Movable Shop Vehicle Route Control for Expiring Food Sales
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Solution Overview
Problem
Food wastage occurs due to unsold products expiring within traditional shop hours, as demand varies and not all customers can access shops during business hours.
Innovation Solution
An information processing system and method that employs a movable object, such as a vehicle, to operate as a movable shop after business hours, acquiring product information on expiring products and controlling its route based on demand and product ratios to maximize sales and reduce waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If a shop operates within traditional business hours, then operational costs and labor requirements are controlled, but food wastage increases due to unsold products expiring
Solution Approach 1:
The shop transforms from a static fixed-location business into a dynamic movable shop that travels to different locations after business hours. The vehicle moves to areas with high demand for discounted food items, enabling continuous sales operations beyond traditional hours and reducing food wastage while maintaining operational efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The solution adds a temporal dimension to sales operations by extending service into nighttime hours, and a spatial dimension by moving to different locations. This transforms the single-dimension fixed-shop model into a multi-dimensional operation that serves customers who cannot visit during daytime hours
2Loss of substance
If a movable shop operates after business hours to sell expiring food, then food wastage is reduced, but route optimization becomes complex based on product ratios and demand
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit pre-calculates optimal routes based on product information, expiration dates, and predicted demand before the movable shop departs. This preliminary route planning considers the ratios of different food items and adjusts the itinerary to maximize sales probability, reducing the complexity of real-time decision-making during operations
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors sales data, remaining inventory, and expiration dates, using this feedback to dynamically adjust the route and sales strategy. This feedback mechanism enables the control unit to optimize routes based on actual demand patterns and product ratios, managing system complexity through adaptive response
3Productivity
If traditional shops close at business hours, then labor and operational costs are reduced, but customer access to food items is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The movable shop operates with automated control systems that manage route planning, inventory tracking, and sales operations with minimal human intervention. This self-service capability allows the shop to operate autonomously during nighttime hours, maintaining operational efficiency while extending service availability to customers who cannot visit during daytime hours
Solution Approach 2:
The movable shop serves multiple functions: it acts as a mobile retail outlet, a waste reduction initiative, and an extended service channel for the original shop. This multi-functionality allows the system to maintain operational efficiency while significantly improving customer accessibility to discounted food items
Data Source
AI summary
An information processing system includes: a movable object that operates as a movable shop after business hours of a predetermined shop; and a control unit that executes acquiring product information, the product information being information relevant to a plurality of foodstuffs loaded in the movable object, each of the plurality of foodstuffs being a product of the predetermined shop and being discounted due to an expiration date, and controlling a route of the movable object based on the product information. The control unit controls the route of the movable object, based on a ratio of kinds of the plurality of foodstuffs loaded in the movable object, as the product information.