Patent Application
20240273646
This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-019982 filed on Feb. 13, 2023, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, and a non-transitory storage medium.
There has been suggested a system with which information on dealing products is shared between a vendor company and a customer company (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-171146 (JP 2004-171146 A)). With this system, information can be shared on a common platform between adjacent companies in a supply chain.
The disclosure promotes improvement of a product of which product information is concealed.
A first aspect of the disclosure provides an information processing apparatus. The information processing apparatus includes a control unit. The control unit is configured to execute: identifying one or more second products included in a first product by consulting information indicating association among products in a tree structure having the first product as a root node; identifying a third product that is a target of improvement from among the one or more second products in accordance with a predetermined condition by consulting traceability-related information of each of the one or more second products; determining whether disclosure of information on the third product to a company of the first product is permitted, by consulting information on a disclosure setting of the third product; accepting whether to make a request of a company of the third product for improvement in response to a determination that disclosure of the information on the third product to the company of the first product is permitted; identifying a fourth product of which disclosure of information to the company of the first product is permitted from among the one or more second products by ascending the tree structure from the third product toward the root node in response to a determination that disclosure of the information on the third product to the company of the first product is not permitted; and accepting whether to make a request of a company of the fourth product for improvement.
A second aspect of the disclosure provides an information processing method executed by a computer. The information processing method includes: identifying one or more second products included in a first product by consulting information indicating association among products in a tree structure having the first product as a root node; identifying a third product that is a target of improvement from among the one or more second products in accordance with a predetermined condition by consulting traceability-related information of each of the one or more second products; determining whether disclosure of information on the third product to a company of the first product is permitted, by consulting information on a disclosure setting of the third product; accepting whether to make a request of a company of the third product for improvement in response to a determination that disclosure of the information on the third product to the company of the first product is permitted; identifying a fourth product of which disclosure of information to the company of the first product is permitted from among the one or more second products by ascending the tree structure from the third product toward the root node in response to a determination that disclosure of the information on the third product to the company of the first product is not permitted; and accepting whether to make a request of a company of the fourth product for improvement.
A third aspect of the disclosure provides a non-transitory storage medium storing instructions that are executable on one or more processors and that cause the one or more processors to execute functions. The functions include: identifying one or more second products included in a first product by consulting information indicating association among products in a tree structure having the first product as a root node; identifying a third product that is a target of improvement from among the one or more second products in accordance with a predetermined condition by consulting traceability-related information of each of the one or more second products; determining whether disclosure of information on the third product to a company of the first product is permitted, by consulting information on a disclosure setting of the third product; accepting whether to make a request of a company of the third product for improvement in response to a determination that disclosure of the information on the third product to the company of the first product is permitted; identifying a fourth product of which disclosure of information to the company of the first product is permitted from among the one or more second products by ascending the tree structure from the third product toward the root node in response to a determination that disclosure of the information on the third product to the company of the first product is not permitted; and accepting whether to make a request of a company of the fourth product for improvement.
In the above aspects, a product of which disclosure of the information to the company of the first product is permitted and that is closest from the third product in the tree structure may be identified as the fourth product.
In the above aspects, a request for improvement of the third product may be sent to a terminal of the company of the fourth product in response to accepting to make a request of the company of the fourth product for improvement.
In the above aspects, the traceability-related information may include information on at least one of an amount of emission of greenhouse effect gas, a recycling rate, and due diligence information.
In the above configurations, the predetermined condition may be that the amount of emission of greenhouse effect gas exceeds a threshold.
In the above configurations, the predetermined condition may be that the recycling rate is lower than a threshold.
In the above aspects, the first product may be a product related to a battery.
The information processing apparatus according to the above aspect may further include a storage unit configured to store information on a product of each of companies that make up a supply chain, the information including information indicating association among the products, traceability-related information of the product, and information on a disclosure setting of the product.
According to the aspects of the disclosure, it is possible to promote improvement of a product of which product information is concealed.
Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like signs denote like elements, and wherein:
Carbon footprint (Carbon Footprint of Products (CFP)) is a mechanism for converting the amount of emission of greenhouse effect gas emitted through the entire life cycle from raw material procurement of commercial products to disposal and recycling to CO2 emission amount and indicating the CO2 emission amount on the commercial products. To implement CFP, traceability in which suppliers involved from raw material procurement of commercial products to disposal and recycling are recorded and a history is placed in a 25 traceable state is important.
To ensure traceability of CFP or the like, it is desired to collect the information not only between adjacent companies but also over the entire supply chain. However, with the existing system, in a supply chain, information can be shared between adjacent companies and having dealt with each other; however, it is difficult to share information between companies not in such a relationship. Particularly, when a value related to traceability is attempted to be improved, it is difficult to identify a critically affecting product and efficiently prompt a company of the product identified for improvement. This inconvenience is not limited to a scene to collect carbon footprint. The inconvenience can arise in, for example, every scene to collect selected information on products, such as other traceability-related information (for example, a raw material recycling rate, due diligence information, or the like) and information on the other products (for example, constituent elements, identification information, and the like).
An information processing apparatus that is one of the aspects of the disclosure includes a control unit. The control unit is configured to execute: identifying one or more second products included in a first product by consulting information indicating association among products in a tree structure having the first product as a root node; identifying a third product that is a target of improvement from among the one or more second products in accordance with a predetermined condition by consulting traceability-related information of each of the one or more second products; determining whether disclosure of information on the third product to a company of the first product is permitted, by consulting information on a disclosure setting of the third product; accepting whether to make a request of a company of the third product for improvement in response to a determination that disclosure of the information on the third product to the company of the first product is permitted; identifying a fourth product of which disclosure of information to the company of the first product is permitted from among the one or more second products, by ascending the tree structure from the third product toward the root node in response to a determination that disclosure of the information on the third product to the company of the first product is not permitted; and accepting whether to make a request of a company of the fourth product for improvement.
With the aspect of the disclosure, the control unit is configured to be capable of consulting information indicating association among products. Information indicating association among products is, for example, information with which adjacent products in a supply chain can be identified. When a plurality of products is needed to manufacture one product, association among the products may be represented by a tree structure. When, for example, information indicating association among the products is traced toward a leaf node, all the products included in each product can be extracted.
