JP7296263B2 - Product recommendation device, product recommendation method, product recommendation program and proposal device, proposal method, and proposal program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a product recommendation device that recommends products to users, a proposal device that proposes sales strategies to sellers, and methods and programs thereof.

In recent years, various E-commerce businesses have been developed. E-commerce is electronic commerce in which goods and services are bought and sold on the Internet. When a user purchases goods on the Internet, the seller checks the inventory of the purchased goods and checks the inventory. Make arrangements for delivery, etc. so that the product is delivered to the user. Therefore, inventory management becomes important for sellers. Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique capable of realizing inventory management that reflects a company's sales strategy.

JP 2017-182448 A

By the way, with the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, although it is possible to determine the recommended supply source and means of transportation of the product according to the sales strategy, the server that manages the inventory is not provided to the user who actually purchases the product. , did not provide any services other than delivering the goods. In the future, it is conceivable to develop a business in which each product is managed by multiple sellers and delivered when the product is purchased. It is also possible to accept In such a case, this server has general users as customers, and at the same time, the sellers who request the sale of products also become customers. However, in such a case, there is nothing that makes a recommendation to the user that benefits both customers.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is a warehouse management server that can make recommendations that are profitable for both the user who purchases the product and the seller who requests the sale of the product. intended to provide

To solve the above problems, a product recommendation device according to an aspect of the present invention includes a storage unit that stores shelf information including at least the number of remaining products in a warehouse that stores products, and acquires preference information about customer preferences. and a product recommendation unit that recommends products to customers based on the preference information and shelf information acquired by the acquisition unit.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a product recommendation method according to an aspect of the present invention provides a computer having a storage unit that stores shelf information including at least the number of remaining products in a warehouse that stores products. An acquisition step of acquiring information and a product recommendation step of recommending products to customers based on the preference information and shelf information acquired in the acquisition step are executed.

In order to solve the above problems, a product recommendation program according to one aspect of the present invention stores customer preferences in a computer having a storage unit that stores shelf information including at least the number of products remaining in a warehouse that stores products. An acquisition function for acquiring information, and a product recommendation function for recommending products to customers based on the preference information and shelf information acquired by the acquisition function are executed.

In the product recommendation device described above, the product recommendation unit may recommend products whose remaining number indicated by the shelf information is equal to or greater than a predetermined product threshold value and which matches the customer's preference.

In the commodity recommendation device, the shelf information includes sales information indicating the sales of the commodity within a predetermined period, and the commodity recommendation unit determines whether the sales indicated by the sales information is equal to or less than a predetermined second threshold, and the customer's preference. It is also possible to recommend products that match the above.

In the commodity recommendation device, the shelf information includes contract information indicating the storage period contracted by the seller who sells the commodity as the period during which the commodity is to be stored, and the commodity recommendation unit determines the length of time until the storage term indicated in the contract information. A product that is equal to or less than a predetermined third threshold value and matches the customer's preference may be recommended.

In addition, the proposed device according to one aspect stores shelf information including a reception unit that receives a request for product storage and delivery from a seller who sells products, at least the number of remaining products, and a storage period for storing products. and a proposal unit for proposing a sales strategy for the product to the seller based on the shelf information.

Further, in the proposed method according to one aspect, a computer provided with a storage unit storing shelf information including at least the number of remaining products and a storage period for storing products stores and delivers products from a seller who sells products. and a proposal step of proposing a sales strategy for the product to the seller based on the shelf information.

Further, the proposal program according to one aspect stores and delivers products from a seller who sells products to a computer having a storage unit that stores shelf information including at least the number of remaining products and a storage period for storing products. and a proposal function of proposing a sales strategy for merchandise to the seller based on the shelf information.

In the proposal device, the proposal unit proposes a sales strategy when the remaining number of products is equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold and the time until the storage deadline indicated by the storage period is equal to or less than a predetermined second threshold. It is also possible to

In the proposal device, the proposal unit may propose a sales strategy when it is estimated that a predetermined number of products will remain unsold by the storage period indicated by the storage period, based on the sales of the products during the predetermined period.

In the proposal device, the proposal unit may propose a price reduction of the product as a sales strategy.

In the proposal device, the proposal unit may propose to advertise the product as a sales strategy.

In the above proposal device, the proposal unit may propose extension of the storage period when it is estimated that a predetermined number of products will remain unsold by the storage period indicated by the storage period based on the sales of the product during the predetermined period.

A product recommendation device according to an aspect of the present invention can recommend products to a user based on shelf information in a warehouse. Since this recommendation is also made based on the user's preferences, the product recommendation device can make recommendations that benefit both the seller who sells the product and the user.

