JP7613416B2 - Packaging material ordering system and packaging material ordering management device - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a packaging ordering system and a packaging ordering management device.

Online print systems are known that receive orders, print, and arrange for delivery based on order signals from a client terminal via the Internet (for example, see Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-9506 A

In recent years, online commercial transactions using e-commerce sites and the like have become more common, and it is being considered to allow online orders to be placed on soft packaging materials printed with designs specified by users. However, the system described in Patent Document 1 does not take into account the wide variety of printed materials used, such as soft packaging materials, and there is room for improvement.

The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a technology that allows the ordering party to easily place an order and that allows appropriate management of the production of flexible packaging materials based on this order.

In order to achieve the above object, a packaging ordering system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a packaging ordering system including a packaging ordering management device that receives an order for the production of flexible packaging materials from a client terminal via the Internet, and a packaging manufacturing management device that manages the manufacturing of the flexible packaging materials based on instructions from the packaging ordering management device in a manufacturing department that includes a printing machine, and the packaging ordering management device acquires order information including information specifying the model number of the flexible packaging materials and design data including a design to be printed on the flexible packaging materials from the client terminal. The system includes an acquisition unit, a material information storage unit that stores material designation information that associates information designating the model number of the soft packaging material with information designating materials used in the soft packaging material identified by the model number, and a packaging material production instruction unit that transmits a packaging material production instruction to the packaging material production management device, the packaging material production instruction including material designation information designating the material of the soft packaging material corresponding to the model number included in the order information, selected based on the information stored in the material information storage unit, and the design data, and the packaging material production management device starts management related to the production of the soft packaging material based on the packaging material production instruction.

In addition, a packaging material order management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is a packaging material order management device that receives an order for the production of soft packaging material from a purchaser terminal via the Internet, and includes an order-related information acquisition unit that acquires, from the purchaser terminal, order information including information specifying the model number of the soft packaging material and design data including a design to be printed on the soft packaging material, a material information storage unit that stores material designation information that associates information specifying the model number of the soft packaging material with information specifying materials used in the soft packaging material specified by the model number, and a packaging material production instruction unit that transmits a packaging material production instruction to a packaging material production management device that manages the production of the soft packaging material, the packaging material production instruction including material designation information that specifies the material of the soft packaging material corresponding to the model number included in the order information, selected based on the information stored in the material information storage unit, and the design data.

According to the packaging material ordering system and packaging material ordering management device, an order can be placed from a purchaser's terminal by specifying the model number of the soft packaging material. Meanwhile, in the packaging material ordering management device, material specification information is prepared that specifies the materials of the soft packaging material associated with the model number based on the model number, and is sent to the packaging material manufacturing management device as a packaging material production instruction, and the packaging material manufacturing management device starts management of the production. In this way, when ordering soft packaging material from a purchaser's terminal, an order can be easily placed by specifying the model number, while the packaging material ordering management device transmits a packaging material production instruction to the packaging material manufacturing management device with each of the various materials contained in the soft packaging material specified. Therefore, in the packaging material ordering system and packaging material ordering management device, the purchaser can easily place an order, and the production of the soft packaging material based on this order can be appropriately managed.

The material specification information may include information specifying the materials of the base material, ink, adhesive layer, and sealant layer contained in the soft packaging material.

Various characteristics of the flexible packaging material can be realized by the combination of the base material, ink, adhesive layer, and sealant layer that make up the flexible packaging material. By including information that identifies these materials in the material specification information, the purchaser can use the model number to order the flexible packaging material that corresponds to the desired characteristics, and information on each material that makes up the flexible packaging material that corresponds to the model number is appropriately transmitted to the packaging material manufacturing management device.

The packaging material creation instruction may include information specifying the shape or size of the soft packaging material.

With the above configuration, the packaging material ordering management device can handle a wide variety of soft packaging materials with different shapes or sizes, making it possible to handle a wider variety of soft packaging materials.

The material specification information may include information specifying the thickness of the material used in the soft packaging material identified by the model number.

The materials used for soft packaging may be the same type but have different thicknesses. With the above configuration, the packaging material ordering management device can handle materials of the same type but with different thicknesses, allowing purchasers to order a wider variety of soft packaging materials.

The printing machine may be a digital printing machine, and the packaging manufacturing management device may manage the process so that the design data acquired from the client terminal is used as is in printing on the flexible packaging material by the digital printing machine.

When printing on flexible packaging materials is done on a digital printing machine, by managing the process so that the design data acquired from the client terminal as described above is used as is for printing on the flexible packaging materials on the digital printing machine, it is possible to prevent the design from being changed by the worker, thereby enabling appropriate printing.

The order-related information acquisition unit may provide the orderer terminal with format data corresponding to information specifying the model number of the soft packaging material, and acquire data in which a design has been added to the format data as the design data acquired from the orderer terminal.

By using the above configuration, design data using format data is provided from the client terminal, making it possible to reliably obtain design data suitable for use with a digital printing machine.

The printing machine may be a non-digital printing machine, and the packaging manufacturing management device may manage the process so that the design data acquired from the client terminal is processed in a predetermined manner and then used for printing on the flexible packaging material in the non-digital printing machine.

When printing on flexible packaging materials is done on a non-digital printing machine, it is necessary to make corrections suitable for the non-digital printing machine. Therefore, by managing the process so that the design data is processed as described above and then used for printing on flexible packaging materials on a non-digital printing machine, it becomes possible to perform appropriate printing even on a non-digital printing machine.

When the flexible packaging material includes an intermediate layer and a sealant layer, the packaging material manufacturing management device may be configured to manage the process by first bonding the intermediate layer and the sealant layer together to prepare a pre-bonded raw material.

For the flexible packaging materials handled by the packaging material ordering system, the materials used as the middle layer and sealant layer are preset for each model number. Therefore, by preparing pre-applied raw material in advance and using this to create the flexible packaging material for which an order has been placed, the process after the order is received can be shortened.

This disclosure provides a technology that allows the ordering party to easily place an order and appropriately manages the production of flexible packaging materials based on the order.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a packaging ordering system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of information stored in the material information storage unit. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the material configuration of a soft packaging material, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing an example of information relating to the specifications of the soft packaging material. 4(a), 4(b), and 4(c) are diagrams showing examples of soft packaging materials according to applications. 5(a), 5(b), and 5(c) are diagrams showing examples of soft packaging materials according to applications. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of information held in the format data holding unit. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of format data. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a packaging material order management device and a packaging material production management device. FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a packaging material ordering management method by the packaging material ordering system. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of information related to soft packaging materials presented to each user. 11A and 11B are flow diagrams for explaining an example of a packaging manufacturing method (a management method in a packaging manufacturing management device) in a packaging manufacturing department.

Below, the embodiments for implementing the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that in the description of the drawings, the same elements are given the same reference numerals and duplicated descriptions will be omitted.

[Packaging material ordering system]
1 is a diagram that illustrates a packaging ordering system 1 according to one embodiment. The packaging ordering system 1 is a system that communicates with an orderer terminal 90 operated by an orderer, and manufactures and provides flexible packaging materials based on order instructions from the orderer terminal 90. The packaging ordering system 1 includes a packaging order management device 10 and a packaging production management device 20.

The packaging ordering system 1 has a function of accepting orders from a client terminal 90 operated by a client, and instructing the packaging manufacturing management device 20, which works in cooperation with the manufacturing department, to manufacture and deliver products based on the orders. The product used in the packaging ordering system 1 is "soft packaging material." Soft packaging material refers to packaging material used for packaging that is made of soft and flexible materials such as paper, plastic film, aluminum foil, and cloth. Of these, plastic film is often used as the main material. In addition, soft packaging materials are devised to exhibit desired performance such as barrier properties and heat resistance by using composite materials that combine multiple materials. Since soft packaging materials are often used for product packaging, it is expected that the printing content on the printing surface of the soft packaging material will differ depending on the order. In this way, when receiving an order for soft packaging material from a client, it is necessary to obtain information specifying the material to be used for the packaging material, design data for printing, etc. from the client, and it is further required to provide this information appropriately to the manufacturing department.

