JP7645152B2 - Business performance management system and business performance management method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a business performance management system that is suitable for managing performance when a business undertakes work and then outsources it to other businesses in a series of outsourcings, such as subcontracting and re-subcontracting.

In the logistics and construction industries, in order to meet demand during busy periods while maintaining efficient management, it is common for all or part of work ordered by customers to be outsourced to other companies. In addition, a subcontracted company that receives work from a client company may then outsource the work to another company, creating an outsourcing structure in which order placement and receipt processing occurs between multiple companies. In this way, when a single task is repeatedly outsourced, subcontracted, and subcontracted again, and the task is outsourced in a chain or flow pattern, the subcontracted company that ultimately accepts the work will complete the task.

In the logistics and construction industries, in order to improve work efficiency, there is a need to know the work status of the worker (final worker) who carries out the work and the delivery status of the goods in real time. For example, in the logistics industry, the driver in charge of delivering the goods is the final worker, and the delivery record of the driver is required to be shared between companies participating in the flow (order placement) from the receiving company.

Currently, in the logistics industry, delivery records are shared by starting with the receiving company that handled the final task and sending a receipt signed by the person in charge at the delivery destination, and then from that receiving company to the ordering company in turn. However, since sending receipts between multiple companies takes time, a system is needed that can quickly share electronic delivery records.

JP 2011-008309 A (Patent Document 1) describes a technology for estimating a supply chain in which multiple companies are connected at multiple stages. According to Patent Document 1, a system is described that estimates member information of a trading partner to be evaluated and a supply chain related to the item information from order information related to the product item information, narrows down the estimated supply chain using attribute information related to the item information, evaluates the information response period for each member from the information request date and information response date in the environmental information exchange history of each member in the narrowed down supply chain, aggregates the information response period for each evaluated member according to the narrowed down supply chain, and responds to a user computer via a network with the aggregated information response period of the company to be evaluated (see abstract).

JP 2011-008309 A

In the aforementioned Patent Document 1, order information relating to product item information is held in a common storage unit, and from that order information, the relevant member information and the supply chain related to that item information are inferred. However, Patent Document 1 does not anticipate concealing order-receiving relationships or information about trading partners from members participating in the supply chain who are not directly involved in the transaction. Even when order-receiving information relating to each member participating in the supply chain is managed in a common storage unit, concealment can be achieved by controlling access to the storage unit, but it is necessary to set which data is to be concealed from whom, which creates a lot of work for the person managing the storage unit.

Therefore, it is necessary to realize a system that satisfies the following conditions, obtains delivery records as electronic data, and shares the data among the companies participating in the delivery process. One example of electronic data for delivery records is an image of a signed receipt.

The first condition is that the person in charge at the company that ultimately carries out the work (hereinafter referred to as the "final order receiving company") must be the first to receive the delivery record.

The second condition is that suppliers will not be required to perform complicated operations when sending delivery records using their devices. For example, a system will be created that allows suppliers to easily send delivery records to a specified server on the app without having to perform complicated operations such as entering the destination server information or email address.

The third condition is to take into consideration the case where the final receiving company is a small business. For example, it is desirable to be able to handle cases where the final receiving company is unable to prepare a terminal for transmitting delivery records or is unable to develop an app for transmitting delivery records. Therefore, it is assumed that the outsourcing company will prepare such terminals and apps.

The fourth condition is to take into consideration the case where the terminal used by the supplier is different each time a delivery is made. Therefore, it is also possible to deal with cases where the server information and email address of the destination for sending delivery records cannot be registered in advance on the terminal used by the supplier.

The fifth condition is that, to prevent the risk of corporate information leaks, the information must be kept confidential from companies that are not directly involved in the ordering transaction (contract). Specifically, even if you are involved in a business outsourcing project, if the flow becomes long, with outsourcing, subcontracting, and then further subcontracting, ordering (contracts) that are unrelated to your own transaction will arise. For the sake of the integrity of commercial transactions, it is necessary to ensure that third-party companies that are not related to the ordering party and the contractor cannot view the information. Here, an ordering party is a company that requests work from other companies, and a contractor is a company that receives work requests from other companies.

Issues of concern here include the expected difficulty of the final order-receiving company (supplier) entering server information manually (second condition above), and the difficulty of the outsourcing company knowing the information of the final order-receiving company that is not directly involved in the ordering transaction (contract) (fifth condition above), making it difficult to enter the final order-receiving company's server information into a terminal (assumed to be lent by the outsourcing company). Therefore, a system is required that allows the terminal to obtain the address of the final order-receiving company's server and send business results, even if the outsourcing company does not know the order-receiving company and its server information.

The present invention aims to achieve confidentiality in a commercial transaction in which one company places orders with and receives orders from other companies for work that it has undertaken, with the servers of each participating company managing only the information of directly related order-receiving transactions, and to enable the information sent to the server address by the final order-receiving company to be obtained by a terminal, even if the prime contractor does not know the server information of the final order-receiving company and is unable to input the information into the terminal loaned by the prime contractor.

A representative example of the invention disclosed in this application is as follows: That is, in a commercial transaction in which outsourcing of business is carried out step by step between a plurality of companies, the business performance management system searches for a server of a receiving company that undertakes the business, and includes a server of each of the plurality of companies and a terminal connected to at least the server of the outsourcing company via a network, each of the servers has a first calculation device that executes a predetermined process and a first storage unit connected to the first calculation device, and the terminal has a second calculation device that executes a predetermined process and a second storage unit connected to the second calculation device, the server determines whether the order information with the acquired identification information is stored in the first storage unit, and if the order information with the acquired identification information is stored in the first storage unit, it searches for the server of the receiving company step by step by acquiring the address information on the network of the server of the receiving company of the order information, and if the order information with the acquired identification information is not stored in the first storage unit, it transmits information indicating that the receiving company is the final receiving company to the terminal, and the terminal identifies the address information on the network of the server from which the information indicating that the receiving company is the final receiving company as the address information on the network of the server of the final receiving company.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the terminal can obtain server information of the final order-receiving company. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become clear from the explanation of the following embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a solution concept of an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of a business performance management system according to a first embodiment. 1 is a block diagram showing a logical configuration of a business performance management system according to a first embodiment. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a notification process procedure according to the first embodiment. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a notification process procedure according to the first embodiment. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a notification process procedure according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of a notification process according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of order information according to the first embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of order information according to the second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a notification process procedure according to the second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a notification process procedure according to the second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a notification process procedure according to the second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a notification process procedure according to a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of a notification process according to a third embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of hash value information according to the third embodiment. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a notification process procedure according to a fourth embodiment. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a notification process procedure according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of a notification process according to a fourth embodiment. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a notification process procedure according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of a notification process according to a fifth embodiment. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a notification process procedure according to a sixth embodiment. 23 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a notification process procedure according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. 23 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of a notification process according to a sixth embodiment.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiment is merely one example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the drawings. In addition, in many cases, the user refers to the supplier.

In this specification, the terms "0th", "1st", "2nd" and the like are used to distinguish components and do not necessarily limit the number, order or content. In the following examples, all or part of the work of one case is outsourced from the 0th company to the 1st company, and then from the 1st company to the 2nd company, and the outsourcing of work through ordering and receiving is repeated in stages, such as subcontracting and sub-subcontracting, to form a chain-like or flow-like outsourcing structure (hereinafter simply referred to as "outsourcing flow"). Note that the 0th company is not necessarily the outsourcing company, and there is an outsourcing company and an outsourcing recipient at each stage.

Figure 1 shows the solution concept of an embodiment of the present invention.

In this solution, the zero-order company 001, the primary company 002, the secondary company 003, and the financial institution 004 appear. The zero-order company 001 outsources the work to the primary company 002 (step S011), the primary company 002 outsources the work to the secondary company 003 (step S012), and after the supplier of the secondary company completes the work, the secondary company reports the completion of delivery to the primary company (step S013), and the primary company reports the completion of delivery to the zero-order company (step S014). After the primary company reports the completion of delivery to the zero-order company, the price for the work is paid from the zero-order company to the primary company (step S015). Similarly, after the secondary company reports the completion of delivery to the primary company, the price for the work is paid from the primary company to the secondary company (step S016). The price for the work may be paid by various means, such as legal tender issued by a financial institution such as a bank, or virtual currency.