It is a figure which shows the system configuration example of a delivery system. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of a warehouse management server. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a user terminal; FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a seller's terminal; It is a data conceptual diagram which shows the structural example of shelf information. It is a data conceptual diagram which shows the structural example of user information. 10 is a flow chart showing an example of product recommendation processing by a user of the warehouse management server; FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a process of proposing a sales strategy to a seller of the warehouse management server; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example of operation of a user terminal; 4 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of a seller terminal;

<Embodiment>
One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Overview>

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing a configuration example of a delivery system 1 according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the delivery system 1, a seller who sells a product uses his/her own seller terminal 300 to a warehouse management server 100 corresponding to a warehouse 101 to manage and sell the product. Request delivery to a customer. That is, the seller terminal 300 transmits to the warehouse management server 100 a product management request 104 including information such as product management, which product to manage, its quantity, management period, and the like. In response to this, the warehouse management server 100 manages the merchandise with appropriate compensation. The warehouse management server 100 may receive requests from a plurality of different sellers, or may receive requests from a fixed seller. In addition, although FIG. 1 shows a mode in which the warehouse management server 100 manages only the warehouse 101, this is not limited to this, and the warehouse management server 100 may manage a plurality of warehouses. Conversely, a plurality of warehouse management servers may manage one warehouse by dividing the warehouse.

On the other hand, the user 10, who is a customer who purchases general merchandise, uses his/her own user terminal 200 to access, for example, a website for selling merchandise managed by the warehouse management server 100, and purchases merchandise that he/she likes. If the product is available, purchase the product. That is, the user terminal 200 transmits a product purchase request to the warehouse management server 100 . In response to this, the warehouse management server 100 arranges for the delivery of the specified product to the user 10 of the user terminal 200, and delivers the product.

In such a delivery system 1, the warehouse management server 100 has a function of recommending to the user 10 products that match the tastes of the user 10 among products managed by the warehouse management server 100 itself. That is, the warehouse management server 100 transmits to the user terminal 200 product recommendation information 102 indicating recommended products that the user 10 has never purchased before and that the user 10 is likely to like. do. Note that the warehouse management server 100 may transmit product recommendation information 102 indicating recommended products including products that the user has purchased in the past. This recommendation matches the preference of the user 10 and is made using the shelf information indicating the merchandise management status of the warehouse management server 100 . That is, the warehouse management server 100 can recommend products that are profitable for both the user 10 and the seller who sells the products. That is, the warehouse management server 100 functions as a product recommendation device that recommends recommended products to the user.

Furthermore, the warehouse management server 100 uses the shelf information to transmit the sales strategy information 103 to the seller terminal 300 as well. Sales strategy information refers to proposals to sellers such as price reductions and management periods for products that do not sell well, increased production of products that sell well, estimated storage periods, estimated amounts, promotional amounts, effects and types, etc. information. The estimated storage period is the estimated period during which the product requested to be sold will be stored. The estimated amount of the warehouse usage fee that will be paid, the promotion amount is the amount estimated to be necessary for promoting the product to be sold, and the effect is information that indicates the expected effect if the corresponding promotion is carried out. , and the type means information indicating what options are available for the promotion. In this case, the warehouse management server 100 functions as a proposal device that proposes sales strategies to sellers.

Each device related to the delivery system 1 will be described in detail below. The number of user terminals 200 and the number of seller terminals 300 shown in FIG. 1 are not limited to one.

<Configuration>
<Configuration example of warehouse management server 100>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the warehouse management server 100. As shown in FIG. The warehouse management server 100 is a computer system having a function of managing products and customer information stored in the warehouse 101 . Here, there are two types of customers of the warehouse management server 100: sellers who sell products and general users who purchase the products. That is, the warehouse management server 100 performs general merchandise management and merchandise delivery, as well as making recommendations to general users and sellers.

As shown in FIG. 2, the warehouse management server 100 includes a receiving section 110, a storage section 120, a control section 130, and a transmitting section 140.

The receiving unit 110 has a function of receiving a message addressed to the warehouse management server 100 and transmitting it to the control unit 130 . The receiving unit 110 receives signals transmitted from the user terminal 200 and the seller terminal 300 via the network 400 and transmits the signals to the control unit 130 . On the other hand, the transmission unit 140 has a function of transmitting data designated by the control unit 130 to a designated destination. The transmission unit 140 transmits data specified by the control unit 130 to the user terminal 200 and the seller terminal 300 via the network 400 . The transmission unit 140 transmits, to the user terminal 200, website information provided by the warehouse management server 100 and product recommendation information indicating information on products recommended to the user. The transmitting unit 140 also transmits to the seller terminal 300 sales strategy information proposing a sales strategy for the merchandise of the seller managed by the warehouse management server 100 . The receiving unit 110 and the transmitting unit 140 are communication interfaces for communicating with an external device, and the receiving unit 110 and the transmitting unit 140 may be collectively called a communication unit.

Note that the network 400 is a network for interconnecting various devices, and is, for example, a wireless network or a wired network. Specifically, the network includes wireless LAN (WLAN), wide area network (WAN), ISDNs (integrated service digital networks), wireless LANs, LTE (long term evolution), LTE-Advanced, Fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), CDMA (code division multiple access), WCDMA (registered trademark), Ethernet (registered trademark), and the like. In addition, the network is not limited to these examples, for example, public switched telephone network (PSTN), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Bluetooth Low Energy, optical line, ADSL ( Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) line, satellite communication network, or any other network. A network is sometimes referred to as a home network if it is provided at the user's residence. Also, the network may be, for example, NB-IoT (Narrow Band IoT) or eMTC (enhanced Machine Type Communication). NB-IoT and eMTC are wireless communication schemes for IoT, and are networks capable of long-distance communication at low cost and low power consumption. Also, the network may be a combination of these. A network may also include multiple different networks that combine these examples. For example, the network may include a wireless network based on LTE and a wired network such as an intranet, which is a closed network.

