corner of the screen, as shown in Figure 6. This triggers the process of determining the recommended provider for the estimate, in which a recommended provider for the estimate is selected.

[0080] (Process for determining recommended quote provider) (Step S301) The acquisition unit 310 acquires first feature information relating to at least one target object. Specifically, the acquisition unit 310 acquires first feature information associated with the target drawing selected in Figure 6 from the design database.

[0081] (Step S302) The identification unit 312 uses the first feature information and the second feature information in the design database to identify at least one similar object that is similar to the target object. Specifically, the identification unit 312 calculates the distance between the first feature vector corresponding to the first feature information and each of the multiple feature vectors stored in the design database. For example, if the predetermined number is 3, the identification unit 312 identifies three second feature vectors corresponding to the distance, for example, the three that are less than the predetermined value and are in ascending order of the distance. Next, the identification unit 312 identifies the objects corresponding to the three identified second feature vectors in the design database as similar objects (one or more similar objects). That is, the identification unit 312 selects up to three drawings (similar drawings) that have the closest mathematical distance to the feature information of the target object.

[0082] (Step S303) The decision unit 313 determines, for each of the similar objects, to be at least one recommended supplier from the trading information associated with the similar object. For example, if three similar objects are identified, the decision unit 313 reads from the design database the trading partners included in the trading information associated with each of the three similar objects. As a result, the decision unit 313 determines the three trading partners corresponding to the three similar objects as recommended suppliers for the target object. At this time, the decision unit 313 may also obtain trading information linked to drawings corresponding to the similar objects from the design database. The obtained trading information may include, for example, the trading partner name, order date, order unit price, and order quantity.

[0083] (Step S304) The display control unit 315 displays at least one recommended supplier on the terminal of the person who requested the quote for the manufacture of the target object. For example, for each target object, the display control unit 315 displays three recommended suppliers, along with transaction information, on the terminal of the person who requested the quote for a similar object, for each drawing of the target object. For example, the display control unit 315 displays a decision form on the terminal of the person who requested the quote to determine a supplier from the recommended suppliers.

[0084] Figure 7 shows an example of the details screen for a quotation project, illustrating an example of how recommended quotations are displayed for each of two target objects. In Figure 7, the "Candidates" column 71 near the right edge of the screen displays the recommended quotations and the unit price, quantity, and transaction date of similar objects to the target object, organized by each supplier. The user requesting the quotation determines whether the supplier displayed as a recommended quotation provider in the "Candidates" column 71 is suitable as a quotation provider for the target object. If the user requests the quotation and determines that a recommended quotation provider is not suitable, the "x" mark next to the unsuitable recommended quotation provider in the "Candidates" column 71 is clicked at the user's instruction. At this time, the recommended quotation provider that has been marked with an "x" is removed from the "Candidates" column 71. As a result, the recommended quotation provider that has been marked with an "x" is excluded from the list of potential quotations.

[0085] Furthermore, if the user requesting the quote wishes to add a different customer to the customer displayed in the "Recommended Customers" column 71 as a recommended customer, the customer may be added to the "Recommended Customers" column 71 through manual operation by the user via the input interface. Figure 8 shows an example of manually adding a customer to the "Recommended Customers" column 71. As shown in Figure 8, the user requesting the quote can click the "Add Customer" button 81 to set additional customers from the list of key customers 83 displayed on the far right of the screen, or they can enter the customer name in the search box 85 labeled "Keyword" at the top right and search, and then set the searched customer in the "Recommended Customers" column 71.

[0086] Furthermore, the display control unit 315 displays a setting form for setting quotation conditions, which includes at least one of the following: the quantity of the target object, the delivery date for the manufacture of the target object, the unit price for the manufacture of the target object, and the deadline for responding to the quotation for the target object, on the terminal of the person requesting the quotation. By inputting into the setting form, the user requesting the quotation can create the data for the quotation request by directly entering quotation conditions such as quantity, delivery date, unit price, and response deadline on the screen.

[0087] Figure 9 shows an example of manually adding a business partner to the "Candidate Quotation Partner" column 71. As shown in Figure 9, the user requesting the quotation can directly input information related to the quotation conditions 91 enclosed in a box through the user's operation via the input interface on the screen. The "Breakdown" in the quotation conditions 91 is used when the user requests a quotation response that includes a breakdown of various costs such as material costs, processing costs, and labor costs. The "Quotation Conditions" are also used when the user requests a distinction between cases with and without additional processing, such as surface treatment. The "Remarks" in the "Quotation Conditions" are used when it is necessary to inform other quotation partners of a message.

[0088] Through the above operations, the display control unit 315 generates quotation request data with quotation conditions. Note that the generation of the quotation request data may also be performed by the quotation request data generation unit in the processor 31. The display control unit 315 creates aggregated pages from the quotation request data, categorized by the trading partner to whom the quotation is requested. Specifically, the display control unit 315 performs controls such as displaying quotation requests for products such as jjj, kkk, lll on the screen of the terminal that made the quotation request (project details screen) for trading partner A, and displaying quotation requests for products such as jjj, lll, mmm, nnn on the screen for trading partner B.

[0089] (Step S305) Based on user instructions via the input interface, the recipient of the quotation request is determined on the decision form displayed on the requesting terminal. At this time, the notification data for the quotation request is finalized. The contents of the notification data (notification content) include, for example, the URL of the dedicated web page for quotation responses corresponding to the quotation request, as well as the quotation response ID and password. For example, from the standpoint of confidentiality, the notification content does not, in principle, contain specific details of the quotation request (information about the content).

[0090] Figure 10 shows an example of the details screen for a quotation project. When the user requesting the quotation clicks the "Create Quotation Request" button 101, the display control unit 315 displays a small screen 103 titled "Create Quotation Request" on the requesting user's terminal. This allows the requesting user to input the "Quotation Title" and "Request Remarks" via the input interface. After entering the "Quotation Title," when the "Create" button 105 shown in Figure 10 is clicked, notification data for the quotation request (notification data) is created.

[0091] Figure 11 shows an example of the display after clicking the "Create" button 105 shown in Figure 10. As shown in Figure 11, after clicking the "Create" button 105 shown in Figure 10, the display control unit 315 displays a notification 111 on the project details screen indicating that the user will proceed to the project estimate request page, such as "A project estimate request has been created. Proceed to the project estimate request page." At this time, the display control unit 315 transitions the screen in response to the user who requested the estimate clicking the "Project Estimate Request" button 113.

[0092] Figure 12 shows an example of the transition screen (project estimate request screen) 121 after clicking the "Project Estimate Request" button 113 in Figure 11. In the project estimate request screen 121 shown in Figure 12, the display control unit 315 displays a list of the number of drawings to be estimated for each client and the status of the estimate in the frame 123. This allows the user requesting the estimate to check the number of drawings to be estimated for each client and the status of the estimate in a list format.

[0093] (Step S306) The transmission unit 316 sends a notification containing, for example, quotation conditions and design data for the target object to the determined quotation request recipient. Figure 13 shows an example of the same project quotation request screen 121 as in Figure 12. When the "Send" button 131 on the project quotation request screen 121 is clicked, the display control unit 315 displays a small screen 133 for sending emails, as shown in Figure 13. When the "Send" button 135 on the small screen 133 is clicked, the transmission unit 316 sends a quotation request email (notification content) according to the business partner. The email corresponding to the notification content can include data other than drawings of the target object, such as 3D model data and specifications of the target object.

