Periodic Delivery Substitution Recommendation System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional techniques do not effectively enhance user satisfaction for periodic product delivery by providing alternatives to scheduled deliveries, limiting customer choice and potential cost savings.
Innovation Solution
An information processing apparatus that acquires and analyzes sales schedules of substitute products to recommend delivery alternatives on possible days, allowing users to choose between identical, equivalent, or preference-matching products, thereby enhancing user satisfaction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the system provides only the originally scheduled product for periodic delivery, then the delivery schedule is simple and reliable, but the user satisfaction and choice are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the product recommendation process by dividing substitutional products into different categories (identical products, equivalent products, and preference-matching products). This segmentation allows the system to manage complexity by handling each category separately while still providing diverse product choices to users.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-acquiring sales schedule information for substitutional products before the user's scheduled delivery date. This allows the system to prepare multiple delivery option recommendations in advance, enabling users to choose from available alternatives without increasing the perceived system complexity during the actual delivery decision process.
2Loss of information
If the system recommends substitutional products with different sales schedules, then user satisfaction improves through choice and potential savings, but the delivery scheduling complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system acquires sales schedule information for substitutional products in advance of the user's delivery date, performing the information gathering operation beforehand. This preliminary action ensures that complete information about available alternatives is ready when the user needs to make a decision, without requiring extensive processing time at the moment of delivery scheduling.
Solution Approach 2:
The system acts as an intermediary by collecting and organizing sales schedule information from multiple sources (different products, time periods, and availability conditions) and presenting it in a unified format to the user. This intermediary function consolidates information that would otherwise require the user to gather separately, reducing their time investment while maintaining information completeness.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system offers multiple substitutional product options, then customer satisfaction increases, but the complexity of determining delivery-possible days increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the analysis of substitutional products by category (identical, equivalent, and preference-matching products) and determines delivery-possible days for each category separately based on their specific sales schedules. This segmentation reduces scheduling complexity by breaking down the overall problem into manageable sub-problems that can be handled independently.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different scheduling approaches to different product categories based on their local characteristics. For identical products, it checks availability on the original delivery date; for equivalent products, it considers alternative dates within a flexible window; for preference-matching products, it optimizes based on user preferences and sales schedules. This localized approach reduces overall scheduling complexity by tailoring the solution to each product type's specific requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A controller of an information processing apparatus executes: acquiring information indicating a sales schedule of a substitutional product of a product that a user has been purchasing by periodic delivery, in a predetermined period including a next delivery-scheduled day of the product; determining a delivery-possible day when the substitutional product can be delivered to the user, based on the information indicating the sales schedule of the substitutional product; and providing the user with recommendation information, which is information including a proposal to deliver, instead of delivering the product on the delivery-scheduled day, the substitutional product on the delivery-possible day.