The storage unit 120 has a function of storing programs and data that the warehouse management server 100 requires for its operation. The storage unit 120 can be realized by various recording media such as HDD (Hard Disc Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), flash memory, etc., but is not limited to these. The programs stored in the storage unit 120 include a program for recommending products to the user based on the inventory status of products managed by the warehouse management server 100 and user preferences, and a program managed by the warehouse management server 100. The program may include a program for proposing a product sales strategy to the seller based on the product inventory status. The functions that the warehouse management server 100 should perform are realized by the controller 130 executing these programs. The storage unit 120 also stores shelf information 121 and user information 122 . Details of the shelf information 121 and the user information 122 will be described later.

The control unit 130 is a processor having a function of controlling each unit of the warehouse management server 100 . The control unit 130 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 120 and uses data stored in the storage unit 120 to realize various functions of the warehouse management server 100 .

The control unit 130 includes an acquisition unit 131, a product recommendation unit 132, and a proposal unit 133 as functions to be performed by the control unit 130. FIG. Also, the control unit 130 may include a sales unit 134 and a learning unit 135 .

The acquisition unit 131 acquires preference information of users who use websites managed by the warehouse management server 100 . Acquisition unit 131 acquires preference information indicating the user's preference (taste) from the user information stored in storage unit 120 , and transmits the information to product recommendation unit 132 . Here, the acquisition unit 131 acquires the user's preference information from the storage unit 120, but this may be acquired from information on the user on the network. or from a blog or the like.

The product recommendation unit 132 has a function of recommending recommended products among the products managed by the warehouse management server 100 to the user 10 of the user terminal 200 . The product recommendation unit 132 uses the shelf information 121 and the user information 122 to identify products to recommend to the user 10 . Specifically, the product recommendation unit 132 refers to the shelf information 121 and determines whether there is any product that satisfies a predetermined condition.

Here, the predetermined condition may be, for example, that the number of remaining products exceeds a predetermined threshold. The condition may be that a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the If the remaining number exceeds a predetermined threshold, it means that the product remains unsold. Further, when a predetermined period of time has passed since the contract with the seller and the number of remaining items exceeds a predetermined amount, it means that sales of the product are poor. Such products are not preferable for the warehouse management server 100 because they occupy the space for placing the products for a long period of time. Therefore, the product recommendation unit 132 searches for and picks up such products. Next, the product recommendation unit 132 determines whether or not there is any product that matches the preferences of the user 10 of the user terminal 200 among such products that sell poorly. That is, the product recommendation unit 132 refers to the user's preference information acquired by the acquisition unit 131 and determines whether or not there is a product matching the preference indicated by the preference information. Even if a product does not sell well, if it matches the preference of the user 10, it is highly likely that the product will be purchased. .

Also, the predetermined condition may be that sales of the product are poor during a predetermined period. Here, the sales of a product in a predetermined period may be, for example, the number of items sold during the predetermined period, or a value obtained by dividing the number of items sold during the predetermined period by the length of the predetermined period. may The poor sales of a product during a predetermined period are, for example, because the number of items sold during the predetermined period is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, or the number of items sold during the predetermined period is The value obtained by dividing by the length of the period is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. Here, the predetermined period may be an arbitrary period, and may be determined by the seller of the seller terminal 300 at the time of contract, or may be automatically determined by the warehouse management server 100. Also, the predetermined period may be determined individually for each product, and may differ depending on the type of product. The predetermined period may be, for example, X months (predetermined period from the present to the past) retroactively from when the product recommendation unit 132 recommends the product, or may be the period (number of days) from the contract date to the present. . Then, the product recommendation unit 132 recommends to the user 10 such products that do not sell well and match the preference indicated by the preference information of the user 10 transmitted from the acquisition unit 131. ,Identify.

Also, the predetermined condition may be for recommending popular products. Here, as a predetermined condition, a popular product may be, for example, a product whose remaining number of products is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value, or a product whose sales during a predetermined period is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold value. , among such products, a product that matches the user's taste may be recommended to the user 10 .

In this way, the product recommendation unit 132 extracts products that satisfy a predetermined condition from among the products indicated by the shelf information 121, and recommends products that match the user's preferences to the user. To make recommendations that benefit both the user and the seller.

The proposal unit 133 has a function of proposing a sales strategy for a product for which the warehouse management server 100 is requested to sell and deliver to the seller (operator) of the seller terminal 300 . The proposal unit 133 uses the shelf information 121 stored in the storage unit 120 to generate sales strategy information indicating a sales strategy for each product corresponding to the seller terminal 300, and transmits the sales strategy information via the transmission unit 140. to the user terminal 300.