The first product is a product corresponding to a root node of the tree structure. The first product may be an end product. In this case, the first product corresponds to a root node of an overall tree structure. The first product may be a product included in an end product. In this case, the first product corresponds to a root node of a partial tree structure.
The second product is a product included in the first product, and is a product positioned closer to a leaf node of a tree structure than the first product. The first product and the second product may be, for example, materials, stand-alone parts, assembly parts, finished commercial products, or the like. Between adjacent two companies in the supply chain, an upstream company and a downstream company can be defined. Products of an upstream company are referred to as upstream products, and products of a downstream company are referred to as downstream products. When the tree structure including the first product as a root node represents three or more-level supply chain, products of a most downstream company are examples of the first product, and products of companies other than the most downstream company are examples of the second product. An upstream product may include one or more downstream products. An upstream product may be the same as a downstream product. In this case, the upstream company may be a company that does not make any change on a product, such as a company that transports a product. In other words, the supply chain may include such a company that does not make any change on a product.
The control unit is configured to be capable of consulting traceability-related information of each second product. The traceability-related information may include information on an amount of greenhouse effect gas emitted in relation to the second product. The amount of greenhouse effect gas includes, for example, an amount of greenhouse effect gas emitted when the second product is manufacture and an amount of greenhouse effect gas emitted when the second product is transported. The control unit identifies a third product that is a target of improvement in accordance with a predetermined condition by consulting the traceability-related information of each second product. The improvement is, for example, to reduce the amount of greenhouse effect gas emitted in a manufacturing process for the third product. For example, a condition that the amount of greenhouse effect gas is less than or equal to a threshold may be set in advance as the predetermined condition, and a product of which the amount of greenhouse effect gas exceeds the threshold may be identified as the third product. In another method, improvement may be to seek for input of information on the third product. For example, a product for which information is not input to such a degree that traceability is ensured may be set as a target of improvement. Furthermore, in another method, when traceability-related information includes inventory data (secondary data), improvement may be to change the inventory data (secondary data) to an actually measured value (primary data). The inventory data is a reference value that is used when an actually measured value is not obtained. Other than that, increasing the recycling rate, abiding due diligence (increasing the score of due diligence), and the like may be illustrated.
The control unit is configured to be capable of consulting information on a disclosure setting of the third product. The information on a disclosure setting may be information on a range of disclosure designated by a company of the third product or may be information on a range of disclosure restricted by laws and regulations, or the like. For example, it is presumable that information on the third product can be disclosed only for a company to which the third product is directly delivered. In this case, when there is another product between the first product and the third product in a tree structure, information on the third product is not disclosed to the company of the first product. Therefore, the company of the first product is not able to know the company of the third product, so the company of the first product is not able to directly make a request of the company of the third product for improvement.
When disclosure of information on the third product to the company of the first product is permitted, the control unit accepts whether to make a request of the company of the third product for improvement. In other words, since the company of the first product is able to know the company of the third product, the company of the first product is able to directly make a request of the company of the third product for improvement. When the control unit accepts to make the request, the control unit may send a request for improvement to a terminal of the company of the third product.
On the other hand, when disclosure of the information on the third product to the company of the first product is not permitted, the control unit searches for a company that makes a request for improvement, instead of the company of the first product. At this time, the control unit identifies a fourth product of which disclosure of information to the company of the first product is permitted, by ascending the tree structure from the third product toward the root node. The fourth product is a product closer to a leaf node than the first product and closer to the root node than the third product in the tree structure. Since the company of the first product is able to know the company of the fourth product, the company of the first product is able to send a request for improvement to the company of the fourth product. Here, a request for improvement is to make a request of the company of the fourth product to make a request of the company of the third product for improvement. The control unit accepts whether to make a request of the company of the fourth product for improvement. When the control unit accepts to make the request, the control unit may send a request for improvement to a terminal of the company of the fourth product. As described above, according to the aspect of the disclosure, it is possible to identify a product that is a target of improvement on traceability-related information and efficiently prompt the company of the identified product for improvement.
Depending on a setting of disclosure of the third product, it is presumable that the company of the fourth product is also not able to directly send a request for improvement to the company of the third product. In such a case, it is possible to reach the company that is able to directly send a request to the company of the third product by replacing the first product with the fourth product and repeatedly executing the same process.
The identifying the fourth product may be identifying a product of which disclosure of the information to the company of the first product is permitted and closest from the third product in the tree structure, as the fourth product. The closest product is a product for which the number of products intervening when ascending the tree structure from the third product. When a product closest from the third product is identified as the fourth product, it is possible to further early reach the third product.
The control unit may be configured to further execute sending a request for improvement of the third product to a terminal of the company of the fourth product in response to accepting to make a request of the company of the fourth product for improvement. When a request to improve the third product is sent to the company of the fourth product, the company of the fourth product has a responsibility to improve the third product. Thus, the company of the fourth product tries to improve the third product. Even when the company of the fourth product is not able to directly access information on the third product, the company of the fourth product is able to send a request to improve the third product to another company positioned further adjacent to the third product in the tree structure.
The traceability-related information may include information on at least one of an amount of emission of greenhouse effect gas, a recycling rate, and due diligence information. The traceability-related information is information required to ensure traceability. In an example, the traceability-related information may be information that can be a target of computation, such as the amount of emission of greenhouse effect gas, the recycling rate of a raw material, and a score for due diligence. When the traceability-related information includes these pieces of information, it is possible to ensure traceability in the supply chain.
The predetermined condition may be that the amount of emission of greenhouse effect gas exceeds a threshold. With this configuration, it is possible to issue a request for improvement to the company of the product of which the amount of emission of greenhouse effect gas exceeds the threshold, so it is possible to reduce the amount of emission of greenhouse effect gas. The predetermined condition may be that the recycling rate is lower than a threshold. With this configuration, it is possible to issue a request for improvement to the company of the product of which the recycling rate is lower than the threshold, so it is possible to increase the recycling rate.
The first product may be a product related to a battery. In other words, the first product may be a product used at the time of manufacturing a battery. The first product may be a battery that is an end product. With this configuration, it is possible to ensure traceability on a battery. In an example, the battery may be the one used for a battery electric vehicle.
The information processing apparatus may further include a storage unit configured to store information on a product of each of companies that make up a supply chain, the information including information indicating association among the products, traceability-related information of the product, and information on a disclosure setting of the product. It is possible to generate the tree structure of products based on such information, so traceability is ensured.
Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The configurations of the following embodiments are illustrative, and the disclosure is not limited to the configurations of the embodiments. The following embodiments may be combined as long as possible.
A system according to the present embodiment is a system that provides information on products supplied by a supply chain including a plurality of companies. Information on products is typically information on traceability.
Initially, the structure of a supply chain will be described. In an example, at least some companies (intermediate suppliers) included in the supply chain can receive parts from one or more upstream companies, produce their own company's products by using the parts received, and supply their own company's products produced to companies (downstream companies) in the next process. A most upstream company can directly produce its own company's products and supply its own company's products produced to a company in the next process. Some companies of the supply chain can directly supply (that is, be involved in distribution of) products received from another company to a different company. A plurality of companies repeats this flow, and final products are obtained in the last process.
In the present embodiment, a side that supplies products at one level is referred to as an upstream side, and a side that purchases the products and produces new products is referred to as a downstream side. In the specification, a company positioned at the upstream side is referred to as an upstream company, and a company positioned at the downstream side is referred to as a downstream company. Products produced by an upstream company are referred to as upstream products, and products produced by a downstream company are referred to as downstream products. Downstream products include upstream products.
In the present embodiment, levels in the supply chain are referred to as Tiers. Tier0 is the lowest level that provides final products assembled (that corresponds to the OEM company), and, as the level advances in order of Tier1, Tier2, and Tier3, the level shifts toward the upstream side. Depending on a level focused, a downstream company may be changed to an upstream company. For example, Company B in Tier2 is a downstream company in relation to Tier3 but is an upstream company in relation to Tier1. In this way, the definition of upstream company and downstream company can change level by level.
In a supply chain, the depths of the levels of all the most upstream companies do not always coincide with one another. In the example of
A server apparatus 1 (information processing apparatus) according to the present embodiment collects information on products produced by companies (hereinafter, product information) and information for associating pieces of product information from terminals corresponding to companies (company terminals 2) and generates a product tree based on these pieces of information. Product information includes information on traceability (for example, information on the amount of emission of greenhouse effect gas, or the like; hereinafter, referred to as “traceability-related information”). It is possible to trace carbon footprint or the like by tracking a product tree. Traceability-related information may include every information that can be a target to ensure traceability.
As shown in
Next, the outline of a process in which the server apparatus 1 generates a product tree will be described with reference to
To generate a product tree, the company terminals 2 respectively corresponding to the companies each send information on products produced by itself to the server apparatus 1. In this example, the company terminal 2 corresponding to Company A sends product information on the product A (referred to as product information A) to the server apparatus 1. Similarly, the company terminal 2 corresponding to Company B sends product information on the product B (referred to as product information B) to the server apparatus 1. The product information of each company is stored in the server apparatus 1.
An operation to associate the pieces of product information stored in the server apparatus 1 is performed by the company terminal 2. In an example, a person in charge of the downstream company logs onto the server apparatus 1 from the company terminal 2 with an account of the downstream company and selects an upstream product with which the downstream product that is its own company's product is associated. In this way, association of pieces of product information with each other is performed from the downstream product to the upstream product. The server apparatus 1 associates the pieces of product information based on the selection.
However, when a product with which a product is associated is selected, if products in the supply chain and pieces of information on the products all are presented as choices, confidentiality of both information on companies that make up the supply chain and information on products produced by the companies is impaired. Furthermore, it may not be reasonable to disclose the whole of the product tree to one supplier.
For this reason, the server apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment gives in advance authority to access product information of an upstream product to a downstream company in response to a request from an upstream company. The server apparatus 1 permits access from the downstream company within the range of authority given.
In the example of
Next, the hardware configuration of each of the devices that make up the system will be described with reference to
The server apparatus 1 may be configured as a computer including a processor (a CPU, a GPU, or the like), a main storage device (a RAM, a ROM, or the like), and an auxiliary storage device (an EPROM, a hard disk drive, a removable medium, or the like). An operating system (OS), various programs, various tables, and the like are stored in the auxiliary storage device. Various functions (software modules) that match predetermined purposes as will be described later can be implemented by running the programs stored in the auxiliary storage device. One, some, or all of the modules may be implemented as hardware modules by a hardware circuit, such as an ASIC and an FPGA.
The control unit 11 is an arithmetic unit that implements various functions of the server apparatus 1 by running predetermined programs. The control unit 11 can be implemented by, for example, a hardware processor, such as a CPU. The control unit 11 may be configured to include a RAM, a read only memory (ROM), a cache memory, or the like.
The storage unit 12 is a device that stores information and is a storage medium, such as a RAM, a magnetic disk, and a flash memory. Programs to be run on the control unit 11, data used by the programs, and the like are stored in the storage unit 12. A database is constructed in the storage unit 12. Product information collected from the company terminals 2 and account information on companies are stored in the database. Details will be described later.
The communication module 13 is a communication interface for connecting the server apparatus 1 with a network. The communication module 13 may be configured to include, for example, a network interface board, a wireless communication interface for wireless communication, and the like. The server apparatus 1 is capable of performing data communication with another computer (for example, another server apparatus 1 or each company terminal 2) via the communication module 13.
The input/output device 14 is a device that receives an input operation performed by an operator and presents information to the operator. Specifically, the input/output device 14 includes a device for inputting, such as a mouse and a keyboard, and a device for outputting, such as a display and a speaker. The input/output device 14 may be, for example, integrally configured by a touch panel display or the like.
For a specific hardware configuration of the server apparatus 1, omissions, replacements, or additions of components are applicable as needed according to embodiments. For example, the control unit 11 may include a plurality of hardware processors. The hardware processor may be a microprocessor, an FPGA, a GPU, or the like. The input/output device 14 may be omitted or an input/output device (for example, an optical disk drive or the like) other than the illustrated one may be added. The server apparatus 1 may be made up of a plurality of computers. In this case, the hardware configuration of each computer may be the same or may be different.
The company terminal 2, as in the case of the server apparatus 1, may be configured as a computer including a processor (a CPU, a GPU, or the like), a main storage device (a RAM, a ROM, or the like), and an auxiliary storage device (an EPROM, a hard disk drive, a removable medium, or the like). One, some, or all of the functions (software modules) may be implemented as hardware modules by a hardware circuit, such as an ASIC and an FPGA.
