US 2006/0065711 A1Published application

Recycled product distribution support apparatus and program

AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.

InventorsMasamichi Mihara, Kazuhito Kobori

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Abstract

A recycling management apparatus acquires stock quantity information, past collection quantity information, and yield information for each type of products, cost information indicating costs for collecting and recovering used products, etc. from a client terminal via communication network and stores the information, while computing and storing stock reference quantity of each type of products. When receiving order information from the terminal at a sales base point, the apparatus computes a collection quantity of used products based on the ordered quantity, stock quantity, and stock reference quantity. The apparatus selects collection base point candidates which can collect the computed collection quantity of used products based on the past collection quantity information, and appoints a collection base point that is to collect used products from the selected candidates based on the cost information. The apparatus creates instruction information and sends it to the terminal at the appointed base point via network.

Claims5

Dependent claims

A recycled product distribution support apparatus comprising:

a storage unit which acquires information from a client terminal via a communication network and stores the information;
an order information reception unit which receives order information from said client terminal via said communication network;
a collection necessity determination unit which determines whether or not it is necessary to collect used products necessary for supplying recycled products having been ordered, based on the order information received by said order information reception unit and the information stored in said storage unit;
a collection base point appointing unit which appoints a collection base point which will be in charge of collection of the used products, in a case where said collection necessity determination unit determines that it is necessary to collect used products;
and
an instruction unit which creates instruction information for instructing that the used products be kept, and sends the instruction information to said client terminal installed at the collection base point appointed by said collection base point appointing unit,
wherein said collection base point appointing unit appoints a collection base point based on a cost required for collecting the used products.

4 more elements

A program for controlling a computer to realize:

a function of acquiring information indicating a stock quantity of each type of products from a base point terminal at each base point via a communication network, and storing the acquired information;
a function of computing a stock reference quantity of each type of products and storing the computed quantity;
a function of acquiring past collection quantity information indicating a quantity of each type of products collected in past, from a base point terminal at a collection base point via said communication network, and storing the acquired information;
a function of acquiring yield information for each type of products from a base point terminal at a recovery base point via said communication network, and storing the acquired information;
a function of acquiring cost information indicating costs required for collecting and recovering used products from a base point terminal via said communication network and storing the acquired information;
a function of receiving order information for recycled products from a base point terminal at a sales base point via said communication network;
a function of computing a collection quantity of used products necessary for supplying recycled products, based on an ordered quantity, the stock quantity, and the stock reference quantity, when the order information is received;
a function of selecting collection base point candidates by which the computed collection quantity of used products can be collected, based on the past collection quantity information;
a function of appointing a collection base point which will be in charge of collection of used products from the selected collection base point candidates, based on the cost information;
and
a function of creating instruction information indicating a type of used products to be collected and the collection quantity, and sending the instruction information to a base point terminal at the appointed collection base point via said communication network.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/221,737Filed 9 Sep 2005
Priority: JP 2004-28772930 Sep 2004
Published: 30 Mar 2006
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

G06Q 10/08
Administration; Management: logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
G06Q 10/06316
Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations: sequencing of tasks or work
G06Q 10/087
Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management: inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling,…
G06Q 10/08726
Using inventory planning: for replenishment processing, procedures, or recommendations using forecasting or optimisation