Specifically, the proposing unit 133 identifies products whose remaining number is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold among products requested to be sold by the seller indicated by the shelf information 121 . If the number of remaining items is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it indicates that sales of the product are poor, which is not favorable for the seller, and can be said to be a situation in which it is necessary to implement some kind of sales strategy. At this time, the proposal unit 133 may identify products whose remaining number is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold and whose contract expiration date for which the seller is requesting management of the product is equal to or less than a predetermined number of days. If such a product can be extracted, the proposal unit 133 proposes a sales strategy that will improve sales of the product. For example, the proposal unit 133 generates sales strategy information such as the number of advertisements for the product or a price reduction for the product, and sends the generated sales strategy information to the seller terminal 300 via the transmission unit 140. Send.

In addition, the proposal unit 133 identifies products whose sales are equal to or less than a predetermined threshold among the products requested to be sold by the seller indicated by the shelf information 121 . Here, the sales of products can be calculated, for example, by dividing the number of products sold (purchased by users) during a predetermined period by the predetermined period. If this value is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, it means that sales of the product are poor (the number of products sold per unit time is low). At this time, the proposal unit 133 may identify a product whose sales are equal to or less than a predetermined threshold and whose contract expiration date for which the seller is requesting management of the product is equal to or less than a predetermined number of days. If such a product can be extracted, the proposal unit 133 proposes a sales strategy that will improve sales of the product. For example, the proposal unit 133 generates sales strategy information such as the number of advertisements for the product or a price reduction for the product, and sends the generated sales strategy information to the seller terminal 300 via the transmission unit 140. Send.

In addition, the proposal unit 133 determines whether a predetermined number (including 0) or more of unsold items will be left unsold at the expiration of the contract period based on the number of sales in the predetermined period indicated by the shelf information 121, as a predetermined condition. may be generated. That is, the proposal unit 133 calculates the number of sales per unit time from the number of sales in a predetermined period, and divides the time until the expiration of the contract period by the unit time. identify. Then, by subtracting that number from the remaining number, the number of products that may remain unsold is specified. Then, it can be determined whether or not the product is left unsold as determined by the seller based on whether or not the number of products is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value.

In addition, the proposal unit 133 may, conversely, propose the replenishment of products that sell well as a sales strategy. That is, the proposal unit 133 proposes a sales strategy of suggesting replenishment of products for which the remaining number of products indicated by the shelf information 121 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, or for products whose sales during a predetermined period are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. may be created. If the remaining number of products is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, it can be understood that the products are selling well. In addition, the number of products sold in a predetermined period (for example, one month from the present to the past, or the period from the time the contract was signed to the present) is divided by the predetermined period. values may be used.

The sales unit 134 receives an order request from the user terminal 200 from the receiving unit 110 and arranges delivery of the product indicated in the order request to a location designated by the user of the user terminal 200 .

The learning unit 135 learns the preferences of the user 10 from the products purchased by the user 10 of the user terminal 200 . Then, the learned contents are reflected in the user information 122 . The learning unit 135 may learn the user's preferences using a conventional learning algorithm. For example, the learning unit 135 learns the preferences of the user 10 using metadata attached to purchased products.

The above is the description of the configuration of the warehouse management server 100 .

<Configuration example of user terminal 200>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the user terminal 200. As shown in FIG. The user terminal 200 may be an information processing device having a communication function and a web browsing function, and can be realized by, for example, a PC, a notebook PC, a tablet terminal, a mobile phone, a smartphone, etc., but is not limited to these. do not have. As shown in FIG. 3 , the user terminal 200 includes a receiver 210 , a memory 220 , a controller 230 , a transmitter 240 , an input unit 250 , a display 260 and an audio output unit 270 .

The receiving unit 210 and the transmitting unit 240 are communication interfaces for executing communication with an external device. The receiving unit 210 has a function of receiving a signal addressed to the user terminal 200 and transmitting it to the control unit 230 . The receiving unit 210 receives, from the warehouse management server 100, information on websites operated by the warehouse management server 100 and product recommendation information for recommending products. On the other hand, the transmission unit 240 has a function of transmitting data specified by the control unit 230 to a specified destination. The transmission unit 240 transmits, for example, a purchase request for the product selected by the user to the warehouse management server 100 .

The storage unit 220 has a function of storing programs and data that the user terminal 200 requires for operation. The storage unit 220 can be realized by various recording media such as HDD (Hard Disc Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), flash memory, etc., but is not limited to these.

The control unit 230 is a processor having a function of controlling each unit of the user terminal 200 . The control unit 230 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 220 and uses data stored in the storage unit 220 to realize various functions of the user terminal 200 .

The ordering unit 231 has a function of placing an order for the purchase of a product managed by the warehouse management server 100 to the warehouse management server 100 in accordance with an input from the user.

The input unit 250 has a function of receiving an input from the user and transmitting it to the control unit 230 . The input unit 250 may be realized in any way as long as it can accept input from the user, for example, it may be realized by a touch panel, hardware keys, a microphone (voice input), etc., but is not limited to these. do not have.