The control unit 21 is an arithmetic unit that implements various functions (software modules) of the company terminal 2 by running predetermined programs. The control unit 11 can be implemented by, for example, a hardware processor, such as a CPU. The control unit 21 may be configured to include a RAM, a read only memory (ROM), a cache memory, or the like.
The storage unit 22 is a device that stores information and is a storage medium, such as a RAM, a magnetic disk, and a flash memory. Programs to be run on the control unit 21, data used by the programs, and the like are stored in the storage unit 22.
The communication module 23 is a communication interface for connecting the company terminal 2 with a network. The communication module 23 may be configured to include, for example, a network interface board, a wireless communication interface for wireless communication, and the like. The company terminal 2 is capable of performing data communication with another computer (for example, the server apparatus 1) via the communication module 23.
The input/output device 24 is a device that receives an input operation performed by an operator and presents information to the operator. Specifically, the input/output device 24 includes a device for inputting, such as a mouse and a keyboard, and a device for outputting, such as a display and a speaker. The input/output device 24 may be, for example, integrally configured by a touch panel display or the like.
For a specific hardware configuration of the company terminal 2, as in the case of the server apparatus 1, omissions, replacements, or additions of components are applicable as needed according to embodiments.
Next, the software configuration of each of the devices that make up the system will be described with reference to
The software modules may be implemented by the control unit 11 (CPU) running the programs stored in the storage unit 12. Information processing executed by the information collecting unit 111, the authority setting unit 112, the association unit 113, the information providing unit 114, and the management unit 115 is synonymous with information processing executed by the control unit 11.
The information collecting unit 111 is configured to execute a process of receiving product information sent from the company terminal 2 and storing the product information in the storage unit 12. The authority setting unit 112 is configured to receive information for setting authority to access product information (hereinafter, permission information) from the company terminal 2. Furthermore, the authority setting unit 112 is configured to execute a process of setting authority to access the product information stored in the storage unit 12 based on the information received.
The association unit 113 is configured to acquire information for associating pieces of product information with each other, from the company terminal 2 by performing interaction with the company terminal 2. Furthermore, the association unit 113 is configured to execute a process of writing information indicating an association relationship on the product information stored in the storage unit 12 based on the information acquired. The association unit 113 is configured to execute a process of receiving a request to give termination information and giving the termination information to the product information stored in the storage unit 12 in response to this request. A product tree is formed by reflecting association and giving termination. In other words, forming a product tree is saving association information and termination information in the storage unit 12. The association unit 113 is configured to generate a product tree according to the result of association and giving termination.
The information providing unit 114 is configured to execute information processing relevant to a product tree and output a result obtained by executing information processing. The information processing relevant to a product tree may include a process of performing computation on traceability for a product tree. Outputting the result obtained by executing information processing may include a process of providing the company terminal 2 with information on the product tree generated. In an example, the information providing unit 114 is configured to generate information on a product tree and output information on the product tree generated.
The management unit 115 identifies a product that is a target of improvement in response to a request from the company terminal 2. The management unit 115 provides notification to the company of the product that is a target of improvement. This will be described later.
In the present embodiment, the storage unit 12 is configured to include a plurality of logical storage areas. Different access authority can be set to each of the plurality of storage areas like, for example, an area in which access authority is given to Company A, an area in which access authority is given to Company B, and an area in which access authority is given to both Company A and Company B. The authority setting unit 112 sets access authority by storing product information received from the company terminal 2 in an appropriate storage area. A specific processing method will be described later.
Account information is stored in the storage unit 12. In the present embodiment, an operator of each company logs onto the server apparatus 1 by using a corresponding account of the company via the company terminal 2 to perform interaction between the server apparatus 1 and the company terminal 2. Account information is information on an account corresponding to each of the companies that make up the supply chain. Logging on by using an account is an example of a corresponding company accessing the server apparatus 1. However, a method of accessing the server apparatus 1 is not limited to such an example and may be selected as needed according to embodiments.
The product information generating unit 211 is configured to generate information on products (product information) of the company corresponding to the company terminal 2.
Furthermore, product information is configured to include association-related information. Association-related information is information for identifying an upstream product associated with the target product. In the present embodiment, association-related information includes fields of “upstream product information” and “termination flag”.
The upstream product information field is configured to store information for identifying product information corresponding to the upstream product (that is, a product needed to produce the target product and included in the target product) associated with the target product. The upstream product information field is used when the server apparatus 1 associates products with each other. Basically, in the phase in which product information is generated, the target product is not associated with the upstream product, so a value indicating the upstream product does not need to be stored in the upstream product information field.
The termination flag field is configured to store a flag indicating whether a target product is a leaf node in a product tree, that is, a node positioned at the most upstream side (end). In the present embodiment, since the company terminals 2 send product information, the flag is used to determine whether a product is further associated on the upstream side or no more association occurs (a target product is positioned at the most upstream side) for a product in a product tree. In other words, the termination flag field is used at the time when the server apparatus 1 finalizes association of products with each other. Basically, in the phase in which product information is generated, an association relationship of the target product is not determined, so “0 (currently not a termination)” may be stored in the termination flag field. Finally, to generate a product tree, product information of each company, stored in the server apparatus 1, is set to a state of any one of “association with the upstream product has been performed” and “the termination flag is set to “1””.
Furthermore, product information is configured to include traceability-related information. In an example, traceability-related information may include the amount of use of materials (for example, upstream products) per the amount of production of products, information on the recycling rate of predetermined raw materials, the amount of emission of greenhouse effect gas emitted at the time of producing products (CFP value), due diligence information, or a combination of some of them. Examples of the predetermined raw materials may include lithium, nickel, cobalt, lead, and graphite. The recycling rate may be directly represented or may be indirectly represented like, for example, a combination of a total use amount and the amount of use of recycled materials. These values are values corresponding to a process of producing a target product. For example, in the example of
The traceability-related information may be selected as needed according to embodiments. In an example, the amount of emission of greenhouse effect gas (carbon footprint) may include the amounts of emission of scope 1, scope 2, and scope 3. The scope 1 may be the amount of direct emission of greenhouse effect gas by itself. The scope 2 may be the amount of indirect emission resulting from use of electricity, heat, and vapor supplied from another company. The scope 3 may be the amount of indirect emission other than the scope 1 or the scope 2. In an example, the due diligence information may include a technical document indicating that, for a product that contains a target raw material (for example, cobalt, natural graphite, lithium, nickel, or the like), proves that obligations of the amount of raw materials contained in the product and responsible mineral procurement of a smelter or the like are fulfilled. In another example, the due diligence information may include a score (which may be referred to as due diligence score) indicating an extent to which due diligence is fulfilled, such as a degree to which the obligations are fulfilled.
