JP5387097B2 - Product information output method, product information providing system, product information management device, and computer program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention, commodity information output method to promote the improvement of the environmental impact, commodity information providing system, a product information management instrumentation 置及 beauty computer program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a system that gives a reward point such as a valuable point to a customer when purchasing a product as an effort to give an incentive to the product purchaser. For example, a system is widely used in which a reward point corresponding to a purchase amount is given to a purchaser, and the purchase amount is discounted or exchanged for a premium in accordance with certain rules.

  On the other hand, with the recent increase in awareness of the environment, it has been demanded to promote the purchase of food with low carbon dioxide emissions with respect to food (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1).

"Food Mileage Campaign food-mileage.com", [online], Protecting the Earth, [Searched on March 31, 2009], Internet <URL: www.food-mileage.com>

  From the viewpoint of reducing the burden on the environment, it is desirable to have a system that leads to incentives for buyers. However, the current point return system is a service that offers discounts according to the purchase amount. Such needs cannot be directly addressed.

  In general, imported products and other products are cheaper than local products, so even if you understand that local production for local consumption is good, it is difficult to be conscious of purchasing local products. In addition, in the conventional technology, even if each consumer is aware of the need to contribute to environmental improvement, figures and indicators that can confirm how much their own purchasing activities contribute to improving the environmental burden. Is never specified.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and calculates the degree of improvement in the environmental load when the product to be purchased is changed to another product, and displays the calculated degree of improvement. by, product information output method can be used to verify that contributed to the improvement of the load on their own purchasing activities extent to which environment, merchandise information providing system, to provide a product information management instrumentation 置及 beauty computer program With the goal.

  In addition, another object of the present invention is to reduce the burden on the environment by adopting a configuration in which valuable points are set as a privilege for purchasing a product in accordance with an index indicating the environmental load set for the product. An object of the present invention is to provide a product information output method capable of giving an incentive to purchase a product to be purchased.

Product information output method of the present application, the product information output method for outputting to an output device information of goods, metrics and quotient article showing a load to a more determined environmental transportation distance quotient products to market is purchased When the purchase target is changed from one product to another product with reference to the data associated with the price for each product, the change in the index, and the one product and the other product Calculating a value obtained by dividing the change by the price difference , and for the one product, the index associated with the one product, the change in the index calculated in the step, and the And causing the output device to output a value , which is executed by a computer .

  In the case of the present application, the degree of improvement in the environmental load when the product to be purchased is changed to another product is calculated and the calculated degree of improvement is displayed. It is possible to present an index of how much can contribute to the improvement of environmental load. As a result, customers with high environmental awareness will be conscious of purchasing products with less environmental impact, leading to environmental improvements.

  In addition, according to the present application, since valuable points can be given when purchasing goods produced in production areas close to the consumption area, even if the price of the goods is somewhat high, the transport distance is short and the environment Foods and beverages produced in production areas with a low burden on people will be selected. Therefore, it leads to reduction of transport energy and carbon dioxide emission from production area to consumption area.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the whole structure of the merchandise information provision system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of a management apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of a price card. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of an inquiry terminal. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of a payment apparatus. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of a portable terminal device. It is explanatory drawing which shows notionally an example of the memory content of the goods master with which a management apparatus is provided. It is explanatory drawing which shows notionally an example of the memory content of the largest food mileage master. It is explanatory drawing which shows notionally an example of the memory content of a food mileage improvement master. It is explanatory drawing which shows notionally an example of the memory content of a member master. It is explanatory drawing which shows notionally an example of the memory content of a purchase history table. It is a schematic diagram which shows the example of a display in an information provision apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other example of a display in an information provision apparatus. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the whole process by a merchandise information provision system. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the registration process to the master by a management apparatus. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the process at the time of goods sale. It is explanatory drawing which shows notionally an example of the merchandise information extracted from a merchandise master. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of processing of purchase analysis. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of extraction of a target member. It is explanatory drawing which shows the example of verification of an improvement effect. It is a flowchart explaining the flow of the process which a management apparatus performs for promotion of continuous improvement. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of a member analysis table. It is a schematic diagram which shows the whole structure of the merchandise information provision system which concerns on this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the analysis result by a management server notionally. It is explanatory drawing which shows notionally an example of the goods master used by the goods information provision system which concerns on this Embodiment, and a maximum food mileage master.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
Embodiment 1 FIG.
In the present embodiment, a product information providing system that manages product information in one store and provides product information to a customer will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a product information providing system according to the present embodiment. The product information providing system according to the present embodiment includes a management device 1 that manages information on products sold in a store. The management device 1 is installed in a store that sells food and drink such as farm products, livestock products, marine products, beverages, and processed foods. The management device 1 is connected to a communication network N such as a LAN provided in the store. The communication network N includes a price card 2, an inquiry terminal 3, a checkout device 4, a portable type as an information providing device. A device such as the terminal device 5 is connected. These information providing devices provide customers with product information notified from the management device 1.

  The price card 2 is an electronic price tag configured using a liquid crystal display, electronic paper, etc., and has a function of displaying information, a function of capturing information to be displayed inside the apparatus, a function of storing the captured information, and the like. Prepare. The price card 2 is installed for each product, receives information on the corresponding product notified from the management device 1, and displays the received information.

  The price card 2 may not have a function of directly communicating with the management device 1. For example, the price card 2 may be configured to acquire necessary information by wireless communication from a wireless terminal in which product information is registered using an existing technology such as an RFID tag (RFID: Radio Frequency IDentification).

