Patent Publication Number: US-2023134586-A1

Title: Delivery system, user terminal, and management server

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a delivery system or the like for widely managing shipment of commodities or the like or delivery of commodities, packages, or the like, and more specifically to a delivery system or the like for flexibly operating shipment of commodities or the like or delivery of commodities, packages, or the like in a retail industry, an online shopping industry, or the like. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Conventionally, a technique for performing inventory management of commodities, for example, to shorten a transport time period of the commodities and reduce a bring-out rate of deliveries, to improve an overall delivery efficiency has been provided. 
     As to an improvement in delivery efficiency, a technique for putting, when a recipient is absent upon delivery, an absence notice containing a location or the like where a storage container is installed in a recipient&#39;s home, causing the storage container to read a bar code added to a delivery notice, and storing a delivered package in the storage container, for example, has been proposed (Patent Literature 1). 
     That is, Patent Literature 1 discloses a home delivery system including pickup means for picking up a package deposited from a client, transport means for transporting the package picked up, delivery means for delivering the package transported by the transport means to a recipient, the home delivery system including storage means for storing the package when the recipient is absent upon delivery, in which an absence notice having a bar code added thereto is placed at a recipient&#39;s home when the recipient is absent upon delivery, the delivered package is stored in the storage means with a delivery notice having the same bar code added thereto read into the storage means, and the recipient causes the storage means to read the bar code on the absence notice to unlock the storage means and take out the package. 
     A technique for providing support to more reliably complete delivery by a deliverer when a recipient of an ordered package has changed a method for receiving the package has also been proposed (Patent Literature 2). 
     That is, Patent Literature 2 discloses a delivery management system including a terminal carried by a deliverer of an ordered package, and a delivery management device including a change information receiving unit that receives change information representing a change in a receiving method designated when the package is ordered from a terminal to be used by a recipient of the package, an acquisition unit that acquires, from a storage unit storing delivery status information representing a delivery status of the package, the delivery status information, a determination unit that determines whether or not the package is being delivered based on the received change information and the acquired delivery status information, and a transmission unit that transmits information indicating that the receiving method has been changed to the terminal carried by the deliverer when the determination unit determines that the package is being delivered. 
     A home delivery technique for receiving a home delivery commodity using a delivery/receiving set at the time of absence upon delivery of the home delivery commodity has also be proposed (Patent Literature 3). 
     That is, Patent Literature 3 discloses a home delivery system including a management computer under control of a management company and having information about a contractor stored in its storage means, an information terminal under control of a home delivery company contracting with the management company, in which registration information is written into the storage means in the management computer and accessible to the management computer, and a delivery/receiving set installed in front of a contractor&#39;s home, in which the home delivery company accesses the management computer using the information terminal and obtains information about delivery to retain the home delivery commodity in the delivery/receiving set at the contractor&#39;s home based on the information. 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
     
         
         Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-245094 
         Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2019-16157 
         Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2017-154849 
       
    
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     However, in a recent online shopping industry or the like, competition among short-time delivery services has been activated, and an improvement in overall delivery efficiency therefor has been requested. For example, an efficient system operation to be performed when a delivery destination is absent, for example, has been expected. Among them, an improvement over a system operation or the like for enhancing effectiveness of so-called leave-at-door delivery (delivering a commodity at a predetermined location such as the front of an entrance, a garage, or a home delivery box at a delivery destination even when a recipient is absent) is expected. 
     Solution to Problem 
     A delivery system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes 
     a user terminal for designating leave-at-door delivery for delivering a delivery to a predetermined location at a delivery destination even when a recipient is absent, 
     a company terminal into which a delivery company inputs completion of the leave-at-door delivery, and 
     a management server that manages a progress status of the leave-at-door delivery, in which 
     the user terminal includes 
     a user display unit that displays a leave-at-door designation screen on which the leave-at-door delivery is designated, and 
     a user control unit that controls the user terminal, 
     the company terminal includes 
     a company display unit that displays a leave-at-door delivery completion input screen into which the completion of the leave-at-door delivery is inputted, and 
     a company control unit that controls the company terminal, 
     the management server includes 
     a leave-at-door delivery database that stores information about the leave-at-door delivery, and 
     a server control unit that controls the management server, 
     the user display unit 
     displays a leave-at-door delivery fee when the leave-at-door is designated, and displays a point provision notification for notifying that points corresponding to a part or the whole of the leave-at-door delivery fee or an amount obtained by adding a predetermined amount of money to the part or the whole of the leave-at-door delivery fee have been provided at least on condition that the leave-at-door delivery is completed, 
     the user control unit notifies, when the leave-at-door delivery has been designated on the leave-at-door delivery designation screen, the management server of information about the leave-at-door delivery, 
     the company control unit notifies, when the completion of the leave-at-door delivery is inputted on the leave-at-door delivery completion input screen, the management server of the completion of the leave-at-door delivery, and 
     the server control unit 
     registers a need for the leave-at-door delivery in the leave-at-door database at least on condition that the designation of the leave-at-door delivery is received from the user terminal, and collects the leave-at-door delivery fee from a client of the leave-at-door delivery, and 
     performs point provision processing for providing the points to the client of the leave-at-door delivery at least on condition that the completion of the leave-at-door delivery is received from the company terminal. 