The product information generating unit 211 is configured to acquire such information via the operator of the company terminal 2 and send the information to the server apparatus 1 at selected timing.
The authority setting unit 212 is configured to designate a downstream company permitted to access product information sent from the company terminal 2 to the server apparatus 1.
A list of companies shown on the screen of
The association request unit 213 is configured to make a request of the server apparatus 1 to associate its own company's product information sent to the server apparatus 1 with an upstream product. In an example, initially, the association request unit 213 sends its own company ID and product ID to the server apparatus 1 and makes a request of the server apparatus 1 to associate the product ID with corresponding product information. In contrast, the server apparatus 1 generates a user interface containing a list of product information (that is, candidates to be associated) permitted to access from a target company and provides the user interface generated to the company terminal 2.
The list of products shown in
Subsequently, the association request unit 213 is configured to allow the operator to select an upstream product to be associated, from the list. The association request unit 213 is configured to send an identifier of a product that is a source of association (downstream product) and an identifier of an upstream product that is a destination of association in pair to the server apparatus 1. The server apparatus 1 is allowed to associate pieces of product information with each other accordingly.
When there is no upstream product associated with a target product, it is possible to explicitly indicate the fact by, for example, checking a checkbox indicated by the dashed line in
The information acquisition unit 214 is configured to make a request of the server apparatus 1 to provide a product tree and output information sent from the server apparatus 1. The improvement unit 215 is configured to generate and send and receive information on improvement of product information.
Next, specific details of a process executed by the server apparatus 1 and the company terminal 2 will be described.
The process executed by the server apparatus 1 is divided into the following four phases:
In the example of
In the first phase, the information collecting unit 111 of the server apparatus 1 acquires product information from the product information generating unit 211 of the company terminal 2. In the example of
In the second phase, the authority setting unit 112 of the server apparatus 1 receives permission information from the authority setting unit 212 of the company terminal 2 and sets authority to access product information according to the permission information received. Permission information is the one that associates a product with a company that permits access to product information of the product as shown in
In the example of
In the following description, a storage area of which access authority is given to only a specific company is referred to as “dedicated storage area”, and a storage area of which access authority is given to a plurality of companies is referred to as “shared storage area”.
Product information is copied by the server apparatus 1 in response to reception of permission information from the company terminal 2. In other words, the company terminal 2 sends permission information to the server apparatus 1 to cause the server apparatus 1 to execute an operation to copy product information identified by the permission information from a dedicated storage area of a target company to a shared storage area accessible from a downstream company.
In the third phase, the association unit 113 of the server apparatus 1 receives an association request from the association request unit 213 of the company terminal 2 and associates pieces of product information with each other based on the association request received.
Initially, the association unit 113 receives an association request from the company terminal 2. The association request is sent from the company terminal 2 of a downstream company. In the example of
The association request unit 213 of the company terminal 2 presents a list to an operator and allows the operator to select products to be associated. In the case of this example, the product A and the product B are targets to be associated with each other. The operator, for example, inputs information indicating that the upstream product is the product B for the product A via the input/output device 24. The association request unit 213 sends data for associating the upstream product (product B) with the downstream product (product A) (association data) to the association unit 113.
As illustrated in
A pointer or the like to product information that is a destination of association may be stored in the association-related information. A pointer is to point out the address or the like of product information corresponding to an upstream product. With the process described above, part of a tree structure in which product information of the downstream product is a parent node and product information of the upstream product is a child node is formed.
At the terminal of the product tree, further more association is not performed. In this case, the association request unit 213 sends data indicating that the product is the terminal of a tree instead of sending association data. When the association unit 113 receives the data, the association unit 113 sets “1” to the termination flag field of corresponding product information. In other words, in the third phase, any one of “a process of setting an upstream product that is a destination of association” and “a process of setting a termination flag” is executed.
In the fourth phase, the information providing unit 114 of the server apparatus 1 generates information on a product tree based on the product information stored and outputs information on the product tree. Generating information on a product tree may include a process of, after a link between nodes is formed by association of pieces of product information with each other, generating various pieces of information on products (for example, information on traceability, an image representing a link relationship between products in a tree diagram, or the like). To generate information on a product tree, all the association of pieces of product information with each other needs to be complete, and “1” needs to be set to the termination flags of all the leaf nodes. When such conditions are satisfied, the information providing unit 114 is allowed to appropriately generate the information.
A product tree according to the present embodiment, as described with reference to
Furthermore, when the information providing unit 114 generates information on a product tree, the information providing unit 114 integrates traceability-related information defined in each piece of product information with one another and outputs the result.
Here, integration of traceability-related information will be described with reference to
In the example of
Here, it is assumed that EA121, EA122, and EA123 are respectively the CO2 emission amounts per unit amount at the time of producing the corresponding products A121, A122, A123. UA121, UA122, and UA123 are respectively the amounts of use of the products A121, A122, A123 used to produce the product A12. The amount of use is an example of the amount of use of material per the amount of production of a product, included in the traceability-related information. The CO2 emission amount of an end product (a product of a most downstream company) can be obtained by sequentially performing the computation from the product of the most upstream company to the end product.
The same applies to a case where the target product is a product A1. When the target product is A1, it is possible to calculate the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted in manufacturing activity until the product A1 is produced by integrating the CO2 emission amount corresponding to the product A1 with the CO2 emission amounts corresponding to products A11, A12, A13, A14 that are inclusion products.
An integrated value may be stored in the storage unit 12 in association with a product or may be included in part of product information. In other words, product information corresponding to the product A12 may hold both EA12 that is the amount of emission in the process alone and IA12 that is the amount of emission after integration.
Traceability-related information after integration is used again at the time of performing integration for a downstream product. When this process is executed at each level with the most upstream side as a starting point, traceability-related information (for example, an accumulated value of the CO2 emission amount) is sequentially transferred in a downstream direction. Finally, the traceability-related information is transferred to an end product. As a result, traceability-related information corresponding to the entire period until the end product is produced (for example, the total amount of emission of CO2) can be obtained.
