Patent Publication Number: US-2013254016-A1

Title: Data processing system, server, and computer-readable recording medium recording program for data processing system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a data processing system, a server, and a computer-readable recording medium recording a program for data processing system. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Nowadays, point-of-purchase (POP) advertising is used for sales promotion at major retailers and major supermarkets. Recently, computer systems have been proposed for preparing POP advertisements (layout design), such as that disclosed in Japan Patent No. 3807805. 
     There are three typical operation patterns for preparation of a POP advertisement: 
     (1) Preparation of a layout design and layout data (POP data) for a POP advertisement at a head office and transmission of the POP data to a shop together with the instruction for the display location of the POP advertisement; 
     (2) Preparation of POP data with a personal computer (PC) at the office of a shop; or 
     (3) Preparation of a POP advertisement manually at the office of a shop. 
     Preparation of POP advertisements at the head office or a shop office leads to the overlooking of details that can only be noticed at the selling floor. 
     For example, the head office may give an instruction to “display a B6-size POP advertisement behind the tomatoes”; however, selling floors have problems such as “indistinctive B6-size POP advertisement” and “improper position of the POP advertisement due to indistinctive arrangement” on occasion. Such problems were overlooked because the head office and/or shop office do not have enough information on the conditions of the selling floors. As a result, POP advertising often does not contribute to an increase in sales. 
     A solution to the problems described above requires suggestions for improvement by persons in charge of the selling floor. Unless the persons in charge of the selling floor are allowed to actively make improvements to increase sales, the persons in charge of the selling floor will be nothing more than salesclerks, being restrained from making suggestions for improvements to increase sales. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a system that encourages persons in charge of a selling floor to actively improve the selling floor through an improvement in POP advertising and share the actual improvement leading to sales increase. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, a data processing system includes a plurality of terminals and a server connected to the terminals via a communication network, and each of the terminals includes a display unit which displays a POP advertisement based on predetermined layout data of the POP advertisement, a layout modifier which modifies the layout data of the POP advertisement displayed on the display unit in response to a user operation, and an improvement-report-data transmitter which acquires the layout data of the POP advertisement of before and after a modification by the layout modifier, generates improvement report data by linking the acquired layout data with information on a target product in the POP advertisement and information associated with the modification of the layout data of the POP advertisement, and transmits the improvement report data to the server, and the server includes an improvement analyzer which analyzes a sales effect of the target product on the selling floor of the shop in which the modification was carried out on the layout data of the POP advertisement reported in the improvement report data from any of the terminals, links the analytical result with the improvement report data, and stores the linked analytical result and the improvement report data in a storage unit, and an analysis transmitter which transmits at least the POP advertisement of before and after the modification and the analytical result of the modification among the improvement report data stored in the storage unit in response to a request from any one of the terminals. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a server connected to a terminal via a communication network includes a receiver which receives improvement report data including a modification performed on predetermined layout data of a POP advertisement transmitted from the terminal, information on a target product in the POP advertisement and information associated with the modification of the layout data of the POP advertisement, and an analyzer which analyzes a sales effect on the target product on the selling floor of the shop in which the modification was carried out on the layout data of the POP advertisement reported in the improvement report data from any of the terminals, links the analytical result with the improvement report data, and stores the linked analytical result and the improvement report data in a storage unit, and a transmitter which transmits at least the POP advertisement of before and after the modification and the analytical result of the modification among the improvement report data stored in the storage unit in response to a request from the terminal. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, a non-transitory computer-readable medium which stores a program for instructing a computer to perform a procedure includes receiving improvement report data containing a modification performed on predetermined layout data of a POP advertisement, information on a target product in the POP advertisement and information associated with the modification of the layout data of the POP advertisement from a terminal connected via a communication network, analyzing a sales effect of the target product on the selling floor of the shop in which the modification was carried out on the layout data of the POP advertisement reported in the improvement report data from the terminals, linking the analytical result with the improvement report data, and storing the linked analytical result and the improvement report data in a storage unit, and transmitting at least the POP advertisement of before and after the modification and the analytical result of the modification among the improvement report data stored in the storage unit in response to a request from the terminal. 
     The present invention provides a system that encourages a person in charge of a selling floor to actively improve the selling floor through an improvement in POP advertising and share the actual improvement leading to sales increase. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other objects, advantages and features of the present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the appended drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  illustrates the overall configuration of a selling-floor improvement system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the functional configuration of a head-office server in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the functional configuration of a selling-floor terminal in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart illustrating a POP improvement process carried out by the CPU in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an example POP menu displayed on the display unit in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates an example template list displayed on the display unit in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates an example layout editing menu displayed on the display unit in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates an example entry table; 
         FIG. 9  illustrates an example improvement report sheet; 
         FIG. 10  is a flow chart illustrating an improvement analysis process carried out by the CPU in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 11  illustrates an example analytical result sheet; and 
         FIG. 12  is a flow chart illustrating a success-case browsing process carried out by the selling-floor terminals and the head-office server. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     The present invention should not be limited to the preferred embodiments and drawings described below. 
     [Configuration of Selling-Floor Improvement System  100 ] 
     The configuration of this embodiment will now be described. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates the overall configuration of the selling-floor improvement system  100  according to this embodiment. 