[0094] The user requesting the quote receives the quote notification (quote request email) sent by the requesting user on their device. For example, the email contains a URL for a dedicated web page for responding to the quote request for the company in question, as well as a quote response ID and password automatically assigned by the processor. The URL for the dedicated web page, the quote response ID, and the password are displayed on the requesting user's device.

[0095] Figure 14 shows an example of an email 141 sent from the source requesting a quote to the recipient of the quote request, and a screen 145 displayed when the quote response URL in email 141 is clicked. As shown in Figure 14, the email received by the user requesting the quote contains only minimal information. The user requesting the quote enters their password on screen 145, which is displayed when the quote response URL in email 141 is clicked. This allows the user requesting the quote to log in to the information processing device 1. The specific details of the quote request can be confirmed on the screen displayed by the display control unit 315 after logging in. As shown in Figure 14, the only information the user requesting the quote can access is the quote request data related to this quote request, thus enabling operation that satisfies the viewpoints of business efficiency, accuracy, and confidentiality.

[0096] Figure 15 shows an example of a quotation response screen 151 related to a quotation request displayed on the terminal of the recipient of the quotation request. As shown in Figure 15, the recipient user confirms the quotation conditions, etc. The recipient user can also enlarge and check the drawing of the object to be quoted by clicking on the thumbnail image on the quotation response screen 151. After entering the necessary information in the response field on the quotation response screen 151 and clicking the "Send Quotation" button 155 in the upper right corner of the screen, quotation response data according to the entered information is generated, for example, by the determination unit 323. At this time, the transmission unit 316 may automatically send an email to the recipient of the quotation request indicating that a quotation response has been made. Note that the quotation response is not sent to the source of the quotation request (neither by email nor by system).

[0097] For example, the display control unit 315 displays the quotation response screen 151, which is related to the input of the quotation response, on the terminal of the quotation requesting party. At this time, the acquisition unit 310 acquires the quotation response entered on the quotation response screen 151. In addition, the drawings are aggregated for each quotation requesting party on the quotation response screen 151. That is, an information aggregation function for each quotation requesting party (aggregating the drawings to be requested from each specific quotation requesting party, for example, requesting drawings 001, 002, and 004 from company A) and a response page (drawings 001, 002, and 004 on the quotation response screen for company A) are automatically generated. As a result, the drawing information to be requested for quotation is aggregated and consolidated for each quotation requesting party, so a response page is created for each quotation requesting party, and the quotation response can be provided. Therefore, the quotation response function can be realized by the quotation requesting party via the quotation response screen (system).

[0098] In current business practices, clients who order specific products (e.g., industrial machine tools) assemble hundreds to thousands of parts to create those products. These clients then outsource the manufacturing of these hundreds to thousands of parts to external manufacturers. Each external manufacturer has its own area of ​​expertise, depending on factors such as material (e.g., iron, aluminum, plastic) and processing type (e.g., sheet metal, cutting, molding). Therefore, no single external manufacturer (company) can produce all the parts for a given product. Ideally, the client would like to request quotes focusing on drawings related to the specific area of ​​expertise of each manufacturer. However, the quotation process is not automated, requiring the client to manually select drawings related to the areas of expertise of each manufacturer from hundreds to thousands of drawings. However, the client requesting the quotes does not have the time to perform this selection manually.

[0099] Therefore, under current business practices, all drawings are sent to all prospective bidders, placing a burden on them to independently search through all the drawings to find those that match their area of ​​expertise. Furthermore, if the prospective bidder filters out low-quality drawings, they may not send bids to manufacturing contractors who are actually skilled in the selected drawings. Even if the prospective bidder is able to filter the drawings, they would still need to manually send and receive emails and / or faxes, and handle phone calls to each prospective bidder.

[0100] The information processing device 1 according to the embodiment can improve the aforementioned inefficiencies related to quotations. For example, the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment can easily select a suitable manufacturing contractor for each drawing through a quotation recommendation function (quote recommendation determination process). Therefore, the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment can improve the efficiency of selecting drawings for each quotation request. In addition, the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment can automatically generate response pages for the selected drawings for each quotation request in conjunction with the drawing selection. As a result, the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment can enable quotation requesters to focus their quotations on drawings related to their areas of expertise.

[0101] This allows the terminal of the person requesting the estimate to display an estimate response screen in response to the operation of the link shown in the notification. On the estimate response screen, a response screen that aggregates drawings for each person requesting the estimate is automatically created, and the system can provide a response to the estimate request by inputting the estimated price and other information on the estimate response screen. Therefore, according to this embodiment, telephone, email, and fax are unnecessary, and the creation of individual Excel files for each target object and estimate requester is also unnecessary, thus streamlining the estimation process.

[0102] With the above steps, the quotation requester's response is completed. According to this embodiment, the quotation response can be completed on a web screen, reducing the burden on the person providing the quotation. Traditionally, it has been common to reply to quotation request emails by email, which means that the party making the quotation request has to constantly track the email history, which is cumbersome. In today's PPAP era, especially the exchange of files via email significantly hinders work efficiency, so this embodiment, in which information is aggregated on the web and responses are completed on the web, can bring about a tremendous improvement in work efficiency and accuracy for both the party making the quotation request and the party receiving the quotation request.

[0103] After step S306, the user requesting the quote can, at any time, view a list of the statuses of the responses from the quote recipients. For example, the user requesting the quote can view a broader range of statuses than just the status of quote receipt, including whether the quote request details are undecided or whether the quote request details have been finalized but not yet sent to the quote recipient. This allows the use case of a user requesting a quote who wants to check the status and quote details for each quote recipient to be captured in this embodiment.

[0104] The display control unit 315 displays the quotation response for each target object from the quotation requesting party on the terminal of the quotation requesting party. In addition, the display control unit 315 displays a list of the status of received quotation responses for each quotation requesting party and for each target object on the terminal of the quotation requesting party.

[0105] Figure 16 shows an example of a quote confirmation screen for each quote request recipient. As shown in Figure 16, the user who requested the quote can easily check the quote status for each quote request recipient.

[0106] Figure 17 shows an example of the estimate confirmation screen 171 when responses from all the requesting parties have been received. When the title of the estimate 173 is clicked, the display control unit 315 displays a detailed screen of the estimate response status on the terminal of the person who requested the estimate. Figure 18 shows an example of the estimate confirmation screen (detailed screen of estimate response status) 181 for each requesting party. As shown in Figure 18, the user who requested the estimate can easily check the estimate details such as the unit price and lead time for individual drawings.

[0107] Furthermore, the display control unit 315 displays the contents of the quotation responses for each target object in a list on the terminal of the quotation requester. In other words, the display control unit 315 provides a function to check the quotation status and quotation responses for each target object and each quotation requester. The user requesting the quotation makes the quotation request, and the user receiving the quotation makes the quotation response, both on the information processing device 1. By using this function, the user requesting the quotation can check the status resulting from these user actions in a list for each target object.