In this way, when the information providing unit 114 generates information on a product tree, the information providing unit 114 may repeatedly execute a process of sequentially integrating traceability-related information defined for each piece of product information from the most upstream side toward the most downstream side. In the above-described example, the amount of emission of carbon dioxide is illustrated as a target of integration; however, traceability-related information that is a target of integration may be a recycling rate related to a predetermined raw material, due diligence information (for example, a score for due diligence), or the like. When the traceability-related information is a numeric value, integration may be performed by mathematical operations. When the traceability-related information is information other than a numerical value (for example, a technical document related to due diligence, or the like), integration may be simple information collection.
In another example, product information may include information indicating a location of traceability-related information of a corresponding product (hereinafter, “location information”; typically, address, pointer, or the like). In this case, traceability-related information does not need to be included in product information. Integration may be to collect location information included in product information.
The information providing unit 114 may output a product tree generated in an image format. Simultaneously, the information providing unit 114 may output traceability-related information corresponding to a selected product.
Furthermore, the information providing unit 114 may provide a product tree generated to the company terminal 2 in response to a request from the company terminal 2 (information acquisition unit 214). It may be not adequate to disclose the entire product tree to a specific company. For this reason, when the information providing unit 114 provides a product tree to the company terminal 2 corresponding to a company, the information providing unit 114 may execute a process of not disclosing a range of which no access authority is given to the company.
For example, in the example of
In a case where the presence of a product is disclosed but authority to access only a specific item in corresponding product information is not given, a confidential process is executed only on the specific item as indicated by the dashed line in the diagram. In the illustrated example, the fact that the amount of emission of carbon dioxide at the time of producing the product A121 is undisclosed is shown.
On the other hand, even when there is a product (or item) of which no access authority is given in a tree, the above-described integration of traceability-related information is performed without any influence. For example, in the illustrated example, the amount of emission of carbon dioxide for the product A121 is undisclosed; however, this does not influence the process of calculating the total amount of emission of carbon dioxide for the product A12.
Next, the flow of a process executed by the server apparatus 1 and the company terminal 2 in a case where its own company's product information is registered by the company terminal 2 will be described with reference to
In an example, interaction between the server apparatus 1 and the company terminal 2 is started when the operator of each company logs onto the server apparatus 1 by using the corresponding account of the company via the company terminal 2. In this example, it is assumed that the operator of each company has logged onto the server apparatus 1 by using its own company's account.
Initially, in step S11, the product information generating unit 211 of the company terminal 2 acquires its own company's product information via the operator and sends the product information acquired to the server apparatus 1. The product information sent is received by the server apparatus 1 (information collecting unit 111) and stored in the storage unit 12 (step S12). At this time, the information collecting unit 111 saves the product information in a storage area of which access authority is given to only the company that produces the corresponding product.
After that, in step S13, the authority setting unit 212 of the company terminal 2 receives, via the operator, input of information to designate a downstream company permitted to access (permission information) the product information sent in step S11. In this step, a user interface screen as described with reference to
In step S14, the authority setting unit 112 of the server apparatus 1 gives authority to access target product information based on the permission information received. In this step, as described with reference to
Subsequently, in step S15, the association request unit 213 of the company terminal 2 sends data to make a request of the server apparatus 1 to associate the product information sent to the server apparatus 1 with an upstream product (association request). The association request includes its own company ID and a product ID of a target product.
In step S16, the server apparatus 1 (association unit 113) generates a list of product information permitted to access from a target company and provides the company terminal 2 with a user interface screen containing the list. In this step, the server apparatus 1 may provide a user interface screen as described with reference to
In step S17, the association request unit 213 of the company terminal 2 receives from the operator a designated combination of a target product with an upstream product associated with the product. The association request unit 213 generates data indicating association of an upstream product with a downstream product (association data) and sends the association data generated to the server apparatus 1.
In step S18, the association unit 113 of the server apparatus 1 updates the product information stored based on the association data and reflects details of association of the pieces of product information with each other. Association of pieces of product information with each other may be performed by storing information (identifier, pointer, or the like) on an upstream product with association-related information of product information of a downstream product.
When there is no downstream company, processes of step S13 to step S14 may be omitted. Similarly, when there is no upstream company (when there is no destination of association for a target product), the association unit 113 may execute a process of setting the above-described termination flag instead of making a request to associate pieces of product information with each other. In this case, the processes of the above-described step S15 to step S18 are omitted.
The server apparatus 1 (information providing unit 114) having received the request generates information on a product tree through the above-described process (step S22). At this time, the information providing unit 114 executes a process of integrating traceability-related information defined for each piece of product information from the most upstream side toward the most downstream side. The result of integration may be reflected on each piece of product information.
Subsequently, in step S23, the server apparatus 1 executes a process of placing information, of which no access authority is given, in a confidential state based on the access authority of a target company. When, for example, the presence itself of product information of another company is not disclosed to a company, the server apparatus 1 may execute a process of placing the presence of the product information in a confidential state. When only a specific item included in product information is undisclosed, the server apparatus 1 may execute a process of placing the details of the item in a confidential state. Information on a product tree subjected to the confidential process is provided to the company terminal 2 (information acquisition unit 214) and output (step S24).
The management unit 115 of the server apparatus 1 accepts designation of the first product from the company terminal 2. This designation is performed when a product that needs to be improved is identified from among products included in the first product. When, for example, the CO2 emission amount exceeds the threshold, when the recycling rate is lower than the threshold, when due diligence is not abided, when product information has a defect, or when inventory data is included in product information, it can be a target of improvement of product information.
The management unit 115 identifies inclusion products by consulting association-related information of product information of the first product (hereinafter, also referred to as first product information) and tracking branches of a product tree. Products included in the first product are hereinafter referred to as second products. Product information of each second product is also referred to as second product information. The company of each second product is also referred to as second company. The management unit 115 identifies a third product that is a target of improvement from among the second products by consulting the pieces of second product information. Hereinafter, the company of the third product is also referred to as third company. Hereinafter, product information of the third product is also referred to as third product information.
Here, it is assumed that the first company makes a request of the third company to improve the third product. When authority to access the third product information is not given to the first company, the first company is not able to directly identify the third company. It is also presumable that the third company conceals joining of the platform, so it is not desirable that the management unit 115 disclose information on the third company to the first company.
