FR3034895A1 - TREATMENT OF ORDERS OF PERISHABLE ARTICLES - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a process for the treatment of orders of particularly perishable articles, particularly suitable for orders of edible articles requiring preparation and whose organoleptic or sanitary qualities are rapidly degraded after preparation. The method implements four main steps: reception of the command (100), calculation of an optimal moment of provision of the command (120), calculation of the optimum times of preparation start of each item of the order (130). ) and sending (140), at said optimal start times of preparation of each item of the order, order messages of the beginning of preparation of said items at their place of preparation. In some of its embodiments, the method implements automated management of component inventory thresholds. In some of its aspects, the method implements at least one hardware device for receiving signals and issuing low order item preparation or alerting messages. In another of its aspects, the method implements an automated device for making orders available.

Description

The present invention relates to the treatment of orders for articles, in particular for the preparation of perishable compounds.

The preparation of perishable compounds is subject to many constraints. In the field of catering, in particular and without this having a limiting character, we often witness the paradoxical situation in which the customer has to queue for a time which is longer than the sum of the preparation and consumption times. of his order, even if the order was placed in advance. When an order was placed in advance, the expected recovery time was usually specified when ordering. The effective delivery of the order should be as close as possible to the actual recovery time, which differs most of the time from the expected recovery time, in order to keep items as long as possible once recovered by customers their optimum qualities, especially organoleptic and sanitary.

Professionals preparing such perishable compounds can make large quantities of perishable compounds in advance. They then take the risk of discarding those that have not been sold in the optimal shelf life. They can, conversely, only manufacture the compounds when they have actually been ordered by a customer and said customer is physically present on the place of provision of said compound: the customer must then wait to recover his order, even if it was passed well in advance. When orders for such perishable compounds have been placed in advance, the customer can expect to be able to recover his order more quickly than if he had placed it on arrival at the place of delivery. In fact, this is rarely the case. As an example, it should be noted that in catering, eminently perishable compounds such as hot sandwiches, are discarded an average of ten minutes after being completely manufactured. In highway restaurants, the maximum time for presentation of a prepared product is on average four hours. Digital terminals, connected to a computer communication network, make it easy for users to order perishable preparations. For example, and without being restrictive, a customer can order a menu with several items, menu that he will recover in a food store, for consumption on the spot or to take away and consume elsewhere. These compounds (or preparations) have relatively short lifetimes beyond which they are no longer guaranteed their organoleptic qualities or satisfactory conditions in terms of health or hygiene. As a rule, during the passage of the order, is specified a provisional time of recovery of said order. The preparation of a perishable compound ordered can then be done at the customer's arrival at the place where the order is made available, said customer then having to wait at least the preparation time of said compound before being able to recover its command. Conversely, the preparation of a perishable compound ordered can be made prior to the arrival of the customer on the place of provision of the order. If IR is the instant of recovery of said order, TP the preparation time of said compound, and TC the optimum storage time of said compound once it has been prepared, the preparation of said controlled perishable compound must then begin at the earliest. the instant IP (instant of preparation), with IP <= (less than or equal to) IR-TP-TC. In the latter case, if said command is actually retrieved by the client at the instant IR with IR> IP + TP + TC, the compound is no longer in an optimal state of conservation and it must generally be discarded. The customer must then wait for the preparation of a new compound before he can take possession of his order. If one wants to optimize the duration during which the compound is in the possession of the customer and keeps its optimal organoleptic, sanitary and hygienic qualities, one must have IR = IP + TP. A problem that many professionals in the preparation of perishable compounds during orders placed in advance, is that the recovery by the customer is done only rarely at the time of recovery expected during the order. The present invention aims to improve this state of affairs. The present invention relates to a method of processing orders for articles, including at least one perishable item, implemented by the computer means of a computer. Said computer being equipped with at least one processor, a communication module for exchanging digital data via a computer network, for example and without limiting character, an Ethernet communication module connected to a gateway for sending and receiving data packets transmitted to the Internet or received from the Internet, and an internal clock module, clocked at 1kHz or higher. The internal clock is synchronized with the exact time, generally with less than a minute accuracy, for example, through synchronization using the Network Time Protocol (NTP). The method according to the invention is characterized in that it comprises the following steps: In a first step, also also called step A), an item control request is received. The origin of said command request may be, for example and without any restrictive nature, the interaction of the client ordering customer of said command with a dedicated human machine interface, for example and without any binding character, via an application executed by a mobile telephone terminal of the "smart phone" type or via a set of dedicated pages of a website, or via a telephone call sent to a dedicated and processed number by a voice server or by a human operator. The control request, once passed, is transposed into digital data which are themselves conveyed by a digital data network in the form of at least one data packet. Said order request includes the order of at least one perishable item, for example, and non-restrictive, a hot edible hamburger type compound. Said control request is a digital data structure which includes data, also called "control data", relating to the characteristics of said command. Said command request comprises at least command data relating to: Unique identification of said command, for example, and without limiting character, in the form of a unique command reference formed by combining a sequence number and the date and the nearest thousandth of a second to which the order was issued, for example, 4521_2015-03-10-1100542. Identification of the ordering customer, for example and in a non-limiting way, in the form of a string of characters such as a customer reference, or in the form of an email address. The identification of each of the ordered items, for example, and without limiting character, an order consists of the following items: a hot edible burger type compound, a 500g portion of fried potatoes, a hot edible pizza type compound , a cold salad type edible compound, a water bottle, a lemon soda, a cola soda, a hot edible pie-type compound, a cold edible ice-cream flavored vanilla compound, a cold type edible compound iced sorbet with lemon scent. The identifier used to identify each item may be, for example and in no way limiting, a unique reference formed of a string of characters such as HAM-150G-8541 or FE243-500A-88699. The type of the order is one of two types: o recovery, o delivery. The expected recovery time of said order, sometimes abbreviated to IRP below, as specified at the time of the passage of said order, for example and without limiting character, Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 12:30. The geographical location of the place of provision of said order, as specified during the creation of said order request, for example and without this being limiting, a fast food outlet, the home of the order giver , the place of work of the client. Said geographical location may be, for example and without limitation, specified in the form of a unique reference place of availability, for example a restaurant identifier unique to a chain of restaurants, in the form of a postal address or in the form of GPS / WGS84 geodesic coordinates. In one of the embodiments of the invention, when the type of the command is "recovery", the above-mentioned control request may, in addition and optionally, include a or a plurality of control data making it possible to determine the following characteristics: the geographical location of the ordering customer at the time of the issuing of said order request, for example and without any binding nature, in the form of a postal address or else under geodesic coordinates type GPS / WGS84. In the latter case, said coordinates can be provided, for example and without this example being limiting, thanks to a geolocation provided a device equipped with a GPS module, said device automatically filling in the geolocation data provided by said GPS module to moment of the passage of order of said command. - The departure time provided for the journey made to recover the order at its place of availability. The means of transport used during the journey made to retrieve said order at its place of delivery, for example and in an unrestricted manner, chosen from the following list: o bicycle, o motorized 2-wheel, o motor car, 20 o Public transport of the rail network, o Public transport of the road network. - The geographical location constituting the starting point of the journey made to retrieve said command, for example and without binding, in the form of postal address or in the form of geodesic coordinates of GPS type.