  The inquiry terminal 3 is, for example, a terminal device that is installed at an entrance of a store or in a store and inquires about products sold in the store. The inquiry terminal 3 has a function of receiving and storing product information notified from the management device 1, a function of searching for a product desired by a customer, a function of displaying information of the searched product, and the like.

  The payment apparatus 4 is an apparatus such as a register installed at the exit of a store, for example. The checkout device 4 has a function of paying out a product purchased by a customer and a function of issuing a receipt for the checkout product. The payment apparatus 4 also has a function of providing information to the customer by acquiring information transmitted from the management apparatus 1 through the communication network N and recording the received information in a receipt for issuing the received information.

  The portable terminal device 5 is, for example, a device such as a portable phone or a portable information terminal owned by a customer. The portable terminal device 5 has a function of receiving product information notified from the management device 1 and a function of displaying received product information.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the management apparatus 1. The management device 1 is a device such as a computer, and various control units 10 such as a CPU for controlling the entire device and various recording media M such as a CD-ROM in which various information such as a computer program and data of the present invention are recorded. An auxiliary storage unit 11 such as a CD-ROM drive for reading information, a storage unit 12 such as a hard disk for storing various information read by the auxiliary storage unit 11, and a memory unit 13 such as a RAM for temporarily storing information. Prepare. The control unit 10 stores the computer program stored in the storage unit 12 in the memory unit 13, and the control unit 10 executes the computer program, thereby causing the computer to function as the management apparatus of the present application.

  The management apparatus 1 further includes an input unit 14 such as a keyboard and a mouse, an output unit 15 such as a monitor and a printer, and a communication unit 16 such as a communication interface that transmits and receives information through the communication network N.

  The storage unit 12 includes a product master 12A for storing an index (food mileage) indicating an environmental load for each product and valuable points (reward points) to be given to the purchaser as a privilege at the time of product purchase. The maximum food mileage master 12B that extracts and stores the product having the largest food mileage in the store, stores the degree of improvement in food mileage when the purchase target is changed from one product to another among the same type of products It includes a food mileage improvement master 12C, a member master 12D for storing information on customers who have become members, and a purchase history table 12E for managing member purchase histories and assigned return points.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the price card 2. The price card 2 includes a control unit 20, a communication unit 21 for receiving information notified from the management device 1 via the communication network N, a memory unit 22 for storing the received information and the like, a liquid crystal layer, and energization of the liquid crystal layer A display unit 25 having a liquid crystal control circuit for performing control and the like is provided. The price card 2 stores information from the management device 1 received through the communication unit 21 (information such as food mileage of the corresponding product, return points, improvement of food mileage when changed to another product) in the memory unit 22. Let The price card 2 displays the information stored in the memory unit 22 on the display unit 25.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the inquiry terminal 3. The inquiry terminal 3 includes a control unit 30, a communication unit 31 that transmits / receives information to / from the management apparatus 1 via the communication network N, a memory unit 32 that stores information prepared in advance, information generated temporarily, and the like, communication A storage unit 33 such as a hard disk for storing information acquired through the unit 31, a keyboard for receiving operation instructions from a customer, an input unit 34 such as a touch panel and a barcode reader, and a display unit 35 such as a liquid crystal display for displaying various information. Is provided. The inquiry terminal 3 stores in the storage unit 33 information (information such as food mileage of each product, return points, improvement degree of food mileage when changed to another product) received from the management device 1 through the communication unit 31. Let In addition, when the inquiry terminal 3 receives an inquiry instruction about a product through the input unit 34, the inquiry terminal 3 searches the storage unit 33 for the corresponding product, and the food mileage, return points, and other products set for the searched product. The degree of improvement of food mileage when changed to is displayed on the display unit 35.

  FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the settlement apparatus 4. The settlement apparatus 4 includes a control unit 40, a communication unit 41 that transmits / receives information to / from the management device 1 via the communication network N, a memory unit 42 that stores information prepared in advance, information acquired through the communication unit 41, and the like. An input unit 44 such as a keyboard, a touch panel, a barcode reader, etc., a display unit 45 for displaying various information, and a recording unit 46 for issuing a receipt. The checkout device 4 communicates with the management device 1 at the time of checkout of the product, thereby acquiring information such as the price of the corresponding product, food mileage, return points, customer's cumulative food mileage, cumulative return points, etc. Record the receipt.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the portable terminal device 5. The portable terminal device 5 includes a control unit 50, a communication unit 51 that transmits and receives information to and from the management device 1 via the communication network N, and a memory unit 52 that stores information prepared in advance and information acquired through the communication unit 51. , An input unit 54 such as a keyboard and a touch panel for receiving user operation instructions, and a display unit 55 for displaying various information. The portable terminal device 5 acquires product information distributed from the management device 1 through the communication network N, and displays the product information on the display unit 55.

Hereinafter, various masters stored in the storage unit 12 of the management apparatus 1 will be described. The following explanation will be given with the sales store set to “Osaka”. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing an example of the stored contents of the product master 12A provided in the management apparatus 1. The merchandise master 12A stores the merchandise name, production area, price, food mileage, and return points in association with each other. Here, food mileage is based on the idea that food products should be locally produced and consumed locally. The longer the distance between the production area and the consumption area, the higher the energy consumption required for transporting the food, and carbon dioxide. This is a concept that has been proposed as an indicator of the burden on the environment. The food mileage can be expressed by a numerical value calculated by L × W, where L is the transport distance when the product is transported from the production area to the sales place, and W is the weight of the product. The food mileage becomes smaller if the production area and the sales area of the product are close, and the food mileage becomes larger if the same product is transported from a farther production area.
As the food mileage, the value of L × W may not be used as it is, but may be used by multiplying an appropriate constant so that the customer can easily understand.