On the other hand, the first company of Tier0 is given authority to access product information of the company (hereinafter, also referred to as fourth company) of product A1 of Tier1, which is a company downstream of the third company. Therefore, the management unit 115 is allowed to disclose information on the fourth company to the first company of Tier0. The management unit 115 allows the first company of Tier0 to send a request for improvement to the fourth company of Tier1, not the third company. Thus, the first company of Tier0 is able to make a request of the fourth company of Tier1 to send a request for improvement to an upstream company. This request is performed via the management unit 115. In other words, the company terminal 2 of the first company (hereinafter, also referred to as first company terminal 2A) makes a request of the server apparatus 1 to send a request for improvement to the fourth company. This request is accepted by the management unit 115. The management unit 115 sends a request for improvement to the company terminal 2 of the fourth company (hereinafter, also referred to as fourth company terminal 2D).
However, the fourth company of Tier1 having received the request for improvement is also not given authority to access the third product.
On the other hand, the company of product A1 of Tier1 is given authority to access product information of the company of product A12 of Tier2, which is a company downstream of the third company. Therefore, the management unit 115 is allowed to disclose information on the company of product A12 of Tier2 to the company of product A1 of Tier1. The management unit 115 allows the company of product A1 of Tier1 to send a request for improvement to the company of product A12 of Tier2. Thus, the company of product A1 of Tier1 is able to make a request of the company of product A12 of Tier2 to send a request for improvement to an upstream company. This request is performed via the management unit 115. In other words, the company terminal 2 of the company of product A1 of Tier1 makes a request of the server apparatus 1 to send a request for improvement to the company of product A12 of Tier2. This request is accepted by the management unit 115. The management unit 115 sends a request for improvement to the company terminal 2 of the company of product A12 of Tier2. This may be regarded that the product of the fourth company is reset as the first product, a new fourth company is identified, and a request for improvement is sent to the new fourth company.
In this way, it is possible to repeatedly reset the product of the fourth company as the first product and identify a new fourth company, with the result that it is possible to reach the third company. In other words, it is possible to send a request for improvement on a concealed product by sending a request for improvement to a company of an upstream product that is included in a product tree and to which authority to access product information is given.
Next, a process in the server apparatus 1 will be described.
In step S101, the management unit 115 determines whether designation of a first product is accepted from the first company terminal 2A. This designation is designation of a product that is a root node. When, for example, the operator of the first company terminal 2A makes predetermined input to the input/output device 24, the improvement unit 215 of the first company terminal 2A sends information on the first product to the server apparatus 1. The management unit 115 receives the information on the first product to accept designation of the first product. In this routine, designation of the first product is accepted from the first company terminal 2A; however, designation of the first product may be performed by the management unit 115. For example, the management unit 115 may voluntarily select the first product. When the determination is affirmative in step S101, the process proceeds to step S102; whereas, when the determination is negative in step S101, the routine ends.
In step S102, the management unit 115 extracts first product information from the storage area. In step S103, the management unit 115 extracts second products based on association-related information included in the first product information. The management unit 115 extracts all the second products up to a leaf node of the product tree by sequentially tracking the association-related information included in the second product information.
In step S104, the management unit 115 identifies a third product in accordance with a predetermined condition by consulting traceability-related information of each of all the second products. The management unit 115, for example, identifies the second product of which the CO2 emission amount exceeds a threshold, as the third product. In step S105, the management unit 115 determines whether authority to access third product information is given to the first company. When the determination is affirmative in step S105, the process proceeds to step S106; whereas, when the determination is negative in step S105, the process proceeds to step S109.
In step S106, the management unit 115 accepts whether to send a request for improvement from the first company terminal 2A to the third company. The management unit 115 may, for example, send, to the first company terminal 2A, an inquiry about whether to send a request for improvement to the third company and obtain its answer. In the first company terminal 2A, the improvement unit 215 causes the input/output device 24 to display a screen indicating that there is an upstream product required for improvement. When the operator of the first company terminal 2A makes predetermined input to the input/output device 24, the improvement unit 215 generates an answer as to whether to send a request for improvement and sends the answer to the server apparatus 1.
In step S107, the management unit 115 determines whether sending a request for improvement has been accepted in step S106. When the determination is affirmative in step S107, the process proceeds to step S108; whereas, when the determination is negative in step S107, the routine ends. In step S108, the management unit 115 sends a request for improvement to the company terminal 2 of the third company (hereinafter, referred to as third company terminal 2C). This request for improvement is a request to improve the third product such that the third product satisfies the predetermined condition.
On the other hand, in step S109, the management unit 115 identifies a fourth product of which access authority is given to the first company, by ascending the product tree from the third product toward the root node. At this time, the management unit 115 identifies a product closest from the third product as a fourth product from among products of which access authority is given to the first company. In this way, when the closest product is set as a fourth product, it is possible to reach earlier than the third product.
In step S110, the management unit 115 accepts whether to send a request for improvement from the first company terminal 2A to the fourth company. The management unit 115 may, for example, send, to the first company terminal 2A, an inquiry about whether to send a request for improvement to the fourth company and obtain its answer. In the first company terminal 2A, the improvement unit 215 causes the input/output device 24 to display a screen indicating that there is an upstream product required for improvement. When the operator of the first company terminal 2A makes predetermined input to the input/output device 24, the improvement unit 215 generates an answer as to whether to send a request for improvement and sends the answer to the server apparatus 1.
In step S111, the management unit 115 determines whether sending a request for improvement has been accepted in step S110. When the determination is affirmative in step S111, the process proceeds to step S112; whereas, when the determination is negative in step S111, the routine ends. In step S112, the management unit 115 sends a request for improvement to the fourth company terminal 2D. This request for improvement is to make a request of the fourth company to provide notification to the third company that the third product is improved so as to satisfy the predetermined condition.
When the operator of the fourth company terminal 2D having received the request for improvement makes predetermined input to the input/output device 24, the improvement unit 215 of the fourth company terminal 2D sends information on the fourth product to the server apparatus 1. The management unit 115 receives the information on the fourth product to accept designation of the first product. In other words, the fourth product is designated as a first product. The management unit 115 having accepted this designation executes the process of step S102 and the following processes. In this way, it is possible to finally send a request for improvement to the third company terminal 2C by sending a request for improvement to the company of an upstream product.