Display unit 260 is a monitor having a function of displaying a designated image according to an instruction from control unit 230 . The display unit 260 displays, for example, website information managed by the warehouse management server 100 and product recommendation information transmitted from the warehouse management server 100 .

Audio output unit 270 has a function of outputting audio specified by control unit 230 . The audio output unit 270 is implemented by, for example, a speaker. The audio output unit 270 outputs audio regarding the product indicated by the product recommendation information according to an instruction from the control unit 230, for example.

The above is the configuration of the user terminal 200 .

<Configuration example of seller terminal 300>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the seller terminal 300. As shown in FIG. The seller terminal 300 may be any information processing device having a communication function and a web browsing function. isn't it. As shown in FIG. 4, the seller terminal 300 includes a receiver 310, a memory 320, a controller 330, a transmitter 340, an input unit 350, a display 360, and an audio output unit 370. .

The receiving unit 310 and the transmitting unit 340 are communication interfaces for executing communication with an external device. Receiving section 310 has a function of receiving a signal addressed to seller terminal 300 and transmitting it to control section 330 . The receiving unit 310 receives from the warehouse management server 100 sales strategy information regarding sales strategies for products managed by the warehouse management server 100 . The receiving unit 310 may also receive information such as product inventory status, information indicating that the product has been purchased, and the like from the warehouse management server 100 . On the other hand, the transmission unit 340 has a function of transmitting data specified by the control unit 330 to a specified destination.

The storage unit 320 has a function of storing programs and data that the seller terminal 300 requires for its operation. The storage unit 320 can be realized by various recording media such as a HDD (Hard Disc Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), flash memory, etc., but is not limited to these.

Control unit 330 is a processor having a function of controlling each unit of seller terminal 300 . The control unit 330 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 320 and uses data stored in the storage unit 320 to realize various functions of the seller terminal 300 . The control unit 330 includes a request unit 331 as one of the functions performed by the control unit 330 .

The request unit 331, in accordance with the input from the operator of the seller terminal 300, processes the product sold by the seller associated with the seller terminal 300, which is sold to the warehouse management server 100 and delivered to the user when purchased. to the warehouse management server 100 for requesting the processing of . A contract is concluded with the transmission of a merchandise sales request to the warehouse management server 100 and approval by the warehouse management server 100, and after the contract is concluded, the seller's merchandise is stored in the warehouse management server 100 and managed.

The input unit 350 has a function of receiving input from the operator and transmitting it to the control unit 330 . The input unit 350 may be realized in any way as long as it can accept input from the operator, for example, it may be realized by a touch panel, hardware keys, a microphone (voice input), etc., but is not limited to these. do not have.

Display unit 360 is a monitor having a function of displaying a designated image according to an instruction from control unit 330 . The display unit 360 displays, for example, website information managed by the warehouse management server 100 and product recommendation information transmitted from the warehouse management server 100 .

Audio output unit 370 has a function of outputting audio specified by control unit 330 . The audio output unit 370 is implemented by, for example, a speaker. The audio output unit 370 outputs audio regarding the sales strategy indicated by the sales strategy information, for example, according to an instruction from the control unit 330 .

The above is the configuration of the seller terminal 300 .

<Data>
FIG. 5 is a conceptual data diagram showing a configuration example of the shelf information 121. As shown in FIG. The shelf information 121 is information about products stored in the warehouse 101, and is a database in which information of sellers who have requested the warehouse to manage and information on the number of remaining products for each product are registered.

As shown in FIG. 5, the shelf information 121 includes a shelf ID 501, a contract date 502, a contract period 503, a contractor 504, a product ID 505, a remaining quantity 506, a sales history 507, and product attribute information 508. is information associated with, but is not limited to this, and other information related to other products may be associated.

The shelf ID 501 is identification information that allows the warehouse management server 100 to uniquely identify an area (shelf) where products are stored in the warehouse management server 100 .

The contract date 502 is information indicating the date on which a consignment contract for sales and delivery of the corresponding product was concluded with the seller who sells the product.

The contract period 503 is information indicating the deadline for selling and delivering the corresponding product, and is information indicating the period from the corresponding contract date 502 until when the sale and delivery are to be performed.

Contractor 504 is identification information that can uniquely identify the seller who has requested the sale and delivery of the corresponding product.

The product ID 505 is identification information that allows the warehouse management server 100 to uniquely identify the corresponding product.

The remaining number 506 is information indicating how many corresponding products are managed by the warehouse management server 100 . The remaining number 506 is initially set by information indicating the total number of sales requested from the seller terminal 300, and each time the warehouse management server 100 sells the corresponding product, the remaining number is reduced by the number of sales. Updated by subtracting.

The sales history 507 is information indicating the date and number of products sold by the warehouse management server 100 to the user. Sales history 507 is updated by sales unit 134 of control unit 130 each time a corresponding product is purchased.

The remaining number 506 and the sales history 507 are referred to when the product recommendation unit 132 recommends a recommended product to the user and when the proposal unit 133 proposes a product sales strategy to the seller.