[0108] Figure 19 shows an example of the details of the estimate confirmation screen 191 for each target object on a project basis. In Figure 19, the estimate status and response content for each target object and each estimate requesting party are displayed on a project basis. Figure 20 shows an example of the details of the estimate confirmation screen 201 for each target object across all projects. In Figure 20, the estimate status and response content for each target object and each estimate requesting party are displayed for all projects across all projects. This allows the user who requested the estimate to check the estimate status and response content for each target object and each estimate requesting party. Thus, in this embodiment, we can capture the use case of a user who wants to check the status and estimate content for each target object.

[0109] The information processing device 1 according to the embodiment described above acquires first characteristic information relating to at least one target object, and in a design database that stores design information including second characteristic information relating to each of a plurality of objects and transaction information relating to business partners, it uses the first characteristic information and the second characteristic information to identify at least one similar object that is similar to the target object, and for each target object, it determines at least one recommended supplier to recommend as a supplier for requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object, based on the business partners included in the transaction information associated with at least one similar object, and displays at least one recommended supplier on the terminal of the person who requested the quote for manufacturing the target object.

[0110] As a result, according to the information processing device 1 of this embodiment, even when it is difficult to select a supplier for a quote due to numerous parameters related to the manufacturing of the target object, by identifying similar objects similar to the target object, it is possible to automatically extract a supplier corresponding to at least one similar object from the design database as a recommended supplier for the manufacturing of the target object, and display the recommended supplier on the terminal of the person who requested the quote for the manufacturing of the target object. As a result, according to the information processing device 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to achieve a significant reduction in time and effort compared to the conventional method in which suppliers were selected manually. For this reason, according to the information processing device 1 of this embodiment, it is possible to reduce various costs related to the quotation process for the target object.

[0111] Furthermore, the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment displays on the requesting terminal a setting form for setting quotation conditions, which includes at least one of the following: the quantity of the target object, the delivery date for the manufacture of the target object, the unit price for the manufacture of the target object, and the deadline for responding to the quotation for the target object, and a decision form for determining the quotation request destination from the recommended quotation destinations. In addition, the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment sends notification content regarding the quotation conditions and the design data of the target object to the quotation request destination determined in the decision form. Thus, according to the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment, the quotation condition setting form, the quotation destination determination form, and the notification content to the quotation request destination can be displayed on the requesting terminal, and the notification content can be sent to the determined quotation request destination. For this reason, according to the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment, the requesting user can easily confirm, set, and decide on the quotation conditions, quotation request destination, and notification content, and the complexity of the quotation work for the target object can be reduced.

[0112] Furthermore, the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment displays the quotation response for each target object from the requesting party on the requesting party's terminal. As a result, according to the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment, the requesting party can easily check the quotation response for each target object.

[0113] Furthermore, the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment displays the status of the estimate and the content of the estimate response for each target object in a list on the requesting party's terminal. As a result, the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment allows the requesting party to easily grasp the status of the estimate and, if a response has been received, the content of the estimate response.

[0114] Furthermore, the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment displays a list on the requesting party's terminal showing the status of the estimate and the content of the estimate response for each target object. As a result, the information processing device 1 according to the embodiment allows the requesting party to easily grasp the status of the estimate and, if a response is received, the content of the estimate response.

[0115] (First Modification) This modification involves adding further information to the information displayed on the terminal of the quote requester and / or the terminal of at least one of the quote recommendation destinations. For example, the transaction information includes at least one of the following: the transaction price for each of several items at the supplier, the transaction history, and past quote prices. Transaction history includes, for example, the order date, delivery date, quantity, and history of defects or malfunctions.

[0116] In addition to the above items, transaction history may also include transaction prices (unit price and subtotal). In practice, there may be multiple manufacturers that have submitted quotations in the past but did not actually enter into transactions. In this case, the display control unit 315 displays at least one of the following on the terminal of the quotation requester: the transaction price from at least one recommended quotation source or the past quotations from at least one recommended quotation source, and the transaction history.

[0117] As a result, according to the information processing device 1 of the first modified embodiment, even if there is no actual transaction history with the client requesting a quote, the client can be treated as a recommended quote provider, and past quote prices and / or transaction history of the recommended quote provider can be displayed on the terminal as supplementary information to the transaction information. In other words, according to the information processing device 1 of the first modified embodiment, at least one of past transaction prices or past quote prices and transaction history for each of the multiple recommended quote providers can be displayed on the client's terminal, thereby improving the efficiency of the quote provider selection process.

[0118] Furthermore, the display control unit 315 displays the design data of a similar object corresponding to the recommended quotation destination on the terminal of the quotation requester and at least one terminal of the recommended quotation destination, using the language and / or units selected by the user. This display is equivalent to a convenient function when the user of the quotation requester provides a quotation response, and corresponds, for example, to an automatic translation function on the viewing screen of the quotation requester. In addition, the object to be translated is the drawing of the object related to the quotation request, not the drawing of a similar object.

[0119] The automatic translation function is used, for example, to translate drawings of objects related to quotation requests. The user who uses the automatic translation function is, for example, the user who is requesting the quotation. Specifically, the user who is requesting the quotation specifies the target language and units for the translation, and the automatic translation function translates the description of the object's drawing into the specified language and units.

[0120] For example, when the source and target languages ​​and / or units are specified by the user requesting the quote, the display control unit 315 can translate the contents of the drawing of the object subject to the quote request and display it on the screen of various terminals. Specifically, the user requesting the quote specifies the source language and / or units, and the target language and / or units via the input interface. Such specifications include, for example, instructions to translate Japanese / metric to English / yard-pound system, or Japanese / metric to Vietnamese / metric system.

[0121] At this time, the acquisition unit 310, in response to receiving a translation instruction, queries three dictionaries stored in the storage unit 314: a general dictionary, an industry-specific dictionary, and a company-specific dictionary, performs the translation, and obtains the translation result. Of the three dictionaries, the latter two may be dictionaries unique to the company providing the information processing device 1. Next, the display control unit 315 detects the margins of the drawing to be translated and pastes the translated text obtained by the acquisition unit 310 onto the drawing in a format where it is placed next to the original text. Subsequently, the display control unit 315 displays the drawing with the pasted translated text on various terminals.

[0122] For example, when a Japanese company requests a quote from a Vietnamese manufacturer that is a recommended source for a quote regarding the manufacture of a certain object, the drawings for that object are created by the requesting company and are almost always written in Japanese. In this case, there is no problem for the requesting company, but there is a high possibility that the drawings contain content that the requesting company cannot read, and bilingual personnel often manually translate the drawings. As a result, the information processing device 1 according to the first modified embodiment can reduce the burden of drawing translation on bilingual personnel at the requesting company. In other words, according to the information processing device 1 according to the first modified embodiment, even if the recommended source for a quote is a foreign country, the user can easily check information on design data of similar objects related to the recommended source for a quote.

[0123] Additionally, as supplementary information, cautionary notes regarding the quotation request may be automatically displayed on the requesting user's terminal. This allows the user requesting the quotation to be reminded of important points to consider when making the request. For example, the design information may also include evaluation information regarding the risks and capabilities of the business partner.

[0124] Specifically, the design information includes at least one of the following for each of the multiple objects: manufacturing information relating to the manufacturing process, specification information relating to the specifications of the finished product for each of the multiple objects, and evaluation information relating to the risks and capabilities of the trading partner. For example, the identification unit 312 searches for and identifies cautionary information related to the target object. When cautionary information is identified, the display control unit 315 displays the cautionary information on the screen of the terminal of the person who requested the estimate.