  On the other hand, the return point represents a valuable point to be given to the customer as a privilege at the time of product purchase. In the present application, when a product with a smaller load on the environment is selected from the same type of product (that is, a product with a small food mileage), a larger reduction point is given. Benefits given to customers by the return points include reduction or discount of purchase price according to the return points, provision of various products and services in exchange for the return points, and the like. The given reduction points may be configured to be used at an arbitrary time point, or may be configured to be used only when a predetermined value is reached. For example, the reward points are granted by issuing a point card to a customer who becomes a member and storing the point card together with customer identification information.

In the product master 12A of FIG. 7, the price, food mileage, reduction point setting example when the production area of the product “Mikan” is Wakayama, Ehime, and Miyazaki, and the production area of the product “potato” are Hyogo, Hokkaido, and the United States. In this case, setting examples of price, food mileage, and return points are shown. The merchandise master 12A is prepared for each merchandise, and the production area, price, food mileage, and return point are set for the other merchandise in the same manner as the above-mentioned “mandarin orange” and “potato”.
Taking the product “Mikan” as an example, the food mileage is relatively small for “Mikan” from Wakayama and “Mikan” from Ehime, where the transportation distance to Osaka, which is a sales store, is relatively short. Food mileage is set relatively large for “Mikan” from Miyazaki, which has a relatively long transportation distance to Osaka. Taking the product “potato” as an example, food mileage is set relatively small for “potato” produced in Hyogo Prefecture, which has a relatively short transportation distance to Osaka, the sales store, and transported to Osaka, the sales store. Food mileage is greatly set for long-distance American potatoes. Thus, food mileage is a numerical value that is set regardless of the price of the product, and for a product that has the same weight, a large value is set in proportion to the transport distance regardless of the type of product.

  The setting of food mileage may be input by a human hand through the input unit 14 provided in the management device 1 and stored in the product master 12A. In addition, when the table for converting the product into weight and the table for converting the production area into the transportation distance are stored in advance and the product name and the production area are registered in the product master 12A, the control unit 10 automatically calculates the food mileage. It is good also as composition which memorizes food mileage in the applicable part of goods master 12A.

  FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing an example of the contents stored in the maximum food mileage master 12B. The management device 1 extracts a product having the maximum food mileage from the product master 12A of each product, and stores the product name, production area, and food mileage of the product in the maximum food mileage master 12B. Referring to FIG. 7, for the product “Mikan”, the Miyazaki “Mikan” food mileage is the largest, and for the product “Potato”, the US “potato” food mileage is the largest. As shown, “Mikan” food mileage from Miyazaki and American “potato” food mileage are stored in the maximum food mileage master 12B.

  In the present embodiment, the return point of each product is set in relation to the product having the maximum food mileage among the same types of products. For example, taking the product “Mikan” in FIG. 7 as an example, it is Miyazaki that has the largest food mileage in this product. Therefore, the food mileage of “Mikan” from Miyazaki and the “Mikan” of each production region. The difference with the food mileage is taken and set as a return point. As a result, the reduction points of “mandarin” from Wakayama, Ehime, and Miyazaki are set to 30, 20, and 0, respectively (see FIG. 7). The same applies to the product “potato” and other products.

  Note that the method for setting the return point is not limited to the above. What is necessary is just to set a reduction | restoration point so that a big reduction | restoration point may be provided when goods with small food mileage are purchased, and a small reduction | restoration point will be provided when goods with large food mileage are purchased. For example, a value obtained by dividing a certain constant by food mileage may be used as the reduction point. In addition, if you take purchase history for each customer and you see improvement in food mileage, that is, if you purchase a product with food mileage smaller than the previously purchased food mileage, a configuration that gives reduction points according to the degree of improvement It can also be.

  Based on the information registered in the product master 12A, the management device 1 calculates in advance the degree of improvement in food mileage when the purchase target is changed from one product to another product of the same type of product. It is registered in the food mileage improvement master 12C. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing an example of the contents stored in the food mileage improvement master 12C. In the present embodiment, the degree of improvement is calculated only when the food mileage is improved. For example, referring to the merchandise master 12A shown in FIG. 7, when “mandarin orange” produced in Wakayama is selected as a purchase target, the degree of improvement is not calculated because the food mileage does not improve even if the production area is changed. On the other hand, if the purchase target is changed from “Mikan” from Ehime to “Mikan” from Wakayama, food mileage will be improved, and the degree of improvement will be calculated.

  In the present embodiment, as the degree of improvement, the value of improved food mileage and the improved food mileage per 1 yen price difference are calculated. Taking the example of “Mikan” from Ehime, the degree of improvement will be explained. According to the product master 12A of FIG. 7, the food mileage of “Mikan” from Ehime is 60, and the food mileage of “Mikan” from Wakayama is 50. If you change to production, the food mileage will improve by 10 of the difference between the two. Moreover, since the price difference between the two is 100 yen, the food mileage per 1 yen price difference is improved by 0.1. The management device 1 calculates the improved food mileage and the improved food mileage per 1 yen price difference for each production area, and registers them in the food mileage improvement master 12C.