     When persons in charge of selling floor of shops (for example, shops A and B) of a chain store organization developing multiple branches, such as a supermarket, major retailer, and a specialty shop, improve POP advertisements (hereinafter simply referred to as POP) as an improvement in the selling floors and register (enter) the content of the improvement in a head-office server  1 , the selling-floor improvement system  100 , which is a data processing system, analyzes the effect of the improvement on the POP on sales increase, provides a feedback to the persons in charge of the selling floors about the analytical results, and allows browsing of the effect of the POP improvement on sales increase from the shops. “POP improvement” refers to an improvement in existing POP data and, specifically, refers to a modification of the existing POP data. In this embodiment, the existing POP data is assigned by the head office. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the selling-floor improvement system  100  includes a head-office server  1  and selling-floor terminals  2  that communicate with the server  1  via a communication network N. The head-office server  1  is installed in a head office that comprehensively controls multiple shops, while the selling-floor terminals  2  are disposed in the shops including shops A and B. The communication network N is composed of, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and/or the Internet. Each selling-floor terminal  2  connects to the communication network N via an access point  3  installed in the corresponding shop and transmits/receives data to/from the head-office server  1 . Each shop is equipped with a printer  4  for printing POPs. The selling-floor terminal  2  transmits the image data of a POP to the printer  4  via the access point  3  to print out the POP with the printer  4 . The number of shops and the number of selling-floor terminals  2  for each shop are not limited to those in the drawings. 
     [Configuration of Head-Office Server  1 ] 
     The head-office server  1  functions as a point-of-sale (POS) system for collection of sales data from every shop (for example, shops A and B) and analysis of the collected data. In this embodiment, the head-office server  1  analyzes the sales increase by improvement of the selling floors through POP improvement entered via the selling-floor terminals  2  (persons in charge of the selling floors) of every shop, feeds back the analytical results to the persons in charge, and allows browsing of the analytical results from every shop. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the functional configuration of the head-office server  1 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the head-office server  1  includes a central processing unit (CPU)  11 , a random access memory (RAM)  12 , an input unit  13 , a display unit  14 , a storage unit  15 , and a communication unit  16 , which are mutually connected via a bus  17 . 
     The CPU  11  reads a system program stored in the storage unit  15 , loads it into a work area in the RAM  12 , and controls the units in accordance with the system program. 
     The CPU  11  reads a processing program  15   a  stored in the storage unit  15 , loads it into a work area, and carries out various processes, such as improvement analysis and success-case browsing carried out at the head-office server  1 , which will be described below, to function as an improvement analyzer, an analytical-result transmitter, and a layout-data generator. 
     The RAM  12  is a volatile memory. The RAM  12  has a work area for storing various programs and data associated with these programs. 
     The input unit  13  includes a keyboard that has cursor keys, character and number keys, and various function keys. Information is sent to the CPU  11  in response to the operation of the keys by an operator. The input unit  13  includes a pointing device, such as a mouse, that receives a location as operation information and sends this information to the CPU  11 . 
     The display unit  14  is, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT) and displays a screen corresponding to a display control signal from the CPU  11 . 
     The storage unit  15  is, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD) including a magnetic recording medium or a non-volatile semiconductor memory. As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the storage unit  15  includes a program storage unit  150 , a POP-data storage unit  151 , a sales-data storage unit  152 , an improvement-report-data storage unit  153 , and an analytical-result storage unit  154 . 
     The program storage unit  150  stores the system program and the processing program  15   a  carried out at the CPU  11  and data required for carrying out these programs. The processing program  15   a  includes a POP preparation program and programs for carrying out various processes at the head-office server  1 , including improvement analysis and success-case browsing, which will be described below. The POP preparation program is application software shared with the selling-floor terminals  2 . This application software contains data required for carrying out the POP preparation program, including material data (such as templates, example sentences, and fonts) for the components of the POP layout. 
     Such programs are stored in the program storage unit  150  as computer-readable program codes. The CPU  11  operates in accordance with the program codes. 
     The POP-data storage unit  151  stores POP data used to instruct (or has been used to instruct) the preparation of POPs from the head office to the shops. POP data is data on a POP layout and contains information on components of a POP layout, such as the type of templates, the sheet size, the items to be included, the arrangement of the items, the content of the items, the format (font type, font size, font color, etc.) of the items, and example sentences. The POP data contains header information of product information and other information on the target product. 
     The POP-data storage unit  151  stores POP management information including the file name of the POP data stored in the POP-data storage unit  151 , the shop information on the shop instructed to prepare a POP (shop code, shop name, selling floor name, etc.), the product information (product code, product name, the category of the product, etc.), the scheduled transmission date, and the actual transmission date. 
     The sales-data storage unit  152  stores sales data (actual sales) of different products sent from the shops. 
     The improvement-report-data storage unit  153  stores improvement report data sent from the selling-floor terminals  2  of the shops. Improvement report data is a report on the improvements in the POP to be sent to the head office and, in this embodiment, contains an entry table  41  (see  FIG. 8 ) and an improvement report sheet  42  (see  FIG. 9 ), which will be described below. 
     The analytical-result storage unit  154  contains folders for different categories in which the entry table  41  (see  FIG. 8 ) and an analytical result sheet  43  (see  FIG. 11 ) described below are linked for each category. 
     The storage unit  15  stores information on the selling-floor terminals  2  used indifferent selling floors in the shops. For example, the storage unit  15  stores the terminal identification information, shop name, selling floor name, IP address, and other relevant information of the selling-floor terminals  2  which are linked to each other. 
     The communication unit  16  includes a modem, a terminal adapter (TA), a router, a network card, and other components. The communication unit  16  communicates with external devices, such as the selling-floor terminals  2  connected to the communication network N, to transmit/receive data. 