[0125] For example, the identification unit 312 determines whether there is any cautionary information regarding at least one of the quality, price, or delivery date of the target object, based on at least one of the design information and transaction information. In this case, the identification unit 312 may also function as a cautionary information determination unit, and the information processing device 1 further comprises a cautionary information determination unit. If the determination result by the cautionary information determination unit is positive (i.e., if there is cautionary information), the display control unit 315 causes the cautionary information to be displayed on the terminal of the quotation requestor. The transaction information includes, for example, at least one of the transaction price, transaction history, and past quoted price for each of multiple objects at the trading partner.

[0126] Cautionary information includes, for example, defects in past transactions and / or general processing difficulty that can be inferred from drawings of the object in question, and is information that reminds the user of the quotation request to pay attention. In other words, cautionary information is information that belongs to a broader concept than defects in the trading partner (liability for breach of contract), and includes the processing difficulty of the object in question and points of caution in transactions that should be communicated to the quotation requester (such as packaging and delivery rules).

[0127] This allows the requesting party to not only screen potential quote providers before requesting a quote, but also to easily communicate points to the quote provider regarding their requirements (for example, "This product requires attention to certain points, so please incorporate this into your quote"). Here, "certain points" correspond to "points to note." As a result, the requesting party can achieve smoother transactions with the quote provider compared to the past.

[0128] The cautionary information may specifically include at least one of the following: manufacturing information regarding the production of each of the multiple objects; specification information regarding the specifications of the finished product for each of the multiple objects; evaluation information regarding the capabilities or risks of the supplier; QCD (Quality, Cost, Delivery); or information regarding the supplier's financial status. Manufacturing information may include, for example, specifications for processing methods and inspection methods. Specification information may include, for example, material, dimensions, and dimensional tolerances. Evaluation information may include, for example, the supplier's areas of expertise, on-time delivery rate, and defect rate.

[0129] Furthermore, cautionary information may include, for example, information written on the drawing of the object in question (e.g., a description such as "XX plating" as the surface treatment, where XX is a string of characters that identifies the plating), information extracted from the drawing of the object in question (e.g., a string of characters) (e.g., information inferred from the drawing description that the processing category of the product is sheet metal processing with high difficulty), and information written in transaction information (e.g., a customer who repeatedly delays delivery).

[0130] One common source of trouble in quotation requests is when a quotation is requested from a manufacturer whose QCD (Quality, Cost, Delivery) clearly does not match the client's requirements, or a manufacturer with a problematic financial foundation. In such cases, the client may place an order based solely on the seemingly favorable terms of the manufacturer's quotation. For example, factors such as the manufacturer's expertise being clearly different from that of the object in question, making it impossible to accurately estimate the cost of the object; the manufacturer frequently experiencing delivery delays; or the object being a difficult-to-process part that can only be manufactured by a manufacturer with specific equipment, can all contribute to problems.

[0131] If the above cautionary information is overlooked and an order is placed with an unsuitable manufacturer, there is a high probability that problems such as delivery delays and poor quality will occur later. According to this modified version, the practical need to detect the presence or absence of cautionary information before requesting a quote can be met. As a result, with the information processing device 1 according to the first modified version of the embodiment, the user can check for the presence or absence of cautionary information regarding the target object before requesting a quote, thereby improving the efficiency of the process of selecting a supplier for the quote request.

[0132] For example, if the target object is difficult to process, the display control unit 315 displays an icon indicating "difficult to process" in the column for the target object. Also, if a recommended supplier has a history of delivery delays, the display control unit 315 displays the words "delivery troubles" near the supplier displayed as a recommended supplier.

[0133] Furthermore, if there is a possibility that the order amount may be excessive in proportion to the size of the company, the display control unit 315 will display the words "Financial Caution" near the trading partner displayed as a recommended source for quotations. The difficulty of processing the target object, the presence or absence of a history of delivery delays, and the possibility of the order amount being excessive in proportion to the size of the company are appropriately determined by the identification unit 312 using known methods.

[0134] Furthermore, the information processing device 1 according to the first modified example has a function to visually distinguish and display existing business partners and new business partners as additional information. For example, if a recommended supplier or candidate supplier for a quotation request is not a business partner of the supplier requesting the quotation, the display control unit 315 displays the recommended supplier or candidate supplier for a quotation request on the supplier requesting the quotation request's terminal in a different display manner than that of existing business partners with whom the supplier has already done business. This allows the user of the supplier requesting the quotation to visually distinguish and recognize existing business partners and new business partners.

[0135] Specifically, if a supplier has no prior business relationship with the requesting party, that is, if there has been no actual sales or manufacturing outsourcing, and any communication has been limited to a quotation response, the display control unit 315 displays the supplier on the requesting party's screen in a manner different from that of existing suppliers with whom there has been a business relationship. More specifically, this display manner can be implemented in several ways, such as displaying a "New" mark near the supplier's name or changing the color of the supplier's name. As a result, according to the information processing device 1 of the first modified embodiment, the user can easily ascertain whether or not there is a prior business relationship with the requesting party when selecting a supplier for a quotation recommendation.

[0136] Furthermore, the information processing device 1 according to the first modified example has a function to display the recommended limit price on the requesting party's terminal as additional information. In this case, the transaction history between the trading partner and the quotation requesting party includes transaction prices and past quotation prices for similar objects. The determination unit 313 calculates the recommended limit price for the target object based on this history. For example, the acquisition unit 310 acquires transaction information for objects related to the target object. These related objects are, for example, similar objects, but are not limited to similar objects and may be objects with common specification information. The determination unit 313 uses at least one of the transaction prices and quotation prices from the transaction information of the related objects to calculate the recommended limit price for the target object. In addition to the price in the transaction information, the determination unit 313 may also use processing methods in the manufacturing information, etc., to calculate the recommended limit price for the target object.

[0137] Furthermore, the determination unit 313 may calculate a recommended limit price for a related object based on transaction information associated with related objects that share common specification information. In this case, the display control unit 315 displays the recommended limit price on the terminal of the quote requester. Related objects are, for example, objects that share common specification information with the target object.

[0138] Furthermore, the recommended limit price may be calculated based on past transaction prices. For example, if a product with the same specifications as the target object has previously sold for 10,000 yen, the recommended limit price will be calculated as 10,000 yen. Alternatively, the recommended limit price may be calculated based on past estimated prices, or a combination of past estimated prices and past transaction prices.

[0139] For example, if products with specifications similar to the target object have historically been priced between 8,000 and 12,000 yen based on past estimates and actual sales, the recommended price would be calculated as 10,000 yen, which is the median of that price range. Alternatively, the recommended price may be calculated using a cost-plus method based on the specifications of the target object. For example, if the target object is manufactured using l x m x n (where l, m, and n are positive numbers) SUS304 and undergoes processing A and processing B, the recommended price would be calculated by adding the processing costs for processing A and processing B to the purchase price of l x m x n SUS304.

