JP-7856454-B2 - Product management system, product management method, and program

Inventors

• 石原 有梨沙
• 甲賀 大介
• 小島 大輝
• 笹谷 育未
• 浅居 稜介

Assignees

• 日本電気株式会社
• ＮＥＣソリューションイノベータ株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260511

Application Date

20220318

Claims (10)

1. A return acceptance mechanism for receiving return requests for unpaid goods acquired by customers, A detection means for detecting the storage of the aforementioned product in the return box, A control means for controlling the locking of the return box containing the aforementioned product, A product management system comprising an output means for outputting to a terminal product information relating to the stored product and a box identifier that identifies the return box.
2. The product management system according to claim 1, wherein the output means outputs the stored product information and the box identifier to the terminal used by an employee of a store that sells the product.
3. The aforementioned return acceptance means accepts the store identifier of the store that sells the product, The product management system according to claim 2, wherein the output means outputs the stored product information and the box identifier to the terminal used by the store clerk of the store, which corresponds to the store identifier.
4. The system includes a purchase request mechanism that accepts product purchase requests from the aforementioned terminal used by other customers. If the product for which a purchase request has been received is stored in the return box, the output means outputs the box identifier of the return box containing the product for which a purchase request has been received to the terminal used by the other customer. The product management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control means unlocks the return box in response to an unlocking request from another customer.
5. The product management system according to claim 4, wherein the output means outputs the box identifier of the return box containing the product for which a purchase request has been received to the terminal used by the other customer, based on the display status of the product in the store.
6. A product management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a management means for linking and managing the customer who acquired the product and the acquired product.
7. The product management system according to claim 6, wherein the management means, when a product is returned to the return box, unlinks the product from the customer who acquired the product.
8. The product management system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the management means unlinks the product to the customer who retrieved the product when payment for the product has been made.
9. Computers We accept customer requests to return unpaid items to the return box. The system detects when the aforementioned product is placed in the return box. The system controls the locking of the return box containing the aforementioned product. A product management method that outputs product information about the stored product and a box identifier that identifies the return box to a terminal.
10. We accept customer requests to return unpaid items to the return box. The system detects when the aforementioned product is placed in the return box. The system controls the locking of the return box containing the aforementioned product. A program that causes a computer to perform a process of outputting information about the stored items and a box identifier that identifies the return box to a terminal.

Description

This disclosure pertains to product management systems, etc. Customers may decide against purchasing an item after taking it out of stock. They can return the item, for example, by returning it to its original shelf or by handing it to a store employee. Furthermore, in shopping facilities with multiple stores, customers may browse products at each store before making a purchase. Being able to pay for items from multiple stores together would be highly convenient for customers. Patent Document 1 discloses a payment system that allows customers to purchase items from one affiliated store at other affiliated stores. The payment system according to Patent Document 1 creates payment information based on user identification information, product identification information, and affiliated store identification information. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2016-095547 This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a product management system.This flowchart shows an example of how the product management system works.This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a product management system.This flowchart shows an example of how the reception terminal and product management system work.This flowchart shows an example of how a terminal and a product management system work together.This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a shopping facility.This is a diagram showing an example of a registration screen.This diagram shows an example of a shopping cart screen.This figure shows an example of a return request confirmation screen.This is a block diagram showing an example of a computer hardware configuration. [First Embodiment] Figure 1 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of the product management system 100 according to the first embodiment. The product management system 100 includes a return reception unit 101, a detection unit 102, a control unit 103, and an output unit 104. The product management system 100 according to the first embodiment is a system that manages products when unpaid products acquired by a customer at a store are returned to a return box. The product management system 100 is used, for example, in a shopping facility with multiple stores. A shopping facility is also known as an outlet mall or shopping mall. Each store is also called a tenant. However, the shopping facility is not limited to these examples. Furthermore, there are no particular restrictions on the number of stores in a shopping facility. For example, the product management system 100 may be used in a single large store. Furthermore, it is assumed that the shopping facility where the product management system 100 is used will be equipped with a return box. The return box is a facility provided for customers to return products they have purchased at the store if they decide not to purchase those products. The product management system 100 is connected to the return box 10, the reception terminal 11, and the terminal 20 via wired or wireless communication. The number of return boxes 10, reception terminals 11, and terminals 20 is not particularly limited. The return box 10 is installed in an area where customers are permitted to hold unpaid merchandise. The size and form of the return box 10 are not particularly limited, as long as it can store merchandise and is lockable. In the following description, the return box 10 will be described as a locker with a door and lock on the storage compartment. The reception terminal 11 is operated by the customer returning the product. The reception terminal 11 may be installed near the return box 10, or it may be integrated with the return box 10. Alternatively, the reception terminal 11 may be the customer's mobile device. Terminal 20 is a terminal used by the person who collects the products stored in the return box 10. In the first embodiment, we will explain using the example of a store employee at the store that sells the returned products collecting the products. That is, we will explain using the example of terminal 20 being a terminal used by the store employee. However, the person collecting the products is not limited to the store employee; it may be another customer. The case where another customer collects the products will be described later in other embodiments. Application programs may be pre-installed on reception terminals 11 and 20. Alternatively, some functions of reception terminals 11 and 20 may be implemented by application programs executed via the network. Reception terminals 11 and 20 then exchange information with the product management system 100 through these application programs. The return reception unit 101 receives return requests from customers for unpaid items. The return reception unit 101 receives return requests, for example, via the reception terminal 11. The return request also includes, for example, an item identifier that identifies the unpaid item being returned. Furthermore, if unpaid items acquired by a