The product attribute information 508 is information indicating attributes of the corresponding product, that is, characteristics. The product attribute information 508 may be set by the contractor 504 corresponding to the product. The product attribute information 508 may include, for example, information such as what type of product it is, what shape it has, and what kind of user purchased it. The product attribute information 508 is referred to when the product recommendation unit 132 determines whether or not the product matches the user's preference.

Note that one shelf of the warehouse management server 100 may store a plurality of different types of products. Also, one shelf of the warehouse management server 100 may store products of a plurality of different contractors.

FIG. 6 is a data conceptual diagram showing a configuration example of the user information 122. As shown in FIG. The user information 122 is information indicating attributes of users who use the website managed by the warehouse management server 100 (a sales site that sells products requested by sellers). As shown in FIG. 6, user information 122 is information in which user ID 601, name 602, address 603, sex 604, age 605, purchase history 606, and preference information 607 are associated with each other.

The user ID 601 is identification information that can uniquely identify a user who uses the sales site managed by the warehouse management server 100 .

A name 602 is information on the name of the user indicated by the corresponding user ID.

The address 603 is information on the user's address indicated by the corresponding user ID, and is basically information that serves as the delivery destination for the product purchased by the user.

Gender 604 is information on the gender of the user indicated by the corresponding user ID.

Age 605 is information on the age of the user indicated by the corresponding user ID.

The purchase history 606 is information indicating products that the user indicated by the corresponding user ID has purchased in the past among products managed by the warehouse management server 100 .

The preference information 607 is information indicating the preference of the user indicated by the corresponding user ID, and may include information such as what kind of product the user is interested in, what kind of thing, color, and scent he likes.

The address 603, gender 604, age 605, purchase history 606, and preference information 607 are referred to by the product recommendation unit 132 when recommending products to the user. Also, the purchase history 606 may be referred to by the learning unit 135 when generating the preference information 607 .

Each piece of information shown in the user information 122 is information that is input by the user of the user terminal 200 when performing user registration using the website of the warehouse management server 100. With the user information 122, the warehouse management server 100 can recommend products that meet the user's tastes.

<Action>
From here, the operation of the warehouse management server 100 will be described. It should be noted that the product sales business and product delivery business of the warehouse management server 100 are the same as the conventional processing, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the operation of product recommendation processing for recommending products to the user 10 of the user terminal 200 by the warehouse management server 100 .

As shown in FIG. 7, the receiving unit 110 of the warehouse management server 100 receives access from the user terminal 200 (step S701). That is, the user 10 uses the user terminal 200 to access the sales site provided by the sales section 134 of the control section 130 . Upon receiving an access request to the sales site from the user terminal, the reception unit 110 transmits the request to the control unit 130 . Sales unit 134 of control unit 130 transmits the sales site information to user terminal 200 via transmission unit 140 .

On the other hand, the acquisition unit 131 of the warehouse management server 100 identifies the user of the accessing user terminal 200 and acquires the user information 122 of the corresponding user (step S702). The acquisition unit 131 transmits the acquired user information 122 to the product recommendation unit 132 . For example, the acquisition unit 131 acquires the corresponding user information 122 from the user ID input when the user terminal 200 accesses the warehouse management server 100 . Also, the product recommendation unit 132 of the warehouse management server 100 acquires the shelf information 121 from the storage unit 120 (step S703). Note that the processing order of steps S702 and S703 may be changed.

The product recommendation unit 132 determines whether there is any product that satisfies a predetermined condition in the acquired shelf information 121 (step S704). As described above, the predetermined condition is, for example, whether or not there is a product that sells poorly, or conversely, a condition for extracting a product that sells well. is determined based on whether or not there is a product with a value equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. If the shelf information 121 includes products that meet the prescribed conditions (YES in step S704), it is determined whether or not there are products that meet the user's tastes among the products that meet the prescribed conditions. (Step S705). Whether or not a product that satisfies a predetermined condition matches the user's preference can be determined by using the product attribute information 508 of the product and the gender 604, age 605, and preference information 607 of the user information 122. It is determined whether or not it matches the user's taste.

If there is a product that satisfies a predetermined condition among the products indicated by the shelf information 121 and there is a product that matches the user's preference (YES in step S705), the product recommendation unit 132 selects the extracted product. is recommended to the accessing user (step S706). That is, the product recommendation unit 132 regards the product extracted (identified) in step S705 as a product recommended for the user to purchase, and transmits the product recommendation information indicating the product to the user terminal 200 for processing. exit.

Note that if the shelf information 121 does not contain any product that satisfies the predetermined condition (NO in step S704), or if there is a product that meets the predetermined condition but there is no product that matches the user's preference (step S705). NO), the warehouse management server 100 terminates the process.

With the above processing, the warehouse management server 100 can recommend to the user 10 of the user terminal 200 the product that the user likes and the product that the seller wants to sell.

Note that while the user is viewing the website of the warehouse management server 100, the product is recommended here, but this is not limited to this, and may be performed at any timing. The product recommendation unit 132 may recommend products on a regular basis (for example, once a week). You can send it.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the operation of the warehouse management server 100 proposing to the seller of the seller terminal 300 a sales strategy for the product for which sales and delivery are requested.