Note that the following describes an embodiment of the present invention applied to the transportation industry, particularly to product delivery operations, but the present invention can also be applied to any industry that has a multi-stage outsourcing flow, such as the construction industry or manufacturing industry.

In Example 1, in a situation where each company participating in a multi-stage business outsourcing flow manages only its own information on orders and receipts on its own server, an image of the delivery recipient's signed receipt, which is entered into a system provided by an outsourcing company that does not know the final outsourcing company, is sent to the server of the final outsourcing company as a delivery record.

The receipt used in this embodiment is a document created to certify that the delivery destination has received the goods. The receipt is issued by the outsourcing company, the zero-tier company, and is a proof that the delivery destination has received the delivered goods when the delivery destination signs the receipt. Usually, the receipt signed by the delivery destination is sent from downstream to upstream in the outsourcing flow, and is often returned to the original outsourcing company.

The person in charge at the delivery destination is the person in charge of receiving the goods at the delivery destination or the person in charge of the delivery destination. For example, the person in charge at the delivery destination may be the person in charge of receiving the delivered goods at the delivery destination company or the person in charge of the delivery destination site, or the individual at the delivery destination. Furthermore, the delivery record is electronic information that serves as evidence that the delivery destination has received the goods, and is, for example, an image of a signed receipt from the delivery destination.

<Example of hardware configuration for business performance management system>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the business performance management system according to the first embodiment.

The business performance management system 100 has a server 110, a terminal 120, and a network 130. The server 110 and the terminal 120 can communicate with each other via the network 130, either wired or wirelessly, and can send and receive information.

The server 110 has a memory unit 111, a control unit 112, a display unit 113, an input unit 114, and a communication unit 115. The server 110 does not have to have the display unit 113 and the input unit 114. For example, a client device capable of communicating with the server 110 via the network 130 and having an input unit, display unit, and communication unit may be provided separately, and the client device may display information transmitted from the server 110 or transmit information input to the client device to the server 110.

In addition, a server 110 is provided for each company participating in the business outsourcing flow, and the number of servers 110 is arbitrary. In the first embodiment, an example will be described in which there are four companies participating in the outsourcing structure of a certain business, and the business performance management system 100 has a server 110-1 of the zero-tier company, a server 110-2 of the first-tier company, a server 110-3 of the second-tier company, and a server 110-4 of the third-tier company.

The storage unit 111 is composed of, for example, a semiconductor storage device, a magnetic disk device, a ROM which is a non-volatile storage element, a RAM which is a volatile storage element, or a combination of these, and includes a non-volatile storage area and a volatile storage area. The storage unit 111 stores programs executed by the control unit 112, data referenced during processing by the control unit 112, and data output during processing by the control unit 112.

The control unit 112 is connected to the memory unit 111, the display unit 113, the input unit 114, and the communication unit 115, and is a calculation device that executes various processes described below in accordance with instructions written in a program stored in the memory unit 111. For example, it writes order information and the like to the memory unit 111, and searches for data stored in the memory unit 111 using data received from the terminal 120 as a query.

The display unit 113 is a device that outputs information, such as an image display device (display), and displays, for example, a screen for inputting order information and delivery records, such as receipt images received from the terminal 120, on the screen.

The input unit 114 is an input device such as a touch panel, keyboard, or mouse, and is used to input order information, etc.

The communication unit 115 is an interface device that connects to the network 130 via a wired or wireless connection, and transmits and receives information such as the case ID, order ID, and address information on the server 110's network, and delivery records between the terminal 120 and the communication unit 115.

An administrator terminal (not shown) connected to the server 110 via a network may provide the display unit 113 and the input unit 114. In this case, the server 110 may have a web server function, and the administrator terminal may access the server 110 using a specified protocol (e.g., http).

The program executed by the control unit 112 is provided to the server 110 via removable media (CD-ROM, flash memory, etc.) or a network, and is stored in the non-volatile storage unit 111, which is a non-transitory storage medium. For this reason, it is preferable that the server 110 has an interface for reading data from removable media.

Server 110 is a computer system configured on one physical computer, or on multiple computers configured logically or physically, and may operate on a virtual computer constructed on multiple physical computer resources. Each functional unit of server 110 may operate on a separate physical or logical computer, or multiple functional units may be combined to operate on a single physical or logical computer.

The terminal 120 is carried by a user such as a supplier (an employee of the final order-receiving company) at the time of delivery, and transmits and receives information between the terminal 120 and the server 110. For example, in the case of logistics work, the terminal 120 is carried by a driver who performs transportation work. The terminal 120 has a control unit 121, a display unit 122, an input unit 123, and a communication unit 124. The control unit 121 is connected to the display unit 122, the input unit 123, and the communication unit 124, and controls the overall operation of the terminal 120.

The display unit 122 is a device that outputs information, such as an image display device (display). The display unit 122 displays operation instructions and information to be communicated to the user on a screen. When reading a case ID or network address information of the server 110 with which the terminal 120 will first communicate from a barcode printed on a document such as a receipt, the display unit 122 may display a barcode reading screen. In addition, when using an image of a signed receipt or an image of the delivered item as the delivery record, the display unit 122 may display a camera shot screen.

The input unit 123 is an input device that accepts information transmitted by the terminal 120, such as the case ID that initiates the notification process of the business performance management system 100, delivery performance, and the network address information of the server 110 with which the terminal 120 will first communicate. Examples of the input unit 123 include a touch panel, a keyboard, and a mouse.

The input unit 123 may be a barcode reader or a two-dimensional code reader, and by using such a reader, the case ID and the network address information of the server 110 with which the terminal 120 will first communicate can be read from a barcode printed on a document such as a receipt. The input unit 123 may also be a camera that takes images, and can take images of a signed receipt or an item delivered to be used as a delivery record.

The communication unit 124 connects to the network 130 via wired or wireless communication, and transmits and receives the case ID, order ID, and address information on the server 110's network between the terminal 120 and the communication unit 124, and transmits information such as delivery records.

Here, the network address information of server 110 is, for example, the IP (Internet Protocol) address, URL (Uniform Resource Locator), host name, port number, file path, etc. of server 110.

<Example of functional configuration of business performance management system>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a logical configuration of the business performance management system 100 according to the first embodiment.

Each server 110 has a memory unit 111, an order information input unit 211, an order information transmission unit 212, a performance acquisition unit 213, a contractor search unit 214, and an address transmission unit 215.

Order information 231 is input to the order information input unit 211. Delivery results 234 acquired from the terminal 120 are input to the results acquisition unit 213 and displayed on the display unit 113. The data input to the server 110 is stored in the memory unit 111.

The terminal 120 has an initial information input unit 221, a server connection unit 222, and a delivery record transmission unit 223. The initial information input unit 221 reads the barcode or two-dimensional code printed on the receipt to obtain a case ID 232 and address information 233 on the network of the server of the 0th tier company with which the terminal 120 will first communicate. In addition, the delivery record 234 is input to the delivery record transmission unit 223 and transmitted to the server of the 3rd tier company.

Here, the method of acquiring the case ID 232 input to the input unit 123 of the terminal 120 and the network address information 233 of the server 110 with which the terminal 120 first communicates is not limited to the method of acquiring from the barcode or two-dimensional code printed on the receipt. For example, the case ID 232 may be acquired by displaying a list of case IDs on the display unit 122 of the terminal 120 and selecting a case ID that starts the notification process of the delivery record transmission. In addition, the network address information 233 of the server 110 may be stored in advance in the storage unit of the terminal 120. In this way, even if there is no barcode or two-dimensional code printed on the receipt, the case ID 232 and the network address information 233 of the server 110-1 of the zero-tier company can be acquired without increasing the user's work.

