JP7489082B2 - Order Product Identification Support System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an ordered product specification support system using a computer.

In recent years, many companies that handle goods and services (hereafter abbreviated as goods, etc.), such as those in the manufacturing, financial, wholesale, retail, and service industries, have order-receiving systems that use computer processing to process orders for goods, etc., received from customers (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Moreover, many of these companies have core systems that are specialized for the company's business and that are linked together for almost all of their core business operations, including not only order systems but also shipping systems, inventory control systems, financial accounting systems, management accounting systems, production control systems, and sales support systems. Within this core system, each of the above business systems is positioned as a subsystem.

Since such core systems are specialized for the core business of the company and have interconnected subsystems, they are extremely easy to use as long as they are used within the company.

In addition, an order entry screen is provided that allows users to enter information coded according to certain rules (e.g., product codes and part numbers) to ensure that orders are accepted correctly when they are entered into the order entry system. Therefore, once information is entered correctly into the order entry screen, the order entry system will operate smoothly through the appropriate operations.

If an order screen linked to this type of receiving screen is made available to customers, then naturally, order processing will be smoother and the company's internal order processing will become more efficient. Even if company personnel input information into the receiving screen based on purchase orders from customers, if the input format is standardized and customers are provided with purchase orders that can be used as worksheets, order processing should be smoother.

JP 2004-38549 A

However, even when using a standardized order form, it is possible that customers may not fill it out correctly or may not use the standardized order form. Also, in B2B cases where orders are made periodically for specific products, it is common for the order form to not include the product code or for the product name to be written in a simplified, abbreviated format.

There are also order forms with extremely inaccurate and difficult to understand descriptions when viewed objectively, such as "n pieces of flat head screws ordered last month" or "the usual number of eaves gutter supports." For example, when a small construction company makes regular orders for building materials to manufacturers or wholesalers, the ordering style described above is often used. If the order is made verbally, such as by phone, without using an order form, the ordering style can be even simpler.

In this way, if the product ordered by a customer cannot be correctly identified, it is necessary to confirm with the customer again by phone, etc., which takes time to enter the order data into the core system, significantly reducing the efficiency of order processing at the company.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an order product specification support system which enables smooth and efficient specification of products and the like ordered by customers.

In order to achieve the above object, the ordered product specification support system according to claim 1 is an ordered product specification support system which makes it possible to access a product master and order history data information, the product master being an information group in which product identification information and product description information are linked, and which is capable of searching the product description information by a keyword, the order history data being a history information group in which the product identification information of ordered products is linked to customer identification information, and the ordered product specification support system has an import means for importing customer identification information relating to a customer who has placed an order into the ordered product specification support system, an input means for inputting the keyword, and using the input keyword as a key, obtaining the product identification information that matches the keyword from the product master, and determining the imported product identification information from the order history data information based on the obtained customer identification information and the obtained product identification information. and an output means including a screen input/output device for outputting the extracted order history data relating to the customer, said output means being connected to a CTI system for facsimile/telephone capable of outputting the customer identification information, said import means being capable of importing the customer identification information using the CTI system, said order history acquisition means having a product code identification screen capable of extracting the order history data from the order history data information by using the customer identification information imported by the CTI system as a search key, and said import means displaying the customer identification information imported through the CTI system in a search key area of the product code identification screen .

The ordered product specification support system according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, when a facsimile is received, an image of the received facsimile is captured and the captured facsimile image is displayed on the screen input/output device.

The ordered product identification support system according to claim 3 is characterized in that the product master can register a plurality of names other than the official name and can perform AND search using a plurality of keywords.

In the ordered product specification support system according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the importing means imports the customer identification information by using the inputting means.

In the ordered product specification support system according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the order history data relating to the relevant customer is output in a list form to the output means.

Since the ordered product identification support system according to the present invention has the above-mentioned configuration , even if the order form is difficult to understand, the product ordered by the customer can be smoothly and efficiently identified.