Materials used for soft packaging materials include single-layer films and multilayer films. Among these, multilayer films are generally made by laminating a base material, an intermediate layer, and a sealant layer using an adhesive. Design data is printed on the base material. The intermediate layer may be omitted depending on the application of the soft packaging material, but a material that functions as a barrier material may be selected. When making a soft packaging material for a specific application, a material (multilayer film) is made by combining materials suitable for that application. For example, in the case of packaging for retort foods, sterilization is performed in a high-temperature and high-pressure environment (retort sterilization), so materials that have pressure resistance and heat resistance can be selected for each layer that makes up the multilayer film. In addition, since the film is required to be robust even after printing, adhesives and inks that are compatible with retort sterilization (retort compatible) are selected. On the other hand, if the contents are likely to stick to the packaging material due to static electricity, materials suitable for antistatic films that prevent the generation of static electricity can be selected. As described above, flexible packaging materials are made of different materials (films, inks, etc.) depending on the application, and therefore a wide variety of materials are used in their production. On the other hand, purchasers place orders by selecting from a wide variety of flexible packaging materials based on the application of the flexible packaging material to be ordered. The packaging material ordering system 1 described above centrally manages orders from purchasers for the production of a wide variety of flexible packaging materials made using a wide variety of materials as described above, and also manages the production of the ordered flexible packaging materials.

In the packaging ordering system 1, the packaging ordering management device 10 is a device that acquires orders from the client terminal 90. The packaging ordering management device 10 is a device that acquires orders from the client terminal 90 via the Internet, that is, performs so-called online order reception. The packaging ordering management device 10 has a website that can be viewed by the client terminal 90, and acquires information entered by the client to this website. In addition, when the packaging ordering management device 10 accepts an order from the client terminal 90, it manages the information and provides information related to product manufacturing to the packaging manufacturing management device 20.

The packaging material manufacturing management device 20 has a function of managing various manufacturing-related equipment in a department related to the manufacturing of packaging materials such as a packaging material manufacturing factory (referred to as the "packaging material manufacturing department" in FIG. 1). The packaging material manufacturing management device 20 may have a function of controlling equipment related to the manufacturing of packaging materials, such as a printing machine 21, a laminating machine 22, and a bag making machine 23, based on instructions from the packaging material ordering management device 10. Furthermore, the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 may have a function of ordering materials and managing inventory, etc. The packaging material ordering management device 10 and the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 are configured to be capable of wireless or wired communication, for example, and the packaging material ordering management device 10 appropriately instructs the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 to create the ordered packaging material. Based on this instruction, the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 starts managing the process related to the creation of the ordered packaging material for each device in the packaging material manufacturing department. In addition, the management of the process of creating packaging materials by the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 may include, for example, grasping the manufacturing process (e.g., laminating materials, printing, etc.) according to the ordered soft packaging material, scheduling the work of each device to advance this manufacturing process, and procuring (ordering) materials to be used for the soft packaging material.

The orderer terminal 90 is, for example, a terminal device used by a user who is an orderer, and examples of such devices include a smartphone, a tablet, and a personal computer. The orderer terminal 90 is connectable to the Internet. When connecting to the Internet, the connection may be via, for example, a communication network other than the Internet. The orderer terminal 90 may have a function of editing design data for printing, which will be described later.

The number of orderer terminals 90 used by a particular user is not limited to one. That is, one user may use multiple orderer terminals 90. Therefore, for example, the orderer terminal 90 used by the user to send order information and the orderer terminal 90 used to send design data may be different. When multiple orderer terminals 90 are each connected to the Internet and can send and receive information, the user can handle each orderer terminal 90 individually.

[Packaging material order management device]
As shown in FIG. 1, a packaging material order management device 10 includes an order receiving unit 11, a print data acquisition unit 12, a packaging material production instruction unit 13, a delivery management unit 14, a payment processing unit 15, a user information storage unit 16, and an order reception unit 17. The packaging material order management device 10 includes an information storage unit 17, a materials information storage unit 18, and a format data storage unit 19. The packaging material order management device 10 communicates with a purchaser terminal 90 and a packaging material manufacturing management device 20. The communication between the packaging material order management device 10 and the customer terminal 90 or the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 may be performed by wire or wirelessly. The order receiving unit 11 and the print data acquisition unit 12 It has a function as an order-related information acquisition unit that acquires information related to an order.

The order reception unit 11 has a function of receiving orders for packaging materials from the purchaser terminal 90. As described above, the packaging material order management device 10 prepares a website that can be viewed on the purchaser terminal 90, and the website can be viewed on the purchaser terminal 90 in response to a request from the purchaser terminal 90 (e.g., a URL specification). In addition, the purchaser (user) operates the purchaser terminal 90 to view the website and input information required for an order by, for example, entering information into an input form prepared on the website. The input information is transmitted via the Internet to the packaging material order management device 10, which provides the website. This allows the order reception unit 11 to receive the order.

The information on the order (order information) acquired by the order reception unit 11 when receiving an order includes information identifying the orderer (name, address, etc.), information on the product being ordered, information identifying the delivery destination (name, address, etc.), and information on payment of expenses. In the case of soft packaging materials, the information on the product being ordered includes, for example, information identifying the type of packaging material (e.g., materials to be used) and the number of orders. The information specifying the packaging material includes information identifying the materials used in the packaging material (information on each layer in the case of a film in which multiple types of materials are laminated) and information identifying the shape and size of the packaging material (shape is, for example, a three-sided square bag, a standing pouch, etc.). In the packaging material order management device 10 of this embodiment, model numbers are assigned in association with information identifying the materials (materials) constituting the packaging material and information identifying the shape and size of the packaging material. Therefore, by specifying a model number, the purchaser can transmit information identifying the material of the packaging material and information identifying the shape and size of the packaging material to the packaging material order management device 10.

The information presented to the user on the orderer terminal 90 may be adjusted so that the orderer (user) can operate the orderer terminal 90 to select a specific packaging material and place an order. For example, displaying the type of packaging material (e.g., materials used), size, shape, etc. for each soft packaging material that the user can purchase can be important information when the user selects a soft packaging material. In addition, information such as the use of the soft packaging material (retort compatible, boilable compatible, microwave compatible, examples of contents that can be contained, etc.) and characteristics (light blocking properties, antistatic properties, transparency, etc.) can be important information for the user's selection of packaging material compared to when the type of packaging material is directly displayed. Therefore, this information may be displayed in combination on the order screen used by the user for the purpose of increasing the user's convenience by presenting it to the user.

The print data acquisition unit 12 has a function of acquiring design data to be used for printing from the purchaser terminal 90 that has accepted the order. The design data to be used for printing is data that describes the content to be printed on the packaging material for which the order has been accepted. The types of printing on soft packaging materials include digital printing, which basically prints directly from the design data, and non-digital printing, which prints after plate-making and color matching. Examples of non-digital printing include gravure printing, flexographic printing, and EB offset printing. However, a non-digital printing method other than these printing methods may also be used. The packaging material order management device 10 can handle any type of printing. However, in the case of digital printing, the print data acquired from the purchaser may be used for printing as is without plate-making. Therefore, the packaging material order management device 10 is configured to acquire design data (printing data) suitable for a specific packaging material from the purchaser by providing the purchaser with format data. This point will be described later. The information acquired by the order acceptance unit 11 and the information acquired by the print data acquisition unit 12 are stored in the order information storage unit 17.

When the design data sent by the client is PDF data, the print data acquisition unit 12 may perform a preflight check, which checks the data based on preset check items. The print data acquisition unit 12 may also be configured to notify the client of the results of the preflight check and the design data to be ultimately used for printing. In this case, the client may check the notification content by accessing a specified site based on a URL notified by email, for example. Note that although the preflight check is performed on PDF data, the same type of check may also be performed when data other than PDF data is handled as design data.

