A distribution information system (流通情報システム) is any information system that handles orders, inventory, and sales data as goods travel from the manufacturer through wholesalers and retailers to consumers.
Every stage of distribution keeps producing information: what was bought and how much, what is left where, and what has sold. Linking this information by computer cuts stockouts and unsold leftovers and lets restocking and delivery be arranged early. POS and RFID in this unit are specific means of collecting such distribution data.
AnalogyIt is like a single ledger that lets you see the whole flow of goods from the factory to the store shelf.
POS (point of sale) is a mechanism in which the register reads the product code and other details the moment an item is sold, then records and collects the sales data.
Scan at register
Record sales data
Totaled at head office
Used for purchasing decisions
The sales figures become the basis for deciding what to stock next.
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A register does more than total the bill; it works as a terminal that keeps a record of every sale. Each store's records go to head office and are totaled by store and by time of day.
How to rememberShort for Point of Sale: the name itself says the data is captured at the point where the sale happens.
Exam points
ExamPoint-of-sale data gathered by POS is used not only to track sales but also for inventory control (在庫管理).
ExamTotaling POS records shows in numbers which items sell well and which do not, giving the store grounds for changing the products it carries.
An IC card (ICカード) is a plastic card with an embedded IC chip, which can not only store information but also carry out processing such as encryption.
Magnetic card
IC card
Where data is stored
Magnetic stripe on the back
Embedded IC chip
Processing on the card
None (storage only)
Can compute and encrypt
Resistance to forgery and copying
Relatively weak
Strong
Storage capacity
Small
Large
IC stands for integrated circuit, a tiny chip that combines storage and processing. Cards are read either by the contact type, whose terminals touch the device, or by the contactless type, which talks to a reader by radio waves when simply held near it. The contactless type relies on the RFID mechanism for identifying things by radio, and it is widely used for transit passes and electronic money.
AnalogyWhere a magnetic card is like a note anyone can read, an IC card is like carrying a small safe that opens only for someone who knows the password.
How to rememberIC is the initials of Integrated Circuit. Picture a tiny computer living inside the card, and you will remember that it can process data.
Exam points
ExamBecause the chip in an IC card (ICカード) can compute on its own, the card's authenticity can be checked without letting the stored secret be read out as is, which makes it hard to forge.
ExamA contactless IC chip, whether in a card or built into a smartphone (スマートフォン), communicates by radio waves when held near a reader and can serve as a transit pass and in similar roles.
RFID is a technology that uses radio waves to read tags attached to items without contact, identifying the items automatically.
Reader emits radio waves
Tag receives the waves
Tag sends back its data
System matches and records
The system checks the numbers it receives and records which items are present.
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RFID consists of a tag attached to an item and a reader that communicates with it. A tag without a battery answers by using the reader's radio waves as its power source. Some types of tag can also have data written to them later.
AnalogyIt is like a reception desk that, instead of checking name badges one by one, reads the badges of everyone entering the room in one go at the door.
How to rememberShort for Radio Frequency IDentification. Radio frequency means radio waves, so read it as telling IDs apart by radio.
Exam points
ExamSince RFID reads tags by radio waves, the tags on several items can be read in one pass without lining them up or holding each one to the reader.
An IC tag (ICタグ) is a label- or sticker-like medium with a built-in IC chip and small antenna that communicates with an RFID reader by radio waves.
IC tags are also called electronic tags or RF tags, and each one carries its own unique number. Attaching one to every product, parcel, or book lets you tell individual items apart even when they are the same kind.
AnalogyIt is like a name badge on each item that calls out its own number when asked.
How to rememberThink of a price tag hanging from an item, and you will remember that an IC tag is a medium meant to be attached to things.
Exam points
ExamWhen an item with an IC tag (ICタグ) passes through an exit, a reader placed there detects the tag, so it can watch for items taken out without the proper checkout.
Mix-upA barcode (バーコード) is a printed pattern read by light, and its content cannot change after printing. An IC tag holds its data on a chip, is read by radio waves, and some types can also be written to.
Traceability (トレーサビリティ) means being able to follow, from records, the route and history of a product from production to sale.
Production
Processing
Distribution
Sale
The records connect all the way to the store, so if a problem turns up, you can trace back to find its cause and scope.
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It depends on each stage keeping records tied to identification numbers and on those records being linked. Tracing forward from production toward sales reveals where goods were shipped, while tracing back from sales to the source reveals which process caused a problem. It helps confirm where food came from and pin down how far a recall of defective goods must reach.
AnalogyIt works like a parcel tracking number: enter it, and you see in order which depots the package passed through and when.
How to rememberThe word joins trace and ability, so it breaks down into the ability to trace.
Exam points
ExamTraceability (トレーサビリティ) works by linking each stage's records with a number that identifies a single item or a batch, and RFID IC tags (ICタグ) can serve as the means of reading those numbers.
A self-checkout (セルフレジ) is a register where customers themselves, rather than staff, handle everything from scanning items to paying.
The sales data it scans is recorded just as at a regular register, so it can be seen as one form of register running on the POS mechanism. With IC-tagged goods, it can even read a whole basket at once just by setting it down.
AnalogyLike a self-service gas station, customers do the work that staff used to handle.
How to rememberThe Japanese name pairs self with reji, short for register, so it literally reads as a self register.
SFA (sales force automation) is an information system that gathers each sales rep's dealings with customers, deal progress, and sales know-how in one place so the sales department can share them and support its work.
Sales information tends to stay in a rep's notebook or memory, and it can be lost when the account changes hands. SFA puts it into a database so managers and other reps can see the same information. Managers can check the status of each deal and step in early to help reps who need it.
AnalogyIt is like merging each rep's private sales diary into one shared notebook that everyone in the department can write in and read.
How to rememberShort for Sales Force Automation. A sales force is a company's sales team, so the name reads as a tool for automating and streamlining that team's work.
Exam points
ExamSFA is a system built for the work of the sales department, aiming to turn each rep's individual activity into the strength of the whole team.
ExamSFA builds up records of sales activity, such as how talks with each customer have gone, and together with the tips reps have learned, these become shared assets of the department.
Mix-upCRM is an approach for keeping the overall relationship with customers good over the long term, while SFA is a tool that supports the sales department's activities with information.