Furthermore, since the other ordered product specification support systems are configured as described above, customer identification information can also be input by the input means in the same manner as keywords.

In addition, since the other ordered product identification support system is configured as described above, the input operation can be performed while viewing the FAX image on the screen input/output device, and the product, etc. specified by the customer can be identified more efficiently.

In addition, since the other ordered product identification support system is configured as described above, it is possible to easily identify products from the list of data. In addition, it is possible to narrow down products based on the content and quantity of keywords.

4 is a flowchart showing a relationship between the ordered product specification support system according to the first embodiment of the present invention and other systems. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an ordered product specification support system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a product code specification screen used in the ordered product specification support system of the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a customer search screen used in the ordered product specification support system of the first embodiment. 11 is a flowchart showing a relationship between the ordered product identification support system according to the second embodiment of the present invention and other systems. FIG. 11 is a system configuration diagram of an ordered product specification support system according to a second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a product code specification screen used in the ordered product specification support system of the second embodiment.

Below, the order product identification support system 10 (hereinafter referred to as support system 10) according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

The support system 10 according to the first and second embodiments has the following basic configuration:

The support system 10 is a system that allows access to a product master 23 and order history data information 24. The product master 23 is a group of information in which product identification information and product description information are linked, and allows searching for product description information using keywords, while the order history data information 24 is a group of history information in which the product identification information of ordered products is linked to customer identification information.

The support system 10 includes an import means 11 for importing customer identification information related to the customer who has placed the order into the support system 10, an input means 12 for inputting keywords, an order history acquisition means 15 for using the input keywords as a key to acquire product identification information that matches the keywords from the product master 23, and for extracting order history data related to the customer that matches the imported customer identification information and related to the acquired product identification information from the order history data information 24 based on the imported customer identification information and the acquired product identification information, and an output means 13 for outputting the extracted order history data related to the relevant customer.

The above means are configured by combining computer programs, storage media, etc. In other words, the support system 10 is an ordered product identification support method implemented using a computer. This method executes each of the steps shown below while accessing product master and order history data information using a computer.

This method for supporting the identification of ordered products includes an import procedure for importing customer identification information related to the customer who has placed the order into the ordered product identification support system, an input procedure for inputting a keyword, an order history acquisition procedure for using the input keyword as a key to acquire product identification information that matches the keyword from the product master, and retrieving order history data related to the customer that matches the imported customer identification information and related to the acquired product identification information from the order history data information based on the imported customer identification information and the acquired product identification information, and an output procedure for outputting the extracted order history data related to the relevant customer to a screen input/output device.

First, the details of the support system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 4.

This support system 10 is used by companies that receive orders for products, etc., and is positioned between a CTI system 1 for facsimile/telephone and an order receiving subsystem 21 in the company's core system 20. These three systems are built on one or more computers. In the order receiving subsystem 21 of the core system 20, order processing begins when an order is received based on a product code on an order screen (not shown). In addition to the order receiving subsystem 21, the core system 20 is configured to include various subsystems such as an accounting subsystem and a production management subsystem.

In other words, the support system 10 is a system positioned as a support tool that can identify product codes as input data for the order receiving subsystem 21 based on the names of products and other information contained in order forms received by facsimile or telephone (or verbal orders in the case of telephone orders).

CTI system 1 is a system that integrates a facsimile/telephone and a computer. For example, when a call is received using CTI system 1, the caller's (customer's) information can be displayed on the computer (or output to a disk medium, etc.) at the same time as the telephone rings (ringtone). The above customer information includes the incoming call number (telephone number for a telephone call, fax number for a fax call), and if the customer's name, etc. is registered, this is also included.

In this embodiment, the CTI system 1 registers a customer code that is uniquely assigned to each customer in the company along with the customer's name and other information corresponding to the fax number and telephone number. If the CTI system 1 finds that a customer code or customer name is linked to the received fax/telephone number, it outputs (transfers) the customer code to the support system 10 as customer identification information. In addition, if a fax is received, it outputs (transfers) an image of the received fax to the support system. The customer identification information may also include the incoming number.