The packaging material production instruction unit 13 has a function of issuing instructions to the packaging material production management device 20 to create packaging material based on the order accepted by the order acceptance unit 11 and the data acquired by the print data acquisition unit 12. The packaging material production instruction unit 13 prepares information necessary to issue instructions to the packaging material production management device 20 based on the information acquired by the order acceptance unit 11 and the print data acquisition unit 12 and information held in the device itself. By transmitting the prepared information to the packaging material production management device 20, the packaging material order management device 10 issues an instruction to the packaging material production management device 20 to create packaging material.

The delivery management unit 14 has a function to manage the delivery of packaging materials instructed to be created by the packaging material production instruction unit 13. When completed, the packaging materials instructed to be created by the packaging material production instruction unit 13 can be sent from the packaging material production department (e.g., a factory) to the delivery destination. The delivery management unit 14 has a function to notify the purchaser of the production status and delivery status of the product for which an order has been accepted, based on delivery date information and delivery notifications sent from the packaging material production management device 20.

The payment processing unit 15 has a function of making payments for orders accepted by the order acceptance unit 11. The mechanism for making payments is not particularly limited, and existing payment methods can be combined and used. Payment history (information indicating that a payment has been made, etc.) may be stored in the order information storage unit 17 in association with information about the order, etc. Information about the payment may be stored separately from the information stored in the order information storage unit 17. In this case, for example, association using the order number may be performed so that it is possible to confirm that a payment has been made for each order.

The user information storage unit 16 has a function of storing information about a user who uses the packaging material order management device 10 (a user who uses the service provided by the packaging material order management device 10). The user can register as a user who uses the packaging material order management device 10 by providing the information necessary for registration to the packaging material order management device 10 in advance or at the time of the first order. The information provided by the user during user registration is stored in the user information storage unit 16. In addition, information that identifies the user (e.g., a user ID) is assigned to each user, and information related to a specific user can be obtained using this information. On the other hand, by providing a password or the like associated with the information that identifies the user and notifying the user of this password, security management using the password can be performed. In this way, by registering user information in the user information storage unit 16, the information registered as a user can be used when the user places an order again. Note that user registration itself is not an essential component of the packaging material order management device 10. Therefore, if user management is not performed, the packaging material order management device 10 does not need to have the user information storage unit 16. It is also possible to configure the system so that no association with the order information storage unit 17, which will be described later, is made.

The order information storage unit 17 has a function of storing information on orders received from orderers. The order information storage unit 17 can store information acquired by the order reception unit 11 and a design (printing data) acquired by the print data acquisition unit 12 in association with a single order from the orderer. Furthermore, the order information storage unit 17 stores user information stored in the user information storage unit 16 in association with each order, allowing the user to search for past order history. When a user who has registered as a user becomes the orderer, the user-registered information becomes the orderer's information, so that linking is possible by placing an order while logged in. In addition, when user registration is performed when placing an initial order, the information entered as the orderer at the time of the initial order can be used as user information. Then, data can be linked even after an order is placed by using a user ID or the like assigned as information to identify the user.

The material information storage unit 18 has a function of storing information related to the correspondence between model numbers and materials. An example of information stored in the material information storage unit 18 is shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, specifications (for example, information specifying the specifications used in the manufacturing department), material composition, shape and size, features, and amount (unit price and minimum order quantity) are associated with the model number used at the time of ordering. Among these, the material composition indicates the composition of each layer that constitutes the packaging material corresponding to each model number. Using this information, it is possible to specify the materials used for the packaging material of the model number from one model number. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the "material composition" includes information specifying the thickness of the base material, intermediate layer, sealant layer, and materials used for these layers to be used in the soft packaging material. In addition, the "material composition" may include information specifying the adhesive to be used between layers, the ink to be used for printing, etc. The information included in the "material composition" may be changed as appropriate depending on the type of soft packaging material.

As shown in FIG. 2, the information stored in the material information storage unit 18 may include information on the shape, size, characteristics (information explaining the characteristics and uses of the material of each soft packaging material) in association with the model number. This information may be used, for example, when the purchaser places an order for packaging materials. Specifically, for example, information on the shape, size, characteristics, price, etc. may be presented to the user on a website, etc., and the user may select the model number of the packaging material to be ordered based on the information. Furthermore, when a discount is set for some or all users, as in the example shown in FIG. 2, information specifying the discount target and discount rate (or discount amount) may be stored in association with the information shown in FIG. 2. When discount information is stored in the material information storage unit 18, when the price of each soft packaging material is presented on the website, the price may be presented in a state that reflects the discount set for each user.

With reference to Figures 3 to 5, an example of the configuration of the soft packaging material included in the information shown in Figure 2 will be described. Figure 3 (a) is a schematic diagram of a packaging film 200 used for a soft packaging material, in which a first base film 201, an adhesive layer 204, a second base film 202, an adhesive layer 206, and a third base film 203 are laminated in this order. A primer layer (not shown) may be provided on one of the pair of main surfaces of the first base film 201, which is closer to the second base film 202. In addition, an electrostatic ink layer 205 is provided on one of the main surfaces of the adhesive layer 204, which is closer to the first base film 201. When a primer layer is provided, the electrostatic ink layer 205 is provided on one of the pair of main surfaces of the primer layer, which is closer to the second base film 202. This packaging film 200 is, for example, a film used for soft packaging material for foods to be heated by a microwave oven.

As shown in FIG. 3(a), the first base film 201 is a 12 μm thick biaxially stretched polyethylene terephthalate film with a transparent inorganic oxide vapor deposition of alumina (GLARH, manufactured by Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.), the second base film 202 is a 15 μm thick nylon film, and the third base film 203 is a 60 μm thick unstretched polypropylene film. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3(b), the material composition can be described by, for example, a combination of the abbreviation of the material and the thickness (number), such as "GLARH12/NY15/CPP60". Furthermore, FIG. 3(b) states that a film using mechanically recycled PET (GLARNF) can be used instead of the biaxially stretched polyethylene terephthalate film with a transparent inorganic oxide vapor deposition of alumina (GLARH). In this way, the "material composition" specifies the composition of the material that constitutes the packaging film to realize the functions required of the soft packaging material, and the materials are similarly described by abbreviations in the example shown in FIG. 2.

In addition to the material composition, FIG. 3(b) also shows information related to the use and bag shape (square standing pouch for microwave ovens), adhesive layer specification, size, pattern (specification of location where pattern can be added), and bottom tape specification. Some of the information shown in FIG. 3(b) may be included in the information shown in FIG. 2, or, as shown in FIG. 3(b), data may be managed separately for each soft packaging material handled by this system.

Figures 4 and 5 show examples of characteristic soft packaging materials that are expected to be handled by the packaging material order management device 10. Figure 4 shows an example of a soft packaging material that uses mechanically recycled PET film as the packaging film. Mechanically recycled PET is made by crushing and cleaning used PET bottles, and then turning them back into PET resin. As it is a packaging material that utilizes recycled resin, packaging materials that use mechanically recycled PET are one type of environmentally friendly packaging material.

Specifically, in Fig. 4(a), the material composition of the retortable, transparent soft packaging material is shown as "mechanical recycled PET12/AL7/NY15/CPP80", which is a laminate of 12 μm mechanically recycled PET film, 7 μm aluminum film, 15 μm nylon film, and 60 μm non-oriented polypropylene film, and the specific shapes are shown to be stand-up pouches and three-sided square bags. Also, in Fig. 4(b), the material composition of the retortable, aluminum soft packaging material is shown as "GLARNF12/NY15/CPP80", which is a laminate of 12 μm mechanically recycled PET film, 15 μm nylon film, and 80 μm non-oriented polypropylene film, and the specific shapes are shown to be stand-up pouches and three-sided square bags. Furthermore, in FIG. 4(c), the material composition of the aluminum soft packaging material for health foods is shown to be "mechanically recycled PET12/AL7/NY15/LLDPE40," which shows a laminate of 12 μm mechanically recycled PET film, 7 μm aluminum film, 15 μm nylon film, and 40 μm low-density polyethylene film, and specific shapes are shown to be stand-up pouches, three-sided square bags, standing zipper bags, and three-sided zipper bags.