In the latter case, said coordinates can be provided, for example and without limitation, by geolocation data provided by an interface displaying a map and allowing the user to specify a point on said map, optionally following a address search of the postal address type or following a geolocation made using a GPS-type device, said interface 30 automatically filling in the geolocation data associated with said point on said map. This location may be the same as that of the client ordering client when issuing said order request. Advantageously, at the end of step A), the method has at its disposal, in digital form, a set of details and characteristics relating to an order of articles, which will allow a digital processing of several actions necessary for the preparation of said order.

In a second step, also called step B), is calculated and stored a time of conditioning of said command in its entirety, according to predefined calculation rules, said calculation rules being a function of said control data as well as context data. The calculation of said conditioning time of said command is a function of the type of said command: if said command is of the "delivery" type, said instant of conditioning of said command is equal to the expected recovery time IRP as specified at step A) (and, therefore, as specified during the creation of the order request) which is subtracted the routing time of the order, otherwise also called "delivery time", said time 10 of routing being calculated according to said pre-established calculation rules; - Otherwise, said command is of type "recovery" and said time of conditioning of said command is equal to the expected recovery time as specified in step A) modified according to said predefined calculation rules; The time at which the order is to be packaged in its entirety, that is, the moment at which all items of said order must be ready and, where appropriate, packaged, and which the order in its entirety must be conditioned. Said packaging can take the form, for example and without limitation, of the isothermal packaging of hot or cold items and the packaging of all items in one or more containers-type bags or box.

In order to calculate this time of conditioning one or more calculation rules are evaluated. These calculation rules are based on the values of one or more of the order data as well as contextual data, also called "context data". Said context data make it possible to appreciate and characterize the external factors that influence the preparation times of articles, the expiry of articles, the routing of orders or the movement of individuals. These rules can be, for example and non-limitatively, rules for calculating travel time, such as the delivery time if the order is of delivery type or the travel time of a customer if the type of the order "Recovery". Said travel time can be provided by external services. Other calculation rules are statistical rules and can be based on the order history of the same customer. By way of illustration and in a nonlimiting manner, the fact that a customer has systematically recovered his orders late with, on average, ten minutes late compared to the time of recovery provided by him informed at the stage A) allows the creation of a calculation rule that applies to the customer's orders which are of the "recovery" type, said rule stipulating that the time of conditioning of the order must be increased by ten minutes.

The calculation rules implemented in step B) are stored in a non-volatile memory. They may, for example and in a non-limiting manner, take the form of regular expressions or functions or procedures coded in a computer programming language.

The calculation rules implemented in step B) are evaluated one after the other, in a predefined order, so as to take into account several command and context data. For example and in no way limiting, the time of conditioning a "recovery" type command can be calculated as follows: Expected recovery time as specified in step 5 A), plus the delay due to the conditions of traffic as provided by a route calculation service, which takes into account the means of transport of the customer as specified during the creation of the order request, between the customer's place of departure and the place of availability of the customer. the command as specified during the creation of the command request, which is added the average delay of said client during previous commands. Another example, which is just as limited, is given below: A calculation rule, applying to the "delivery" type commands, evaluates the presence of an "external temperature" type context data item. If such context data exists and its value is less than -10 ° C, then the calculation according to the above-mentioned rules sets the value of the order conditioning time to zero, thus indicating that the delivery can not to be done and that the order is canceled. In the event of the latter case, an informative message is sent via a communication interface to the client giving the order informing him of the cancellation of his order. Advantageously, at the end of step B), the method has a numerical value representing a time when the order must be ready to be removed, or for delivery, or to be retrieved by a customer. digital value of said instant being stored in a memory module. In a third step, also known as step C), are computed and stored the optimum start times of preparation of each of said items included in said command as a function of an atomic time of preparation of each of said articles, said atomic time of Preparing a particular article being pre-established. The "total atomic time of preparation" of an article is the total time that is necessary for the preparation of that article. The adjective "atomic" has here meaning "that can not be cut". Said optimal start time of preparation of said article is calculated by a subtraction operation: the atomic time of preparation of the article in question is subtracted from the time of conditioning of said command calculated in the previous step. The atomic preparation times of each of the articles are pre-established and available in a list stored on a non-volatile memory. For each article of the order, the method according to the invention implements a search for the article in question in said list and there reads the corresponding atomic preparation time. Items that require little or no preparation, for example and in no way limiting, beverages already packaged as sealed bottles or cans, will generally have a preparation time less than one minute of time. On the other hand, articles which require preparatory acts such as, for example and without being limiting, cooking, thawing, cutting, assembling, will have longer atomic preparation times, often of the order of 1 to 10. 15 minutes. At the end of step C), the method according to the invention has established and stored the start time of preparation of each of the items of the order. The values of each of the instants of preparation start of the articles of the processed commands are stored in a memory module, in the form of a data structure 5 which may furthermore contain the identification information of said article, identification of the order to which said article belongs and the place of preparation of said article, as well as a field indicating whether a start order of preparation of said article at said instant on said place of preparation has been issued.