[0140] Furthermore, the determination unit 313 may calculate the recommended limit price for the target object using only the actual price. Alternatively, the determination unit 313 may calculate the recommended limit price for the target object using both the actual price and the estimated price. In this case, the calculation method for the recommended limit price can be arbitrarily set, for example, a simple average of the unit price, a weighted average that also takes quantity into account, or a weighted average based on the order timing. Furthermore, the calculation method for the recommended limit price is not limited to the above averages; the median or mode may also be used. In addition, the determination unit 313 may calculate the recommended limit price (it is also possible to write in more detail) by taking into account the complexity of the processing steps in the manufacturing of the target object.

[0141] As a result, the display control unit 315 displays the recommended limit price on the terminal of the quote requester. Therefore, users can confirm the validity of the limit price of the quote before requesting a quote, and can set a reasonable limit price for the quote without being anchored to the quoted price when responding to the quote, and without reducing the trust from the quote requester.

[0142] Furthermore, the information processing device 1 according to the first modified example has a function to display the recommended delivery date on the requesting party's terminal as additional information. In this case, the transaction information includes, for example, the transaction history between the trading partner and the requesting party. This history includes, for example, the estimated delivery date for similar objects and the past estimated delivery dates for each of multiple objects. With this function, when the requesting party's user performs an operation on the screen of the requesting party's terminal to request the calculation of the recommended delivery date for the target object, the information processing device 1 calculates the recommended delivery date for the target object in the processing procedure after acquiring the transaction information described later, and displays it on the screen of the requesting party's terminal.

[0143] Furthermore, the recommended delivery date may be calculated based on past delivery records. For example, if a product with the same specifications as the object in question was delivered in 14 days in the past, the recommended delivery date would be calculated as 14 days. Alternatively, the recommended delivery date may be calculated based on past estimated delivery dates, or past estimated delivery dates and actual delivery dates. For example, if a product with specifications similar to the object in question had a delivery time of 10 to 18 days in past estimates and actuals, the recommended delivery date would be calculated as 14 days, which is the median of that delivery period. Alternatively, the recommended delivery date may be calculated using a cumulative method based on the specifications of the object in question. For example, if the object in question undergoes processing A and processing B on SUS304 with dimensions l x m x n, the recommended delivery date would be calculated as 14 days by adding the time required for processing A and the time required for processing B.

[0144] The acquisition unit 310 acquires transaction information for objects related to the target object. The transaction information further includes delivery date information for multiple objects. These related objects are, for example, similar objects, but are not limited to similar objects and may be objects (related objects) with common specification information. The estimated delivery dates for similar objects and past estimated delivery dates for each of the multiple objects may be referred to as delivery date information, and the transaction information includes the delivery date information included in the above-mentioned performance. The determination unit 313 calculates a recommended delivery date for the target object based on the performance (transaction information). For example, the determination unit 313 calculates the recommended delivery date from the actual data of the order date and delivery date. Alternatively, the determination unit 313 may calculate the recommended delivery date from the delivery date wording described in the quotation or order confirmation. The display control unit 315 displays the recommended delivery date on the terminal of the quotation requester. This allows the user to confirm the validity of the estimated delivery date before requesting a quotation and to set a reasonable estimated delivery date.

[0145] For example, the design information further includes at least one of the following information for each of the plurality of objects: manufacturing information relating to the manufacture, specification information relating to the specifications of the finished product for each of the plurality of objects, and evaluation information relating to the risks and capabilities of the supplier. At this time, the determination unit 313 calculates a recommended delivery date for the target object based on at least one of the delivery date information or design information for similar or related objects. Next, the display control unit 315 displays the recommended delivery date on the terminal of the quote requester.

[0146] Furthermore, delivery time information is not limited to data on past performance; it may also be inferences based on information from similar projects. For example, if a predetermined processing condition is included in the design information of the target object, the recommended delivery time will be calculated to be longer than the delivery time under normal processing conditions. Specifically, the determination unit calculates the recommended delivery time for the target object by multiplying the delivery time under normal processing conditions by one or more predetermined values ​​corresponding to the predetermined processing condition.

[0147] This modified version further includes a function to refer to past drawing information of recommended quote providers. When a recommended quote provider (for example, a company name displayed as a candidate quote provider in Figures 7 and 9) is clicked on a screen displayed on the requesting terminal (for example, Figures 7 and 9) at the user's instruction, the display control unit 315 transitions to an information page of similar past drawings and displays that information page on the requesting terminal. In conventional quote request operations, searching for similar drawings to the target drawing related to the quote request depends on the amount of knowledge of the individual person engaged in the quoting work. As a result, a paradoxical problem arises where less skilled individuals who need to refer to past records of similar drawings are unable to find similar drawings.

[0148] In this modified version, those engaged in estimation work can easily refer to similar drawings regardless of their level of knowledge. In addition, since these similar drawings are registered in a design database that includes transaction information, those engaged in estimation work can refer to unit prices, quantities, delivery dates, etc., on the same screen as the similar drawings. As a result, according to the first modified version of this embodiment, a significant improvement in the accuracy and efficiency of estimation work can be achieved.

[0149] (Second Modification) This modification involves narrowing down the list of recommended suppliers to at least one similar object by using at least one piece of information from among manufacturing information, specification information, and evaluation information for each of the multiple objects. For example, the design information further includes at least one piece of information from among manufacturing information for each of the multiple objects, specification information for the specifications of the finished product for each of the multiple objects, and evaluation information regarding the risks and capabilities of the supplier.

[0150] The determination unit 313 uses at least one piece of information from among the manufacturing information, specification information, and evaluation information related to the manufacturing of each of the multiple objects to narrow down the list of recommended suppliers to those corresponding to at least one similar object. In other words, the determination unit 313 can further narrow down the list of recommended suppliers from the multiple candidates for recommended suppliers determined in the embodiment using at least one piece of information from among the manufacturing information, specification information, and evaluation information. For example, the determination unit 313 narrows down the list of recommended suppliers by limiting it to only those suppliers whose drawings are linked to similar objects made of SUS304 material.

[0151] Furthermore, the decision-making unit may determine potential suppliers for quotation requests using only one piece of information. The decision-making unit may also further narrow down the candidates for quotation requests determined using only one piece of information by using similar objects. For example, narrowing down suppliers using evaluation information corresponds to limiting the selection to suppliers with a risk level below a certain threshold, and / or to suppliers who possess a certain set of machine tools related to the manufacture of the target object.

[0152] The trained model used in the similar drawing determination algorithm in the embodiment is generally adjusted to extract commonalities in the shape of objects. On the other hand, each manufacturer to whom a quote request is made often has its own area of ​​expertise depending on the material and size. For example, Manufacturer A is good at processing stainless steel, Manufacturer B is good at processing plastics, Manufacturer C is good at large stainless steel products, and Manufacturer D is good at precision processing of small stainless steel products. For this reason, the similar drawing determination algorithm in the embodiment alone may not meet the practical requirements for determining the recommended quote provider. By using the function to narrow down the recommended quote provider in this modified example, it is possible to obtain a recommended quote provider that better reflects practical needs. In other words, according to the information processing device 1 of the second modified example of the embodiment, the accuracy of determining the recommended quote provider can be improved by narrowing down the recommended quote provider using at least one of the following: manufacturing information related to manufacturing such as material and processing, specification information related to the finished product, customer evaluation information, and transaction information.