Also, Fig. 5 shows an example of a soft packaging material using a packaging film with a non-sol lamination structure. Non-sol lamination refers to lamination processing using an adhesive that does not use organic solvents. Since non-sol lamination is a process that does not use organic solvents, it does not emit carbon dioxide ( _CO2 ) or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) compared to lamination processing that uses an adhesive that uses organic solvents. Therefore, packaging materials using non-sol lamination are one of the packaging materials that take into consideration the working environment and natural environment.

Specifically, in Fig. 5(a), the material composition of the soft packaging material made of nonsol laminated packaging film for health foods is shown as "mechanical recycled PET12/AL7/NY15/LLDPE40", which is a laminate of 12μm mechanically recycled PET film, 7μm aluminum film, 15μm nylon film, and 40μm low density polyethylene film, and specific shapes are shown to be standing pouches, three-sided square bags, standing zipper bags, and three-sided zipper bags. Also, in Fig. 5(b), the material composition of the soft packaging material made of nonsol laminated packaging film for confectionery, rice, and dry goods is shown as "OPP30/CPP30", which is a laminate of 30μm biaxially oriented polypropylene film and 30μm non-oriented polypropylene film, and specific shapes are shown to be three-sided square bags. Furthermore, in Figure 5 (c), the material composition of soft packaging material made of non-sol laminate packaging film for pet food, confectionery, and dry food is shown as "Barrier NY15/Easy-to-cut LLDPE80," which shows a laminate of 15 μm barrier nylon film and 80 μm easy-to-cut low-density polyethylene film, and the specific shape is shown to be a three-sided zipper bag.

In this way, the packaging material order management device 10 is able to handle a wide variety of soft packaging materials depending on the application. In the example shown in FIG. 2, only four pieces of data associated with model numbers are shown, but in reality, it is assumed that there is a considerable amount of data associated with model numbers managed by the packaging material order management device 10. When a user places an order, the packaging material order management device 10 presents the user with soft packaging materials that can be ordered. In this case, instead of presenting all the information managed by the material information storage unit 18, it is also possible to select and present soft packaging materials according to the user's needs, etc. This point will be described later.

Returning to FIG. 2, the format data storage unit 19 has a function of storing information on a set of format data provided to the purchaser and used to create design data for printing at the purchaser. An example of information stored in the format data storage unit 19 is shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. In FIG. 6, information (e.g., a file name) that specifies data to be sent to the purchaser (purchaser terminal 90) is associated with the model number used at the time of ordering. The format data sent to the purchaser terminal 90 is data that allows the purchaser to create a design (process data) using the purchaser terminal 90 or other devices. In addition, it is preferable that the data (printing data) after processing by the purchaser is returned in a predetermined format, and in particular, in the case of digital printing, it is required to be sent from the purchaser terminal 90 to the packaging material order management device 10 in a format that can be used in, for example, the printing machine 21. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, one format data, one setting file, and one manual data may be prepared as a set of format data for one model number. This set of format data can be a package of data provided to the orderer terminal 90.

The format data is the source data for the data used for printing. An example of the format data is shown in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, the data D1 may define a drawing area A1 and a non-drawing area A2 that correspond to the packaging material corresponding to the model number. The drawing area A1 may also be provided with a frame line A3 for separating the recommended printing area. Furthermore, if there is an area with printing restrictions such as a zipper, a restricted area A4 may also be defined. In this way, the data D1 may include information that enables the client to create print data with an appropriate design according to the packaging material.

Returning to FIG. 6, the setting file associated with each model number is, for example, a file that describes various settings for outputting the design data used for printing in an appropriate state in an application used by the purchaser. The manual data is data that describes how to use the format data and the setting file. Such a data set may be stored as a "set of format data" in association with one model number. The format data storage unit 19 stores the setting file and manual data in addition to the above data D1. When the set of format data is sent to the purchaser terminal 90, three pieces of data (format data, setting file, and manual data) are selected based on the model number. Then, these pieces of data are packaged together and sent from the packaging material order management device 10 to the purchaser terminal 90 by the print data acquisition unit 12.

The packaging material ordering management device 10 may also have a function for managing the payment process that occurs when an order is accepted. However, since existing processes can be applied to this part, a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[Packaging material manufacturing control device]
The packaging manufacturing management device 20 is a device that can operate in cooperation with the packaging order management device 10. The packaging manufacturing management device 20 also manages the department (in FIG. 1, “packaging manufacturing The printing machine 21 has a function of managing each device related to the manufacturing of packaging materials in the manufacturing department (hereinafter referred to as the "manufacturing department"). As an example, FIG. 1 shows a printing machine 21, a laminating machine 22, and a bag making machine 23. The printing machine 21 has Depending on the type of printing, a digital printing machine or a non-digital printing machine (such as a gravure printing machine, an EB offset printing machine, or a flexographic printing machine) may be selected. 1 are merely examples, and the objects to be managed by the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 are not limited to these. The target devices (printing machine 21, etc.) may be individually controllable, or may be configured to manage only the operating status or operation schedule.

Furthermore, the packaging manufacturing management device 20 may be configured to collectively manage materials and processes for each product manufactured in the department that it manages. In this way, the management of the packaging manufacturing management device 20 can be the general business related to the manufacturing of packaging in the department that it manages. However, the packaging manufacturing management device 20 does not need to manage all of these tasks, and may be configured to manage only a part of them. As an example, in this embodiment, as part of the management related to the manufacturing of packaging based on instructions from the packaging order management device 10, the packaging manufacturing management device 20 at least receives instructions to create packaging from the packaging order management device 10, manages the received data, and manages the manufacturing status of the packaging that has been instructed to be created (process management). Note that these management tasks do not need to be performed by a single packaging manufacturing management device 20, and may be managed in a distributed manner by multiple devices.

[Hardware configuration of packaging material order management device and packaging material production management device]
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a computer 110 used in the packaging order management device 10 or the packaging manufacturing management device 20. For example, the computer 110 has a control circuit 100. In one example, the control circuit 100 has one or more processors 101, a memory 102, a storage 103, a communication port 104, and an input/output port 105. The processor 101 executes an operating system and an application program. The storage 103 is composed of a storage medium such as a hard disk, a non-volatile semiconductor memory, or a removable medium (e.g., a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.), and stores the operating system and the application program. The memory 102 temporarily stores a program loaded from the storage 103 or a calculation result by the processor 101. The processor 101 functions as an individual functional module by executing a program in cooperation with the memory 102. The communication port 104 performs data communication with other devices via the communication network NW according to a command from the processor 101. The input/output port 105 executes input/output of electrical signals between input/output devices (user interfaces) such as a keyboard, a mouse, a monitor, and a touch panel, in accordance with instructions from the processor 101 .

The packaging order management device 10 and the packaging production management device 20 may each be configured with multiple computers 110. Furthermore, if either the packaging order management device 10 or the packaging production management device 20 is configured with multiple computers 110, the multiple computers 110 may be distributed and may be connected to each other via a communication network NW.

[Packaging material order management method]
Next, a packaging order management method by the packaging order system 1 including the packaging order management device 10 and the packaging production management device 20 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, steps S01 and S02 are first performed between the purchaser terminal 90 and the packaging material order management device 10. In step S01, the purchaser operates the purchaser terminal 90 to refer to a website provided by the packaging material order management device 10, enter necessary information on the website, and transmit a user registration request. Meanwhile, in step S02, the packaging material order management device 10 receives the user registration request from the purchaser terminal 90, registers the user information in the user information storage unit 16 of the packaging material order management device 10, and notifies the purchaser terminal 90 that the user registration has been completed. This allows the user of the purchaser terminal 90 to become the purchaser. Note that steps S01 and S02 are examples of a case where user registration is performed in advance, and this process can be changed depending on the timing of user registration. Also, if user management is not performed in the packaging material order management device 10, this process can be omitted.