In a fourth step, also known as step D), are sent, via a digital data transmission network, to said optimal start times of preparation of said articles, signals triggering the spread of preparation orders of each of said articles. to at least one device present at a place of preparation of each of said articles. Upon receipt of such a signal by a device present at a place of preparation of each of said articles, an order of preparation of said article is broadcast. For this purpose, for example, the periodic comparison of the value of a clock giving the exact time, with an accuracy of at least 1 second, with the values of the start of preparation times associated with each of the items of the commands previously stored by the preceding steps of the method according to the invention; if the exact time is later than or equal to said start of preparation time and furthermore a start preparation order has not already been issued for said article in said command, then the issuance of a signal associated with a start order of preparation of said article at its place of preparation. This signal is sent in the form of at least one message to a device making it possible to make perceptible, at the place of preparation of said article, said order of beginning of preparation of said article. The order in question can be made perceptible, for example and without limitation, in the form of a display on a screen for displaying text or images, sometimes called Kitchen-Display, or in the form of an impression. in a paper format or in the form of a voice message broadcast by an acoustic system. Advantageously, the method according to the invention thus makes it possible to prepare the articles of a command 30 at the moments as close as possible to the instant of effective recovery of said order, thus allowing the perishable articles to retain their organoleptic and sanitary properties. long time possible. One of the other advantages provided by the process according to the invention is to drastically reduce the food waste in the mess restaurants, which is very often linked to a lack of correspondence between the quantities of articles prepared and the quantities of articles consumed beforehand. that the said prepared articles are out of date.

Advantageously, according to one of its embodiments, the method according to the invention uses context data to calculate more finely the value of the time of conditioning of said command. Said context data are those which are used by the pre-established calculation rules of times of conditioning of said command implemented during step B). In this embodiment, said context data comprises at least one context datum of one of the following types: - weather-type context data, for example, the temperature expected at the time of delivery of the order for delivery; at the expected time of the routing of the moving customer to retrieve an order, or the amount and type of precipitation in a geographical area which includes the place of availability of the order and the point of departure of the customer or of the deliveryman. - Contextual data of traffic and traffic conditions, including public transport and pedestrian traffic, for example the presence of an accident making traffic extremely disturbed around the place of recovery of the order. 15 - Contextual data relating to the presence of the client in a given geographical area. For example, and without limitation, a notification that the customer has just crossed the entrance to a shopping center or parking lot of a shopping center may be received. Advantageously, the rules for calculating the command conditioning time can use this context data to refine the value of said command conditioning time, for example and without this being limiting, by summing up at the instant of the command. detecting the average travel time, previously stored, of a client from the place where it was detected to the place of recovery of the order. By way of illustration and in a non-limiting way, if the customer was detected at 12:22 pm at a mall door and the place of recovery of his order is located fifteen minutes walk, 25 on average, from the place where said customer was detected, the value of the order conditioning time can be refined to twelve thirty-seven minutes. context data relating to a voluntary or proactive modification of the expected recovery time of said order. This can take the form, for example and without limitation, of a signaling by the ordering customer, via a man-machine interface, of a modified planned recovery time, said man-machine interface being presented to said client on a mobile phone terminal of the smart phone type or through one or more web pages on a computer terminal. The method according to the invention can thus refine the calculation of the command conditioning time as a function of the estimate of said estimated instant by the customer himself.

Advantageously, the method according to the invention can thus refine the estimate made of the time of conditioning of the command.

Advantageously, according to another of the characteristics of the method according to the invention, in the case of a "recovery" type command, said context data comprise at least one context datum relating to the presence of the customer in a geographical area. data and there exists among said context data at least one context data relating to: 5 - the detection in said determined geographical area of the presence of a device associated with the command, said device being capable of transmitting and receiving electromagnetic waves. The device is then detected by a dedicated infrastructure. This may take, for example and without limitation, the form of detection by a wireless digital network infrastructure of the ISO 802.11 or ISO 802.15 family of the presence of a mobile terminal previously associated with the command. The measurement of the velocity and the mean direction of a device associated with the command and capable of exchanging data through a digital data transfer network. This may, for example and in a nonlimiting manner, be implemented in the form of an application executed by a smartphone-type mobile terminal, said mobile terminal having been previously associated with said command, said application being able to: o geolocate said terminal using a GPS device embedded in said terminal, o calculate a mean direction and an average speed, for example and non-limiting way, during the last 3 minutes of time, 20 o send to a remote node geolocation, average direction and average speed data through a digital data communication network. - The voluntary mention of the customer's presence in a given geographical area by means of an interface for transmitting digital data via a computer network.

This interface may be, for example and in no way limiting, an animated human-machine interface and presented to customers on a fixed terminal, for example in a shopping mall, or an animated human-machine interface and presented to the client on a terminal. computer, smart phone type, tablet or personal computer to identify said customer and allow him to specify its geolocation now.