[0153] As an application example of this modified method, it is also possible to determine a supplier for quotation requests based solely on the commonality of manufacturing information, specification information, and evaluation information, rather than the similarity of objects. For example, instead of the similarity of the target objects, the user requesting the quotation may specify manufacturing information (such as the processing method), specification information (such as material and dimensions), and evaluation information (such as the defect rate), and the determination unit 313 may extract manufacturers that meet the specified conditions from the design database. In this case, the user requesting the quotation can input, for example, a manufacturer with experience processing titanium TB270 and a defect rate of less than a predetermined percentage, on the screen of the user's terminal.

[0154] Furthermore, the decision unit 313 may extract recommended suppliers from the design database using manufacturing information and specification information of the object to be estimated. For example, the decision unit 313 extracts suppliers from the design database as recommended suppliers that have experience handling objects made of the same material as the object to be estimated and that have welding. Alternatively, after extracting suppliers from the design database using manufacturing information and specification information of the object to be estimated, the decision unit 313 may narrow down the list of suppliers to request estimates from using the similarity between the objects of the extracted suppliers and the object to be estimated. In this case, if there is a practical need to exclude manufacturers of objects that have a similar shape but different dimensions or materials from the list of recommended suppliers, it is effective to narrow down the list of recommended suppliers using manufacturing information and specification information of the object to be estimated after narrowing down the suppliers in the embodiment.

[0155] On the other hand, when requesting a quote for an object with a shape that has not been handled before, and no similar object with a similarity of shape exceeding a threshold is found, it is effective to narrow down the list of recommended quote providers using the manufacturing information and specification information of the object to be quoted. Alternatively, it is possible to first extract trading partners with common specification and manufacturing information, and then narrow down the list based on similarity of shape. This modified version allows the information processing device 1 to improve the accuracy of determining recommended quote providers.

[0156] (Third Modification) This modification involves performing various inputs related to the process of determining the recommended quotation provider in a dialogue format. This dialogue format is implemented, for example, through chat. Users requesting quotations can perform various inputs, such as text, in a dialogue format (chat) on the screen of their own terminal, and users receiving quotations can do the same on the screen of their own terminal. For example, a free-text chat screen is envisioned for this input. Here, both the users requesting quotations and the users receiving quotations can write freely, but the content of the communication is limited to matters related to the quotation process.

[0157] The display control unit 315 displays the communication between the requesting party and the recipient of the quotation regarding the quotation request and response in a dialogue format on the requesting party's terminal and the recipient's terminal. For example, the display control unit 315 displays at least one of the following on the requesting party's terminal in a dialogue format with the user: the quantity of the object, the delivery date for the manufacture of the object, the unit price for the manufacture of the object, and the deadline for responding to the quotation for the object, as well as the status of receipt of the quotation response and the content of the quotation response.

[0158] This allows for the unification of communication related to quotation requests and responses, which were previously handled separately via telephone, email, and fax, into a single interactive input format. Therefore, according to the information processing device 1 of the third modified embodiment, various user operations related to the status of quotation requests and responses, as well as the content of the quotation responses, can be reduced, thereby reducing the complexity of the quotation process.

[0159] (Fourth Modification) This modification aims to implement a function for sorting recommended quote suppliers. In this modification, at least one recommended quote supplier determined by the determination unit 313 is one of several recommended quote suppliers. In this case, the information processing device 1 sorts the multiple recommended quote suppliers in a predetermined order and displays them on the terminal of the quote requester. Specifically, the acquisition unit 310 acquires transaction information for each of the multiple items related to the multiple recommended quote suppliers. The acquired transaction information includes the supplier name, supplier ID, product name, product number, quote date, delivery date, lead time, (actual) unit price, quantity, quoted price or quoted unit price, frequency of actual transactions, and actual transaction date. The acquired transaction information may also include the transaction price.

[0160] The display control unit 315 displays multiple recommended quote providers on the terminal of the quote requester, allowing them to be switched between a predetermined display order. The predetermined display order is one or more combinations of factors such as the degree of similarity between the target object and similar objects, the frequency of transactions between the trading partner and the quote requester, the date of the transaction, and the level of the transaction price or quote price. For example, in response to instructions from the quote requester user, the display control unit 315 can manually switch the display of multiple recommended quote providers on the terminal of the quote requester to be in order of the degree of similarity between the target object and similar objects, in order of the frequency of transactions between the trading partner and the quote requester, in order of the date and time of those transactions, and in order of the lowest transaction price or quote price.

[0161] Furthermore, the determination unit 313 may determine the display order of the multiple recommended quote providers based on the degree of similarity between the target object and similar objects, the frequency of such transactions, the date and time of such transactions, and the transaction price or estimated price. In this case, the display control unit 315 displays the multiple recommended quote providers on the terminal of the quote requestor in the specified display order. For example, if the user specifies the display order on the terminal of the quote requestor, the display control unit 315 displays the multiple recommended quote providers on the terminal of the quote requestor in the specified display order. The display order may be set in advance, or the user may specify and switch the display order on the display screen of the recommended quote providers. In addition, both the above-mentioned advance setting and user setting may coexist regarding the setting of the display order. As a result, the information processing device 1 according to the fourth modified example of the embodiment can improve the efficiency of the quote requestor selection work.

[0162] (Fifth Modification) This modification involves displaying a list of multiple recommended quote providers corresponding to multiple target objects for each of the multiple target objects. In other words, this modification involves performing a quote recommendation determination process for each of the multiple target objects, and displaying at least one quote recommendation provider for each of the multiple target objects in a list that can be switched. For example, the acquisition unit 310 acquires first characteristic information for each of the multiple target objects.

[0163] At this point, the identification unit 312 identifies at least one similar object for each of the multiple target objects. Subsequently, the determination unit 313 determines at least one recommended quote provider for each of the multiple target objects. The display control unit 315 displays at least one recommended quote provider and the design data for each of the multiple target objects on the terminal of the quote requester, enabling the display of both the first and second displays.

[0164] The first display is a display format that shows a list of at least one recommended quote provider for each of the multiple target objects. The second display is a display format that shows a list of multiple target objects for each of the at least one recommended quote provider. As a result, the information processing device 1 according to the fifth modified embodiment can improve the efficiency of the quote selection process.

[0165] When the technical concept of the embodiment is realized by an information processing method, the information processing method acquires first characteristic information relating to at least one target object, and in a design database that stores design information including second characteristic information relating to each of a plurality of objects and transaction information relating to business partners, it uses the first and second characteristic information to identify at least one similar object similar to the target object, and for each target object, it determines at least one recommended business partner, which is included in the transaction information associated with at least one similar object, as a candidate for requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object, and displays at least one recommended business partner on the terminal of the person requesting the quote for manufacturing the target object. The processing content and effects of each step of the recommended business partner determination process realized by the information processing method are the same as in the embodiment, so a description is omitted.

[0166] When the technical concept of the embodiment is realized in an information processing program, the information processing program enables the computer to acquire first characteristic information relating to at least one target object, and to use the first and second characteristic information to identify at least one similar object similar to the target object in a design database that stores design information including second characteristic information relating to each of a plurality of objects and transaction information relating to business partners, to determine, for each target object, that the business partners included in the transaction information associated with at least one similar object be recommended as candidates for requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object, and to display at least one recommended quote provider on the terminal of the person requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object.