     [Configuration of Selling-Floor Terminal  2 ] 
     Each selling-floor terminal  2  is a portable terminal carried by a person in charge of a selling floor in a shop. The selling-floor terminal  2  is, for example, a tablet PC, a notebook PC, or a smart phone. A tablet PC is preferred due to convenience. In this embodiment, upon modification of the POP data from the head office by a person in charge of a selling floor, the selling-floor terminal  2  acquires the content of the improvement and transmits improvement report data based on the entry operation by the person in charge of a selling floor to the head-office server  1 . 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the functional configuration of a selling floor terminal  2 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the selling-floor terminal  2  includes a CPU  21 , a RAM  22 , an input unit  23 , a display unit  24 , a storage unit  25 , a wireless communication unit  26 , and an image acquisition unit  27 , which are mutually connected via a bus  28 . 
     The CPU  21  reads a system program stored in the storage unit  25 , loads it into a work area in the RAM  22 , and controls the units in accordance with the system program. 
     The CPU  21  reads a processing program  25   a  stored in the storage unit  25 , loads it into a work area, and carries out various processes carried out at the selling-floor terminals  2 , such as POP improvement and success-case browsing, which are described below, to function as a layout modifier, an improvement-report-data transmitter, and a layout-data generator. 
     The RAM  22  is a volatile memory. The RAM  22  has a work area for storing various programs and data associated with the programs. 
     The input unit  23  includes a pressure-sensitive (resistive) touch panel composed of transparent electrodes arranged in a grid and covering the upper surface of the LDC of the display unit  24 . The input unit  23  detects the XY coordinates of the point where force is applied by a finger, stylus, or another device as a voltage value and sends a position signal corresponding to the detected point to the CPU  21  as an operation signal. The touch panel is not limited to a touch-sensitive type and may otherwise be of an electrostatic type or an optical type. 
     The display unit  24  is composed of an LCD and other components and displays a menu in accordance with a display control signal from the CPU  21 . 
     The storage unit  25  is, for example, an HDD including a magnetic recording medium or a non-volatile semiconductor memory. As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the storage unit  25  includes a program storage unit  250 , an instructed POP-data storage unit  251 , an improvement-POP-data storage unit  252 , an improvement-report-data storage unit  253 , and a person-in-charge-of-selling-floor information storage unit  254 . 
     The program storage unit  250  stores the system program and the processing program  25   a  carried out at the CPU  21  and data required for carrying out these programs. The processing program  25   a  includes a POP preparation program and programs for carrying out various processes carried out at the selling-floor terminal  2 , including POP improvement and success-case browsing, which are described below. The POP preparation program is application software shared with the head-office server  1 . This application software contains data required for carrying out the POP preparation program, including material data (such as templates, example sentences, and fonts) for the components of the POP layout. 
     Such programs are stored in the program storage unit  250  as computer-readable program codes. The CPU  21  operates in accordance with the program codes. 
     The instructed POP-data storage unit  251  stores POP data for preparation instructed by the head-office server  1 . 
     The improvement-POP-data storage unit  252  stores POP data modified by the person in charge of the selling floor. 
     The improvement-report-data storage unit  253  stores improvement report data prepared by the corresponding selling-floor terminal  2 . 
     The person-in-charge-of-selling-floor information storage unit  254  stores basic information on the site at which the selling-floor terminal  2  is being used (shop information, such as shop name and selling floor name, and information on the person in charge, such as name and e-mail address of the person in charge). 
     The wireless communication unit  26  is composed of a wireless interface, such as a wireless antenna and a wireless LAN card. The wireless communication unit  26  wirelessly communicates with the access point  3  of the wireless LAN (such as IEEE802.11a/b/g/n) and accesses an external device, including the head-office server  1  connected to the communication network N via the access point  3  to transmit/receive data. 
     The image acquisition unit  27  includes an image acquisition element, such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). The image acquisition unit  27  forms an optical image of an object on the image acquisition element and sends the image to the CPU  21  as an electric signal. 
     [Operation of Selling-floor Improvement System  100 ] 
     The operation of the selling-floor improvement system  100  will now be described. 
     Prerequisites for the processes described below are as follows: The head-office server  1  prepares POP data in cooperation with the CPU  11  and the processing program  15   a,  in response to the operation of the input unit  13  and stores the POP data in the POP-data storage unit  151 . The POP data is then transmitted via the communication unit  16  to a relevant selling-floor terminal  2  at a shop/selling floor that has received instructions for preparation on the basis of the POP management information stored in the POP-data storage unit  151 . 
     At the selling-floor terminal  2 , the wireless communication unit  26  receives the POP data of which the preparation has been instructed by the head-office server  1  in cooperation with the CPU  21  and the processing program  25   a,  and the received POP data is stored in the instructed POP-data storage unit  251 . 
     POP Improvement 
     The POP improvement carried out by every selling-floor terminal  2  will now be described. 
       FIG. 4  is a flow chart illustrating the POP improvement process. The POP improvement process is carried out in cooperation with the CPU  21  and the processing program  25   a  stored in the storage unit  25 . 
     Upon selection of a POP data set to be improved by the input unit  23  among the POP data sets stored in the instructed POP-data storage unit  251  (Step S 1 ), the POP preparation program is launched to prepare a POP image based on the selected POP data, and a POP menu  241  including the POP image is displayed on the display unit  24  (Step S 2 ). 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an example POP menu  241 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the POP menu  241  includes a POP display area  241   a,  a keypad area  241   b,  a numerical keypad area  241   c,  a template-selection button  241   d,  a layout-selection button  241   e,  a target setting button  241   f,  an entry button  241   g,  an image-acquisition button  241   h,  and an output button  241   i.    