Advantageously, the method according to the invention thus makes it possible to refine the calculation of the order conditioning time, as a function of the presence of the ordering customer at a given location at a given moment. Advantageously, according to another of the characteristics of the method according to the invention, are calculated periodically: the command conditioning instant of said command according to step B), by applying said predetermined calculation rules which use the values command data as well as the current values of the context data. - The optimum times of preparation start of each of said items included in said command. In other words, the operations associated with steps B) and C) are performed periodically. This allows, in the case where the context data has evolved, for example in value or by the presence of a new context data not available previously, to calculate updated values of the time of conditioning of the command as well as that, since they flow from it, 10 instants of beginning of preparation of the articles which compose it. The implementation of this aspect can take the form, for example and without limitation, of regular interval calculations or ad-hoc calculations when a change in the context data taken into account for said command is notified.

In another of its embodiments, the method according to the invention is characterized by the existence, for a place of production of articles, of digital representations of the states of the stocks of each of the components used in the preparation of prepared articles. on the said place of production and the existence, in addition, of two additional steps. The digital representation of the state of the stock, in a place of production of articles, of each of the 20 components involved in the preparation of an article can take the form, for example and without limitation, of data structures. stored in a memory module, said data structures comprising at least the following fields: - identification of the component, - identification of the place of production, 25 - digital representation of the stock status of said component in said production site. It should be noted that stocks of single-component items, for example, and in no way restrictive, drinks in bottles or sealed cans, are thus directly represented. It should also be noted that the initial value of the digital representations of the stock statuses of each of the components is provided to the method according to the invention either manually, by the interaction of a user, or by interfacing with an external management system. to the method according to the invention, said management system itself having a representation of the state of said stocks. Likewise, during replenishments of the component stocks, the values of said numerical representations of the stock statuses of each of the components are updated either manually, by the interaction of a user, or by interfacing with said external management system. to the process. A unit conversion calculation may be necessary so that the values, initial or update following supply, of said numerical representations of said stocks are expressed in the appropriate unit 3034895 11. For example, and not limitatively, a value of 500 slices of tomatoes is converted from an initial value of 10kg of tomatoes. The additional steps characterizing this embodiment are the following: Step 1: Update, after step D), ie after the moment when an order for the preparation of an article has been sent , said digital representations of said states of said component stocks. Said update of each of said digital representations of said stocks being made by subtracting, from the previous value of the digital representation of the stock status of said component, a corresponding number of units of each component entering the composition of the article. whose order of preparation was sent to step D). Said numbers of units of each component entering the composition of an article being predefined in a list of components of each article. Said list of the components of each of said articles has been constructed a priori, during the implementation of a particular instance of the method, that is to say, as a rule and in a non-limiting manner, during the implementation of place of the process for a given establishment or a given sign. Said list of components of each article comprises, in addition to the simple list of components themselves, the number of units of each component entering said composition of said article. For purposes of illustration, and without this having a limiting value, are listed below representations of such lists of components of articles: - List of components of the article Hamburger: o Slices of round bread: 2 20 o chopped steak: 1 o slices of tomatoes: 2 o salad leaf: 1 o ketchup sauce: lcl o mayonnaise sauce: lcl 25 o wrapping paper: 1 - Item list of Pizza Margarita: o Pizza dough: 250g o Tomato coulis: 25c1 o Mozzarella: 100g 30 o Olive oil: 2.5c1 o Oregano: lg o Cardboard box 40cmx40cm: 1 - List of components of the article Bottle of water 50c1: o Bottle of water 50c1: 1 35 - List of components of the article Cup of soda cola 50c1: o Soda cola: 40c1 o Ice cubes: lOg 3034895 12 o Cup 50c1: 1 o Plastic lid for cup 50c1: 1 It should be noted units in which are expressed the quantities of each of the components of the said lists of components of each s items correspond exactly to the 5 units of numerical values in which the stocks of said components are expressed. Advantageously, the method according to the invention thus makes it possible to know, after each dispatch of an order signal for the preparation of an article as described in step D), a representation of the state of the stocks of the components. which have entered into the composition of that article and thus, for a given place of production of articles, the state of the stocks of the components therein. 10 - Step 2: Comparison, after it has been updated, of said digital representation of the state of said stock with a predefined threshold value for said stock. This predefined threshold value for a given component stock at a given production location will generally, but without being limiting, a value representing the minimum stock of said component making it possible to prepare a sufficient number of items, the character of sufficiency being generally determined according to statistical rules. If the result of said comparison is such that said digital representation of said state of said updated stock is less than said predefined threshold value, a signal is sent via a computer network. Advantageously, this makes it possible to know almost in real time that the stock of a component at a production site has fallen below a significant threshold value. The emitted signal triggers for example and in no way restrictive the broadcast of a message as soon as it is received. Said message can be made perceptible or broadcast via one of the interfaces also used for issuing the preparation orders of articles as described in step D). The message can be sent by any means, for example by email, or be intended for an interface with a stock management system which can, if necessary, automate the replenishment of said component according to its own rules. The recipient or recipients of said message can thus be, for example and without this having a limiting character, e-mail addresses, visual or acoustic message dissemination devices present on the production sites of the articles, services of the "web" type. services "of a restaurant management system.