In addition, the procedure for user registration (S01 to S02) may include a procedure for confirming that the user has no relationship with antisocial forces. By including such a procedure, it becomes possible to conduct transactions while blocking any relationship with antisocial forces. As a method for confirming that there is no relationship with antisocial forces, for example, a process for the user to confirm by themselves may be provided. Also, a process for confirming the relationship between the user and antisocial forces may be provided by searching online articles using the user name, etc. In addition to the confirmation of no relationship with antisocial forces, a compliance confirmation process may be provided at this stage. These processes may be performed by combining with an externally provided service. An example of an externally provided service is a service that performs a compliance check based on a company name, etc. As a method for combining with such an external service, for example, the packaging material ordering management device 10 may provide information on the company name registered by the user to an external service during the user registration procedure, and automatically acquire the check results by the external service and store them in the packaging material ordering management device 10. In this case, the results of the check by the external service are displayed on a display unit (not shown) of the packaging material order management device 10, and the administrator of the packaging material order management device 10 can confirm whether or not the user has a relationship with antisocial forces by checking the results of the check by the external service. When incorporating such a procedure, a procedure may be added in which the user is provisionally registered until the administrator checks whether or not the user has a relationship with antisocial forces, and the user is officially registered when the administrator can confirm that the user has no relationship with antisocial forces. Note that if user management using user registration is not performed, a similar check may be performed when accepting an order, as described below.

Next, the packaging material order management device 10 executes step S03 based on a request from the purchaser terminal 90. When a user of the purchaser terminal 90 attempts to place an order for packaging material with the packaging material order management device 10, the user operates the purchaser terminal 90 to request the presentation of an order form. In response to this request, the packaging material order management device 10 presents the order form. The format of the order form is not particularly limited; for example, a website may display multiple packaging materials available so that the user can select from them, or the form may be configured so that the user inputs a model number. In this way, the format and interface for inputting information when the user places an order may be changed as appropriate.

If the user is configured to order packaging materials via a website (e.g., a user page assigned to each user) after user registration (S01-S02), the user page assigned to each user may be configured to enable viewing of the order details by the user, the processing status of the packaging materials ordered by the user, data sent by the user, etc. In addition, the administrator of the packaging material order management device 10 may use the user page to present various information to the user (publicity information, notices addressed to specific users, etc.).

Figure 10 shows an example of information related to packaging materials to be presented on a website (user page, etc.) to a user identified by user ID "U001" extracted from information stored in the material information storage unit 18. In a configuration in which packaging materials available on the website are presented to a user and the user is asked to select a packaging material to order, information to be presented to the user can be selected as shown in Figure 10, and a selection screen can be presented to the user based on the information. In Figure 10, information related to five packaging materials is shown as an example. Of these, for the packaging materials identified by display model numbers X0101, X0102, and X0205, "price by user" is written in the remarks column. In the example shown in Figure 2, it is shown that the packaging materials of the above three model numbers are individually discounted for user U001 as discount information. In Figure 10, the state in which the discount shown in Figure 2 is reflected as "amount" for these three packaging materials is shown. Therefore, when presenting packaging materials that can be provided to user U001, the prices shown in FIG. 10 are displayed on the website. At this time, for example, the display may be changed to make it clear that the price is a special price. In this way, for packaging materials for which a special price is set, the regular price may also be displayed, proactively informing the user that a special price has been set.

The packaging material identified by the display model number X0301 shown in FIG. 10 has "based on user industry" written in the remarks column. This indicates that the packaging material ordering management device 10 has selected to present information related to the user's industry to the user based on the information entered by the user when registering the user. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, when the packaging materials handled by the packaging material ordering management device 10 are diverse, there may be various packaging materials suitable for specific industries. When presenting packaging materials that can be provided to the user, packaging materials that are highly relevant to the user's industry are presented to the user with priority, allowing the user to easily select packaging materials that match their purpose and simplify the ordering process. The "user industry" shown in FIG. 10 is one example of extracting packaging materials that are highly relevant to the user, and indicates that packaging materials that are likely to be used in the user's industry are presented to the user with priority.

Furthermore, the packaging material identified by the display model number X0401 shown in FIG. 10 has "original specifications" written in the remarks column. This indicates packaging material for a specific user that was created based on a request from that specific user. In other words, this packaging material can be set as packaging material that can only be purchased by a specific user (e.g., user U001). In this way, the packaging material order management device 10 can also set unique packaging materials based on requests from specific users. In this case, a model number and a specification number are set for the unique packaging material, and all information required to manufacture the packaging material is prepared and stored in the material information storage unit 18 in the same way as information on other packaging materials. Then, when packaging materials that can be provided on the website are presented to a specific user, the packaging materials for that user are also presented. With this configuration, it is possible to provide different packaging materials for each user according to the user's request, and the user can easily order the packaging materials.

Note that the method of presenting packaging materials on the website is not limited to the example described above. For example, the initial screen may display all available packaging materials, and the user may set extraction conditions and perform a search to extract and display only information related to specific packaging materials that match the extraction conditions. Also, information related to packaging materials that are to be displayed preferentially to the user may be extracted using a method different from the above-mentioned method.

Returning to FIG. 9, next, the purchaser terminal 90 that has acquired the order form executes step S04. In step S04, the user of the purchaser terminal 90 inputs various information required for the order. At this time, the information input by the user includes information specifying the model number of the packaging material. Note that the user may directly specify the model number of the packaging material, but the configuration may also be such that, for example, when a packaging material is selected from those listed on a website, the model number corresponding to that packaging material is automatically selected.

Next, the purchaser terminal 90 executes step S05. In step S05, the information entered in the order form after input, i.e., the order information, is sent from the purchaser terminal 90 to the packaging material order management device 10. This order information may include model number information that specifies the material, shape, and size of the packaging material. When the order information is sent from the purchaser terminal 90, the order reception unit 11 of the packaging material order management device 10 executes step S06. In step S06, the order reception unit 11 acquires the order information as a process for starting the process of accepting the order, and stores it in the order information storage unit 17. In addition, if necessary, it associates it with the user information storage unit 16 (for example, links information using a user ID).

Next, the print data acquisition unit 12 of the packaging material order management device 10 executes step S07. In step S07, the print data acquisition unit 12 refers to the format data storage unit 19 and prepares a set of format data corresponding to the model number included in the order information. Next, the print data acquisition unit 12 of the packaging material order management device 10 executes step S08. In step S08, the print data acquisition unit 12 transmits the set of format data prepared by the print data acquisition unit 12 to the purchaser terminal 90. As an example, the print data acquisition unit 12 may upload the set of format data to a website or the like from which data can be downloaded by an operation from the purchaser terminal 90. In this case, the set of format data may be acquired by downloading the data by an operation from the purchaser terminal 90. The set of format data corresponding to each model number may be provided in a downloadable state on a specific website, and the purchaser terminal 90 may acquire the set of format data by downloading the set of format data corresponding to a specific model number.

In response to this, the orderer terminal 90 executes step S09. In step S09, the orderer terminal 90, which has acquired the set of format data, processes the data D1 to create design data for printing.

The purchaser terminal 90 executes step S10 for the created data. In step S10, the purchaser terminal 90 transmits the processed design data for printing to the packaging material order management device 10. The transmitted data is acquired by the print data acquisition unit 12 of the packaging material order management device 10. The design data may be sent from the purchaser terminal 90 to the packaging material order management device 10 by uploading the data to a specific website, for example. At this time, a process may be performed to have the user confirm that the design data does not infringe copyrights or violate public order and morals. The packaging material order system 1 may be configured to check for copyright infringement, violation of public order and morals, by combining with an external service or by executing a program pre-installed in the packaging material order management device 10.

When the above steps are completed, the payment processing unit 15 of the packaging material order management device 10 executes step S11. In step S11, the payment processing unit 15 confirms the order from the purchaser and performs payment processing. Information indicating that payment has been made by the payment processing unit 15 is recorded in the order information storage unit 17, for example, as described above. With the above steps, the series of processes related to receiving an order is completed.