In FIG. 3, it is assumed that the initial information input unit 221, server connection unit 222, and delivery record transmission unit 223 are located on the terminal 120, but the terminal 120 may execute a web browser and realize these functions through processing by the server 110-1 in cooperation with the web browser. In that case, the initial information input unit 221, server connection unit 222, and delivery record transmission unit 223 can be realized, for example, by the control unit 112 executing a program stored in the memory unit 111 of the server 110-1 shown in FIG. 3. This makes it possible to realize the business record management system 100 even if a native app cannot be implemented on the terminal 120.

The communication from the address sending unit 215 to the contractor search unit 214 shown in FIG. 3 is not used in Example 3. In Example 3 described below, communication from the server connection unit 222 to the address sending unit 215 and communication from the address sending unit 215 to the server connection unit 222 are not used, and communication from the address sending unit 215 to the contractor search unit 214 is used.

<Example of notification processing procedure using the business performance management system>
4A, 4B, and 4C are flowcharts showing an example of a notification process procedure by the business performance management system 100 of the first embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of the notification process.

Before the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process, the order information input unit 211 of the server 110-1 of the zeroth company acquires the order information 231 for the first company, stores the acquired order information 231 in the storage unit 111, and transmits it to the order information transmission unit 212 (step S301). Details of the order information 231 will be described later with reference to FIG. 6.

Next, the business performance management system 100 sets the variable n, which represents the company's order order order order, to 0 (step S302).

Next, the order information transmission unit 212 of the nth-order company's server 110 transmits the order information 231 from the nth-order company to the n+1th-order company to the order information input unit 211 of the n+1th-order company's server 110 (step S303).

Next, the order information input unit 211 of the n+1 company's server 110 stores the order information 231 for the n+1 company in the memory unit 111 (step S304).

Next, the order information input unit 211 of the server 110 of the n+1 company determines whether to obtain the order information 231 for the n+2 company. If there is order information 231 for the n+2 company (step S305: Yes), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S306 onwards. On the other hand, if there is no order information 231 for the n+2 company (step S305: No), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S308 onwards.

When it is determined in step S305 that the order information 231 for the n+2nd company should be acquired, the order information input unit 211 of the n+1st company's server 110 stores the order information 231 for the n+2nd company in the memory unit 111, and transmits the order information 231 from the n+1st company to the n+2nd company to the order information input unit 211 of the n+2nd company's server 110 (step S306).

Next, the business performance management system 100 adds 1 to the variable n, which represents the company's order order order (step S307), and returns to step S303.

If it is determined in step S305 that the order information 231 for the n+secondary company is not to be acquired, the terminal 120 determines whether or not there is an instruction to start the notification process by a predetermined user operation (step S308). If there is an instruction to start (step S308: Yes), the terminal 120 starts the notification process from step S309 onwards. If there is no instruction to start (step S308: No), the notification process from step S309 onwards is not executed and the process is terminated.

Next, the initial information input unit 221 of the terminal 120 reads the barcode or two-dimensional code printed on the receipt to obtain the case ID 232 and the network address information 233 of the zeroth company's server 110-1, and transmits these to the server connection unit 222 (step S309). Note that the method by which the initial information input unit 221 obtains the case ID 232 and the network address information 233 of the zeroth company's server is not limited to obtaining the case ID 232 and the network address information 233 of the zeroth company's server from the barcode or two-dimensional code printed on the receipt, and other methods as described above may be adopted.

Next, the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 transmits the case ID 232 to the contractor search unit 214 of the zeroth company's server 110-1 (step S310).

Next, the business performance management system 100 sets the variable m, which represents the company's order order order, to 0 (step S311).

Next, the contractor search unit 214 of the server 110 of the m-th company determines whether order information 231 for the m+1-th company, which is associated with the case ID 232 acquired from the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 and whose purchaser 402 is the company itself, is stored in the storage unit 111 (step S312). If order information 231 for the m+1-th company is present (step S312: Yes), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S313 onwards. If order information 231 for the m+1-th company is not present (step S312: No), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S317 onwards.

When it is determined in step S312 that the order information 231 for the m+1-tier company is stored in the memory unit 111, the contractor search unit 214 of the m-tier company's server 110 searches for the network address information 405 of the contractor's server 110, i.e., the network address information of the m+1-tier company's server 110, from the order information 231 for the m+1-tier company stored in the memory unit 111 in association with the case ID 232, and transmits the case ID 232 and the network address information of the m+1-tier company's server to the address transmission unit 215 (step S313).

Next, the address sending unit 215 of the server 110 of the mth company sends the case ID 232 and the address information on the network of the server of the m+1th company to the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 (step S314). Here, if the terminal 120 has a memory unit and stores the case ID in the memory unit in step S309, the address sending unit 215 of the server 110 of the mth company does not need to send the case ID 232 to the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 since it knows the case ID currently being processed. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of data communication between the server 110 and the terminal 120 in step S314.

Next, the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 sends the case ID 232 to the contractor search unit 214 of the m+1st company's server 110 (step S315).

Next, the business performance management system 100 adds 1 to the variable m that indicates the order order of the companies, and returns to step S312 (step S316). By repeatedly performing a step-by-step server search by tracing steps S313 to S315 in order from the 0th, 1st, and 2nd orders of the business outsourcing flow, it is possible to reach the server 110-4 of the 3rd-order company that ultimately received the work, from the server 110-1 of the outsourcing company, the 0th-order company.

If it is determined in step S312 that the order information 231 for the m+1-tier company is not stored in the memory unit 111, the variable m, which indicates the company's order order order, is the maximum value, i.e., the final recipient, so the recipient search unit 214 of the server 110 of the m-tier company, which is the final recipient, sends the case ID 232 and NULL data to the address sending unit 215 (step S317).

Next, the address sending unit 215 of the mth company's server 110 sends the case ID 232 and NULL data to the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 (step S318).

Next, when the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 receives the case ID 232 and NULL data from the server 110, it transmits the address information on the network of the server 110, which is the source of the case ID 232 and the NULL data, to the delivery record transmission unit 223 (step S319). In this way, the server connection unit 222 determines whether the order information 231 is stored in the memory unit 111, and if the order information 231 is stored in the memory unit 111, it searches for the address information on the network of the server of the receiving company from the order information 231 related to the case ID 232. Then, if the order information 231 related to the case ID 232 is further stored in the memory unit of the server of this receiving company, it obtains the unique information on the network of the server of the receiving company from the order information 231 related to the case ID 232 and transmits it to the terminal 120. If the order information 231 is detected on the server of the receiving company, the server is searched for in stages in this way. If there is no order information, the case ID 232 and NULL data are sent to the terminal 120.

Here, in step S318, the address sending unit 215 of the server 110 of the mth company may send the address information on the network of the server of the mth company to the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 instead of NULL data. In this case, in step S319, the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 compares the address information on the network of the server 110 received from the server 110 with the address information on the network of the server 110 that sent the data, and determines whether they are the same. If the address information is the same, the address information on the network of the server acquired from the server 110 is sent to the delivery record sending unit 223. In this way, the terminal's receipt of NULL data (or data replacing it) serves as a trigger to acquire the address of the server of the final order receiving company and send the business record.

Next, after acquiring the delivery record 234, the delivery record sending unit 223 of the terminal 120 transmits the case ID 232 and the delivery record 234 to the record acquiring unit 213 of the server 110 of the mth company based on the address information on the network of the server of the mth company acquired from the server connection unit 222 (step S320).

Here, the details of the delivery record 234 received by the delivery record sending unit 223 of the terminal 120 will be described. The delivery record 234 is electronic information that serves as evidence that the delivery destination has received the goods. For example, it may be a receipt or delivery note signed by the person in charge at the delivery destination, an image of the delivery at the delivery destination, or an image of the delivery destination and the delivery together. The delivery record 234 may include fingerprint information or facial features of the deliverer to increase the evidentiary value of the delivery record 234. The image of a signed receipt is one example of the delivery record 234, and other forms may also be used.

Next, the result acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the m-th company stores the received delivery result 234 in the storage unit 111 and then outputs it to the display unit 113 (step S321). Here, the result acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the m-th company may acquire the approval result of the delivery result by the person in charge of the m-th company. For example, the result acquisition unit 213 may display the delivery result approval button together with the delivery result 234. In this case, after the person in charge of the m-th company operates the approval button, the result acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 may store the delivery result 234 in the storage unit 111. On the other hand, if the person in charge of the m-th company does not operate the approval button (for example, the rejection button is operated), the result acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 may send the disapproval result to the terminal 120 and prompt the user of the terminal 120 to acquire the delivery result again. This allows the server 110 of the m-th company to acquire the delivery result approved by the final order-receiving company.