     The POP display area  241   a  displays a POP image based on the POP data. 
     The template-selection button  241   d  is activated to select another template for the POP data. The activation of the template-selection button  241   d  through the input unit  23  displays a template list  242 , which is illustrated in  FIG. 6 , on the display unit  24 . Upon the selection of a template from the template list  242  through the input unit  23  and the activation of the enter button  242   a,  another template type is selected for the POP data, and the updated POP data is stored in the improvement-POP-data storage unit  252 . The process then returns to the POP menu  241 , so that the template of the POP image displayed in the POP display area  241   a  is updated. 
     The layout-selection button  241   e  is activated to precisely modify the layout of the POP data. Upon the activation of the layout-selection button  241   e  through the input unit  23 , a layout editing menu  243 , which is illustrated in  FIG. 7 , appears on the display unit  24 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the layout editing menu  243  includes an item layout area  243   a,  a layout-information display area  243   b,  an item addition area  243   c,  and an item-format selection area  243   d.  The item layout area  243   a  is operated to modify the position and size of the items arranged in the POP and the content of the items. The layout-information display area  243   b  is a space for displaying the layout information. The item addition area  243   c  is operated to select additional items. The item-format selection area  243   d  is operated to change the format of the characters displayed in the items. The POP data is temporarily updated in the RAM  22  in response to the operation of the input unit  23  in these areas. Then, upon activation of the save button  243   e,  the updated POP data is stored in the improvement-POP-data storage unit  252 . Upon the activation of the return button  243   f,  the display screen returns to the POP menu  241  including the updated POP image appearing in the POP display area  241   a.    
     The target setting button  241   f  in  FIG. 5  is activated to display a menu for setting the target value and the target date of a sale increase to be achieved through the POP improvement. 
     The entry button  241   g  is activated to register (enter) the improved content of the POP data to the head-office server  1 . 
     The image-acquisition button  241   h  is activated to enter an image-acquisition mode. 
     The output button  241   i  is activated to output a POP image based on the POP data. Clicking the arrow below the output button  241   i  with the input unit  23  displays a pull-down output menu. Selection of an item in the output menu with the input unit  23  outputs the POP image in the selected output format. The output menu may include items such as printout on a paper medium, display on a monitor, and projection by a projector. 
     Returning to  FIG. 4 , in step S 3 , the template-selection button  241   d  or the layout-selection button  241   e  is activated through the input unit  23  to determine the instruction of a layout modification (Step S 3 ). If a layout modification is not instructed through the input unit  23  (NO in Step S 3 ), the process ends. 
     If a layout modification is instructed through the input unit  23  (YES in Step S 3 ), the entry table  41  is generated (Step S 4 ). 
       FIG. 8  illustrates an example entry table  41 . The entry table  41  is used for entering the content of the POP improvement, i.e., the POP data of before and after a modification, to the head-office server  1 . As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the entry table  41  includes a header region  411 , an improvement-content region  412 , and a target setting region  413 . 
     The header region  411  stores header information to clarify the details of the improvements on time, person, store, selling floor, and commercial product. Specifically, the header region  411  includes a date area  411   a  for storing the date of the improvement, a shop-information area  411   b  for storing the shop information (such as the shop name, the selling floor name, and the category), a person-in-charge-information area  411   c  for storing information on the persons in charge (such as the name and e-mail address of the person in charge), and a product-information area  411   d  for storing information on the product to be improved (target product). The header region  411  further includes an improvement-report-sheet area  411   e  for storing information linking an improvement report sheet  42  to the entry table  41  (file name of the improvement report sheet  42 ), a successful/unsuccessful-case area  411   f  for storing a flag representing the analytical results of the improvement (successful or unsuccessful), an analysis-sheet area  411   g  for storing information for linking the analytical result sheet  43 , which is described below, (such as the file pass of the analytical result sheet  43 ), and a comment area  411   h  for storing an input comment. 
     The improvement-content region  412  stores the POP data of before and after the update. The improvement-content region  412  includes a head-office-instruction area  412   a,  a selling-floor-improvement area  412   b,  and an improvement-process area  412   c.  The head-office-instruction area  412   a  stores the POP data from the head office (POP data before modification) by each layout component. The selling-floor-improvement area  412   b  stores the content of the update of the POP data from the head office carried out at the selling floor (POP data after the modification). The improvement-process area  412   c  stores the type of process carried out on the POP data from the head office (modification, addition, or deletion). 
     The target setting region  413  stores a target value for sales increase to be achieved through the POP improvement. In this embodiment, a target value is set for the actual sales increase and/or the sale increase rate on a target date. The actual target sales may otherwise be set as a target value. 
     The target setting region  413  includes a target-date area  413   a,  a target-value area  413   b,  and an actual-value area  413   c.  The target-date area  413   a  is used to select a target date from the previous day, the next day, the previous month, and the average of a period. The target-value area  413   b  is used to establish the actual sales increase and/or the sale increase rate for the target date. The actual-value area  413   c  stores actual values representing the sales increase achieved through the POP improvement calculated on the basis of the sales data in the head-office server  1 . 
     In Step S 5  in  FIG. 4 , header information is allocated in the header region  411  of the entry table  41  (Step S 5 ). Specifically, a system date is automatically allocated in the date area  411   a.  Shop information and information on the person in charge are read out from the person-in-charge-of-selling-area-information storage unit  254  and are automatically allocated in the shop-information area  411   b  and the person-in-charge-information area  411   c,  respectively. “Selling floor” is automatically selected for the category of the shop-information area  411   b.  Information on the target product is read out from the header information of the POP data and is automatically allocated in the product-information area  411   d.    