The customer information held by the CTI system 1 may be the customer master 22 held by the core system 20 that is commonly used, or may have a CTI customer master that is synchronized with this customer master 22.

The core system 20 has an accessible product master 23 (files, DB, etc.) and order history data information 24 (files, DB, etc.), which can also be accessed (read) by the support system 10. The core system 20 also has a customer master 22, which can also be accessed by the CTI system 1 and the support system 10.

When an operator determines that the content of a received facsimile/phone call is an order for a product, etc., the support system 10 identifies which product, etc. (product code) is being ordered from the order content by referring to the order history of the customer indicated by the customer identification information.

In the examples of Figures 1 and 2, as described above, the support system 10 is linked to the CTI system 1, and therefore the import means 11 is configured to import customer identification information from the CTI system 1. In this example, the import means 11 is also configured to import a fax image 17 in the case of fax reception.

The customer identification information and fax image 17 output from the CTI system 1 to the support system 10 may be file data 5 such as a CSV file or PDF file, or other transfer methods may be used.

The input means 12 is also used as a means for inputting data input to the screen of the screen input/output device 14 into the system, thereby inputting keywords for identifying product codes and various other information.

As described above, the order history acquisition means 15 is a means for extracting the relevant order history data from the order history data information using keywords and customer identification information.

The order history acquisition means 15 includes:
1) First, the keyword is used as a key to obtain product identification information that matches the keyword from the product master 23.
2) Next, based on the already-fetched customer identification information and the already-obtained product identification information, order history data relating to a customer that matches the already-fetched customer identification information and that is also relating to the already-obtained product identification information is extracted from the order history data information 24.

This order history acquisition means 15 will be explained in more detail with reference to the screen image shown in Figure 3.

First, when a fax is received, the CTI system 1 outputs the customer identification information and the fax image 17 to file data 5 such as CSV data, and also starts the product code identification screen 16 (see Figure 3) of the support system 10, displaying that screen on the screen input/output device 14. The fax image 17 can be displayed on a sub-window screen of the product code identification screen 16, etc.

When the fax image 17 is displayed in this way and the worker determines that the fax is not a purchase order, there is no need to link with the order receiving subsystem 21 of the core system 20, so the product code identification screen 16 can be closed. If the worker determines that the fax is a purchase order, the worker can perform the following various operations on the product code identification screen 16 to identify the product code to be passed to the order receiving subsystem 21.

As shown in Figure 3, it is desirable for this product code identification screen 16 to display the receiving category 16g indicating fax/telephone and the incoming number 16h included in the customer identification information.

If the customer identification information includes a customer code, the customer code will be displayed in customer code field 16b on the screen.

If the customer code is not included, the worker operates the customer code button 16a on the product code identification screen 16 to switch to the customer search screen 18 shown in Figure 4, and while looking at the fax image 17, the worker can determine the customer code and customer name by referring to the sender information, etc.

Specifically, on the customer search screen 18, the worker inputs part of the name written on the fax image 17 into the customer name input field 18b and operates the search button 18d, which displays a list 18a of customers that match the input. If the information registered in the customer master 22 consists of multiple items, such as customer code 18aa, customer name abbreviation 18ab, customer name 18ac, furigana 18ad, telephone number 18ae, and fax number (not shown), the customer search screen 18 uses the information input into the customer name input field 18b as a key to extract customers that match the information and displays them as a list 18a. Note that the customer name input field 18b has multiple input fields, making it possible to search by combinations of words.

The worker identifies and selects the appropriate orderer of the received fax order form from the list 18a, and by operating the selection button 18c, returns to the called-up product code identification screen 16 along with the customer code and customer name, and the customer code is displayed in the customer code field 16b, and the customer name is displayed in the customer name field 16c. In this way, the customer is confirmed.