     Advantageous Effects of Invention 
     A delivery system or the like according to one embodiment of the present invention makes it possible to urge a client (user) of leave-at-door delivery to deliberately designate the leave-at-door delivery by collecting a leave-at-door delivery fee from the client when the leave-at-door delivery is designated. Point provision processing is performed when the leave-at-door delivery is completed, thereby making it possible to urge the client to designate the next and subsequent leave-at-door delivery services. Thus, an effect of enabling an efficient operation to be performed when a delivery destination is absent, for example, and enabling effectiveness of so-called leave-at-door delivery. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is an explanatory diagram illustrating a facility and a distribution path in a delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  2    is an explanatory diagram illustrating an entire configuration example of the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  3    is an explanatory diagram illustrating a functional block configuration of a management server in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  4    is an explanatory diagram illustrating an external configuration example of an information processing apparatus (user terminal) in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  5    is an explanatory diagram illustrating a functional block configuration of hardware constituting the information processing apparatus (user terminal) according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  6    is an explanatory diagram illustrating an external configuration example of an information processing apparatus (delivery terminal or company terminal) in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  7    is an explanatory diagram illustrating a functional block configuration of hardware constituting the information processing apparatus (delivery terminal or company terminal) according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  8    is a flowchart illustrating a normal processing operation flow at the time of leave-at-door delivery in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  9    is an explanatory diagram illustrating a first display example of an information processing apparatus (user terminal) in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  10    is an explanatory diagram illustrating a second display example of the information processing apparatus (user terminal) in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  11    is an explanatory diagram illustrating a third display example of the information processing apparatus (user terminal) in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  12    is an explanatory diagram illustrating a fourth display example of the information processing apparatus (user terminal) in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  13    is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation flow at the time of the leave-at-door delivery being unavailable in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  14    is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation flow at the time of completion of leave-at-door delivery and no acceptance from a customer in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT 
     A delivery system or the like according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Although in the following embodiment of the present invention, a delivery target is a commodity for convenience of description, the present invention is not limited to this, but is also applicable to a package as long as it is not unreasonable in view of the spirit of the invention (the commodity, the package, and the like are generically referred to as a “commodity or the like” or only merely a “commodity”). 
       FIG.  1    schematically illustrates a facility and a distribution path, for example, in a delivery system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the same drawing, a delivery system  10  viewed from the facility and the distribution path generally includes distribution centers  11  to  13  and nearest bases  14  to  16 , and constitutes a part of a large distribution network that distributes commodities or the like to customer&#39;s homes  141  to  142 ,  151  to  153 ,  162  to  165 , and  199  via paths  143  to  144 ,  155  to  158 , and  166  to  169 . 
     The respective numbers of the distribution centers  11  to  13  and the nearest bases  14  to  16  are not limited to the numbers, but can include any number of centers and any number of distribution bases. For easy understanding, the present invention will be described below along a model illustrated in  FIG.  1    for convenience. 
     [Distribution Center and Nearest Base] 
     Although the present invention is not limited to this, the facility in the distribution system according to the embodiment of the present invention includes at least the two types of facilities. For example, the nearest base according to the embodiment of the present invention is provided as a geographic base that can deliver commodities to the customer&#39;s home within a predetermined time period in addition to a distribution center as a conventional distribution base. 
     That is, the nearest base is a delivery base provided such that commodities or the like can be delivered to a customer in a short time. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  1   , the distribution centers may respectively have different roles. For example, in the same drawing, the distribution center  12  delivers commodities or the like to the nearest bases  14  and  15 , respectively, via the paths  121  and  122 , and the distribution center  13  delivers commodities or the like to the nearest bases  15  and  16 , respectively, via the paths  131  and  132 . On the other hand, the distribution center  11  delivers commodities or the like to the other distribution centers  12  and  13 , respectively, via the paths  112  and  114 . In addition, the distribution center  11  also plays a role of delivering commodities or the like to the nearest bases  14 ,  15 , and  16 , respectively, via the paths  111 ,  113 , and  115 . For example, commodities or the like are generally supplied to the nearest base  14  from the geographically near distribution center  12 . However, if there is no inventory in the distribution center  12 , commodities or the like may be supplied to the nearest base  14  from the distribution center  11 . 