     The POP data from the head office before the update is automatically allocated in the head-office-instruction area  412   a  of the entry table  41  for each layout component (Step S 6 ). 
     The instruction of the update of the POP data by the input unit  23  is determined (Step S 7 ). That is, the instruction of the update of the POP data is determined through the operation of the template list  242  or the layout editing menu  243  by the input unit  23 . If the update of the POP data is instructed through the input unit  23  (YES in Step S 7 ), the POP data is updated in accordance with the operation of the input unit  23  and stored in the improvement-POP-data storage unit  252 . The content of the update is allocated in the selling-floor-improvement area  412   b  of the entry table  41  while the improvement process is allocated in the improvement-process area  412   c  (Step S 8 ), returning the process to Step S 7 . Steps S 7  and S 8  are repeated until the update of the POP data on the template list  242  or the layout editing menu  243  is finished and the display returns to the POP menu  241 . 
     In Step S 7 , upon update of the POP data (NO in Step S 7 ), the input unit  23  determines the activation of the target setting button  241   f  (Step S 9 ). If the input unit  23  activates the target setting button  241   f  (YES in Step S 9 ), the entry table  41 , which is illustrated in  FIG. 8 , is displayed on the display unit  24 . Upon input of the target date and the target value respectively into the target-date area  413   a  and the target-value area  413   b  in the displayed entry table  41  from the input unit  23 , the input target date and target value are established (Step S 10 ), and the process moves on to Step S 11 . 
     If the person in charge of the selling floor wants to leave a comment, the comment can be input into the comment area  411   h  through the input unit  23  at this time. The default value of the category is “selling floor.” If the person in charge of the selling floor wants to select another category, a category item can be added from the input unit  23  at this time. 
     In Step S 9 , if the input unit  23  does not activate the target setting button  241   f  (NO in Step S 9 ), the process moves on to Step S 11 . 
     In Step S 11 , the input unit  23  determines the activation of the image-acquisition button  241   h  (Step S 11 ). If the input unit  23  determines the activation of the image-acquisition button  241   h  (YES in Step S 11 ), the system enters an image-acquisition mode in which the image acquisition unit  27  acquires an image of the selling floor as image data (Step S 12 ). Then, the process moves on to Step S 13 . 
     If the input unit  23  does not activate the image-acquisition button  241   h  (NO in Step S 11 ), the process moves on to Step S 13 . 
     In Step S 13 , the input unit  23  determines the activation of the entry button  241   g  (Step S 13 ). If the input unit  23  determines the activation of the entry button  241   g  (YES in Step S 13 ), the input of a target value to the entry table  41  is determined (Step S 14 ). If a target value is not input to the entry table  41  (NO in Step S 14 ), an error message, such as “Input target value,” is displayed on the display unit  24  (Step S 15 ), returning the process to Step S 9 . If a target value is input to the entry table  41  (YES in Step S 14 ), a data file for the improvement report sheet  42  is prepared on the basis of the image data of the selling floor, the POP data before the improvement, the POP data the after improvement, and the comment area  411   h  of the entry table  41  (Step S 16 ). 
       FIG. 9  illustrates an example format of the improvement report sheet  42 . As illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the improvement report sheet  42  includes an image  421  of the selling floor, a POP image  422  from the head office before an improvement (update), a POP image  423  after the improvement (update), and a comment section  424 . 
     The format of the improvement report sheet  42  can be customized through the input unit  23  and freely arranged. Graphics and characters can be added manually to the image  421  of the selling floor using painting software or other software. 
     The data of the improvement report sheet  42  is attached to the data of the entry table  41  to form improvement report data that is sent to the head-office server  1  via the wireless communication unit  26  (Step S 17 ). The improvement report data is stored in the improvement-report-data storage unit  253  (Step S 18 ), and the process ends. 
     If the input unit  23  does not determine the activation of the entry button  241   g  (NO in Step S 13 ), the process ends. 
     The selling-floor terminal  2  generates a POP image based on the updated POP data in response to the activation of the output button  241   i  by the input unit  23  and outputs the POP image through the printer  4  or on a monitor. The updated POP image output on a paper medium or a monitor disposed on the selling floor for display contributes to the improvement of the selling floor. 
     Upon reception of the improvement report data from the selling-floor terminal  2  by the communication unit  16  of the head-office server  1 , the received improvement report data is stored in the improvement-report-data storage unit  153 . 
     &lt;Improvement Analysis&gt; 
     The improvement analysis carried out by the head-office server  1  will now be described. 
       FIG. 10  is a flow chart illustrating the improvement analysis process. The improvement analysis is carried out by the CPU  11  in cooperation with the processing program  15   a  stored in the storage unit  15 . The improvement analysis is carried out on the improvement report data of the previous business day at a predetermined time before opening the shop. 
     The improvement report data containing the date of the previous business day stored in the improvement-report-data storage unit  153  is extracted and loaded into the RAM  12  (Step S 21 ). Then, the processes of Steps S 22  to S 33  are carried out in sequence from the beginning of the loaded improvement report data. 
     An improvement analysis is carried out on the improvement report data (Step S 22 ). 