As shown in FIG. 8, the proposal unit 133 of the warehouse management server 100 acquires the shelf information 121 from the storage unit 120 (step S801).

The proposal unit 133 determines whether each product indicated by the acquired shelf information 121 satisfies a predetermined condition (step S802). Here, the predetermined condition is as described above. For example, the proposal unit 133 determines whether there is a product whose remaining number is equal to or greater than the predetermined number and whose remaining number is equal to or less than the predetermined number of days until the deadline indicated by the contract period. Identify.

If there is a product that satisfies a predetermined condition (YES in step S802), the proposal unit 133 generates sales strategy information about the product and recommends it to the seller of the seller terminal 300. FIG. That is, when there is a product that sells poorly, that is, when there is a product whose remaining number is equal to or greater than a predetermined number, and there is a product whose contract period expires for a predetermined period, the proposal unit 133 increases the number of purchases of that product. Then, it generates sales strategy information proposing an increase in advertisements for the product and sales strategy information proposing a price reduction for the product. The proposal unit 133 then transmits the generated sales strategy information to the seller terminal 300 via the transmission unit 140 .

If there is no product that satisfies the predetermined condition in the shelf information 121 (NO in step S802), the process ends.

The warehouse management server 100 may execute the process shown in FIG. 8 at any time, for example, once every day or once a week. Alternatively, the process of step S802 may be executed one by one, and a recommendation may be made to the seller when a product that satisfies the conditions is found.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the operation of the user terminal 200. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the user 10 uses the user terminal 200 to access the website (sales site) provided by the warehouse management server 100 (step S901). That is, the transmitting unit 140 transmits a website access request to the warehouse management server 100, and the receiving unit 110 receives website information transmitted from the warehouse management server 100 in response to the access request. The receiver 110 transmits the received website information to the controller 230 .

Control unit 230 causes display unit 260 to display the transmitted website information (step S902).

The control unit 230 determines whether or not product recommendation information has been received from the warehouse management server 100 (step S903). If not received (NO in step S903), the process proceeds to step S905. If product recommendation information has been received (YES in step S903), control unit 230 causes display unit 260 to display the received product recommendation information. As a result, it is possible to receive a purchase recommendation for a product that matches the preference of the user 10 of the user terminal 200 and is managed in large numbers in the warehouse management server 100 . At this time, the display unit 260 may display the product recommendation information in any form, may display an advertisement for the product indicated by the product recommendation information in an advertisement space on the website, or may display an advertisement for the product indicated by the product recommendation information. The product recommendation information may be displayed by a pop-up on the browser of the site. It should be noted that the display mode of the product recommendation information given here is an example, and the present invention is not limited to these.

Control unit 230 determines whether or not an input to end web browsing has been received from the user through input unit 250 (step S905). If not (NO in step S903), the process returns to step S902 and the user continues browsing. If an input to end web browsing has been received (YES in step S903), the process ends.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the operation of seller terminal 300 . The seller terminal 300 determines whether or not it has received a product management request to the warehouse management server 100 from the seller via the input unit 350, that is, an input regarding consignment of sales and delivery (step S1001). If not accepted (NO in step S1001), the process proceeds to step S1003. If it has been accepted (YES in step S1001), the request unit 331 transmits product sales request information to the warehouse management server 100 via the transmission unit 340 according to the received input content (step S1002). When this request is accepted by the warehouse management server 100, the merchandise is sold and delivered by the warehouse management server 100. FIG.

The receiving unit 310 determines whether or not sales strategy information has been received from the warehouse management server 100 (step S1003). If sales strategy information has not been received (NO in step S1003), the process proceeds to step S1005. If sales strategy information has been received (YES in step S<b>1003 ), reception unit 310 transmits the received sales strategy information to control unit 330 . Then, the control unit 330 causes the display unit 360 to display the transmitted sales strategy information. As a result, the seller can recognize that there is a product that sells poorly, and receive suggestions for improving the sales of the product.

The control unit 330 determines whether or not an end input (for example, shutdown or power off) has been received via the input unit 350 (step S1005). If not accepted (NO in step S1005), the process returns to step S1001, and if accepted (YES in step S1005), the process ends. In this way, the seller terminal 300 can display the sales strategy information proposed by the warehouse management server 100, allowing the seller to recognize the sales strategy for the product.

The above is the operation of each device related to the delivery system 1 .

<Summary>
The warehouse management server 100 can identify low-selling commodities by using the shelf information 121, which is the inventory status managed by itself. On the other hand, even among such low-selling products, there are products that match the user's taste and may be purchased. The warehouse management server 100 according to the present embodiment identifies such products for each user and presents them as product recommendation information, thereby recommending products that the user likes and unsold sellers. By proposing the purchase of the product, it is possible to make a recommendation that is beneficial to the seller.