In step S321, the delivery record 234 does not necessarily have to be displayed on the display unit 113. For example, after the record acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the m-th company receives the delivery record 234, the received delivery record 234 may be stored in the memory unit 111. This can improve the efficiency of operations, except for the task of manual confirmation.

After step S321, steps S322 to S326 are executed, or the process may return to step S308.

Next, the contractor search unit 214 of the server 110 of the m-th company associates with the case ID 232 acquired from the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 and determines whether order information 231 from the m-th company, which is the contractor 404, is stored in the storage unit 111 (step S322). If there is order information 231 from the m-th company (step S322: Yes), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S323 onwards. If there is no order information 231 from the m-th company (step S322: No), the process returns to step S308.

Next, the performance acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the m-th tier company searches for the address information 403 on the network of the server 110 of the m-th tier company, which is the orderer, from the order information 231 to the m-th tier company, which is stored in the memory unit 111 and associated with the case ID acquired from the terminal 120, and which is the orderer, and transmits the case ID and delivery performance 234 to the searched server 110 (step S323).

Next, the performance acquisition unit 213 of the m-1st company's server 110 stores the received delivery performance 234 in the storage unit 111 in association with the received case ID (step S324).

Next, if the payment amount information from the purchaser to the contractor is included in the order information 231, the performance acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the m-1st tier company generates payment data in legal tender or virtual currency issued by the central bank based on the payment amount information to the m-th tier company in the order information 231 associated with the case ID, and executes the payment process (step S325).

Next, the business performance management system 100 subtracts 1 from the variable m, which represents the company's order order order, and returns to step S322 (step S326).

In step S324, after storing the delivery record 234 in the memory unit 111, instead of immediately executing the payment process in step S325, the record acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the purchaser 402 may display a payment approval button together with the delivery record 234, and execute the payment process after the payment approval button is operated.

Steps S322 to S326 allow the server 110 of the mth-order company to share the delivery record 234 acquired from the terminal 120 with all companies participating in the business outsourcing flow, and after acquiring the delivery record 234, payment from the purchaser to the contractor can be made promptly.

In step S309, the delivery record sending unit 223 of the terminal 120 may send the acquired delivery record 234 to another server, and then acquire the encrypted delivery record from the server and send it to the server connection unit 222. Then, in step S310, the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 may send the case ID 232 and the encrypted delivery record to the contractor search unit 214 of the server 110 of the zeroth company. Furthermore, in step S320, the delivery record sending unit 223 of the terminal 120 may acquire a private key from the other server that encrypted the delivery record 234, and send the case ID 232 and the private key to the record acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the mth company. In this way, when the delivery record 234 is shared among the companies participating in the business outsourcing flow, it is only necessary to send the private key for decrypting the encrypted delivery record, not the delivery record 234, from the final order-receiving company, thereby reducing the amount of data transmission.

<Example of order information input data>
6 is a diagram showing an example of the order information 231 input to the server 110 of the business performance management system 100 of the embodiment 1. The data shown in FIG. 6 is an example.

The order information 231 is information about work requested by an orderer and undertaken by a contractor. The order information 231 includes a case ID 232, an order ID 401, an orderer 402, address information on the network of the orderer's server 403, a contractor 404, and address information on the network of the contractor's server 405.

The case ID 232 is identification information that is assigned to identify the work ordered between companies. The case ID 232 is generated when creating the order information 231 from the zero-tier company to the first-tier company in step S301. When the same work is outsourced to another company, such as when the work received from the zero-tier company is outsourced from the first-tier company to a second-tier company, and from the second-tier company to a third-tier company, the case ID 232 of the order information 231 traded between each company has the same value.

The order ID 401 is information that identifies the order being traded between the purchaser and the recipient. The order ID 401 is generated each time an order is placed or received between companies. For example, the order ID 401 in the order information 231 from the zeroth company to the first-tier company and the order ID 401 in the order information 231 from the first-tier company to the second-tier company will be different values.

The orderer 402 is information about the outsourcing company that orders the work, and the contractor 404 is information about the outsourced company that receives the work. The orderer 402 and the contractor 404 may be the name of the company or may be the identification information of the company.

When the result acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the purchaser 402 acquires the delivery result 234 from the server 110 of the contractor 404, if the server 110 of the purchaser 402 of the order information 231 executes a payment process to the contractor 404, the order information 231 may include the payment amount from the purchaser to the contractor. This allows the payment from the purchaser to the contractor to be executed immediately after the delivery result 234 is acquired.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, even if an outsourcing company that lends a terminal 120 for transmitting delivery results does not know the name or server information of the final order receiving company using the business performance management system 100, the terminal 120 can search for the servers step by step by tracing the servers 110 from upstream to downstream in the business outsourcing flow, and can transmit the delivery results to the server 110 of the final order receiving company. In addition, the delivery results can be easily transmitted to the server of the final order receiving company without the user having to perform complicated operations such as inputting the server information of the final order receiving company, which is the destination of the delivery results, into the terminal 120.

In addition, in cases where the final order receiving company is unable to lend the terminal 120 for transmitting the delivery record to the user (employee of the final order receiving company) or is unable to prepare an environment for transmitting the delivery record, the outsourcing company may lend the terminal 120 for transmitting the delivery record instead of the final order receiving company, and the delivery record can still be transmitted to the final order receiving company's server. Furthermore, even if the terminal 120 for transmitting the delivery record is different for each delivery, or if the terminal 120 cannot store information such as server information and email address in advance, the delivery record can still be transmitted to the final order receiving company's server.

It is also possible to manage the order information of all companies participating in the outsourcing flow on a common server, and the terminal 120 for sending delivery records searches for the server information of the final order-receiving company on that common server and sends the delivery records to that server. However, since a third-party organization is required to manage the common server, server operation costs are incurred, and payment amount information, names of ordering/receiving business partners, server information, and the like, written in the order information should be kept confidential from companies that are not directly involved in the transaction. In this case, access control for the order information needs to be set up, which requires a lot of work for the person managing the common server.

On the other hand, when the business performance management system 100 of this embodiment is used, each company manages only the order information that is directly related to them on its own server, so there is no need for a common server, and server operating costs can be reduced. In addition, by distributing and managing the order information among the companies, the order information can be kept confidential from companies that are not directly related to the transaction, and the workload of the person managing the common server can be reduced.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, in addition to the order ID 401, a case ID 232 common to the companies involved is assigned to all order information 231 traded in the business outsourcing flow. In the second embodiment, a case ID shared by all companies participating in the business outsourcing flow is not assigned.

In the second embodiment, differences from the first embodiment described above will be mainly described, and the same configurations and processes as those in the first embodiment will be given the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted. Below, the differences from the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8A, 8B, and 8C.

<An example of order information of input data in the second embodiment>
In the second embodiment, the order information 231 in FIG.

<Block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration in Example 2>
In the second embodiment, the storage unit 111 of the server 110 stores order information 500. Details of the order information 500 will be described later with reference to FIG.

<Example of notification processing procedure using the business performance management system>
8A, 8B, and 8C are flowcharts showing an example of a notification process procedure by the business performance management system 100 of the embodiment 2. In the embodiment 2, the sequence diagram showing the flow of the notification process is the same as that of the embodiment 1 (FIG. 5), but steps S314, S315, S318, and S320 can be read as steps S314a, S315a, S318a, and S320a, respectively.

In the second embodiment, the processes in steps S301 to S305 and S307 shown in FIG. 8A are the same as those in the first embodiment described above.

When it is determined in step S305 that the order information 231 for the n+2-tier company is to be acquired, the order information input unit 211 of the n+1-tier company's server 110 creates order information 500 based on the order information 231 for the n+1-tier company acquired from the n-tier company's server 110 in step S303 and the order information 231 for the n+2-tier company input in step S305. After that, the order information input unit 211 of the n+1-tier company's server 110 stores the order information 231 for the n+2-tier company and the order information 500 in the storage unit 111, and transmits the order information 231 for the n+2-tier company to the order information transmission unit 212 of the n+1-tier company's server 110 (step S306a).