     Based on the sales data stored in the sales-data storage unit  152 , the actual sales of the target product on the date in the date area  411   a  (the date on which the improvement was carried out) for a shop/selling floor established in the shop-information area  411   b  of the entry table  41  and the actual sales of the target product on the target date selected in the target-date area  413   a  are calculated. Based on the two calculated values of the actual sales, the sales increase rate (sales reduction rate) and the actual sales increase (actual sales reduction) on the target date on which the improvement was carried out are calculated as the sales effect rate and the actual sales. 
     The improvement analysis can be carried out using the analytical function of the POS system or the sales management system of the head-office server  1 . The analysis may be carried out using Microsoft Excel or other general-purpose tools. 
     Upon completion of the improvement analysis, the calculated sale effect rate and actual sales are written in the actual-value area  413   c  of the entry table  41  (Step S 23 ). A graph is prepared to determine the sales trend of a target product in a shop/selling floor in the shop-information area  411   b  of the entry table  41 , and the analytical-result sheet  43  containing the POP data before and after the update, the actual sales effect, and the graph (Step S 24 ). 
       FIG. 11  illustrates an example format of the analytical-result sheet  43 . As illustrated in  FIG. 11 , the analytical-result sheet  43  includes the improvement report sheet  42  for the improvement report data, information  431  on the target product and date of the improvement, the actual sales  432 , and a sales trend graph  433 . That is, the analytical-result sheet  43  includes the POP data before and after the update and the analytical results on the sales effect achieved through POP improvement. 
     The format of the analytical-result sheet  43  is not limited to that described above and may be modified to any format that includes the POP data before and after the update and the analytical results on the sales increased achieved through the POP improvement. 
     The input of an e-mail address to the person-in-charge-information area  411   c  of the entry table  41  of the improvement report data is determined (Step S 25 ). If an e-mail address is input (YES in Step S 25 ), the analytical-result sheet  43  is sent to the e-mail address via the communication unit  16  (Step S 26 ). Then, the process moves on to Step S 27 . If the e-mail address is not input to the person-in-charge-information area  411   c  (NO in Step S 25 ), the process moves on to Step S 27 . 
     The analytical results of the sales increase achieved through the POP improvement is sent to the person in charge of the selling floor in which the POP improvement was carried out so that the person in charge can use the analytical results for future improvements. Reception of such analytical results will motivate the person in charge. 
     In Step S 27 , the actual sales calculated in the improvement analysis is determined to be larger than or equal to the target value in the target-value area  413   b  of the entry table  41  of the improvement report data (Step S 27 ). 
     If the calculated actual sales is larger than or equal to the target value (YES in Step S 27 ), a successful-case flag is established in the successful/unsuccessful-case area  411   f  of the entry table  41  (Step S 28 ). Then, the process moves on to Step S 30 . If the calculated actual sales is smaller than the target value (NO in Step S 27 ), an unsuccessful-case flag is established in the successful/unsuccessful-case area  411   f  of the entry table  41  (Step S 29 ). Then, the process moves on to Step S 30 . 
     In Step S 30 , the presence of a folder of the category established in the shop-information area  411   b  of the entry table  41  in the analytical-result storage unit  154  is determined (Step S 30 ). If the category input to the shop-information area  411   b  is stored in the analytical-result storage unit  154  (YES in Step S 30 ), the entry table  41  and the analytical-result sheet  43  are linked and stored together in the folder of the relevant category in the analytical-result storage unit  154  (Step S 31 ). If the next category is input to the shop-information area  411   b  of the entry table  41  (YES in Step S 32 ), the process returns to Step S 31 . If the next category is not input to the shop-information area  411   b  of the entry table  41  (NO in Step S 32 ), the process moves on to Step S 34 . 
     Alternatively, if the folder of the category input to the shop-information area  411   b  of the entry table  41  is not present (NO in Step S 30 ), the entry table  41  and the analytical-result sheet  43  are linked and stored in an uncategorized folder in the analytical-result storage unit  154  (Step S 33 ). Then, the process moves on to Step S 34 . 
     The entry table  41  and the analytical-result sheet  43  are linked by storing the destination (file pass) of the file of the analytical-result sheet  43  in the analytical-result-sheet area  411   g  of the entry table  41 . 
     In Step S 34 , the processes of Steps S 22  to S 33  carried out on all sets of the improvement report data loaded into the RAM  12  is determined (Step S 34 ). If all sets of the improvement report data are not processed in accordance with Steps S 22  to S 33  (NO in Step S 34 ), the process returns to Step S 22  to process the next set of the improvement report data in accordance with Steps S 22  to S 33 . If all sets of the improvement report data are processed in accordance with Steps S 22  to S 33  (YES in Step S 34 ), the process ends. 
     &lt;Success-Case Browsing&gt; 
     The success-case browsing process will now be described. Successful cases stored in the analytical-result storage unit  154  of the head-office server  1  can be browsed from the selling-floor terminal  2 . 
       FIG. 12  is a flow chart illustrating the successful-case browsing process. The successful-case browsing at the selling-floor terminal  2  is carried out by the CPU  21  in cooperation with the processing program  25   a  stored in the storage unit  25 . The successful-case browsing at the head-office server  1  is carried out by the CPU  11  in cooperation with the processing program  15   a  stored in the storage unit  15 . 
     A search menu (not shown) is displayed on the display unit  24  of the selling-floor terminal  2 , and the input unit  23  selects “successful” for the search condition “successful/unsuccessful” (Step S 41 ). 
     Then, upon selection of other search conditions (including the category) and activation of the transmission button by the input unit  23  (Step S 42 ), the wireless communication unit  26  requests the transmission of a successful case that matches the selected search conditions to the head-office server  1  (Step S 43 ). 