According to one of its material aspects, the present invention also aims at a system comprising computer means and comprising: a non-volatile memory module for storing a predetermined set of rules for calculating command conditioning times, a module memory for storing a set of context data, - a non-volatile memory module for storing a list of atomic times for preparing articles, - a communication module for exchanging digital data via a computer network - an internal clock clocked at lkHz or higher, - and a processor for 5 - calculating command conditioning instants according to a predetermined set of command conditioning time calculation rules, - calculating optimal start times of item preparation by subtracting said atomic times for preparing articles at said command conditioning instants, 10 - executing a computer program controlling the sending and receiving of digital data via a computer network via said communication module and - calculating command conditioning instants according to a pre-established set of command conditioning time calculation rules, said programming rules wherein the calculation is a function of said control data and said context data, - calculating optimal start times of article preparation by subtracting an atomic time of article preparation from a command conditioning time.

In one embodiment, the system according to the invention may further comprise at least one interfacing device comprising - a communication module having means for receiving and sending digital data through a computer network. This may be, for example and non-limitingly, a module for sending data via the Ethernet protocol or via one of the wireless communication protocols of the 802.11 family, or via a protocol for transmitting data via a network. cellular network, for example using the GPRS, UMTS or LTE protocol. An interface module having means for rendering perceptible a message of the order type of the beginning of the preparation of an article or of the alert type on stock status. This interface module may be, for example and without being constraining, a module for displaying visual messages, such as a cathode or liquid crystal screen, or a module for printing on a physical medium such as a paper roll of the same type as those used in the payment terminals, or an acoustic module for broadcasting sound messages. A module having means for interfacing with the other two modules of said device, so that a signal received via the communication module can be broadcast or made perceptible via the interface module.

Advantageously, such an interfacing device is used to broadcast or make perceptible the messages sent during the implementation of the method according to the invention, and without requiring the presence of any other message delivery system or same computer at the place of production of an article. Moreover, synchronization of the clocks of a computer implementing the method and said interfacing device is facilitated, which is important in the context of the present invention. In one embodiment, the system according to the invention may further comprise a hardware device for providing commands comprising: A communication module for receiving and sending digital data through a computer network. This can be, for example and non-limitingly, a module for sending data via the Ethernet protocol or via one of the wireless communication protocols of the 802.11 family, or via a protocol for transmitting data via a network. cellular telephony, for example using the protocol GPRS, UMTS 15 or LTE. - A module to control the opening and closing of locks. - A set of lockers with doors, said doors themselves being provided with locks, the opening and closing of said locks being controlled by said module to control the opening and closing of locks, 20 - A module to establish digital communications between the other modules of said device in order, among other things, that a computer implementing the method according to the invention can be notified of the presence of articles in the bins where they have been placed, to authenticate the customers and to control the opening of the locks. Advantageously, the use of such a command delivery device has the effect of further automating the process of removing orders. Indeed, the lockers are filled, manually or automatically via an appropriate chain, one or more items as soon as they are ready. The customer can take possession of his order without human interference. The system may, of course, include a server for the implementation of the invention, such a server comprising: a non-volatile memory module for storing a predetermined set of rules for calculating command conditioning times, a memory module for storing a set of context data; a non-volatile memory module for storing a list of atomic times for the preparation of articles; a communication module for exchanging digital data via a computer network. an internal clock clocked at 1 kHz or more, and a processor for calculating command conditioning instants according to a predetermined set of rules for calculating command conditioning times, calculating optimum times for starting the preparation of commands; articles by subtracting said atomic article preparation times from said command conditioning instants, - executing an information program controlling the sending and receiving of digital data via a computer network via said communication module and 10 - calculating command conditioning instants according to a preestablished set of rules for calculating command conditioning times, said computing rules being a function of said control data and said context data, - calculating optimal start times of article preparation by subtracting an atomic time of article preparation from a command conditioning time. As such, the present invention also aims at such a server.

According to another of its aspects, the present invention is directed to a computer program, including instructions for carrying out the above method when these instructions are executed by a processor of the above server. Figure 1 at least among the figures presented below illustrates an embodiment of the flow chart of the general algorithm of such a computer program.

It should be noted that, for the sake of simplification of its description, the method according to the invention is described for the processing of a single command, and it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that several commands can be treated in parallel in this way, in particular when the items of which they are composed are prepared in one and the same place, so as to optimize the processing of all the orders intended to be prepared and packaged in any place taken over by the customer. method according to the invention, that is to say at any place in which there is at least one interfacing device according to the invention. Other architectures may be used for the implementation of the method described above without however departing from the scope of the present invention as long as the elements of the above computer are provided for storing and executing the instructions of the program. computer above.

The characteristics of the invention mentioned above, as well as others, will emerge more clearly on reading the following description of exemplary embodiments, said description being given in relation to the attached drawings, among which: - Figure 1 is a flow chart illustrating various steps of the method of order processing articles according to the invention. FIG. 2A is a timing diagram explaining the successions of events implemented by the method according to the invention in the case of an example of a command to be delivered. FIG. 2B is a timing diagram explaining the succession of events implemented by the method according to the invention in the case of an example of a command to be recovered. FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a device for making the commands according to the invention available. FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of an interfacing device according to the invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a block diagram of an embodiment of an architecture of a computer apparatus. FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a flowchart illustrating the various steps of an embodiment of the method according to the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1: In step 100: A process, also called a computer program, executed by a computer, receives, via a communication module intended to exchange digital data via a computer network (denoted NET in FIG. Figure), a message constituting a command order (sometimes also called a command request), said command comprising at least one perishable item. Said command order includes data that characterizes the order, in particular the character "delivery" or "recovery", also called type of the order, as well as other characters among which the place of provision of the command and the expected recovery time of the command, also abbreviated PIR. In step 110, the process performs the comparison of the type of the order with the "delivery" value. If the order is of the "delivery" type, the process calculates, in step 112, a routing time from the place of packing of the order to the place of delivery of the order. If the order is not of the "delivery" type, the process calculates, in step 116, a time of effective provision of the order. The calculations made in step 112 implement predefined rules for evaluating travel times, particularly delivery times. The calculations carried out at step 116 implement rules making it possible, among other things, to evaluate travel times, in particular for routing a customer from a given point to the place of provision of a command to be retrieved. or, without being exclusive, statistical rules from the order history of said client. In step 120, the process calculates an otherwise abbreviated Command Conditioning Time. This time is calculated as follows: If the order is of "delivery" type, ICC is equal to the IRP instant from which the process subtracted the delivery time required for delivery as calculated in step 112. If the command is of type "recovery", ICC is equal to IRP modified according to the aforementioned calculation rules. In step 130, the process calculates, for each item included in the order, the start time of preparation of said article. This instant is calculated for each article by subtracting from ICC an atomic time of preparation of said article. Said atomic preparation time of each article is read by the process in one or more data structure (s) accessible to it (s) in a memory module and containing the atomic preparation times of each of the articles. This or these data structure (s) are predefined a priori. In step 140, the process sends, at each of the start times of preparation of an article of the previously calculated and stored command, a signal via a communication module designed to exchange digital data. via a computer network. Said signal is sent to a device for broadcasting an order of preparation of an article. The device to which said signal is sent is at the place of production of said article.