Next, the packaging material production instruction unit 13 of the packaging material order management device 10 executes step S12. In step S12, the packaging material production instruction unit 13 references the model number included in the order information, and references the materials information storage unit 18 to prepare information that needs to be sent to the packaging material production management device 20. That is, information that identifies the materials used in the packaging material specified by the model number (material specification information) is prepared. The packaging material production instruction unit 13 obtains information on the materials corresponding to the model number from the information stored in the materials information storage unit 18. This prepares the data to be sent to the packaging material production management device 20.

Next, the packaging material production instruction unit 13 of the packaging material order management device 10 executes step S13. In step S13, a packaging material production instruction unit 13 sends a packaging material production instruction to the packaging material manufacturing management device 20. The production instruction includes information specifying the materials to be used to produce the packaging material and design data to be used for printing on the packaging material. In addition, the production instruction may also include information related to the delivery destination of the packaging material.

Next, the packaging manufacturing management device 20, which has received the instruction to create the packaging material, executes step S14. In step S14, the packaging manufacturing management device 20 starts managing and creating the process related to the creation of the packaging material based on the creation instruction. Examples of process management in the packaging manufacturing management device 20 include procuring materials and ensuring the operating hours of each device used to create the packaging material, such as the printing machine 21, laminating machine 22, and bag making machine 23.

Furthermore, the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 executes step S15 as necessary. In step S15, the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 processes the design data so that it can be used by the printer 21. However, step S15 can be changed depending on the state of the design data or the type of printing on the packaging material. For example, in the case of packaging material production using digital printing, the printer 21 basically uses the design data sent from the purchaser terminal 90 for printing as is. This is because the design is written in the predetermined drawing area A1 using the data D1. In this way, in the case of digital printing, it may be possible to omit step S15. Note that in the case of digital printing, the data may be processed as shown in step S15. In this case, in step S15, adjustments may be made to the design data so that it can be used by the printer 21, and data calibration may be performed.

In parallel with the production of the product, the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 executes step S16, and the packaging material ordering management device 10 executes step S17 in response to this. In step S16, the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 notifies the packaging material ordering management device 10 of the planned delivery date of the packaging material. The planned delivery date can be determined, for example, as a result of process management (step S14). The packaging material manufacturing management device 20 notifies the packaging material ordering management device 10 when the delivery date is expected. In step S17, the packaging material ordering management device 10, which has received information on the planned delivery date from the packaging material manufacturing management device 20, notifies the orderer terminal 90 of the delivery date information by the delivery management unit 14. The method of notifying the orderer terminal 90 is not particularly limited, and examples include notification on a website (for example, a user page assigned to each user) and notification by email. At this time, the delivery management unit 14 may update the delivery date information in the order information stored in the order information storage unit 17.

When the product is completed, the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 executes step S18. In addition, steps S19 to S21 are executed in conjunction with the execution of step S18. In step S18, the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 ships the completed product to the delivery destination included in the production instruction. Along with the delivery of the product, a shipping notification is sent from the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 to the packaging material ordering management device 10 in step S19. In addition, in step S20, the packaging material ordering management device 10, which has received the shipping notification, reports to the purchaser terminal 90 that the shipping has been completed. The method of notifying the purchaser terminal 90 is not particularly limited, and examples include notification on a website (for example, a user page assigned to each user) and notification by email. In addition, as shown in step S21, the product is separately sent from the packaging material manufacturing management device 20 to the delivery destination. Note that FIG. 9 shows a state in which the product is sent to the purchaser terminal 90 as an example in which the delivery destination is the user of the purchaser terminal 90. The delivery destination is set based on the order information, so the product may be delivered to a location other than the location of the user of the orderer terminal 90.

With the above, a series of processes related to the creation of one packaging material is completed. Note that if the same user places a second or subsequent packaging order, some of the steps shown in FIG. 9 can be omitted. For example, if user management is performed in the packaging order management device 10, user registration is complete from the second order onwards, so the steps related to user registration (S01-S02) are omitted, and a login process using a user ID or the like is performed. Also, as described above, if user management is performed in the packaging order management device 10, order information can be created using the information used for user registration, so that, for example, the input of information in inputting order information (S04) can be simplified.

Furthermore, if the order information storage unit 17 of the packaging material order management device 10 stores information on orders received over a specified period of time in the past, this information may be made available when ordering packaging material with the same contents. In this case, for example, if the order contents or delivery destination are the same, the input of information in the input of order information (S04) may be simplified by using the past order information. Also, if design data used in the past is stored, the steps related to preparing the design data (S07 to S10) may be omitted, and the design data used at the time of the previous order may be used as is. In order to increase convenience when the same user places a reorder, for example, the user may be able to check the design data stored in the order information storage unit 17 again (data obtained from the orderer or data after processing used to create the soft packaging material).

Figure 11 shows an example of the procedure for producing flexible packaging materials in the packaging manufacturing department, which may be subject to process management by the packaging manufacturing management device 20. Figure 11 (a) shows the procedure for producing a typical flexible packaging material. Specifically, when a packaging material production instruction is received from the packaging material order management device 10 (step S31), materials are prepared based on information specifying the materials included in the packaging material production instruction (step S32). Specifically, as described above, preparations are made for the materials for each layer including the base material layer (base material), intermediate layer, and sealant layer, the adhesives used to bond each layer, and the inks used for printing.

When actually producing a flexible packaging material, typically the printing machine 21 prints on the base material layer (step S33). Then, the laminating machine 22 is used to bond the base material layer, intermediate layer, and sealant layer together (step S34). Furthermore, the film that will become the material for the bonded flexible packaging material is processed into bags by the bag making machine 23 (step S35). This produces a flexible packaging material based on the packaging material production instructions. The packaging material production management device 20 manages the above series of processes and produces the flexible packaging material in line with the delivery date.

On the other hand, FIG. 11(b) is a modified example of the procedure for producing a soft packaging material that can be adopted in the packaging material ordering system 1. Specifically, first, regardless of whether or not a packaging material production instruction is received, a pre-pasted original roll is prepared by bonding an intermediate layer and a sealant layer together (step S41). A pre-pasted original roll is a roll of a pre-pasted original roll in which an intermediate layer and a sealant layer that can be used in a product (soft packaging material) ordered by an orderer are bonded together. When an order is received from an orderer by specifying a model number, as in the packaging material ordering system 1, it is possible to prepare a pre-pasted original roll by bonding an intermediate layer and a sealant layer that are not printed and can be used in a soft packaging material of a specific model number according to the order trend of each product. Since no printing is performed on the part that will become the pre-pasted original roll, it is possible to prevent quality deterioration due to long-term storage of the pre-pasted original roll by taking into account product trends (sales, etc.). The pre-pasted original roll can be produced, for example, by a laminating machine 22.

Next, when a packaging material production instruction is received from the packaging material order management device 10 (step S42), materials are prepared based on the information specifying the materials included in the packaging material production instruction (step S43). Specifically, preparations are made for the base material layer (base material), the intermediate layer, and the sealant layer, the adhesive used to bond each layer, and the ink used for printing.

Next, the printing machine 21 prints on the base material layer (step S44). After that, the laminating machine 22 is used to bond the base material layer and the pre-pasted raw material (step S45). Furthermore, the film that will become the material for the soft packaging material after bonding is processed into bags by the bag making machine 23 (step S46). In this way, a soft packaging material is produced based on the packaging material production instructions. The packaging material production management device 20 manages the above series of processes and produces soft packaging material in accordance with the delivery date.

As shown in the example of FIG. 11(b), by preparing the pre-pasted raw material (S41) in advance, the process after receiving the instruction to create the packaging material (S42), especially the lamination process (S45), can be shortened compared to the conventional process (S34). In other words, by reducing the number of materials to be laminated, the process using the laminator 22 is shortened. As a result, the time required for the process from receiving the instruction to create the packaging material (S42) to completing the creation of the soft packaging material can be shortened, making it possible to achieve delivery in a short period of time.