[0167] In this case, the information processing program that can cause a computer to execute this method can also be stored and distributed on storage media such as magnetic disks (hard disks, etc.), optical disks (CD-ROMs, DVDs, etc.), and semiconductor memory. The processing content and effects of each step of the quotation recommendation process realized by the information processing program are the same as in the embodiment, so a description will be omitted.

[0168] According to at least one embodiment described above, it is possible to quickly and easily determine a recommended supplier for obtaining a quote for the manufacturing of the target part and present that supplier to the user. This makes the quotation process more efficient.

[0169] In other words, according to this embodiment, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the process of selecting a supplier for quotation requests, which was essentially a manual process starting from drawings showing the items to be quoted. For example, according to this embodiment, in the process of selecting a supplier for quotation requests, which requires comprehensive consideration of design information related to the quotation request, past transaction history of potential suppliers, design information of items involved in past transactions, and the risks and capabilities of suppliers, it is possible to display recommended suppliers for quotation requests on the terminal of the source of the quotation request for the target object without the person in charge having to manually compile the information, that is, without manual information compilation by the person in charge.

[0170] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, requests for quotations from suppliers can be made easily and efficiently without requiring individual manual work by the person in charge. Also, according to this embodiment, since quotation responses from suppliers can be aggregated, the person in charge does not need to work on aggregating quotation responses, and the presence or absence of responses and the progress can be easily managed. For these reasons, according to this embodiment, the burden on the person in charge is reduced and quotations can be properly reviewed.

[0171] Based on the above, according to this embodiment, even when the number of items sometimes exceeds several thousand, and there are multiple potential suppliers for each item, the entire quotation process can be effectively supported, thereby streamlining the quotation process and eliminating the inefficiencies of the quotation process.

[0172] Although several embodiments have been described in detail above, the disclosure by embodiments is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various partial omissions, additions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, these embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents. In addition, the order of each process in the embodiments is shown as an example and is not limited to these.

[0173] With respect to the above embodiments, the following additional notes are disclosed as aspects of the invention and selective features. (Addendum 1) An information processing apparatus comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires first feature information relating to at least one target object; an identification unit that identifies at least one similar object similar to the target object using the first feature information and the second feature information in a design database that stores design information including second feature information relating to each of a plurality of objects and transaction information relating to a business partner; a determination unit that, for each of the target objects, determines at least one recommended business partner for quotation requests, which is included in the transaction information associated with the at least one similar object, as a candidate business partner for quotation requests for the manufacture of the target object; and a display control unit that displays the at least one recommended business partner on the terminal of the business that requested a quotation for the manufacture of the target object. (Note 2) The display control unit may display on the terminal of the person requesting the estimate a setting form for setting estimation conditions, which includes at least one of the quantity of the target object, the delivery date of the target object, the unit price of the target object, and the deadline for responding to the estimate for the target object, and a decision form for determining the candidate estimate recipient from at least the recommended estimate recipients. (Note 3) The display control unit may further include a transmission unit that sends notification content regarding the estimation conditions and the design data of the target object to the estimate recipient determined in the decision form. (Note 4) The display control unit may display an estimate response screen for inputting estimate responses on the terminal of the person requesting the estimate, and the acquisition unit may acquire the estimate responses entered on the estimate response screen, and drawings may be aggregated for each estimate recipient on the estimate response screen. (Note 5) The display control unit may display the estimate responses for each of the target objects from the estimate recipients on the terminal of the person requesting the estimate. (Note 6) The display control unit may, for each of the target objects for which an estimate has been requested, display the status of the estimate and the content of the estimate response in a list on the terminal of the person who requested the estimate.(Note 7) The display control unit may display a list on the terminal of the person requesting the quote for each of the target objects, including the status of the quote and the content of the quote response for each of the quote requesting parties. (Note 8) The transaction information includes at least one of the following for each of the multiple objects at the trading partner: the transaction price, the transaction history, and the past quote price. The display control unit may display at least one of the following on the terminal of the person requesting the quote: the transaction price at the at least one of the recommended quote requesting parties, or the past quote price at the at least one recommended quote requesting party, and the transaction history. (Note 9) The display control unit may display the design data of the target object on the terminal of the person requesting the quote using the language and / or units selected by the user of the person requesting the quote. (Note 10) The design information further includes at least one of the following: manufacturing information relating to the manufacture of each of the plurality of objects; specification information relating to the specifications of the finished product for each of the plurality of objects; and evaluation information relating to the risks and capabilities of the trading partner. The decision unit may further narrow down the recommended trading partners for the quotation request using the at least one piece of information, or determine the candidate trading partners for the quotation request using only the at least one piece of information, or further narrow down the candidate trading partners for the quotation request determined using only the at least one piece of information using the similar objects. (Note 11) The decision unit may calculate a recommended limit price for the target object based on the transaction information associated with the similar objects, or calculate a recommended limit price for the related object based on the transaction information associated with related objects that share the specification information relating to the specifications of the finished product for each of the plurality of objects. The display control unit may display the recommended limit price for the target object or the recommended limit price for the related object on the terminal of the quotation requester. (Note 12) The transaction information includes delivery date information, the determination unit calculates a recommended delivery date for the target object based on at least one of the transaction information or the design information, and the display control unit may display the recommended delivery date on the terminal of the quote requester.(Note 13) The design information includes at least one of manufacturing information relating to manufacturing and specification information relating to the specifications of the finished product; the transaction information includes at least one of evaluation information relating to the capabilities or risks of the trading partner and information relating to the financial status of the trading partner; the identification unit determines whether there is any caution information relating to at least one of the quality, price, or delivery date of the target object based on the design information and at least one of the transaction information; if there is any caution information, the display control unit may display the caution information on the terminal of the quote requestor. (Note 14) The display control unit may display the communication between the quote requestor and the quote recipient relating to the quote request and response in a dialogue format on the terminal of the quote requestor and the terminal of the quote recipient. (Note 15) The at least one recommended quote provider is a plurality of recommended quote providers, and the display control unit may display the plurality of recommended quote providers on the terminal of the quote requester in a way that allows switching between displaying them in order of the degree of similarity between the target object and the similar object, in order of the number of successful transactions, in order of the date and time of the successful transactions, and in order of the lowest transaction price or the lowest estimated price. (Note 16) The at least one recommended quote provider is a plurality of recommended quote providers, and the determination unit determines the display order of the plurality of recommended quote providers based on at least the number of successful transactions, the date and time of the successful transactions, the transaction price or the estimated price, or a combination thereof, and the display control unit may display the plurality of recommended quote providers on the terminal of the quote requester in the display order. (Note 17) If the recommended supplier or candidate supplier for the quotation request is not a business partner of the source requesting the quotation, the display control unit may display the recommended supplier or candidate supplier on the source requesting the quotation request's terminal in a different display manner than that of business partners with whom the source requesting the quotation has already done business.(Note 18) When the acquisition unit has acquired the first characteristic information for each of the multiple target objects, the identification unit may identify similar objects for each of the multiple target objects, the determination unit may determine at least one recommended quote provider for each of the multiple target objects, and the display control unit may display the design data for each of the multiple target objects and the at least one recommended quote provider on the terminal of the quote requester, enabling the display of a first display that shows a list of at least one recommended quote provider for each of the multiple target objects, and a second display that shows a list of the multiple target objects for each of the at least one recommended quote provider. (Note 19) An information processing method comprising: acquiring first characteristic information relating to at least one target object; storing design information including second characteristic information relating to each of a plurality of objects and transaction information relating to a business partner; using the first characteristic information and the second characteristic information to identify at least one similar object similar to the target object; determining, for each of the target objects, at least one recommended business partner to recommend as a candidate for requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object, based on the business partner included in the transaction information associated with the at least one similar object; and displaying the at least one recommended business partner on the terminal of the person requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object. (Note 20) An information processing program that enables a computer to acquire first characteristic information relating to at least one target object, store design information including second characteristic information relating to each of a plurality of objects and transaction information relating to business partners, use the first characteristic information and the second characteristic information to identify at least one similar object similar to the target object, determine for each of the target objects that a business partner included in the transaction information associated with the at least one similar object is recommended as a candidate for requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object, and display the at least one recommended quote provider on the terminal of the person requesting a quote for manufacturing the target object.