Furthermore, the warehouse management server 100 can generate sales strategy information for products for which sales and delivery of the products are requested, and present it to the seller. The seller basically does not have to do anything after requesting the sale to the warehouse management server 100 once, but he or she cannot notice even if the sale of the product is poor. The warehouse management server 100 transmits sales strategy information about such slow-selling products to the seller terminal 300, so that the seller can recognize the slow-selling products and make suggestions about how to handle the slow-selling products. Can receive. Conversely, by receiving the addition of products as sales strategy information for products that sell well, it is possible to avoid missing the selling time of the products.

<Supplement>
It goes without saying that the devices according to the above embodiments are not limited to the above embodiments, and may be realized by other methods.

(1) The program of each embodiment of the present disclosure may be provided in a state stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium can store the program in a "non-temporary tangible medium". Storage media may include any suitable storage media such as HDDs, SSDs, etc., or a suitable combination of two or more thereof. Storage media may be volatile, non-volatile, or a combination of volatile and non-volatile. Note that the storage medium is not limited to these examples, and may be any device or medium as long as it can store the program.

Note that the warehouse management server 100 can realize the functions of the plurality of functional units shown in each embodiment by, for example, reading a program stored in a storage medium and executing the read program. Also, the program may be provided to the warehouse management server 100 via any transmission medium (communication network, broadcast wave, etc.). The warehouse management server 100 implements the functions of the functional units shown in each embodiment, for example, by executing a program downloaded via the Internet or the like.

The program can be implemented using, for example, script languages such as ActionScript and Javascript (registered trademark), object-oriented programming languages such as Objective-C and Java (registered trademark), markup languages such as HTML5, and the like.

At least part of the processing in the warehouse management server 100 may be implemented by cloud computing configured by one or more computers. Further, each functional unit of the warehouse management server 100 may be implemented by one or more circuits that implement the functions shown in the above embodiments, and one circuit implements the functions of multiple functional units. good too.

(2) Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described based on drawings and examples, it should be noted that a person skilled in the art can easily make various modifications and modifications based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these variations and modifications are included within the scope of this disclosure. For example, the functions included in each means, each step, etc. can be rearranged so as not to be logically inconsistent, and it is possible to combine a plurality of means, steps, etc. into one or divide them. . Moreover, it is good also as combining suitably the structure shown in each embodiment.

1 delivery system 100 warehouse management server 110 reception unit 120 storage unit 130 control unit 131 acquisition unit 132 product recommendation unit 133 proposal unit 134 sales unit 135 learning unit 140 transmission unit 200 user terminal 210 reception unit 220 storage unit 230 control unit 231 order unit 240 transmission unit 250 input unit 260 display unit 270 audio output unit 300 seller terminal 310 reception unit 320 storage unit 330 control unit 331 request unit 340 transmission unit 350 input unit 360 display unit 370 audio output unit

Claims (7)

a reception unit that receives requests for storage and delivery of products from sellers who sell products;
a storage unit that stores shelf information including at least the number of remaining products and a storage period for storing the products;
a proposal unit that proposes a sales strategy related to the product to the seller based on the shelf information;
The proposal unit calculates the number of sales per unit time based on the sales of the product in a predetermined period, and divides the time until the storage deadline indicated by the storage period by the unit time, and calculates the number of sales of the product. a proposal device that proposes the sales strategy when it is estimated that a predetermined number of the products remain unsold based on whether or not the number obtained by subtracting from the remaining number of the products is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. The proposal unit proposes the sales strategy when the remaining number of the products is equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold and the time until the storage deadline indicated by the storage period is equal to or less than a predetermined second threshold. The proposed device according to claim 1 , characterized by: 3. The proposal device according to claim 1, wherein the proposal unit proposes a price reduction of the product as the sales strategy. The proposal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the proposal unit proposes advertisement of the product as the sales strategy. The proposal unit proposes extension of the storage period when it is estimated that a predetermined number of the products will remain unsold by the storage deadline indicated by the storage period based on the sales of the product during the predetermined period. Item 5. The proposed device according to any one of items 1 to 4 . A computer comprising a storage unit that stores shelf information including at least the number of remaining products and a storage period for storing the products,
a receiving step of receiving a request for storage and delivery of the product from a seller who sells the product;
a proposal step of proposing a sales strategy for the product to the seller based on the shelf information;
In the proposing step, the number of sales per unit time is calculated based on the sales of the product in a predetermined period, and the number of sales obtained by dividing the time until the storage deadline indicated by the storage period by the unit time is calculated as the number of sales of the product. a proposal method for proposing the sales strategy when it is estimated that a predetermined number of the commodities remain unsold based on whether or not the number obtained by subtracting from the remaining number of the commodities is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. A computer having a storage unit that stores shelf information including at least the number of remaining products and a storage period for storing the products,
a reception step function for receiving requests for storage and delivery of products from sellers who sell the products;
realizing a proposal function of proposing a sales strategy related to the product to the seller based on the shelf information;
The proposal function calculates the number of sales per unit time based on the sales of the product for a predetermined period, divides the time until the storage deadline indicated by the storage period by the unit time, and calculates the number of sales of the product. a proposal program for proposing the sales strategy when it is estimated that a predetermined number of the commodities remain unsold based on whether or not the number obtained by subtracting from the remaining number of is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

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