[Action]
According to the packaging material ordering system 1 and the packaging material order management device 10, an order can be placed by designating a model number of a soft packaging material from the purchaser terminal 90. On the other hand, in the packaging material order management device 10, material designation information is prepared that designates materials of the soft packaging material associated with the model number based on the model number included in the order information, and is sent to the packaging material production management device 20 as a packaging material production instruction. Also, in the packaging material production management device 20, management of the production of the soft packaging material is started based on the packaging material production instruction. In this way, when ordering a soft packaging material from the purchaser terminal 90, an order can be easily placed by designating the model number, while information that designates each of the various materials included in the soft packaging material is prepared in the packaging material order management device 10, and this information is sent to the packaging material production management device 20 as a packaging material production instruction. Therefore, according to the packaging material ordering system 1 and the packaging material order management device 10, the purchaser can easily perform an ordering operation, and it is possible to appropriately manage the production of the soft packaging material based on the order.

Online ordering systems for printed materials have been known for some time. However, while it has been considered in the past that a server that receives an order issues instructions to a printer, there has been no consideration of managing the manufacture of packaging materials that combine multiple materials, such as soft packaging materials. In addition, since the material of a soft packaging material is determined by combining multiple materials to achieve the desired characteristics, it is difficult for the purchaser to specify these individually. In contrast, with the packaging material ordering system 1 and packaging material ordering management device 10 described above, the purchaser can place an order using a model number, so that the purchaser can appropriately place an order using, for example, a catalog. On the other hand, when the packaging material ordering management device 10 issues a packaging material production instruction to the packaging material manufacturing management device 20, the instruction is given using information specifying the materials, so that the information necessary for the production of the packaging material can be appropriately provided.

The material specification information may include information that identifies the materials of the base material, ink, adhesive layer, and sealant layer contained in the flexible packaging material. As described above, flexible packaging materials can achieve various characteristics by combining the base material, ink, adhesive layer, and sealant layer. By including information that identifies these materials in the material specification information, the purchaser can order a flexible packaging material that corresponds to the desired characteristics by using the model number. In addition, after the order is accepted, information on each material that constitutes the flexible packaging material that corresponds to the model number is appropriately transmitted from the packaging material order management device 10 to the packaging material production management device 20.

The packaging material creation instruction may include information specifying the shape or size of the soft packaging material. In such a configuration, the packaging material order management device 10 can handle a variety of soft packaging materials with different shapes or sizes, making it possible to handle a wider variety of soft packaging materials. Note that if only one type of shape and size of soft packaging material is handled, the packaging material creation instruction does not need to include this information.

The material specification information may include information specifying the thickness of each material used in the flexible packaging material identified by the model number. The same type of materials may be used in the flexible packaging material, but with different thicknesses. With the above configuration, the packaging material ordering management device can handle materials of the same type but with different thicknesses, allowing the purchaser to order a wider variety of flexible packaging materials. Note that, with regard to this information, if the material being handled is of one thickness, this information does not need to be included in the packaging material creation instruction.

The printing machine 21 may be a digital printing machine, and the packaging manufacturing management device 20 may be configured to manage the process so that the design data acquired from the client terminal 90 is used as is when printing on the flexible packaging material in the digital printing machine. When printing on the flexible packaging material is performed in a digital printing machine, by managing the process so that the design data acquired from the client terminal 90 as described above is used as is when printing on the flexible packaging material in the digital printing machine, it is possible to prevent the design from being changed by the worker, thereby enabling appropriate printing.

The print data acquisition unit 12, which serves as an order-related information acquisition unit, may provide the orderer terminal 90 with format data corresponding to information specifying the model number of the soft packaging material, thereby acquiring data in which a design has been added to the format data as design data acquired from the orderer terminal 90. With the above configuration, design data using the format data is provided from the orderer terminal 90, so that design data suitable for use in a digital printing machine can be reliably acquired.

The printing machine 21 may be a non-digital printing machine, and the packaging manufacturing management device 20 may manage the process so that the design data acquired from the client terminal 90 is processed in a predetermined manner and then used for printing on flexible packaging material in the non-digital printing machine. When printing on flexible packaging material is performed in a gravure printing machine, corrections suitable for the non-digital printing machine must be made. Thus, by managing the process so that the design data is processed in a predetermined manner as described above and then used for printing on flexible packaging material in the non-digital printing machine, it becomes possible to perform appropriate printing even in the non-digital printing machine.

The packaging material manufacturing management device 20 may be configured to manage the process so that, when the soft packaging material includes an intermediate layer and a sealant layer, the intermediate layer and the sealant layer are first bonded together to prepare a pre-pasted raw roll. The soft packaging materials handled by the above-mentioned packaging material ordering system 1 have materials used as the intermediate layer and the sealant layer set in advance for each model number. Therefore, by preparing the pre-pasted raw roll in advance and using it to create the soft packaging material for which an order is received, the process after the order is received can be shortened. In the above-mentioned packaging material ordering system 1, the purchaser orders the soft packaging material by specifying the model number. In other words, unlike when the materials to be used for the soft packaging material are determined by custom-made, the types of materials ordered are also limited. Therefore, it is possible to predict the order receipt of each soft packaging material with a certain degree of accuracy, so even if a pre-pasted raw roll is prepared as described above, the risk that the raw roll becomes unusable and is discarded can be reduced.

[Modification]
As described above, the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

For example, some of the functions of the packaging material order management device 10 may be managed by a device other than the packaging material order management device 10. For example, management of user information may be performed by a device other than the packaging material order management device 10. In addition, payment-related matters may also be managed by a device other than the packaging material order management device 10.

In addition, the information included in the order information is not limited to that described in the above embodiment, and various information can be combined. In addition, the order input form, the structure of the design data, etc. can also be changed as appropriate.

[Appendix 1]
A packaging material order management device in one embodiment is a packaging material order management device that accepts orders for the creation of soft packaging material from a purchaser terminal operated by a purchaser via the Internet, and has an order receiving unit that acquires order information sent from the purchaser terminal, including information specifying the shape of the soft packaging material; a format data holding unit that holds format data suitable for the design of the printing surface of the soft packaging material of that shape, in correspondence with the information specifying the shape of the soft packaging material; a print data acquisition unit that acquires design data from the purchaser terminal, including a design to be printed on the soft packaging material, by providing the purchaser terminal with format data that corresponds to the information specifying the shape of the soft packaging material included in the order information, selected based on the information held in the format data holding unit; and an order information holding unit that manages the order information and the design data in correspondence with each other.

In the packaging ordering management device described above, format data corresponding to the shape of the ordered packaging is provided to the purchaser terminal that accepts the order, and design data using that format data is provided from the purchaser terminal and acquired by the print data acquisition unit. This ensures that design data based on format data suitable for printing on soft packaging materials is acquired.

The information specifying the shape of the soft packaging material may be information specifying a model number associated with the shape of the soft packaging material.

When the information specifying the shape of the soft packaging material as described above is information specifying a model number associated with the shape of the soft packaging material, it becomes possible to manage the format data using this model number, and furthermore, it is possible to select appropriate format data using the model number and provide it to the orderer terminal. Therefore, data can be more appropriately managed and handled within the device.

The flexible packaging material may be printed by a digital printing machine, and the design data acquired from the client terminal may have a data structure suitable for printing on the flexible packaging material by the digital printing machine.

When printing on flexible packaging materials is performed using a digital printing machine, as described above, by configuring the design data suitable for printing on flexible packaging materials using the digital printing machine to be obtained from the client's terminal, it is possible to prevent the design from being changed by the worker, thereby enabling appropriate printing to be performed.

The format data storage unit may further store a setting file for outputting the design data at the client terminal in a state suitable for printing on the soft packaging material in association with information specifying the shape of the soft packaging material, and the print data acquisition unit may provide the client terminal with the format data and the design data selected based on the information stored in the format data storage unit.