Next, steps S308 to S317 shown in Figure 8B will be explained.

If it is determined in step S305 that the order information 231 for the n+secondary company is not to be acquired, the terminal 120 determines whether or not there is an instruction to start the notification process by a predetermined user operation (step S308). If there is an instruction to start (step S308: Yes), the terminal 120 starts the notification process from step S309 onwards. If there is no instruction to start (step S308: No), the notification process from step S309 onwards is not executed and the process is terminated.

Next, the initial information input unit 221 of the terminal 120 reads the barcode or two-dimensional code printed on the receipt to obtain the order ID 401 of the order information 231 to the first-tier company and the address information 233 on the network of the zero-tier company's server, and transmits them to the server connection unit 222 (step S309). Note that the method by which the initial information input unit 221 obtains the address information 233 on the network of the zero-tier company's server is not limited to the method of obtaining it from the barcode or two-dimensional code printed on the receipt, and other methods as described above may be adopted.

Next, the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 transmits the order ID 401 of the order information 231 for the primary company to the contractor search unit 214 of the zeroth company's server 110-1 (step S310).

Next, the contractor search unit 214 of the zeroth company's server 110-1 searches for the address information on the network of the primary company's server from the order information 231 to the primary company associated with the order ID 401 obtained from the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120, and transmits the order ID 401 and the address information on the network of the primary company's server to the address transmission unit 215 (step S801).

Next, the address sending unit 215 of the zeroth company's server 110 sends the order ID to the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120, and the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 sends the order ID 401 to the contractor search unit 214 of the primary company's server 110 (step S802).

Next, the business performance management system 100 sets the variable m, which represents the company's order order order, to 1 (step S311a).

Next, the contractor search unit 214 of the server 110 of the m-th company determines whether or not the order information 500, in which the order ID 501 obtained from the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 is the value of the order ID 401, is stored in the storage unit 111 (step S312a). If the order information 500 is present (step S312a: Yes), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S313a onwards. If the order information 500 is not present (step S312a: No), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S317a onwards.

When it is determined in step S312a that the order information 231 for the m+1-tier company is stored in the memory unit 111, the contractor search unit 214 of the m-tier company's server 110 searches for the order ID 401 and the address information 405 on the network of the contractor's server 110, i.e., the address information on the network of the m+1-tier company's server 110, from the order/receive information 500 in which the order ID 501 obtained from the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 is the value of the order ID 401, and transmits it to the address transmission unit 215 (step S313a).

Next, the address sending unit 215 of the mth-order company's server 110 sends the order ID 401 and the address information on the network of the m+1th-order company's server to the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 (step S314a).

Next, the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 transmits the order ID 401 to the contractor search unit 214 of the m+1 company's server 110 (step S315a).

Next, the business performance management system 100 adds 1 to the variable m, which indicates the order order of the companies, and returns to step S312a (step S316). By following the business outsourcing flow in steps S313a to S315a and repeatedly searching for servers in stages, it is possible to reach the server 110-1 of the outsourcing company, the 0th tier company, which is the final recipient, and the server 110-4 of the 3rd tier company.

If it is determined in step S312 that the order information 231 for the m+1-tier company is not stored in the memory unit 111, the variable m, which indicates the company's order order order, is the maximum value, i.e., the final recipient, so the recipient search unit 214 of the server 110 of the m-tier company, which is the final recipient, sends the order ID 401 and NULL data to the address sending unit 215 (step S317a).

Next, the address sending unit 215 of the mth company's server 110 sends the order ID 401 and NULL data to the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 (step S318a).

Next, when the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 receives the order ID 401 and NULL data from the server 110, it transmits the address information on the network of the server 110 that is the source of the order ID 401 and the NULL data to the delivery record transmission unit 223 (step S319a). Here, in step S318a, the address transmission unit 215 of the server 110 of the m-th company may transmit the address information on the network of the server of the m-th company to the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 instead of NULL data. In that case, in step S319a, the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 compares the address information on the network of the server 110 received from the server 110 with the address information on the network of the server 110 that is the source of the data, and determines whether the two are the same. If the address information is the same, the address information on the network of the server acquired from the server 110 is transmitted to the delivery record transmission unit 223.

Next, after acquiring the delivery record 234, the delivery record sending unit 223 of the terminal 120 transmits the order ID 401 and the delivery record 234 to the record acquiring unit 213 of the server 110 of the mth company based on the address information on the network of the server of the mth company acquired from the server connection unit 222 (step S320a).

Next, the result acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the m-th company stores the received delivery result 234 in the memory unit 111 and then outputs it to the display unit 113 (step S321). Here, the result acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the m-th company may acquire the approval result of the delivery result by the person in charge of the m-th company. For example, the result acquisition unit 213 may display the approval button for the delivery result together with the delivery result 234. In this case, after the approval button is operated by the person in charge of the m-th company, the result acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 may store the delivery result 234 in the memory unit 111. On the other hand, if the approval button is not operated by the person in charge of the m-th company (for example, the rejection button is operated), the result acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 may send the disapproval result to the terminal 120 and prompt the user of the terminal 120 to acquire the delivery result again. This allows the server 110 of the m-th company to acquire the delivery result approved by the final order-receiving company. In step S321, the delivery record 234 does not necessarily have to be displayed on the display unit 113. For example, after the record acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the m-th company receives the delivery record 234, the received delivery record 234 may be stored in the storage unit 111. This can improve the efficiency of operations, excluding the task of manual confirmation. Also, after step S321, steps S803 to S326 are executed, but the process may return to step S308.

Next, the performance acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the m-th company searches the network address information 403 of the server of the m-th company, which is the orderer, from the order/receive information 500 stored in the memory unit 111 and in which the order ID 401 acquired from the terminal 120 is stored as the value of the order ID, and transmits the order ID 401 and delivery performance 234 to the searched server 110 (step S803).

Next, the performance acquisition unit 213 of the m-1st company's server 110 stores the delivery performance 234 in the storage unit 111 in association with the order ID 401 (step S804).

Next, if payment amount information from the purchaser to the contractor is included in the order information 231, the performance acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the m-1st-tier company generates payment data in legal tender or virtual currency issued by the central bank based on the payment amount information to the m-th-tier company in the order information 231 associated with the order ID 401, and executes the payment process (step S805).

Next, the contractor search unit 214 of the server 110 of the m-1st-tier company determines whether the order information 500 linked to the order ID 401 acquired from the server 110 of the mth-tier company is stored in the storage unit 111 (step S322). If there is order information 500 from the mth-tier company (step S322: Yes), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S323 onwards. If there is no order information 500 from the mth-tier company (step S322: No), the process returns to step S308.

Next, the performance acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the m-1st company searches the network address information 403 of the server 110 of the m-2nd company, which is the orderer, from the order/receive information 500 stored in the memory unit 111 and associated with the order ID 401 acquired from the server 110 of the m-1st company, and transmits the order ID 401 and delivery performance 234 to the searched server 110 (step S323).

Next, the performance acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the m-secondary company associates the value of the order ID 501 received from the m-first-tier company as the order ID 401, and stores the delivery performance 234 in the storage unit 111 (step S324).

Next, if the payment amount information from the purchaser to the recipient is included in the order information 231, the track record acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the m-secondary company generates payment data in legal tender or virtual currency issued by a central bank based on the payment amount information to the m-th company in the order information 231 associated with the order ID 401 received from the m-first-tier company, and executes the payment process (step S325). In step 324, after storing the delivery record 234 in the memory unit 111, the track record acquisition unit 213 of the server 110 of the purchaser 402 may display a payment approval button together with the delivery record 234 and execute the payment process after the payment approval button is operated, rather than immediately executing the payment process in step S325.

<Example of order information stored in the server>
7 is a diagram showing an example of the order information 500 stored in the storage unit 111 of the server 110 of the business performance management system 100 of the embodiment 2. Note that the data shown in FIG.