If the customer identification information output by the CTI system 1 does not include a customer code, the customer master 22 may be searched and the customer code extracted based on the incoming call number instead of the customer code. However, since an order form from a customer does not necessarily have the customer's registered FAX number, it is desirable to also make a final decision on the customer code based on the information in the FAX image 17.

Once the customer code has been identified in this way, the worker identifies keywords from the order form to identify the product listed on the order form and enters them in keyword input field 16d. Keyword input field 16d is designed to allow multiple keywords to be entered, which are search conditions for key searches of order history information. Keywords may also be entered by combining AND conditions, OR conditions, etc.

For example, suppose an order form contains the entry "n units of 'Cross recess countersunk screws'." The company that receives the order handles multiple types of cross recess countersunk screws based on combinations of material, length, surface color, etc., and each type has its own product code and product name, so the product code cannot be uniquely identified from the order form alone.

However, the order form includes a note after "n units of 'Cross recess countersunk screws'" that reads, "These are the same countersunk screws that we order every month," so the worker can refer to the customer's past order history to find out exactly which "Cross recess countersunk screws" are being ordered.

Specifically, the worker inputs "countersunk head screw" as a keyword and operates the inquiry button 16e, and the order history field 16f displays a list of order history data related to "countersunk head screw" for customers that match the customer identification information (customer code). The order history field 16f displays the exact product code 16fa and product name/description 16fb for "countersunk head screw" along with the order quantity 16fc, allowing the worker to identify the product code of the product ordered on the order form.

Specifically, the keyword search targets the product description information in the product master 23, and if one or more products are extracted by the search, the order history data information 24 is searched using the product codes of those products as a key. The order history data hit by the search is displayed as a list. Note that if the order history data information includes product description information as a data item, the order history data information 24 may be directly searched by keyword without going through the product master 23.

In this example, the extracted order history data is displayed and output using the screen input/output device 14 as the output means 13, but a disk medium or paper medium may also be used as the output means 13.

The order history data may include the order date. For example, if there is a comment such as "This is the same item I ordered last September," the product etc. can be identified by the date and time of the order history data.

Even if the above-mentioned comments are not attached, it is possible to narrow down the products to a certain extent based on past order history data, and in that case, it is sufficient to confirm with the customer again by phone, etc.

It is also desirable for the product master 23 to be configured so that multiple product names can be registered, such as the official name, abbreviations, and names used within the industry. In transactions between retailers and wholesalers, and in B2B transactions between retailers and manufacturers, many orders are made using abbreviations, but even in such cases, if an operator searches the order history using various combinations of keywords, the ordered product can be identified.

When the worker is able to determine the final ordered product from the order history data, he or she can enter the product code into the order screen (not shown) of the order subsystem 21 to start order processing.

The product master also stores multiple prices for each product, categorized by customer type, such as for frequent customers or one-time customers. Meanwhile, the customer master stores customer types for each customer. Therefore, when identifying a product code, the price corresponding to that customer can be extracted based on the product master. Therefore, the product code can be transferred to the order receiving subsystem 21 together with the price.

In the above example, the order history acquisition means 15 is configured to extract order history data related to customers who match the imported customer identification information and related to the acquired product identification information from the order history data information, but it may also be possible to extract only the imported customer identification information.

In other words, it may be possible to make a history inquiry without using a keyword. In this case, the support system 10 may have a product code identification screen 16 that does not have a keyword input field 16d, or the product code identification screen 16 in FIG. 3 may be capable of making a history inquiry without having to enter a keyword.

The support system 10 according to the first embodiment is also activated and executed by the CTI system 1 when a call is received. Because the call is received by phone, an image of the order form is not displayed on the product code identification screen.

When an operator receives a phone call, the product code identification screen 16 is displayed while capturing the customer identification information output from the CTI system 1. While receiving an order for a product or the like over the phone, the operator can input a keyword for that product or the like and display the corresponding order history data.

As described above, the support system 10 according to this embodiment allows the product codes of products ordered by customers to be identified smoothly and efficiently by simply repeating simple operations, whether the order is by fax or telephone. This allows the core system 20 to quickly process orders.