Even when design data is created by processing format data on the client's terminal, it may not be possible to output the design data in a state suitable for printing, depending on the operating environment of the client's terminal, etc. Therefore, by providing a settings file to the client's terminal as described above, the client can create design data more appropriately.

The order information may include information specifying the material of the soft packaging material.

The materials used for soft packaging materials may be made of different materials. With the above configuration, the packaging material ordering management device can handle soft packaging materials made of different materials, allowing purchasers to order a wider variety of soft packaging materials.

[Appendix 2]
The present disclosure may include, for example, the following inventions.
<Invention 1>
A packaging ordering system including a packaging order management device that receives an order for the production of flexible packaging materials from a customer terminal via the Internet, and a packaging manufacturing management device that manages the production of the flexible packaging materials based on instructions from the packaging order management device in a manufacturing department including a printing machine,
The packaging material order management device includes:
an order-related information acquisition unit that acquires, from the orderer terminal, order information including information specifying a model number of the soft packaging material and design data including a design to be printed on the soft packaging material;
a material information storage unit that stores material designation information that associates information designating a model number of the soft packaging material with information designating a material used in the soft packaging material identified by the model number;
a packaging material production instruction unit that transmits to the packaging material manufacturing management device a packaging material production instruction including material designation information that designates a material of the soft packaging material corresponding to a model number included in the order information, selected based on the information stored in the material information storage unit, and the design data;
Including,
The packaging material manufacturing management device starts management related to the production of the flexible packaging material based on the packaging material production instruction.
<Invention 2>
The packaging material ordering system according to claim 1, wherein the material specification information includes information for identifying the materials of the base material, ink, adhesive layer, and sealant layer contained in the soft packaging material.
<Invention 3>
3. A packaging ordering system according to claim 2, wherein the packaging production instructions include information specifying a shape or size of the soft packaging material.
<Invention 4>
A packaging material ordering system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the material specification information includes information specifying a thickness of a material to be used in a soft packaging material identified by the model number.
<Invention 5>
The printing press is a digital printing press,
A packaging material ordering system as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the packaging material manufacturing management device manages the process so that the design data obtained from the client terminal is used as is in printing on the flexible packaging material by the digital printing machine.
<Invention 6>
A packaging ordering system as described in any one of Inventions 1 to 5, wherein the order-related information acquisition unit provides the orderer terminal with format data corresponding to information specifying the model number of the soft packaging material, and thereby acquires data in which a design has been added to the format data as the design data acquired from the orderer terminal.
<Invention 7>
The printing press is a non-digital printing press,
The packaging material ordering system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the packaging material manufacturing management device performs a predetermined processing on the design data obtained from the client terminal and then manages the process so that the data is used for printing on the soft packaging material in the non-digital printing machine.
<Invention 8>
The packaging material manufacturing management device manages a process such that, when the flexible packaging material includes an intermediate layer and a sealant layer, the intermediate layer and the sealant layer are first bonded together to prepare a pre-bonded base roll. The packaging material ordering system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
<Invention 9>
A packaging material order management device that receives an order for the creation of soft packaging materials from a customer terminal via the Internet,
an order-related information acquisition unit that acquires, from the orderer terminal, order information including information specifying a model number of the soft packaging material and design data including a design to be printed on the soft packaging material;
a material information storage unit that stores material designation information that associates information designating a model number of the soft packaging material with information designating a material used in the soft packaging material identified by the model number;
a packaging material production instruction unit that transmits a packaging material production instruction, the packaging material production instruction including material designation information that designates a material for the soft packaging material corresponding to a model number included in the order information and that is selected based on the information stored in the material information storage unit, and the design data, to a packaging material production management device that manages the production of the soft packaging material;
A packaging material order management device comprising:

1...packaging ordering system, 10...packaging ordering management device, 11...order reception section, 12...printing data acquisition section, 13...packaging production instruction section, 14...delivery management section, 15...payment processing section, 16...user information storage section, 17...order information storage section, 18...material information storage section, 19...format data storage section, 20...packaging manufacturing management device, 21...printing machine, 22...laminating machine, 23...bag making machine, 90...orderer terminal.

Claims (9)

A packaging ordering system including a packaging order management device that receives an order for the production of flexible packaging materials from a customer terminal via the Internet, and a packaging manufacturing management device that manages the production of the flexible packaging materials based on instructions from the packaging order management device in a manufacturing department including a printing machine,
The packaging material order management device includes:
an order-related information acquisition unit that acquires, from the orderer terminal, order information including information specifying a model number of the soft packaging material and design data including a design to be printed on the soft packaging material;
a material information storage unit that stores material designation information that associates information designating a model number of the soft packaging material with information designating a material used in the soft packaging material identified by the model number;
a packaging material production instruction unit that transmits to the packaging material manufacturing management device a packaging material production instruction including material designation information that designates a material of the soft packaging material corresponding to a model number included in the order information, selected based on the information stored in the material information storage unit, and the design data;
Including,
The material designation information includes information for identifying materials of a base material and a sealant layer included in the flexible packaging material,
the packaging material production management device controls devices including the printing machine in the manufacturing department so that the flexible packaging material is produced based on the packaging material production instruction;
A packaging ordering system in which the order-related information acquisition unit provides the orderer terminal with format data corresponding to information specifying the model number of the soft packaging material, and acquires data in which a design has been added to the format data as the design data acquired from the orderer terminal . The packaging ordering system of claim 1, wherein the material specification information further includes information specifying the material of the ink and adhesive layer contained in the soft packaging material. The packaging ordering system of claim 2, wherein the packaging creation instruction includes information specifying the shape or size of the soft packaging material. The packaging ordering system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the material specification information includes information specifying the thickness of the materials used in the base material and sealant layer included in the soft packaging material identified by the model number. The printing press is a digital printing press,
The packaging material ordering system of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the packaging material manufacturing management device controls equipment including the printing machine in the manufacturing department so that the design data acquired from the client terminal is used as is in printing on the flexible packaging material by the digital printing machine, and the flexible packaging material is created . The printing press is a non-digital printing press,
The packaging material ordering system of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the packaging material manufacturing management device performs a predetermined processing on the design data obtained from the client terminal, and then controls equipment including the printing machine in the manufacturing department so that the processed design data is used to print on the flexible packaging material in the non-digital printing machine, thereby creating the flexible packaging material . The flexible packaging material further includes an intermediate layer,
The packaging material manufacturing control device includes:
Controlling devices including the printing machine in the manufacturing department so as to prepare intermediate products of the flexible packaging material in advance regardless of receipt of the packaging material production instruction;
The packaging ordering system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein when the packaging material production instruction is received from the packaging material ordering management device, equipment including the printing machine in the manufacturing department is controlled so as to use the intermediate product to produce the soft packaging material based on the packaging material production instruction. The packaging material ordering system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the packaging material manufacturing management device controls equipment including the printing machine included in the manufacturing department so that, when the flexible packaging material includes an intermediate layer and a sealant layer, the intermediate layer and the sealant layer are first bonded together to prepare a pre-bonded base roll. A packaging material order management device that receives an order for the creation of soft packaging materials from a customer terminal via the Internet,
an order-related information acquisition unit that acquires, from the orderer terminal, order information including information specifying a model number of the soft packaging material and design data including a design to be printed on the soft packaging material;
a material information storage unit that stores material designation information that associates information designating a model number of the soft packaging material with information designating a material used in the soft packaging material identified by the model number;
a packaging material production instruction unit that transmits a packaging material production instruction, the packaging material production instruction including material designation information that designates a material for the soft packaging material corresponding to a model number included in the order information and that is selected based on the information stored in the material information storage unit, and the design data, to a packaging material production management device that manages the production of the soft packaging material;
Including,
The material designation information includes information for identifying materials of a base material and a sealant layer included in the flexible packaging material ,
The order-related information acquisition unit provides the orderer terminal with format data corresponding to information specifying the model number of the soft packaging material, and acquires data in which a design has been added to the format data as the design data acquired from the orderer terminal . This is a packaging order management device.

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