     The search conditions may include the category and the items in the entry table  41 , such as the product, the selling floor, the POP improvement (layout), the target sales effect rate, and the actual sales increase. For example, the successful case of a POP of a specific sheet size for a specific product on sale on a specific selling floor can be retrieved by selecting the search conditions of the product, the selling floor, and POP sheet size. For example, the successful case of a POP of a specific template type can be retrieved by selecting the search condition of the type of the POP template. For example, the successful case of a POP having the price displayed in a specific format (size, color, and type of font (such as Ming-style typeface, handwriting font, or Gothic typeface)) can be retrieved by setting the search condition of a specific format of the price. 
     The person in charge of the selling floor can retrieve successful cases from the head-office server  1  by different components of the POP layout (for example, different sheet sizes, different template types, and different fonts) for the selling floor and products he/she is in charge of. In this way, he/she can prepare POPs that enhance sales of products on the selling floor he/she is in charge of. 
     The input unit  23  may be used for selecting search conditions and determining the output order for browsing of the successful cases matching the search conditions. For example, efficient browsing of the successful cases is achieved by settling the output order by, for example, a descending order of sales effect rate or actual sales increase, by selling floors, by the persons in charge of the selling floors, or by shops. 
     Upon reception of the transmission request of successful cases matching the search conditions from the selling-floor terminal  2  to the head-office server  1  via the communication unit  16 , the analytical-result storage unit  154  searches for data on the cases matching the received search conditions (Step S 44 ). Specifically, the information in the entry tables  41  stored in the analytical-result storage unit  154  is searched to extract the entry tables  41  that match the search conditions and the files of the analytical result sheets  43  corresponding to the extracted entry tables  41 . 
     Upon completion of the search, the head-office server  1  determines the extraction of data on the cases matching the search conditions (the entry tables  41  and the analytical result sheets  43 ) (Step S 45 ). If the data of the cases matching the search conditions is extracted (YES in Step S 45 ), the extracted data, i.e., the entry tables  41  and the analytical result sheets  43  are transmitted to the selling-floor terminal  2  that is the requestor via the communication unit  16  (Step S 46 ). If the order of output from the selling-floor terminal  2  is selected, the entry tables  41  and the analytical result sheets  43  are sorted by the selected output order and are transmitted to the selling-floor terminal  2  that is the requestor via the communication unit  16 . 
     If data of the cases matching the search conditions is not extracted (NO in Step S 45 ), a notification of no corresponding successful cases is sent to the selling-floor terminal  2  via the communication unit  16  (Step S 47 ). 
     Upon reception of a response from the head-office server  1  by the wireless communication unit  26  of the selling-floor terminal  2 , the selling-floor terminal  2  determines the reception of the successful cases matching the search conditions (Step S 48 ). If the successful cases matching the search conditions are not received (NO in Step S 48 ), a notification of this appears on the display unit  24  (Step S 54 ), and the process ends. 
     If the successful cases matching the search conditions are received (YES in Step S 48 ), one of the analytical result sheets  43  of the successful cases appears on the display unit  24  (Step S 49 ). A use button to be activated to use the POP of displayed successful case also appears on the display unit  24 . The input unit  23  may sends instructions to the selling-floor terminal  2  to transmit the data on the analytical result sheet  43  to the printer  4  for print out on a sheet or to store the data in the storage unit  25  in a specific file format. 
     The input unit  23  determines the instruction to use the POP of the successful case displayed on the display unit  24  (Step S 50 ). If the instruction to use the POP of the successful case is not received and the display of the next successful case is instructed (NO in Step S 50  and YES in Step S 51 ), the process returns to Step S 49 , and the analytical result sheet  43  of the next successful case appears on the display unit  24 . 
     If the input unit  23  determines the instruction to use the POP of the successful case (YES in Step S 50 ), the information on the layout of the improved POP is acquired from the improvement-content region  412  of the entry table  41  corresponding to the analytical result sheet  43  displayed on the display unit  24 , and the corresponding POP data is generated (Step S 52 ). Subsequently, the POP preparation program is launched to generate a POP image based on the generated POP data, and the POP menu  241  containing the generated POP image in the POP display area  241   a  is displayed on the display unit  24  (Step S 53 ), ending the process. The POP image displayed in the POP menu  241  can be output or further modified before output. That is, the POP of a successful case can be used. 
     In Step S 51 , if the display of the next successful case is not instructed, i.e., if the input unit  23  has instructed not to display the next successful case or if no subsequent successful case is found (NO in Step S 51 ), the process ends. 
     The generation of POP data of a successful case by the selling-floor terminal  2  has been described with reference to  FIG. 12 . Alternatively, the head-office server  1  may include a unit for generating the POP data of a successful case, and the generated POP data may be transmitted to the selling-floor terminal  2 . That is, the POP data may be generated by acquiring information on the layout of the improved POP from the improvement-content region  412  of the entry table  41  extracted in Step S 45  and may be transmitted to the selling-floor terminal  2  together with the entry table  41  and the analytical result sheet  43 . 
     As described above, in response to update of the POP data, the CPU  21  of every selling-floor terminal  2  in the selling-floor improvement system  100  acquires the POP data of before and after the update and transmits improvement report data to the head-office server  1  via the wireless communication unit  26 , in which the improvement report data consists of the POP data of before and after the update linked together with the information on the product in the POP, and the date, shop, selling floor, and person in charge of the selling floor concerning the updated POP data. The CPU  11  of the head-office server  1  analyzes the effect of the updated POP data recorded in the improvement report data received by the communication unit  16  on the sales of the target product on the selling floor in the shop, links the analytical results to the improvement report data, and stores the linked data in the storage unit  15 . In response to a request from the selling-floor terminal  2 , the CPU  11  sends the improvement report data stored in the storage unit  15  corresponding to at least the POP data of before and after the update and the corresponding analytical results via the communication unit  16 . 