As described above, in the present embodiment, even a company to which access authority of product information is not given is also allowed to make a request for improvement to the company of a product present on an upstream side in a product tree and required to be improved.
The above-described embodiments are only illustrative, and the disclosure can be implemented with modifications as needed without departing from the purport of the disclosure. For example, the processes and devices described in this disclosure may be freely implemented in combination without any technical contradiction.
In the description of the embodiments, the server apparatus 1 stores product information in the database. Alternatively, product information may be stored by a device other than a database.
In the description of the embodiments, a mode in which a product tree is completed when the server apparatus 1 executes the first to fourth phases has been illustrated. Alternatively, a role of the server apparatus 1 may be distributed to the company terminals 2. For example, product information may be stored by a distributed database using a blockchain platform. In this case, a product information database may be made up of the company terminals 2. In this case, the above-described processes of the phases may be executed by using smart contract. For example, on condition that the account of a company writes permission information to a database, a process in the second phase may be executed. On condition that the account of a company writes an association request to the database, a process in the third phase may be executed.
In the description of the embodiments, the phase in which the server apparatus 1 receives product information on an upstream product and the phase in which the server apparatus 1 receives permission information corresponding to the product information have been described separately; however, both may be received at the same time. Similarly, in the description of the embodiments, the phase in which the server apparatus 1 receives product information on a downstream product and the phase in which the server apparatus 1 receives an association request corresponding to the product information have been described separately; however, both may be received at the same time.
In the description of the embodiments, the platform is provided by the server apparatus 1; however, the configuration is not limited thereto. For example, the server apparatus 1 may be a server independent of the platform and provides the platform with information obtained from the company terminal 2.
In the above-described embodiments, access control of each company is implemented by providing a dedicated storage area and a shared storage area. However, a method of implementing access control is not limited to such an example. A selected method may be used for access control.
In the above-described embodiments (
In the above-described embodiments, a supply chain of products relevant to automobiles have been assumed, an OEM maker has been described as the most downstream company, and a company that supplies parts, materials, assemblies, and the like has been described as a supplier. However, companies that belong to a supply chain are not necessarily limited to these. Companies in each phase may be determined as needed according to products and the like. Manufacturing activities performed in each company by the time an end product is obtained may be determined as needed according to an embodiment and may, for example, include all the activities that can be performed by the time an end product is obtained, such as excavation, working, assembling, conveyance, and storage.
In the above-described embodiments, the server apparatus 1 is configured to execute information processing of the first to fourth phases. However, the configuration of the server apparatus 1 does not need to be limited to such an example. In an example, in the server apparatus 1, information processing in at least one or some of the first to fourth phases may be omitted. The server apparatus 1 may be configured to execute other selected information processing.
In the above-described embodiments, an example of calculation of the CO2 emission amount (CFP value) has been described. A CFP value may be calculated by using the following calculation formula.
Here, “CFP value of TierN−1” indicates a result obtained by integrating a CFP value of an upstream company (k company (TierN)) with its own company's CFP value. The own company measured CFP value indicates a CFP value included in product information of each company. When TierN is the most upstream company, “CFP value of TierN” is a CFP value included in product information of the company; whereas, in other cases, “CFP value of TierN” is a result obtained by integrating a CFP value of a further upstream company (TierN+1) with a CFP value included in product information of the company. A CFP value of a Tier0 product (=end product) can be obtained by setting TierN for the most upstream company (termination company) and repeating calculation up to N=1.
In the above-described embodiments, the server apparatus 1 may execute computation of recycling rate and due diligence (score) in addition to or instead of calculation of the CO2 emission amount (CFP value). The recycling rate may be calculated by using the following calculation formula.
A recycled material usage amount indicates the amount of use of a recycled material of a target substance. As in the case of CFP value, a recycling rate at an end product for a target substance can be calculated by sequentially calculating from the most upstream company (termination company). A due diligence score (DD score) can also be integrated with similar computation to those of the CFP value and the recycling rate. In an example, a DD score (integrated result) at an end product can be obtained by replacing the CFP value with a DD score and sequentially calculating from the most upstream company (termination company).
In the above-described embodiments, traceability-related information of each company (TierN−1) itself except the most upstream company does not need to be stored in a shared storage area with its own downstream company, and an integrated result (the CFP value of TierN−1 and the recycling rate at TierN−1 product for a target substance) of each company may be stored in a shared storage area between the company and a downstream company (TierN−2) of the company. Thus, traceability-related information (integrated result) at an end product can be obtained without disclosing its own company's traceability-related information.
In the above-described embodiments, it is assumed that each company places an order with one company for a material. However, in the above-described embodiments, an order form of each company does not need to be limited to such an example. At least some of companies that belong to a supply chain may place an order with a plurality of upstream companies for the same product and selectively use the obtained upstream products for its own company's product. For example, in the example of
In the above-described embodiments, traceability-related information (particularly, CFP value) may be composed of primary data or may be composed of secondary data (inventory data). Primary data are actually measured values, and secondary data are reference values used when no actually measured value is obtained. In this case, computation (integration) of the traceability-related information may include calculating the ratio of primary data of traceability-related information obtained for an end product. The ratio of primary data may be calculated by simple ratio calculation or may be calculated by weighted calculation performed by replacing the CFP value with the ratio of primary data of each company in the calculation formula of the CFP value and sequentially calculating from the most upstream company.
A process described as the one that is performed by a device may be shared and performed by multiple devices. Alternatively, processes described as the ones that are respectively performed by different devices may be performed by a device. In a computer system, what hardware configuration (server configuration) implements functions may be flexibly changed.
The disclosure may also be implemented as follows. A computer is supplied with a computer program having the functions described in the above-described embodiments, and one or more processors of the computer read out and run the program. Such a computer program may be provided to a computer with a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium connectable to a system bus of the computer or may be provided to a computer via a network. Examples of the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium include a disk or disc of any type, such as a magnetic disk (floppy (registered trademark) disk, a hard disk drive (HDD), or the like), an optical disc (CD-ROM, DVD disc, a Blue-ray disc, or the like), a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), an EPROM, an EEPROM, a magnetic card, a flash memory, an optical card, and a medium of any type suitable for storing electronic instructions.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-019982 | Feb 2023 | JP | national |