  According to the food mileage improvement master 12C shown in FIG. 9, even if it is the same “potato” produced in the United States, it is better to change the production area to Hyogo than to change the production area to Hokkaido. Compared with the degree of improvement per price difference per yen, it can be seen that the degree of improvement is higher when the production area is changed to Hokkaido rather than to Hyogo.

  By providing customers with information on the level of improvement in food mileage (improved food mileage, improved food mileage per 1 yen price difference), how much mileage can be improved by changing the production area, price By displaying a thing with a high improvement degree with respect to a difference, a reduction effect can be shown to a purchaser.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing an example of the contents stored in the member master 12D. The member master 12D stores information on customers who have become members. Specifically, information such as a member ID, customer name, age, gender, address, e-mail address of the portable terminal device 5 used by the customer, a notification flag, an improvement continuation flag, and the like are stored. The member ID is identification information for identifying a member, and is automatically given by the management apparatus 1 when inputting customer information. The customer's name, address, age, e-mail address of the portable terminal device 5 used by the customer, and notification flag are information input by the manager on the store side from the input unit 14 of the management device 1. Here, the notification flag is a flag that determines a notification method when the store notifies the customer of information. In the present embodiment, when the notification flag is “A”, the information is printed on the receipt. It is stipulated to adopt a method of notifying information by e-mail when “B”, and a method of notifying information by printing on a receipt and sending an e-mail when “C”. The improvement continuation flag is a flag for identifying whether or not the member is continuously improving food mileage.

  FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram conceptually showing an example of the contents stored in the purchase history table 12E. The purchase history table 12E is a table that stores a purchase history for each member. In the purchase history table 12E, the purchase date of the product, the purchased product, the quantity, the purchase price, the food mileage set for the purchased product, the reduction points given for the current product purchase, the total purchase price, the cumulative food mileage Information such as cumulative reduction points is stored.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a display example in the information providing apparatus. FIG. 12 shows a display example of product information on the display unit 25 of the price card 2. In this display example, the production area, price, and food mileage are displayed for the product (mandarin orange). In addition, information such as food mileage, improved food mileage, and improved food mileage per 1 yen price difference when the purchase target is changed to another product is also displayed.
In this example, no return point is displayed, but information such as a return point of a product and a return point when the purchase target is changed to another product may be displayed.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing another display example in the information providing apparatus. FIG. 13 shows a display example of product information by a receipt issued from the settlement apparatus 4. In this display example, for a product purchased by a customer (Ehime mandarin orange, American potato), the recording unit 46 of the checkout device 4 records the amount, food mileage, and reduction points on the receipt, thereby obtaining product information. Is displayed. In addition, for products that have room for improvement in food mileage (in the example of FIG. 13, potatoes made in the United States), the recording unit 46 of the checkout device 4 is a product that has a high food mileage reduction effect, and the food price per yen difference Information on products with a high mileage reduction effect is recorded on receipts to guide customers.
The information to be recorded on these receipts is acquired when the salesperson inputs the merchandise purchased by the customer through the input unit 44 of the settlement apparatus 4 by the settlement apparatus 4 making an inquiry to the management apparatus 1 through the communication network N. Information.

  In this manner, the price card 2 displays product information about a specific product, and the checkout device 4 presents product information about the product purchased by the customer to the customer through a receipt. On the other hand, although a specific display example is not shown, the inquiry terminal 3 displays product information about a product desired by the customer, and the portable terminal device 5 has product information about the product selected by the store side. Is displayed.

  Hereinafter, the flow of processing by the product information providing system will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart for explaining the overall processing flow by the product information providing system. The management apparatus 1 first performs registration processing for each master (step S1). Specifically, the management device 1 accepts information such as product, price, and production area through the input unit 14, and based on the received information, the food mileage, the maximum food mileage, the reduction point, the improved food mileage, and the price difference per 1 yen. The control unit 10 calculates a value such as improved food mileage. The control unit 10 stores the calculated values in the product master 12A, the maximum food mileage master 12B, and the food mileage improvement master 12C in the storage unit 12. The contents stored in these masters are updated as necessary. When there is a customer who becomes a new member, the management apparatus 1 receives the member information through the input unit 14 and stores the input member information in the member master 12D.

  Next, the management device 1 performs processing related to product sales in cooperation with the information providing device (step S2). Here, product information is displayed through the price card 2, the inquiry terminal 3, the checkout device 4, and the portable terminal device 5, the food mileage of the purchased product is displayed, and reward points are given.

  Next, the management device 1 performs a process of analyzing purchasing activities by customers (step S3). In the analysis process of purchasing activity, a process for finding a pattern with a high effect of improving food mileage is performed by using the notification method of product information, the customer's age group, gender, store visit frequency, average purchase price, total purchase price, and the like as analysis axes.

  Next, the management device 1 performs processing for promoting continuation of improvement of food mileage (step S4). Here, in order to promote continuous improvement of food mileage, the management device 1 gives a fixed return point to members who are continuously improving food mileage, in addition to the provision of return points at the time of product purchase. Perform the process of granting.

  Hereinafter, the flow of each process described above will be specifically described. FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of registration processing to the master by the management apparatus 1. The management device 1 accepts information such as a product, price, and place of production through the input unit 14, and the control unit 10 of the management device 1 calculates food mileage based on the received information and registers it in the product master 12A (step S11). ).

  Next, the control unit 10 of the management device 1 extracts a product having the maximum food mileage from the same type of products from the product master 12A, and registers the product in the maximum food mileage master 12B (step S12).