Said device makes perceptible a message of order of preparation of said article, generally for the use of the staff who is in charge of preparing the items of the orders. The desired effect is that the article begins to be prepared at the moment when the order message for preparing said article is broadcast.

With reference to FIG. 2A: The chronogram shown details the sequencing over time of different instants calculated or used by the method according to the invention, as well as the time intervals, for an example of processing a command to be delivered. In order to fix the ideas, it is considered that the chronogram is expressed in minutes of time.

At time 0, a program executed by a computer and implementing the method according to the invention receives a message containing a command order for the delivery of three articles, C1, 3034895 18 C2 and C3, the instant of which delivery, which is also the expected recovery time, IRP, is reported as being 46 minutes later. Said program reads in a nonvolatile memory module the preparation times of the articles: The preparation time of Cl, ATC1, is 25 minutes.

The preparation time of C2, ATC2, is 25 minutes. The preparation time of C3, ATC3, is 15 minutes. As an example to illustrate the process, the following storage times have been devised: The storage time of Cl, DPC1, is 20 minutes. The retention time of C2, DPC2, is 20 minutes.

The shelf life of C3, DPC3, is 30 minutes. The program calculates the order routing time, DLVRYT, for example based on the following order and context data: expected delivery time, weather, and traffic conditions. The result of this calculation, in the example according to the figure, is 11 minutes. Said program calculates CRDY, the command conditioning time by subtracting 15 DLVRYT from the IRP. CRDY is then 35 minutes (relative to the instant 0 which is the moment of reception of the command order) Said program then calculates the instants of preparation start P1, P2 and P3 for, respectively, the articles C1, C2 and C3, subtracting at CRDY respectively ATC1, ATC2 and ATC3. At the instant P1, said program issues the order of beginning of manufacture of Cl.

At time P2, said program issues the start order of manufacture of C2. At the instant P3, said program issues the order of beginning of manufacture of C3. With reference to FIG. 2B: The chronogram shown details sequencing over time of different instants calculated or used by the method according to the invention, and time intervals, for an example of processing a command to be recovered. In order to fix the ideas, it is considered that the chronogram is expressed in minutes of time. At time 0, a program executed by a computer and implementing the method according to the invention receives a message containing a control command to be retrieved for three items, C1, C2 and C3, the expected recovery time of which. , IRP, is reported as 30 minutes later. The program reads in nonvolatile memory the preparation times of the articles: The preparation time of Cl, ATC1, is 25 minutes. The preparation time of C2, ATC2, is 25 minutes. The preparation time of C3, ATC3, is 15 minutes.

By way of example to illustrate the process, the following storage times have been devised: The storage time of Cl, DPC1, is 20 minutes. The retention time of C2, DPC2, is 20 minutes.

The shelf life of C3, DPC3, is 30 minutes. Said program calculates the actual conditioning time of the command, CRDY for example according to the following control data: expected recovery time, weather, traffic conditions and statistical and historical data related to previous customer orders. The result of this calculation, in the example according to the figure, is that CRDY is 35 minutes later relative to the instant 0 which is the moment of reception of the control command. Said program then calculates the instants of preparation preparation P1, P2 and P3 for, respectively, articles C1, C2 and C3, subtracting CRDY respectively ATC1, ATC2 and ATC3. At the instant P1, said program issues the order of beginning of manufacture of Cl.