Order information 500 is information that associates order information 231 that another company has ordered to your company with order information 231 that your company has ordered from a third company when your company requests work related to order information 231 that another company has ordered to your company. Order information 500 includes an order ID 501, an orderer 402, network address information 403 of the orderer's server, an order ID 401, a contractor 404, and network address information 405 of the contractor's server.

The order ID 501 is the order ID 401 of the order information 231 that another company has placed with the company. Therefore, the orderer 402 is the orderer (the other company) of the order information 231 from the other company to the company.

The order ID 401 is the order ID of the order information 231 from the company to a third company. The contractor 404 is the contractor (the third company) of the order information 231 from the company to a third company.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, even if there is no case ID shared by all companies participating in the business outsourcing flow, the business performance management system 100 allows the terminal 120 that transmits the delivery performance to sequentially trace the servers 110 from upstream to downstream in the business outsourcing flow, and to search for the servers step by step, and to transmit the delivery performance to the server of the final order receiving company.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the server 110 of the final receiving company is identified via the terminal 120, and then the delivery record 234 is transmitted from the terminal 120 to the server 110 of the final receiving company. In the third embodiment, the server 110 of the final receiving company is identified by repeatedly searching for the servers in a step-by-step manner by tracing the servers 110 of the companies participating in the business outsourcing flow from upstream to downstream, without going through the terminal 120, and then the delivery record is transmitted from the terminal 120 to the server 110 of the final receiving company.

In the third embodiment, differences from the first embodiment described above will be mainly described, and the same configurations and processes as those in the first embodiment will be given the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted. Below, differences from the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4C, 5, 6, and 9.

<Example of notification processing procedure using the business performance management system>
Fig. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of steps S308 to S317b of the notification process procedure by the business performance management system 100 of the third embodiment, and Fig. 10 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of the notification process. Note that steps S301 to S307 executed before step S308 in Fig. 9 are the same as those in the first embodiment (Fig. 4A), and steps S318 to S326 executed after step S317b are the same as those in the first embodiment (Fig. 4C).

Steps S308 to S311 in Figure 9 are the same as in Example 1 (Figure 4B).

After step S311, the contractor search unit 214 of the server 110 of the m-th company determines whether order information 231 for the m+1-th company, which is associated with the case ID 232 acquired from the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 and whose purchaser 402 is the company itself, is stored in the storage unit 111 (step S312). If order information 231 for the m+1-th company is present (step S312: Yes), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S313b onwards. If order information 231 for the m+1-th company is not present (step S312: No), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S317b onwards.

When it is determined in step S312 that the order information 231 for the m+1-tier company is stored in the memory unit 111, the contractor search unit 214 of the m-tier company's server 110 searches for the network address information 405 of the contractor's server 110, i.e., the network address information of the m+1-tier company's server 110, from the order information 231 for the m+1-tier company stored in the memory unit 111 in association with the case ID 232, and transmits the case ID 232, the network address information of the m+1-tier company's server, and the network address information of the terminal 120 to the address transmission unit 215 (step S313b).

Next, the address sending unit 215 of the server 110 of the mth-tier company sends the case ID 232 and the network address information of the terminal 120 to the contractor search unit 214 of the server 110 of the m+1th-tier company. After that, the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S316 onwards (step 314b).

Next, the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 sends the case ID 232 to the contractor search unit 214 of the m+1st company's server 110 (step S315).

Next, the business performance management system 100 adds 1 to the variable m, which indicates the order order of the companies, and returns to step S312 (step S316). By following the business outsourcing flow from step S313b to S315 and repeatedly executing a step-by-step server search, it is possible to reach the server 110-1 of the outsourcing company, the 0th-tier company, to the server 110-4 of the final contractor, the 3rd-tier company.

If it is determined in step S312 that the ordering information 231 for the m+1-tier company is not stored in the memory unit 111, the variable m, which indicates the company's ordering order, is the maximum value, i.e., the final recipient, so the recipient search unit 214 of the server 110 of the m-tier company, which is the final recipient, sends the case ID 232, NULL data, and the network address information of the terminal 120 to the address sending unit 215 (step S317b).

The subsequent steps S318 to S321 are the same as in Example 1 (Figure 4B).

As described above, according to the third embodiment, the servers 110 of the companies participating in the business outsourcing flow can be traced from upstream to downstream in sequence without going through the terminal 120, and the servers can be searched step by step to identify the server 110 of the final order receiving company and transmit the delivery record. In addition, since the terminal 120 communicates only with the servers 110 of the zeroth company and the final order receiving company, the number of times data is sent and received between the terminal 120 and the server 110 can be reduced, and the power consumption of the terminal 120 can be reduced.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the fourth embodiment, a process is added to the first embodiment in which hash values of order information associated with the same order ID 401 are obtained from the servers of the orderer and the contractor, respectively, and the order information stored in the servers of the orderer and the contractor is confirmed to be equal.

In Example 4, differences from Example 1 described above will be mainly described, and the same configurations and processes as those in Example 1 will be given the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted. Below, differences from Example 1 will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4B, 4C, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12A, 12B, and 13.

<Block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration in the fourth embodiment>
In the fourth embodiment, the terminal 120 in FIG. 2 includes a storage unit.

<Block diagram showing an example of a functional configuration in Example 4>
In the fourth embodiment, hash value information 600 is stored in the storage unit 111 of the server 110 in Fig. 3. Details of the hash value information 600 will be described with reference to Fig. 11 .

<Example of notification processing procedure using the business performance management system>
12A and 12B are flow charts showing an example of steps S308 to S317 of the notification process procedure by the business performance management system 100 of the fourth embodiment, and Fig. 13 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of the notification process. Note that steps S301 to S307 executed before step S308 in Fig. 12A are the same as those in the first embodiment (Fig. 4A), and steps S318 to S326 executed after step S317 in Fig. 12B are the same as those in the first embodiment (Fig. 4C).

Steps S308 to S312 in FIG. 12A and steps S315 to S317 in FIG. 12B are the same as in Example 1 (FIG. 4B).

When it is determined in step S312 that the order information 231 for the m+1-tier company is stored in the memory unit 111, the contractor search unit 214 of the m-tier company's server 110 searches for the order ID 401 and the network address information 405 of the contractor's server, i.e., the network address information of the m+1-tier company's server 110, from the order information 231 for the m+1-tier company associated with the case ID 232 and stored in the memory unit 111, and the contractor search unit 214 of the m-tier company's server 110 transmits the case ID 232, the order ID 401, the network address information of the m+1-tier company's server 110, and the hash value of the order information 231 for the m+1-tier company to the address transmission unit 215 (step S313c).

Next, the address sending unit 215 of the mth-level company's server 110 sends the case ID 232, the order ID 401, the network address information of the mth-level company's server 110, and the hash value of the order information 231 for the mth-level company to the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 (step S314c).

Next, the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 stores in the storage unit of the terminal 120 the case ID 232 and order ID 401 acquired from the server 110 of the mth-order company, and the hash value information 600 that stores the hash value of the order information 231 to the m+1th-order company as the hash value 601 of the order information of the purchaser. Next, the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S702 onwards (step S701).

Next, the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 transmits the case ID 232 and the order ID 401 to the contractor search unit 214 of the m+1 company's server 110 (step S702).

Next, the contractor search unit 214 of the server 110 of the m+1 company searches for the order information 231 to the m+1 company, for which the contractor 404 stored in the memory unit 111 is the company, in association with the case ID 232 and the order ID 401, and transmits the hash values of the case ID 232, the order ID 401, and the order information 231 to the m+1 company to the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 (step S703).

Next, the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 associates the case ID 232 and order ID 401 obtained from the server 110 of the m+1-tier company, and updates the hash value 602 of the order information of the contractor in the hash value information 600 stored in the memory unit of the terminal 120 with the hash value of the order information 231 to the m+1-tier company obtained from the server 110 of the m+1-tier company (step S704).