  Next, the control unit 10 of the management device 1 calculates a return point for each product and production area registered in the product master 12A, and registers it in the product master 12A (step S13). About the calculation method of a reduction | restoration point, as above-mentioned, the product with the largest food mileage in the same kind of goods and the goods of calculation object can be compared, and it can calculate as the difference of the food mileage of both goods.

  Next, the control unit 10 of the management device 1 calculates the degree of improvement in food mileage for each product registered in the product master 12A and registers it in the food mileage improvement master 12C (step S14). Here, the improvement degree of food mileage represents the value of food mileage that is improved when the purchased product is changed and the improved food mileage per 1 yen price difference, as described above, and is registered in the product master 12A. It can be calculated using the information of the product being sold. About products that do not improve food mileage even if they are changed to other products (for example, products with the maximum food mileage among products of the same type or products with higher food mileage than the product before the change) Can omit the calculation of improvement.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing at the time of product sales. The control unit 10 of the management device 1 reads the information registered in the product master 12A and the food mileage improvement master 12C, and reads the read information through the communication unit 16 as a price card 2 that is an information providing device, an inquiry terminal 3, and a checkout. The device 4 and the portable terminal device 5 are notified and displayed on each display unit of the information providing device (step S21).

  The notification timing and contents differ depending on the information providing apparatus. For example, for the price card 2, when the price card 2 is installed, when a product is replaced, or when a price is set, the management device 1 transmits information on the product to be displayed on the price card 2 and displays the price card 2. In part 25, information on the corresponding product is displayed. Regarding the inquiry terminal 3 and the settlement apparatus 4, when there is a request from the inquiry terminal 3 or the settlement terminal 4, the management apparatus 1 extracts the requested product information from the product master 12A and the food mileage improvement master 12C, and the request source Is returned to the inquiry terminal 3 or the settlement apparatus 4 to be displayed on the display unit 35 of the inquiry terminal 3 or the display unit 45 of the settlement apparatus 4. For the portable terminal device 5, information on the product selected by the management device 1 is transmitted to the portable terminal device 5 at a predetermined timing or when the management device 1 is accessed using the portable terminal device 5. As a result, information is displayed on the display unit 55 of the portable terminal device 5.

  When a customer who is a member purchases a product, the checkout device 4 receives the product name, quantity, and member ID of the product to be purchased through the input unit 44 and transmits information on the product name, quantity, and member ID to the management apparatus 1. The management device 1 extracts information on the price, food mileage, and return points of the product corresponding to the product name transmitted from the settlement device 4 from the product master 12A, and calculates food mileage and return points for the current product purchase ( Step S22). The management device 1 registers the calculated food mileage and return point value in the purchase history table 12E as the current food mileage and return point of the member specified by the received member ID, and the cumulative food mileage and cumulative return point. Update (step S23). Moreover, the management apparatus 1 extracts the goods which can improve food mileage with respect to the goods purchased this time from the food mileage improvement master 12C.

  Further, the management device 1 refers to the member master 12D to acquire a notification flag of the member who purchased the current product (step S24). Then, the management device 1 determines whether or not the acquired notification flag is “A” or “C” (step S25). When it is determined that the notification flag is “A” or “C” (S25: YES), the management device 1 records the food mileage information on the receipt to notify the member of the information on the food mileage by receipt. Along with the information that should be done, the information such as the calculated food mileage and return points, the member's cumulative food mileage, the cumulative return points, the products that improve the food mileage, etc. are sent to the checkout device 4, and the information of food mileage is included The receipt is created in the settlement apparatus 4 (step S26). Based on the information transmitted from the management device 1, the checkout device 4 prints on the paper by the recording unit 46 to create a receipt including information on food mileage as shown in FIG. 13.

  Next, the management device 1 determines whether or not the notification flag acquired in step S24 is “C” (step S27). When it is determined that the notification flag is not “C” (S27: NO), the processing according to this flowchart ends. If it is determined that the notification flag is “C” (S27: YES), the management apparatus 1 performs delivery reservation setting for the e-mail in order to deliver the product information to the member by e-mail (step S27). S28). Also, when it is determined that the notification flag acquired in step S24 is neither “A” nor “C” (S25: NO), that is, when it is determined that the acquired notification flag is “B”, the member In order to distribute product information by e-mail, the management apparatus 1 performs e-mail distribution reservation setting (S28). In the e-mail distribution reservation setting, the management apparatus 1 performs processing for extracting an e-mail address used by a member from the member master 12D and processing for extracting a product recommended for the member as a store from the product master 12A. Then, the management apparatus 1 creates an e-mail with the information extracted from the product master 12A as the e-mail body and the e-mail address extracted from the member master 12D as the destination. It is stored in the storage unit 12 as one of the lists to which mail is transmitted.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram conceptually illustrating an example of product information extracted from the product master 12A. As shown in FIG. 17A, it is assumed that products purchased by a purchaser who is a member are “mandarin oranges” from Ehime and “potatoes” from America. Referring to the food mileage improvement master 12C, there is a product (Wakayama-produced “Mikan”) that can improve food mileage more than the Ehime-produced “Mikan” purchased this time. Further, referring to the food mileage improvement master 12C, there are products (Hokkaido and Hyogo “potatoes”) that can improve food mileage more than the currently purchased US “potatoes”. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 17 (b), Wakayama "Mikan" and Hyogo "Potato" are selected as recommended products to be delivered to buyers, and the food mileage and reduction points for these products are combined. In the body of the email to be delivered.
In addition, when there are a plurality of products for improving food mileage, the management device 1 can arbitrarily select a product to be distributed as a recommended product. For example, it is good also as a structure which selects the goods with the largest value of the food mileage to be improved (the highest return point), and it is good also as a structure which selects the goods with the largest improvement food mileage per 1 price difference.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of purchase analysis processing. The management apparatus 1 calculates the improvement degree of food mileage for each analysis axis pattern (step S31). Here, the analysis axis represents a category to be analyzed. For example, a notification method of product information including food mileage and an age group can be used as the analysis axis. In this embodiment, there are three patterns of notification methods for product information: (A) only receipt, (B) only e-mail, and (C) both receipt and e-mail. ) Can be the analysis axis pattern. When the age group is the analysis axis, for example, (a) 19 years old or less, (b) 20 to 29 years old, (c) 30 to 39 years old, (d) 40 to 49 years old, (e) 50 to 59 years old Age, (f) It can classify | categorize into the pattern 60 years or older, and the improvement degree of food mileage can be calculated for every pattern.
As an analysis axis, in addition to the notification method of product information and age, sex, store visit frequency, average purchase price, and total purchase price can be adopted.