[0174] 1 Information Processing Device 5 Communication Network 9A External Device 9B External Device 30 Computer 31 Processor 33 Main Memory 35 Auxiliary Memory 37 Network Interface 39 Device Interface 310 Acquisition Unit 312 Identification Unit 313 Determination Unit 314 Storage Unit 315 Display Control Unit 316 Transmission Unit

Claims

1. An information processing device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires first characteristic information relating to at least one target object; an identification unit that identifies at least one similar object similar to the target object using the first characteristic information and the second characteristic information in a design database that stores design information including second characteristic information relating to each of a plurality of objects and transaction information relating to business partners; a determination unit that, for each of the target objects, determines at least one recommended business partner for quotation requests, which is a candidate business partner for requesting a quotation for the manufacture of the target object, based on the business partners included in the transaction information associated with the at least one similar object; and a display control unit that displays the at least one recommended business partner on the terminal of the person requesting a quotation for the manufacture of the target object.

2. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit causes the terminal of the source of the quotation request to display a setting form for setting quotation conditions including at least one of the quantity of the target object, the delivery date of the target object, the unit price of the target object, and the deadline for responding to the quotation for the target object, and a decision form for determining the candidate for the quotation request from at least the recommended quotation request destinations.

3. The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a transmission unit that transmits notification content regarding the quotation conditions and the design data of the target object to the quotation request recipient determined in the decision form, with respect to the notification to the candidate quotation request recipient.

4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display control unit displays a quotation response screen for inputting quotation responses on the terminal of the quotation requesting party, the acquisition unit acquires the quotation responses entered on the quotation response screen, and the quotation response screen aggregates drawings for each quotation requesting party.

5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display control unit causes the quote response for each of the target objects from the quote requesting party to be displayed on the terminal of the quote requesting party.

6. The information processing device according to claim 5, wherein the display control unit displays the status of the estimate and the content of the estimate response in a list on the terminal of the estimate requesting party for each of the target objects for each of the estimate requesting parties.

7. The information processing device according to claim 5, wherein the display control unit displays a list of the status of the estimate and the content of the estimate response for each of the estimate requesting parties on the terminal of the estimate requesting party for each of the target objects.

8. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transaction information includes at least one of the following for each of the plurality of objects at the trading partner: the transaction price, the transaction history, and the past estimated price, and the display control unit causes at least one of the following to be displayed on the terminal of the source of the estimate request: the transaction price at the at least one recommended source for estimate requests or the past estimated price at the at least one recommended source for estimate requests and the transaction history.

9. The information processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the display control unit causes the design data of the target object to be displayed on the terminal of the user requesting the estimate using a language and / or units selected by the user requesting the estimate.

10. The design information further includes at least one of the following: manufacturing information relating to the manufacture of each of the plurality of objects; specification information relating to the specifications of the finished product for each of the plurality of objects; and evaluation information relating to the risks and capabilities of the trading partner, wherein the decision unit further narrows down the recommended suppliers for quotation requests using the at least one piece of information, or determines the candidate suppliers for quotation requests using only the at least one piece of information, or further narrows down the candidate suppliers for quotation requests determined using only the at least one piece of information using the similar objects, the information processing device according to claim 1.

11. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the determination unit calculates a recommended limit price for the target object based on the transaction information associated with the similar object, or calculates a recommended limit price for the related object based on the transaction information associated with the related object having common specification information regarding the specifications of the finished product for each of the plurality of objects, and the display control unit displays the recommended limit price for the target object or the recommended limit price for the related object on the terminal of the quote requester.

12. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transaction information includes delivery date information, the determination unit calculates a recommended delivery date for the target object based on at least one of the transaction information or the design information, and the display control unit causes the recommended delivery date to be displayed on the terminal of the quote requester.

13. The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the design information includes at least one of manufacturing information relating to manufacturing and specification information relating to the specifications of the finished product, the transaction information includes at least one of evaluation information relating to the capabilities or risks of the trading partner and information relating to the financial status of the trading partner, the identification unit determines whether there is any caution information relating to at least one of the quality, price, or delivery date of the target object based on the design information and at least one of the transaction information, and if there is any caution information, the display control unit causes the caution information to be displayed on the terminal of the quote requestor.

14. The information processing apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the display control unit displays the communication between the requesting party and the recipient of the quotation regarding the quotation request and response in a dialogue format on the terminal of the requesting party and the terminal of the recipient of the quotation request.

15. The information processing device according to claim 8, wherein the at least one recommended quote provider is a plurality of recommended quote providers, and the display control unit causes the terminal of the quote requester to display the plurality of recommended quote providers on the terminal of the quote requester in a manner that can be switched to display in any two or more of the following order: in order of the degree of similarity between the target object and the similar object, in order of the number of successful transactions, in order of the date and time of the successful transactions, and in order of the lowest transaction price or the lowest quote price.

16. The information processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the at least one recommended quotation request destination is a plurality of recommended quotation request destinations, the determination unit determines the display order of the plurality of recommended quotation request destinations based on at least the amount of past performance, the date and time of the past performance, and the transaction price or the quoted price, or a combination thereof, and the display control unit causes the plurality of recommended quotation request destinations to be displayed on the terminal of the source of the quotation request in the display order.

17. If the recommended supplier or candidate supplier for the quotation request is not a business partner of the supplier, the display control unit displays the recommended supplier or candidate supplier on the supplier's terminal in a different display manner than that of a business partner with whom the supplier has already done business, as described in claim 1.

18. An information processing method comprising: acquiring first characteristic information relating to at least one target object; storing design information including second characteristic information relating to each of a plurality of objects and transaction information relating to a business partner; using the first characteristic information and the second characteristic information to identify at least one similar object similar to the target object; determining, for each of the target objects, at least one recommended business partner, which is included in the transaction information associated with the at least one similar object, as a candidate business partner for requesting a quote for the manufacture of the target object; and displaying the at least one recommended business partner on the terminal of the person requesting a quote for the manufacture of the target object.

19. An information processing program that enables a computer to acquire first characteristic information relating to at least one target object, store design information including second characteristic information relating to each of a plurality of objects and transaction information relating to business partners, use the first characteristic information and the second characteristic information to identify at least one similar object similar to the target object, determine at least one recommended business partner for each of the target objects, based on the business partners included in the transaction information associated with the at least one similar object, and display the at least one recommended business partner on the terminal of the person requesting the manufacturing quote for the target object.

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