Next, the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 compares the hash value 601 of the order information of the client and the hash value 602 of the order information of the contractor in the hash value information 600 stored in the memory unit of the terminal 120, and determines whether they are the same (step S705). If the hash values are the same (step S705: Yes), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S315 onwards. If the hash values are different (step S705: No), the business performance management system 100 ends the notification process.

Here, in steps S701 to S705, instead of sending a hash value of the order information 231 from the server 110 to the terminal 120, the order information 231 may be sent, and the terminal 120 may generate a hash value from the order information 231 and store it in the memory of the terminal 120. This allows the hash values of the order information 231 held by the purchaser and the contractor to be compared even if the server 110 of a certain company cannot generate a hash value from the order information 231. Note that instead of comparing hash values, it may be determined whether the values of each data item of the order information 231 held by the purchaser and the contractor are equal.

<Example of hash value information stored in a terminal>
Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of hash value information 600 stored in the storage unit of the terminal 120 of the business performance management system 100 of the embodiment 3. Note that the data shown in Fig. 11 is an example, and may be in other forms.

Hash value information 600 is information that associates a hash value obtained by converting order information 231 into a character string with case ID 232 and order ID 401. Hash value information 600 includes case ID 232, order ID 401, hash value 601 of the orderer's order information, and hash value 602 of the contractor's order information.

The hash value 601 of the ordering information of the client is the hash value of the ordering information 231 obtained from the server 110 of the ordering company. The hash value 602 of the ordering information of the contractor is the hash value of the ordering information 231 obtained from the server 110 of the receiving company.

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, the order information 231 includes the address information 405 on the network of the contractor's server, so that the terminal 120 can confirm that the address information 405 on the network of the contractor's server 110 included in the order information 231 obtained from the orderer's server 110 is correct by performing a process of determining whether the order information 231 held by the orderer and the order information 231 held by the contractor are the same.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the third embodiment, the servers 110 of the companies participating in the business outsourcing flow are traced from upstream to downstream without going through the terminal 120, and the servers are searched for step by step. After identifying the server 110 of the final order receiving company, the terminal 120 transmits the delivery record to the server of the final order receiving company. In the fifth embodiment, it is determined whether the hash value of the order information associated with the same order ID as in the third embodiment is the same as the order information obtained by the contractor's server 110 from the orderer's server 110.

In Example 5, differences from Example 3 described above will be mainly described, and the same configurations and processes as those in Example 3 will be given the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted. Below, differences from Example 3 will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4A, 4C, 5, 6, 14, and 15.

<Example of notification processing procedure using the business performance management system>
Fig. 14 is a flow chart showing an example of steps S308 to S317 of the notification process procedure by the business performance management system 100 of the fifth embodiment, and Fig. 15 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of the notification process. Note that steps S301 to S307 executed before step S308 in Fig. 14 are the same as those in the first embodiment (Fig. 4A), and steps S318 to S326 executed after step S317 in Fig. 14 are the same as those in the first embodiment (Fig. 4C).

Steps S308 to S312 in Figure 9 are the same as in Example 3 (Figure 4B).

When it is determined in step S312 that the order information 231 for the m+1-tier company is stored in the memory unit 111, the contractor search unit 214 of the m-tier company's server 110 searches for the order ID 401 and the network address information 405 of the contractor's server 110, i.e., the network address information of the m+1-tier company's server 110, from the order information 231 for the m+1-tier company stored in the memory unit 111 in association with the case ID 232, and transmits the case ID 232, the order ID 401, the network address information of the terminal 120, the network address information of the m+1-tier company's server, and the hash value of the order information 231 for the m+1-tier company to the address transmission unit 215 (step S313d).

Next, the address sending unit 215 of the server 110 of the mth company sends the case ID 232, the order ID 401, the network address information of the terminal 120, and the hash value of the order information 231 to the m+1th company to the contractor search unit 214 of the server 110 of the m+1th company (step S314d).

Next, the contractor search unit 214 of the m+1-tier company's server 110 reads the hash value of the order information 231 stored in the memory unit 111 in association with the case ID 232 and order ID 401 obtained from the m-tier company's server 110 (step 801).

Next, the contractor search unit 214 of the m+1 company's server 110 compares the read hash value with the hash value of the order information 231 obtained from the m-th company's server 110 to determine whether they are the same (step 802). If the hash values are the same (step S802: Yes), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S316 onwards. If the hash values are different (step S802: No), the business performance management system 100 ends the notification process.

As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, since the order information 231 contains the address information 405 on the network of the contractor's server, the process of determining whether the order information 231 held by the purchaser and the order information 231 held by the contractor are the same makes it possible to repeatedly perform a step-by-step search for servers by tracing the servers from upstream to downstream in the business outsourcing flow without going through the terminal 120, and it is possible to confirm that the contractor's server 110 is being accessed from the server 110 of the purchaser 402 of the order information 231 associated with the case ID 232 and the order ID 401.

In addition, instead of comparing the hash values of the order information 231 held by the orderer's server and the order information 231 held by the contractor's server 110, in step S314d, the hash value of the address information on the network of the orderer's server 110 from which the access originated may be compared with the hash value of the order information of the orderer in the order information 231 held in the memory unit of the contractor's server 110, and if the two are the same, the contractor's server may determine that the access is from the correct orderer's server. This allows the contractor to confirm that the access is from the correct orderer's server even if server 110 cannot generate a hash value.

Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the sixth embodiment, a hash value of order information is written into a tamper-resistant ledger that can be shared between the purchaser and the contractor, and the written hash value is compared to determine whether the order information held by the purchaser's server and the order information held by the contractor's server are the same.

In Example 6, differences from Example 1 described above will be mainly described, and the same configurations and processes as those in Example 1 will be given the same reference numerals and their description will be omitted. Below, differences from Example 1 will be described with reference to Figures 1, 2, 3, 4C, 5, 6, 16A, 16B, and 17.

<Block diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration in the sixth embodiment>
In the sixth embodiment, a ledger that can be shared between the purchaser and the contractor and has tamper resistance is added to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. This shared ledger may be a ledger that can be shared only between the purchaser and the contractor, or a ledger that can be shared by all companies participating in the business outsourcing flow.

<Example of notification processing procedure using the business performance management system>
16A and 16B are flow charts showing an example of steps S301 to S317 of the notification process by the business performance management system 100 of the sixth embodiment, and Fig. 17 is a sequence diagram showing the flow of the notification process. Note that steps S318 to S326 executed after step S317 in Fig. 16B are the same as those in the first embodiment (Fig. 4C).

Steps S301 to S302 and S304 to S307 in Figure 16A are the same as those in Example 1 (Figure 4A).

After step S302, the order information transmission unit 212 of the nth company's server 110 stores the hash value of the order information 231 to the n+1th company in the shared ledger in association with the case ID 232 and the order ID 401, and transmits the order information 231 to the n+1th company to the order information input unit 211 of the n+1th company's server 110 (step S303e).

Steps S308 to S311 and S316 to S317 in Figure 16B are the same as those in Example 1 (Figure 4B).

After step S311, the contractor search unit 214 of the server 110 of the m-th company determines whether order information 231 for the m+1-th company, which is associated with the case ID 232 acquired from the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 and whose purchaser 402 is the company itself, is stored in the storage unit 111 (step S312). If order information 231 for the m+1-th company is present (step S312: Yes), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S313e onwards. If order information 231 for the m+1-th company is not present (step S312: No), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S317 onwards.

Next, the contractor search unit 214 of the mth company's server 110 searches for the order ID 401 and the contractor's server network address information 405, i.e., the address information on the network of the mth company's server, from the order information 231 for the mth company stored in the memory unit 111 in association with the case ID 232, and transmits the case ID 232, the order ID 401, and the address information on the network of the mth company's server to the address transmission unit 215 (step 313e).

Next, the address sending unit 215 of the mth-tier company's server 110 sends the case ID 232, the order ID 401, and the network address information of the m+1th-tier company's server to the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 (step 314e).

Next, the server connection unit 222 of the terminal 120 sends the case ID 232 and the order ID 401 to the contractor search unit 214 of the m+1 company's server 110 (step 315e).

Next, the contractor search unit 214 of the server 110 of the m+1 company reads the hash value of the order information 231 for the m+1 company associated with the case ID 232 and the order ID 401 from the shared ledger (step 901).