  Next, the management device 1 calculates a pattern that maximizes the improvement degree from the calculated improvement degree of food mileage (step S32). Then, the management device 1 extracts the target member to be analyzed from the members belonging to the pattern having the maximum improvement (step S33), and refers to the notification flag of the member master 12D, thereby making the target The members are classified into two groups, product information distribution groups and non-distribution groups (step S34). Here, the management apparatus 1 can store the visit frequency of each member in the storage unit 12 and can extract a member who visits the store regularly as a target member. FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of extraction of target members. In the example of FIG. 19, among the members who deliver only e-mail, a customer who visits the store regularly every week is shown as a target member.

  Next, the management device 1 distributes e-mails including product information such as recommended products and products with high reward points to the members belonging to the distribution group among the target members (step S35).

  Next, the management device 1 determines whether or not the product information distribution set has an improvement effect (step S36). FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a verification example of the improvement effect. The management apparatus 1 creates a table as shown in FIG. 20 by calculating the return points given to both the distribution group and the non-distribution group, and calculating the average return points for the month in which the product information is distributed and the previous month. . The management device 1 stores the created table in the storage unit 12. To determine whether the improvement effect is high, if the average return point when product information is distributed is higher than when it is not distributed, it is determined that there is an improvement effect; otherwise, the improvement effect is determined Judge that there is no.

  When there is an improvement effect (S36: YES), the management device 1 distributes product information by e-mail after the next month (step S37), and when there is no improvement effect (S36: NO), The process according to the flowchart ends.

  FIG. 21 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of processing executed by the management apparatus 1 for the promotion of continuous improvement. The management device 1 refers to the purchase history table 12E to calculate a monthly total purchase amount, a total return point, and a total return point per yen for each member (step S41), and creates a member analysis table. . FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the member analysis table. In the example shown in FIG. 22, the total purchase price, total return points, and total return points per yen for the target person “XXX Taro” are tabulated from January to May 2008. Here, the total return point per yen is calculated as a value obtained by dividing the monthly total return point of the target person by the total monthly purchase amount of the target person. The degree of continuity is an index indicating whether food mileage is continuously improved or not. In this embodiment, the total purchase amount is “10,000 yen or more”, and the total amount per yen When the return point is “0.1 or more”, it is considered that the product with low food mileage is continuously purchased, so it is determined that the continuous improvement has been made.

  The management apparatus 1 determines for each member whether or not a certain purchase amount per month is satisfied by referring to the above-described member analysis table (step S42). If the purchase amount per month satisfies a certain purchase amount (S42: YES), it is determined whether or not the total return points per yen satisfy a certain value for the member (step S43). If it is determined that the total return points per yen satisfy a certain value (S43: YES), an improvement continuation flag (YES) is set in the member master 12D as a member who continuously improves food mileage (step) S44).

  The management device 1 gives a fixed return point to the member for which the improvement continuation flag is set (step S45), and adds the return point assigned in the purchase history table 12E of the corresponding member to the cumulative return point. Further, the management apparatus 1 extracts the corresponding member's e-mail address from the member master 12D, and notifies that the return point has been given to the improvement continuation with the extracted e-mail address as the destination (step S46).

  In step S42, when there is no member who satisfies a certain purchase amount per month (S42: NO), or when there is no member whose total return point per yen satisfies a certain value (S43: NO), this flowchart is used. End the process.

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the product to be purchased is changed to another product, the improvement rate of the food mileage with respect to the price difference (food mileage improvement rate per 1 yen) is calculated and purchased by the customer. A product with the highest mileage improvement rate for a product, that is, a product that can improve a large food mileage by adding a small amount of money can be guided to a customer.

  Further, by analyzing the improvement effect by the information notification method regarding food mileage and promoting an effective display method, a more effective food mileage improvement effect can be obtained. Furthermore, further improvement can be promoted by identifying customers who are continuously improving food mileage, and giving recommended customer guidance and additional return points to the customers.

  In other words, in the present application, when the product produced in the production area close to the consumption area is purchased, the reduction rate is higher, so even if the price of the product is somewhat high, there is an incentive for high return points. For this reason, food and drink produced in production areas with a short transport distance and a low environmental burden are selected. Therefore, it leads to reduction of transport energy and carbon dioxide emission from production area to consumption area.