At time P2, said program issues the start order of manufacture of C2. At the instant P3, said program issues the order of beginning of manufacture of C3. FIG. 3 shows a command provisioning device comprising, in the sense of the invention: a communication module, NETMOD, for receiving and sending digital data through a computer network; - A module, LOCKCTRL, to control the opening and closing of locks, - A set of lockers, LOCKERS, equipped with doors, DOOR, said doors being themselves provided with locks, LOCK, the opening and closing of said locks being controlled by said LOCKCTRL module which makes it possible to control the opening and closing of locks LOCK; it should be noted that for the sake of simplification of the figure, only one door and one lock have been shown although each rack in this embodiment must be provided with a door and a latch, - A module, BUSMOD, making it possible to establish digital communications between the other 25 modules of said device FIG. 4 shows an interfacing device comprising, in the sense of the invention: a communication module, M42, for receiving and transmitting data; digital data through a computer network; an interface module, M41, for broadcasting a message of the order type of the beginning of the preparation of an article or of the alert type on stock status. In one embodiment, this module may be a printing module for printing tickets similar to those printed by the electronic payment terminals. In another embodiment, this module is a screen similar to television or computer screens that display messages. In a third embodiment, this module is an acoustic module for broadcasting the messages in sound form. One module, M43, for establishing communications between the other two modules of said device. FIG. 5 shows an SRV computer comprising, in the sense of the invention: a non-volatile memory module M10 making it possible to memorize a set rules for calculating command conditioning times, - a memory module Mil for storing a set of context data, - a non-volatile memory module M12 for storing a list of atomic times for the preparation of articles; it should be noted that M12 and M10 can be the same module. - a communication module M13 for exchanging digital data via a computer network - a clock CLCK clocked at 1MHz or more, - and a PROC processor for: - calculating command conditioning times according to a predetermined set of 15 rules for calculating command conditioning times, - calculating optimum start times for preparing articles by subtracting said atomic article preparation times from said command conditioning times, and executing a computer program controlling the sending and receiving digital data via a computer network via the communication module M13 and - calculating command conditioning instants according to a predetermined set of command conditioning time calculation rules, - and calculating optimal start times of article preparation by subtracting an atomic time of article preparation from an nstant of order conditioning. Referring to Figure 6: - In step 600: A control command is generated via a human machine interface presented by an application executed by a mobile phone terminal type "smart phone".

This order is transmitted via a computer network (schematized by the upper ellipse NET in the figure) for exchanging digital data between several nodes of the network, for example a network for exchanging data via the TCP protocol. / IP. In step 610: the command command is received by a program executed by a computer and implementing the method according to the invention. This step 610 is similar to step 100 of FIG. 1. The received command order contains command data among which is at least one command data item for characterizing the type of said "delivery" command. "Recovery". Other control data make it possible to characterize the latter in particular as regards the place where the order is made available and the expected recovery time of the order, also abbreviated to IRP. In step 620, the process performs the comparison of the type of the order with the "delivery" value. If the order is of the "delivery" type, the process calculates, at step 622, a routing time from the place of packing of the order to the place of delivery of the order. If the order is not of the "delivery" type (it is then of the "recovery" type), the process calculates, in step 626, a time of effective provision of the order. In particular, the calculations carried out at step 622 implement predefined rules for evaluating travel times, in particular delivery times. In particular, the calculations carried out at step 626 implement rules making it possible to evaluate journey times, in particular for routing a client from a given point to the place where a command is made available. to recover, or, without being exclusive, statistical rules from the order history of said client. In step 630, the process calculates an otherwise abbreviated Command Conditioning Time. This time is calculated as follows: If the order is of "delivery" type, ICC is equal to the IRP instant from which the process has subtracted the delivery time required for delivery as calculated in step 622. If the command is of type "recovery", ICC is equal to IRP modified in step 626 according to the aforementioned calculation rules. In step 635, the process is notified of a change in the context or control data, for example, and without limitation, a change in the traffic conditions or a modification by the user. , the expected time of recovery of the order. The process then proceeds to a new evaluation of the order conditioning time by implementing step 620, and then implements the steps that follow from it. In step 640, the process calculates, for each item included in the command, the start time of preparation of said article. This time is calculated for each article by subtracting from ICC the preparation time of the article. The preparation time of each article is read by the process in one or more data structures accessible to it (s) and containing the atomic preparation times of each of the articles. This or these data structures are predefined a priori. In step 650, the process sends, at each of the start times of preparation of an article of the command, a signal via a communication module designed to exchange digital data by means of a computer network ( schematized by the middle ellipse NET in the figure). Said signal is sent to a device for broadcasting an order of preparation of an article. The device to which said signal is sent is at the place of production of said article. It should be noted that step 650 is an iterative step that is implemented for each of the items of the order and that the steps that follow from it are also implemented iteratively for each of said items. In step 652, said device broadcasts the order of preparation of said article, generally for the use of personnel who are in charge of preparing the items of the orders. In step 654, the article begins to be prepared for conditioning in the order. 5 - In step 660, the process calculates a value of a digital representation of the state of the stocks, of components making it possible to prepare said article, available at the packaging site of said article. This calculation is done in the following way: the process reads in a memory module the number of units of each component necessary for the composition of said article, said number of units of each component necessary for the composition of said article being predefined.

Said value representing the stock status of said component used in the composition of said article is adjusted by subtracting from said value representing the state of the stock the number of units of said component used to compose said article as it was read previously . Thus, the process can faithfully adjust the digital representation of the inventory status of each available component at the packaging location of said article. It should be noted that step 660 is an iterative step that is implemented for each of the components involved in the composition of each of the items of the order and that the resulting steps are also implemented iteratively for each of said items. components. In step 670, the process compares the value of the digital representation of the state of said stock for each component with a predefined threshold value for said component on said production site of said article, said threshold value being predefined and stored in a memory module accessible to the process. In step 672, the process has evaluated that the value of the digital representation of the state of said stock is lower than said threshold value and sends a signal via a communication module designed to exchange digital data by means of a computer network (schematized by the NET ellipse of the bottom in the figure). Said signal is sent to an interface device for broadcasting messages. On receipt of said signal, said interfacing device broadcasts a message. Said message is for example made perceptible by means of the same device which makes it possible to make the messages perceptible in step 652. The transmitted signal can also take the form of the sending of an email or an order of 30 replenishment issued to an automated procurement system. Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments; it extends to other variants, for example without provisioning device and with a rudimentary interfacing device 35 equipped with an acoustic interface.