Next, the hash value read from the shared ledger is compared with the hash value of the order information 231 stored in the memory unit 111 of the server 110 of the m+1st company to determine whether they are the same (step S902). If the hash values are the same (step S902: Yes), the business performance management system 100 starts the notification process from step S316 onwards. If the hash values are different (step S902: No), the business performance management system 100 ends the notification process.

As described above, according to the sixth embodiment, by writing a hash value into a shared ledger that can be shared between the purchaser and the contractor and is tamper-resistant at the time the purchaser sends the order information to the contractor, it is possible to determine whether the order information 231 stored in the memory unit 111 of the purchaser's server 110 has been altered since it was sent to the contractor's server, and the delivery record can be sent to the server of the final order-receiving company while confirming that the outsourcing flow is correct and that the order information has not been rewritten due to erroneous operation, etc.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various modified examples and equivalent configurations within the spirit of the appended claims. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to having all of the configurations described. Furthermore, part of the configuration of one embodiment may be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment. Furthermore, the configuration of another embodiment may be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, part of the configuration of each embodiment may be added, deleted, or replaced with other configurations.

Furthermore, each of the configurations, functions, processing units, processing means, etc. described above may be realized in part or in whole in hardware, for example by designing them as integrated circuits, or may be realized in software by a processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function.

Information such as programs, tables, and files that realize each function can be stored in a storage device such as a memory, hard disk, or SSD (Solid State Drive), or in a recording medium such as an IC card, SD card, or DVD.

In addition, the control lines and information lines shown are those considered necessary for explanation, and do not necessarily represent all control lines and information lines necessary for implementation. In reality, it is safe to assume that almost all components are interconnected.

100 Business performance management system, 110 Server, 111 Storage unit, 112 Control unit, 113 Display unit, 114 Input unit, 115 Communication unit, 120 Terminal, 121 Control unit, 122 Display unit, 123 Input unit, 124 Communication unit, 130 Network, 211 Order information input unit, 212 Order information transmission unit, 213 Performance acquisition unit, 214 Contractor search unit, 215 Address transmission unit, 221 Initial information input unit, 222 Server connection unit, 223 Delivery performance transmission unit, 231 Order information, 233 Address information, 234 Delivery performance, 500 Order information, 600 Hash value information

Claims (11)

A business performance management system that searches for a server of a receiving company that undertakes a business in a commercial transaction in which business consignment consisting of ordering and receiving orders is carried out step by step between a plurality of companies, comprising:
A server for each of the plurality of companies;
The system includes at least a terminal connected to a server of an outsourcing company via a network,
Each of the servers includes a first arithmetic unit that executes a predetermined process and a first storage unit that is connected to the first arithmetic unit;
the terminal has a second arithmetic unit that executes a predetermined process and a second storage unit that is connected to the second arithmetic unit;
The server,
determining whether the order information to which the acquired identification information is added is stored in the first storage unit;
When the order information with the acquired identification information is stored in the first storage unit, the server of the order receiving company is searched for in a stepwise manner by acquiring address information on a network of the server of the order receiving company of the order information;
If the order information with the acquired identification information is not stored in the first storage unit, the terminal is sent information indicating that the company is a final order receiving company.
A business performance management system characterized in that the terminal identifies the network address information of the server from which the information indicating that the terminal is the final receiving company as the network address information of the server of the final receiving company. The business performance management system according to claim 1,
The identification information is a case ID common to receiving and placing orders between multiple companies in the outsourcing flow,
The terminal transmits a case ID to be attached to the order information to the server,
The server,
When the order information with the acquired case ID is stored in the first storage unit, the address information on the network of the server of the company that receives the order information is acquired;
Transmitting the case ID and the address information of the server of the receiving company on the network to the terminal;
A business performance management system characterized in that the terminal transmits a case ID attached to the order information to the server of the receiving company in accordance with address information on the network of the server of the receiving company received from the server. The business performance management system according to claim 1,
The terminal transmits identification information to be attached to the order information to the server of the outsourcing company,
The server,
When the order information with the acquired identification information attached thereto is stored in the first storage unit, the address information on the network of the server of the receiving company of the order information is acquired, and the identification information is transmitted to the server of the receiving company in accordance with the address information on the network of the server of the receiving company;
A business performance management system characterized in that, if the order information accompanied by the acquired identification information is not stored in the first memory unit, information indicating that the company is the final order receiving company and network address information of the server of the final order receiving company are sent to the terminal. The business performance management system according to claim 2,
the terminal has a second storage unit that stores a hash value of order information;
The server transmits at least one of data indicating order information and data indicating received order information to the terminal, the data being attached with the acquired identification information;
The terminal includes:
storing the acquired data indicating the order information and data indicating the received order information in the second storage unit;
comparing the data indicating the order information and the data indicating the receipt information associated with the same identification information;
A business performance management system characterized in that, if it is determined that the two pieces of data are the same as a result of the comparison, the identification information is transmitted to a server of the order-receiving company. The business performance management system according to claim 3,
The server,
Transmitting the acquired identification information and data indicating order information for the identification information to a server of the receiving company;
comparing data indicating the order information having the same identification information with data indicating the order information obtained from another of the servers;
A business performance management system characterized in that, if it is determined that the two pieces of data are the same as a result of the comparison, the identification information is transmitted to a server of the order-receiving company. The business performance management system according to claim 4,
The server can access a third storage unit having tamper resistance;
The server,
Transmitting order information to the third storage unit in association with the identification information;
2. A business performance management system comprising: a processor for comparing data indicating order information acquired from another server with data indicating order information acquired from the third storage unit. The business performance management system according to claim 1,
The terminal includes:
Identifying address information on a network of a server of a final receiving company identified with the identification information and the order information to which the identification information is attached;
A business performance management system characterized in that business performance related to the identification information and order information to which the identification information is attached is transmitted to a server of a final order-receiving company identified by the address information. The business performance management system according to claim 1,
The terminal includes:
Transmitting the identification information and the encrypted business results to the server whose address information is specified;
Transmitting a key for decrypting the business performance to a server of the final receiving company whose address information is identified;
The business record management system is characterized in that the server decrypts the business record using the acquired key. The business performance management system according to claim 7,
The business performance management system is characterized in that the server generates payment data for the order-receiving company based on the acquired business performance. A business performance management method executed by a business performance management system that searches for a server of a receiving company in a commercial transaction in which business consignment consisting of an order and an order is carried out step by step between a plurality of companies, comprising:
The business performance management system includes a server for each of the plurality of companies and a terminal connected to at least the server of the client company via a network;
Each of the servers includes a first arithmetic unit that executes a predetermined process and a first storage unit that is connected to the first arithmetic unit;
the terminal has a second arithmetic unit that executes a predetermined process and a second storage unit that is connected to the second arithmetic unit;
The business performance management method includes:
A first calculation unit of the server determines whether the order information to which the acquired identification information is attached is stored in the first storage unit;
a first arithmetic unit of the server, when the order information with the acquired identification information is stored in the first storage unit, acquires address information on a network of a server of the order receiving company of the order information, and searches for the server of the order receiving company step by step;
a first calculation unit of the server, when the order information with the acquired identification information is not stored in the first storage unit, transmits information indicating that the company is a final order receiving company to the terminal;
A business performance management method characterized in that a second calculation unit of the terminal identifies the address information on the network of the server from which the information indicating that the company is the final recipient is sent as the address information on the network of the server of the final recipient. The business performance management method according to claim 10,
The identification information is a case ID common to receiving and placing orders between multiple companies in the business outsourcing flow,
The business performance management method includes:
A second calculation unit of the terminal transmits a case ID attached to the order information to the server,
a first calculation unit of the server, when the order information with the acquired case ID is stored in the first storage unit, acquires address information on a network of a server of the order receiving company of the order information, and transmits the address information to the terminal;
The first calculation unit of the server transmits the acquired case ID and the address information of the server of the receiving company on the network to the terminal;
A business performance management method, comprising the steps of: said terminal transmitting to said server a case ID attached to said order information in accordance with address information on the network of the server of the order receiving company received from said server.

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