In the present embodiment, the target product for providing information to the customer is a food or drink such as an agricultural product, a livestock product, a seafood, a beverage, or a processed food, but it is not necessarily limited to the food or drink. For example, when this application is applied to a dealer that processes and sells wood, stone, etc., mileage is set by the route from the harvested land and harvested land to the dealer, and information is provided to the customer in the same manner as described above. It can be performed.
The present application does not exclude industrial products as commodities. For example, it is possible to set a mileage by a route from a manufacturing place to a sales place of an industrial product, and provide information to a customer in the same manner as described above.

  Further, in the present embodiment, among the same type of products, the configuration is such that the improvement degree of food mileage when the product to be purchased is changed to another product is presented to the customer. There is no need to limit the subject to the same species. For example, in the category set arbitrarily such as the same fruits, green vegetables, root vegetables, etc., a configuration for calculating the degree of improvement in food mileage when changing the purchase target product to another product and presenting it to the customer It is also possible to do.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
In the first embodiment, the management device 1 manages the products sold in one store. However, a management server for managing a plurality of stores is provided, and the food mileage improvement status of each store is provided by this management server. It is good also as a structure which analyzes. This Embodiment demonstrates the structure which analyzes the improvement condition of the food mileage of each store using a management server.

  FIG. 23 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of the product information providing system according to the present embodiment. The product information providing system of the present embodiment includes a management server 100 that is communicably connected to the management device 1 of each store. In the example illustrated in FIG. 23, the management server 100 is connected to the management device 1 of the “Osaka store” and the management device 1 of the “Tokyo store”. In the present embodiment, only two stores of “Osaka store” and “Tokyo store” are shown, but it is needless to say that the store is not limited to two stores.

  The management server 100 is a so-called server device, a function of transmitting information to the management device 1, a function of receiving information transmitted from the connected management device 1, a function of storing received information, and stored information It has a function to perform various calculations based on this.

  In the present embodiment, the management device 1 of each store sets the total return points and average return points in the store on a monthly basis for each method of notifying information about food mileage (the patterns (A) to (C) described above). And the management result is notified to the management server 100. The management server 100 analyzes the improvement status of the food mileage of each store based on the counting result notified from the management device 1 of each store.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram conceptually illustrating an example of an analysis result by the management server 100. The example shown in FIG. 24 shows a table in which the monthly total return points and the average return points are stored for each store and for each notification method pattern. The management server 100 stores such a table in a storage unit such as a hard disk (not shown). Here, the total return points for each month indicate the total value of return points given to customers for each store and each pattern. In addition, the average return point for each month indicates a value obtained by dividing the total return point by the number of registered persons for each pattern.
In the management server 100, the number of registrants of each pattern is stored for each store, only the information of the total return points of each pattern is acquired from each store, and the acquired total return points are obtained by the number of registrants of each pattern. It is good also as a structure which calculates an average reduction | restoration point by dividing.

  Moreover, the management server 100 calculates the improvement degree of food mileage for each pattern. Specifically, the management server 100 calculates an increase in the average return point from the previous month as the improvement degree. In addition, the pattern having the maximum improvement degree in the analysis period (four months in the example shown in FIG. 24) is determined as the pattern having the highest improvement in food mileage.

  The analysis result by the management server 100 is notified to the management device 1 of each store, and is used as information for further improving food mileage in each store. For example, the improvement of food mileage is promoted by switching to the notification method of the pattern in which the total value of the improvement degree is maximized in each store.

  In the present embodiment, the management server 100 analyzes the food mileage improvement status, but the management server 100 may have the function of the management device 1 of each store. In this case, the management server 100 includes the masters 12A to 12D for each store as described in the first embodiment, and calculates food mileage, assigns return points, manages member purchase history, and the like.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
In the first embodiment, food mileage is calculated and reward points are given by assuming a real store, but it can also be applied to a virtual store on the Internet. In this embodiment, a mode applied to a virtual store on the Internet will be described.

  Hereinafter, a configuration in which the management device 1 described in the first embodiment is connected to the Internet and the management device 1 is a virtual store on the Internet will be described. FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a product master and a maximum food mileage master used in the product information providing system according to the present embodiment. When a customer purchases a product at a virtual store on the Internet, unlike when purchasing a product at a physical store, it is necessary to calculate food mileage taking into account the transport distance from the product shipping base to the customer's residence . Therefore, as shown in FIG. 25 (a), a food mileage is set for each product by associating the residence of the customer with the production area of the product. The management apparatus 1 includes a product master as shown in FIG. 25A for Internet sales.

  In addition, the management device 1 extracts a product having the maximum food mileage for each residence and each product from the product master, and registers the product in the maximum food mileage master as shown in FIG. The management apparatus 1 includes a maximum food mileage master as shown in FIG. 25B for Internet sales.

  When using the product master for Internet sales and the maximum food mileage master shown in FIG. 25, the customer's address is obtained from the member master 12D, and therefore the food mileage is calculated based on the customer's address and the purchased product. The subsequent processing can be performed in exactly the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  Regarding the above embodiment, the following additional notes are disclosed.

(Appendix 1)
In the product information output method for outputting product information to the output device,
Setting for each product an index indicating an environmental load based on the transport distance of the product until the product is purchased;
Calculating the degree of improvement in environmental impact when the purchase target is changed from one product to another based on the indicators set for both products;
A product information output method comprising: causing the output device to output, for each product, an index set for the product and a degree of improvement in environmental load when a purchase target is changed.

(Appendix 2)
According to an index set for the product, further comprising a step of setting a valuable point indicating a privilege for the purchase of the product,
Item 2. The product information output method according to appendix 1, wherein the set valuable points are output to the output device.