     A path for directly delivering commodities or the like to the customer&#39;s home from each of the distribution centers  11  to  13  may be provided, which is not illustrated in  FIG.  1    (which is not an essential part in the present invention, and thus is not illustrated). 
     In  FIG.  1   , a nearest area  140  represents an area to which commodities or the like can be delivered within a predetermined time period (e.g., 30 minutes, one hour, etc., which may be several hours) from the nearest base  14 , and the same area schematically includes the customer&#39;s homes  141  and  142 . 
     Similarly, a nearest area  150  represents an area to which commodities or the like can be delivered within a predetermined time period (e.g., 30 minutes, one hour, etc., which may be several hours) from the nearest base  15 , and the same area schematically includes the customer&#39;s homes  151 ,  152 ,  153 , and  199 . A nearest area  160  represents an area to which commodities or the like can be delivered within a predetermined time period (e.g., 30 minutes, one hour, etc., which may be several hours) from the nearest base  16 , and the same area schematically includes the customer&#39;s homes  162 ,  163 ,  164 ,  165 , and  199 . 
     In the same drawing, the customer&#39;s home  199  is also included in both the nearest area  150  and the nearest area  160  by way of example. This means that commodities or the like can be delivered to the customer&#39;s home  199  within a predetermined time period from both the nearest base  15  and the nearest base  16  (e.g., commodities or the like can be delivered in 35 minutes from the nearest base  15  to the customer&#39;s home  199 , and commodities or the like can be delivered in 40 minutes from the nearest base  16  to the customer&#39;s home  199 ). 
     Although the present invention is not limited to this, commodities to be handled can be provided with two types of sections “stock commodities” and “non-stock commodities” in a delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The commodity sections are separated depending on whether a routine demand from a customer within a nearest area of a nearest base is high or low. The commodities each having a high routine demand from the customer within the nearest area of the nearest base are respectively partitioned as the stock commodities, and are managed such that the predetermined number of commodities are always available in the nearest base even when not ordered by the customer. 
     On the other hand, the non-stock commodities are delivered to the nearest base from the distribution center and are delivered to a customer&#39;s home in the nearest area at a time point where they are ordered by the customer (or may be directly delivered to the customer&#39;s home from the distribution center). 
     “Stock commodities” and “non-stock commodities” are selected on a system for each nearest area depending on whether a routine demand within the nearest area is high or low, and thus are not uniformly determined depending on a commodity section (a household electric appliance, a book, a cosmetic product, etc.). However, as a general tendency, household electric appliances such as a refrigerator and a large-sized television may be partitioned into the non-stock commodities, and daily necessaries such as shampoo and toilet paper may be partitioned into the stock commodities. The stock commodities geographically and temporally vary depending on an area or a situation such as a situation immediately after an annual event or an earthquake. 
     “Stock commodities” and “non-stock commodities” in the present specification are defined below. 
     Stock commodities: The stock commodities are commodities that have been each repeatedly demanded in a short period from a customer within a nearest area. Examples include daily necessaries and consumables. In the embodiment of the present invention, the stock commodities are commodities to be managed such that the predetermined number of commodities are always stocked in a nearest base. 
     Non-stock commodities: The non-stock commodities are commodities other than the stock commodities. Typically, the non-stock commodities are commodities delivered from a distribution center at a time point where they are ordered by a customer. Examples include a high-quality commodity such as a large-sized household electric appliance or a camera. 
     The present invention does not necessarily need the above-described commodity sections, and is not limited to these even when “stock commodities” and “non-stock commodities” are separately described in the following embodiment (may be alternatively referred to as normal commodities). 
     [Distribution Management] 
     In the above description, a portion described as “a commodity or the like can be delivered within a predetermined time period from a nearest base” or “when there is no inventory”, for example, can be judged by management of a time period (estimated time period) required for delivery and an inventory quantity of commodities or the like at a base on the system. Although an entire configuration example of the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to  FIG.  2   , a management server in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention, for example, is installed in any one of distribution centers or nearest bases in  FIG.  1    or an office building or the like not illustrated, and the management server is connected to each of the centers and each of the bases via an information terminal and a network, and manages an inventory status of commodities or the like and respective numbers of commodities to be loaded and unloaded in each of the bases or the like and a delivery status between the bases or to a destination from moment to moment. Further, from these actual results, for example, a delivery time period between the bases or to the destination is calculated, and is sequentially updated and managed. 
     Therefore, each of the paths illustrated in  FIG.  1    is not always only one route. Although the path from the distribution center  11  to the nearest base  14  is managed as  111  on the system, for example, one or more routes other than the path can also be stored and managed as an alternative route. Although the path from the nearest base  14  to the customer&#39;s home  141  is also managed as  143  on the system in the same drawing, one or more alternative routes can also be stored and managed. 