Next, the support system 10 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 5 to 7.

This support system 10 differs from the first embodiment in that it does not link with the CTI system 1. Therefore, the import means 11 is configured to input data from the input means 12 (screen input/output device 14) in the same way as keywords, rather than from the CTI system 1.

In other words, customer identification information and keywords are entered on the product code specification screen 16, and order history data is searched and displayed in the order history column 16f based on the information entered on this screen.

Since the support system 10 is not linked to the CTI system 1, as shown in FIG. 7, the product code identification screen 16 does not display the reception category 16g and the incoming call number 16h that are displayed on the product code identification screen 16 of the first embodiment (see FIG. 3). Of course, the FAX image 17 (see FIG. 3) is not displayed either.

In the case of a fax, the worker operates the product code identification screen 16 to display the relevant order history data while looking at the received fax order form (a faxed image of the order form printed on the CTI screen if CTI system 1 is installed, or a faxed paper copy of the order form if CTI system 1 is not installed), or while listening to the verbal order in the case of a telephone order. Note that the product code identification screen 16 can be activated by the worker.

Thus, with this support system 10, which does not link with the CTI system 1, customer identification information is not automatically imported into the system, but by inputting customer identification information from the screen input/output device 14 in the same way as entering keywords, product codes can be smoothly identified, just like in the first embodiment.

In the above, the order receiving subsystem 21 of the core system 20 has been given as an example of the delivery target of the product code identified by the support system 10, but it may also be a standalone order receiving system.

1 CTI system 5 File data (customer identification information)
LIST OF SYMBOLS 10 Ordered Product Identification Support System 11 Import Means 12 Input Means 13 Output Means 14 Screen Input/Output Device 15 Order History Acquisition Means 16 Product Code Identification Screen 16a Customer Code Button 16b Customer Code Column 16c Customer Name Column 16d Keyword Input Column 16e Inquiry Button 16f Order History Column 16fa Product Code 16fb Product Name/Description 16fc Order Quantity 16g Receiving Category 16h Incoming Call Number 17 FAX Image 18 Customer Search Screen 18a List 18aa Customer Code 18ab Customer Abbreviation 18ac Customer Name 18b Customer Name Input Column 18c Select Button 18d Search Button 20 Core System 21 Order Subsystem 22 Customer Master 23 Product Master 24 Order History Data Information

Claims (5)

An order product identification support system that allows access to product master and order history data information,
The product master is a group of information in which product identification information and product description information are linked, and the product description information can be searched for by keywords,
The order history data information is a history information group in which the product identification information of the ordered products is linked to customer identification information,
An input means for inputting customer identification information relating to the customer who has placed the order into the order product specification support system;
An input means for inputting the keyword;
an order history acquisition means for acquiring the product identification information that matches the input keyword from the product master using the input keyword as a key, and extracting order history data related to the customer that matches the acquired customer identification information and related to the acquired product identification information from the order history data information based on the acquired customer identification information and the acquired product identification information;
an output means including a screen input/output device for outputting the retrieved order history data relating to the customer;
The customer identification information is connected to a CTI system for facsimile/telephone that can output the customer identification information,
The capturing means is capable of capturing the customer identification information using the CTI system;
The order history acquisition means has a product code specification screen that enables the order history data to be extracted from the order history data information by using the customer identification information acquired by the CTI system as a search key,
The said importing means displays the said customer identification information imported through the said CTI system in a search key area of the said product code identification screen . In claim 1,
When a facsimile is received, an image of the received facsimile is captured and the captured image of the facsimile is displayed on the screen input/output device . In claim 1 or 2,
The product master can register a plurality of names other than the official name, and can perform an AND search using a plurality of keywords. In any one of claims 1 to 3,
The said importing means imports the said customer identification information by using the said inputting means. In any one of claims 1 to 4,
An ordered product specification support system, characterized in that order history data relating to the relevant customer is output in a list form to said output means .

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