(Appendix 3)
Item 3. The product information output method according to appendix 2, further comprising a step of setting valuable points according to a difference between an index of a product having a maximum environmental load and an index set for the product to be purchased.

(Appendix 4)
The product is a food and drink,
Additional remark 1 to 3 which further has the step which sets as a parameter | index the value which multiplied the transport distance of the said food and drink from the production place of food and drink to the purchase place, and the weight of this food and drink Product information output method.

(Appendix 5)
In a product information providing system comprising a management device that manages information on a plurality of products, and an information providing device that provides information on products managed by the management device,
The management device includes means for setting an index indicating an environmental load for each product based on a transportation distance of the product until the product is purchased, and a purchase target is changed from one product to another product. Means for calculating the degree of improvement in environmental impact based on the indicators set for both products, means for storing the product information including the indicators set for each product and the calculated improvements, and the means Means for notifying the information providing device of the product information stored in
The information providing device is a product information providing system comprising means for outputting product information notified from the management device.

(Appendix 6)
The management device sets, for each product, means for setting a valuable point indicating a privilege for the purchase of the product according to an index set for the product, a means for storing the set valuable point in association with the product, Means for notifying the information providing device of the valuable points,
The product information providing system according to appendix 5, wherein the information providing device includes means for outputting valuable points for each product notified from the management device.

(Appendix 7)
The product information provision according to appendix 6, wherein the management device sets valuable points according to a difference between an index of a product having a maximum environmental load and an index set for a product to be purchased. system.

(Appendix 8)
The management device includes means for storing a product purchase history of each customer, and means for extracting a customer who continues to improve the load on the environment based on the stored product purchase history. Item 7. The product information providing system according to appendix 6, wherein further valuable points are set for the customer.

(Appendix 9)
9. The management device according to any one of appendices 5 to 8, wherein the management device sets a plurality of notification methods to the information providing device, and further includes means for calculating an improvement degree of an environmental load for each notification method. Product information provision system.

(Appendix 10)
The product is a food and drink,
The value obtained by multiplying the transport distance of the food and drink from the food and beverage production area to the purchase place and the weight of the food and drink is set as the index, according to any one of supplementary notes 5 to 9 Product information provision system.

(Appendix 11)
In a product information management device that manages information on multiple products,
A means for setting an index indicating the environmental load for each product based on the transport distance of the product until the product is purchased, and an environment for when the purchase target is changed from one product to another Means for calculating the improvement degree of the load based on an index set for both products, means for storing product information including the index set for each product and the calculated improvement degree, and stored in the means A product information management device comprising means for outputting product information.

(Appendix 12)
In a computer program that allows a computer to manage information on multiple products,
Causing the computer to set, for each product, an index indicating an environmental load based on the transportation distance of the product until the product is purchased;
Causing the computer to calculate an improvement in the environmental load when the purchase target is changed from one product to another based on an index set for both products;
A computer program for causing a computer to store product information including an index set for each product and a calculated degree of improvement.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Management apparatus 2 Price card 3 Inquiry terminal 4 Checking apparatus 5 Portable terminal apparatus 10 Control part 11 Auxiliary storage part 12 Storage part 12A Merchandise master 12B Maximum food mileage master 12C Food mileage member master 12D Member master 13 Memory part 14 Input part 15 Output unit 16 Communication interface 100 Management server

Claims (6)

In the product information output method for outputting product information to the output device,
With reference to data in which the index indicating the environmental load determined by the transportation distance of the product until the product is purchased and the price of the product are associated with each product,
Calculating a value obtained by dividing the change by the price difference between the one product and another product when the purchase target is changed from one product to another product; and
For the one product, the index is associated with the one product, and the change in the index calculated in the step and the value are output to the output device. Product information output method. According to the indicator, further comprising the step of setting a valuable point indicating a privilege for the purchase of the product,
The product information output method according to claim 1, wherein the set valuable points are output to the output device. By the computer
Performing a control to output the index, the change in the index, and the value for a plurality of output devices having different output methods;
The product information output method according to claim 1, further comprising: calculating an improvement degree of an environmental load for each output method of the output device. In a product information providing system comprising a management device that manages information on a plurality of products, and an information providing device that provides information on products managed by the management device,
The management device
From one product to another product by referring to data in which the index indicating the environmental load determined by the transportation distance of the product until the product is purchased and the price of the product are associated with each product A calculation means for calculating a value obtained by dividing the change by the price difference between the one product and another product when the purchase target is changed;
For the one product, the index associated with the one product, a change in the index calculated by the calculation means, and a means for notifying the information providing apparatus of the value,
The information providing apparatus includes:
A product information providing system comprising: means for outputting product information notified from the management device. In a product information management device that manages information on multiple products,
From one product to another product by referring to data in which the index indicating the environmental load determined by the transportation distance of the product until the product is purchased and the price of the product are associated with each product A calculation means for calculating a value obtained by dividing the change by the price difference between the one product and another product when the purchase target is changed;
A product information management device comprising: the index associated with the one product, and a unit for outputting the change in the index and the value calculated by the calculation unit. On the computer,
With reference to data in which the index indicating the environmental load determined by the transportation distance of the product until the product is purchased and the price of the product are associated with each product,
Calculating a value obtained by dividing the change by the price difference between the one product and another product when the purchase target is changed from one product to another product; and
A computer program that executes, for the one product, the index associated with the one product, and the step of outputting the change and value of the index calculated in the step.

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