Claims (11)

CLAIMS1 - Optimization method of order processing articles including at least one perishable item, implemented by computer means of a computer equipped with at least one processor, a communication module for exchanging digital data via a computer network, and an internal clock module clocked at 1 kHz or more, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: A) receiving (100) a request for the order of articles, said request comprising control data relating to: the identification of said order, the identification of the ordering customer, the identification of each item ordered, the type of said order among the two following types: recovery, o delivery, - the expected recovery time of said command, - the location of the place where the order is made available, B) calculation and storage (120) of the value of a packaging instant of said command nde, according to predefined calculation rules, said calculation rules being a function of said command data of said command as well as of context data, the calculation of said conditioning time of said command being a function of the type of said command (110): if said command is of the "delivery" type, said instant of conditioning of said command is equal to the expected recovery time, from which a calculated routing time (112) is subtracted according to said predetermined calculation rules, - otherwise, said conditioning time of said command is equal to said expected and modified recovery time (116) from said expected recovery time and according to said predetermined calculation rules, C) calculation and storage (130) of the optimum start times of preparation of each of said articles included in said command as a function of an atomic time of preparation of each of said articles, said t atomic pressure of preparing said article being pre-established; said optimal start time of preparation of said article is calculated by subtracting said atomic preparation time of said article from said instant of conditioning of said command, D) sending (140), via a digital data transmission network, to said optimal start times of preparation of said articles, signals triggering the broadcast of orders for the preparation of said items making up the order destined for at least one device present at a place of preparation of each of said articles. 2 - Process according to claim 1 characterized in that said context data comprise at least one context data of one of the following types: meteorological context data, context data of traffic and traffic conditions, data context context relating to the presence of the customer in a given geographical area, - context data relating to a voluntary or proactive modification of the expected recovery time of said order. 3 - Method according to one of claims 1 or 2 characterized in that the value of the type of said command is "recovery" and in that the control request includes one or more control data relating to: - the geographical location of the ordering customer when issuing said order request, - the departure time provided for the journey made to retrieve said order at its place of delivery, - the means of transport used during the journey performed to recover said command at its location, - the geographical location constituting the starting point of the journey made to retrieve said command, 4 - Method according to claim 3 characterized in that said context data comprise at least one context data relating to the presence of the client in a given geographical area and in that there exists among said context data at least one data item. context relating to: - the detection in said determined geographical area of the presence of a device associated with the control, said device being capable of emitting and receiving electromagnetic waves, - the measurement of the velocity and the average direction d a device associated with the control and capable of exchanging data through a digital data transfer network; the voluntary mention of the customer's presence in a given geographical area by means of an interface enabling the transmission of data; digital data. 5 - Method according to one of the preceding claims characterized in that is periodically calculated: - the command conditioning time of said command according to step B), by applying said predetermined calculation rules that use the current values of the command and context data, - the optimum start-up times of each of said items included in said command. 6 - Process according to claim 1 characterized in that exists, for a place of production of articles, digital representations of the stock statuses of each of the components used in the preparation of articles prepared on said production site, and in that it comprises the following steps: - update, after step D), said digital representations of said states of said stocks, by subtracting a corresponding number of units of each component entering the composition of the article whose order of preparation has been sent in step D) to the digital representation of the stock status of said component, said number of units of each component entering the composition of said article being predefined in a list of components of each article, - comparing said digital representation of said updated stock with a predefined threshold value, and, if said digital representation of said state of said updated stock is less than said predefined threshold value, sending a signal on a computer network. 20 7 - System comprising computer means characterized in that it comprises - a non-volatile memory module for storing a predetermined set of rules for calculating command conditioning times, - a memory module for storing a set of context data a non-volatile memory module for storing a list of atomic times for article preparation, a communication module for exchanging digital data via a computer network, an internal clock clocked at 1 kHz or more, and a processor for calculating command conditioning instants according to a predetermined set of command conditioning time computation rules; calculating optimum start times for preparing articles by subtracting said atomic object preparation times from said command times; order processing, 35 - executing a computer program controlling the sending and receiving digital data via a computer network via said communication module; and calculating command conditioning times according to a predetermined set of command conditioning time calculation rules, said computing rules being a function of said command data and said context data, - calculating optimal start times of article preparation by subtracting an atomic time of article preparation from a command conditioning time. 8 - System according to claim 7 characterized in that it comprises an interfacing device 10 comprising - - a communication module (M42) for receiving and transmitting digital data through a computer network, - a module of interface (M41) to make perceptible a message of the order type of start of preparation of an article or alert type on stock status, 15 - a module (M43) to interface the other two modules of said device 9 - System according to claim 7 characterized in that it further comprises a hardware device for making available commands comprising: - a communication module (NETMOD) for receiving and sending digital data through a computer network , - A module (LOCKCTRL) for controlling the opening and closing of locks, - A set of lockers (LOCKERS) equipped with doors (DOOR), said doors themselves being provided with locks (LOCK), the opening and the closure of said locks being controlled by said module for controlling the opening and closing of locks; a module (BUSMOD) making it possible to establish digital communications between the other modules of said device; Server characterized in that it comprises: a non-volatile memory module for storing a predetermined set of rules for calculating command conditioning instants; a memory module for storing a set of context data; a nonvolatile memory module for storing a list of atomic times of article preparation; - a communication module for exchanging digital data via a computer network; - an internal clock clocked at 1kHz or more; - and a processor for 3034895 Calculating command conditioning instants according to a predetermined set of command conditioning time calculation rules; calculating optimum start times for preparing articles by subtracting said object preparation atomic times from said command times; packaging of 5 commands, - running a computer program controlling the sending and receiving of digital data via a computer network via said communication module and - calculating command conditioning instants according to a preestablished set of command conditioning time calculation rules, said computing rules being a function of said command data and said context data - calculating optimal start times of article preparation by subtracting an atomic time of article preparation at a command conditioning time. 15 11 - Computer program, characterized in that it comprises instructions for implementing the method according to one of claims 1 to 6, when these instructions are executed by a processor.