     The POP improvement can be readily registered in the head-office server  1  without requiring input by the person in charge of the selling floor, and the sales effect of the POP improvement can be confirmed by the person in charge. This motivates and encourages the person in charge to make active improvements that lead to a sales increase. 
     Data on the sales effect by the POP improvement carried out by the person in charge of the selling floor is analyzed and accumulated in the head-office server  1 . This allows the head office to collect reliable information on the improvements carried out on the individual selling floors and to readily recognize effective and ineffective improvements for further improvements to be carried out on the selling floors. Such data can be used as a reference when the head office instructs the shops to prepare the POPs. 
     The POP improvements on the selling floors and the effect of the improvements on the sales can be browsed using the selling-floor terminals  2 . This enables efficient improvements on the selling floors by adopting the highly effective improvements. The synergetic effect of all the shops leads to a further sales increase. 
     Successful-case flags are added to the improvement reports satisfying a predetermined criterion and the analytical results of the improvement reports before storing them in the storage unit  15 . In this way, successful cases that are useful for improvement of other shops can be readily retrieved. 
     The selling-floor terminal  2  can acquire the successful cases that match the desired search conditions, such as the content of the improvement and the category. This enables analysis and determination of POPs that are effective for sales increase on the selling floors. 
     The head-office server  1  or the selling-floor terminal  2  can generate the improved (updated) POP data on the basis of the content of the improvement (update of POP) in the entry table  41 . In this way, the POP data of POPs prepared in other shops can be loaded in the selling-floor terminal  2  of another shop and used on the selling floor. 
     If the improvement report data contains information on the destination of the analytical results, such as an e-mail address of the person in charge of a selling floor, the analytical results of the POP improvement is transmitted to the destination. Thus, the person in charge of the selling floor on which POP improvement has been carried out can confirm the effect of the improvement on sales by e-mail and is not required to access the head-office server  1 . 
     Although preferred embodiments of the selling-floor improvement system  100  according to the present invention are described above, the present invention can include any modification. 
     For example, in the embodiment described above, the items of the entry table  41 , such as the header information and the content of the improvements, are automatically allotted. Alternatively, the person in charge of the selling floor may input such information from the input unit  23 . In such a case, the items in the entry table  41  can be added as desired. 
     For example, in the embodiment described above, a case is categorized as “successful” if the actual sales or the sales effect rate exceeds a target value. Alternatively, any other criterion for the determination of “successful” or “unsuccessful” can be employed without limitation at the head-office server  1 . 
     In this embodiment, the POP data from the head-office server  1  is improved on the selling floor; however, the POP data to be improved is not limited to that from the head-office server  1 . For example, the POP data entered by the person in charge of the selling floor may be further improved. In addition, improvements may be carried out on the POP data of successful and unsuccessful cases in other shops. 
     In the embodiment described above, the analytical result sheet  43  is sent to the e-mail address of the person in charge that has been entered in advance. Alternatively, the analytical result sheet  43  may be sent to multiple e-mail addresses in the entry table  41 , such as the e-mail address of the supervisor. Instead of sending the analytical results to the e-mail address of the person in charge that has been entered in advance, the analytical result sheet  43  may be transmitted to a selling-floor terminal  2  selected in advance. 
     In the embodiment described above, the selling-floor terminals  2  browse the successful cases. The selling-floor terminals  2  may also browse unsuccessful cases by selecting “unsuccessful” in the “successful/unsuccessful case” category. 
     In the embodiment described above, the head-office server  1  includes one device. Alternatively, the head-office server  1  may include a group of servers. 
     For example, the sales effect analysis carried out by the head-office server  1  according to the embodiment described above may be carried out by a separate POS system or another sales management system. 
     In the embodiment described above, the head-office server  1  at the head office that is comprehensively controlling the shops receives input from the selling-floor terminals  2  and functions as a server for storage and management of data on the analytical results of the POP improvements (entry tables  41  and analytical result sheets  43 ). The head-office server  1 , however, may have any other function. For example, a server of a specific shop or a terminal (backyard terminal) of a specific shop office may have the functions of the server described above to store and manage the analytical results of the POP improvements. Such data may otherwise be managed by a management system that has the functions described above in cloud storage. 
     In the embodiment described above, the sales data of the shops are stored in the head-office server  1 ; alternatively, the sales data may be collected from the servers or the backyard terminals of the shops while performing improvement analysis. 
     In the embodiment described above, the selling-floor terminal  2  is used for input of the POP improvements and other items and browsing of the successful cases, while the head-office server  1  is used for storage and management of the analysis of the sales effect of the POP improvements and the successful cases. Alternatively, backyard terminals, which have the functions of both the head-office server  1  and the selling-floor terminal  2 , may be installed in the shop offices such that a single backyard terminal is used for the input of the POP improvements, input of various items, the analysis of the sales effect, and the storage, management, and browsing of the successful cases. A preferable example of the selling-floor terminal  2  described above is a portable terminal. Alternatively, a fixed terminal may be used. 
     The detailed configurations and operations of the components of the selling-floor improvement system  100  may be modified appropriately without departing from the scope of the invention. 
     The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application NO. 2012-064057 filed on Mar. 21, 2012 including description, claims, drawings and abstract are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.