     The alternative routes are alternatively adopted depending on a traffic condition of the moment, and the adopted alternative route can be designated for a specific delivery facility (base) or delivery means (delivery vehicle), for example. 
     [Sales Management] 
     In the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention, sales management of commodities or the like is also performed. The delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention also operates simultaneously with a store POS cash register or a mail-order sales (electronic commerce) system not illustrated, and manages actual sales results in a store and actual sales results through mail order for each customer. As a database therefor, databases (D1) to (D8), as described below, are included in the management server in the one embodiment. References and update requests from various terminals can be made. 
     (D1) Customer Management Database 
     A customer management database is a database in which items relating to a customer are registered, in which personal information such as a name, an address, and a telephone number of the customer and appended information such as held points and a nearest base are registered. 
     (D2) Commodity Management Database 
     A commodity management database is a database in which items relating to a commodity are registered, in which a commodity name, a commodity code associated with a JAN code, and the like are registered and managed. 
     (D3) Inventory Management Database 
     An inventory management database is a database for managing a commodity inventory for each base, and appropriately cooperates with the commodity management database, and a required table is derived and extracted. 
     (D4) Warehouse Management Database 
     A warehouse management database is a database for managing a commodity inventory to be stored in a warehouse in a distribution center or the like. 
     (D5) Sales Management Database 
     A sales management database is an actual result management database relating to sold commodities for each base or store. 
     (D6) Stock Candidate Commodity Database (or Table) 
     A stock candidate commodity database is a database derived and extracted from the commodity management database and the inventory management database. Description of an example of extraction is omitted. 
     (D7) Stock Desire Commodity Database (or Table) 
     A stock desire commodity database is a stock desire commodity database for each customer and for each nearest base derived from the commodity management database, the inventory management database, and the customer management database. Description of an example of extraction is omitted. 
     (D8) Stock Commodity Database (or Table) for Each Nearest Base (for Each Customer) 
     A stock commodity database is a database for performing stock commodity inventory management for each nearest base derived from the commodity management database, the inventory management database, and the customer management database. Description of an example of extraction is omitted. 
     [Roles of Nearest Base] 
     In a nearest base, a distribution system including the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention plays the following roles (system operations and works by workers such as a staff within the base are collectively listed). 
     (1) Storage and sorting of target stock commodities and update management of the target stock commodities. 
     (2) Delivery processing to be performed when the target stock commodity is ordered by a customer within a nearest area (picking and destination labeling of the ordered commodity). 
     (3) Temporary storage and delivery to a customer&#39;s home to be performed when a non-stock commodity ordered by the customer within the nearest area is delivered from a distribution center (typically, the non-stock commodity is delivered to a nearest base with destination labeling completed). 
     (4) Together packaging delivery of the non-stock commodity and the stock commodity ordered by the customer within the nearest area (if the non-stock commodity and the stock commodity are together packaged and delivered, together packaging work and destination labeling work are performed in the nearest base). 
     (5) Redelivery to be performed when the customer within the nearest area was absent, although the non-stock commodity and the stock commodity have been delivered to the customer. 
     (6) Simultaneous delivery of a stock commodity additionally ordered at the time of redelivery in the above item (5). 
     In the embodiment of the present invention, delivery from the distribution center to the nearest base is performed as a business operation within the same company, and is not entrusted to another delivery company or the like. For example, the company delivers target commodities approximately several times per day by delivery of its own within the company. 
       FIG.  2    is an entire configuration example of the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  2   , a delivery system  20  includes, as a configuration in the one embodiment, a management server  21 , and various types of information processing apparatuses to be used by a user (customer), a deliverer, or the like (in the drawing, a portable information terminal or a tablet terminal  22 , a mobile phone  23 , PCs  24  to  26 , and deliverer terminals  27  and  28  are illustrated by way of example, which may be hereinafter generically referred to as “various types of terminals” or also merely referred to as “terminals”). The management server  21  and the various types of terminals in the delivery system  20  are connected to be mutually communicable via a dedicated line and a public line such as the Internet ( 37  to  39  as a wired line), as illustrated in  FIG.  2   . The line may be wired or wireless. If the line is wireless, the portable information terminal or the tablet terminal  22 , the mobile phone  23 , and the deliverer terminals  27  and  28  wirelessly enter the Internet  39  via a base station, an access point, or the like not illustrated, and is further connected to be mutually communicable with the management server  21  via the line  38 . 
     Although the deliverer terminals  27  and  28  may each include a POS terminal, the present invention is not limited to this. 
     The access point means a radio for mutually connecting wireless terminals such as a PC and a smartphone and connecting the wireless terminals to another network. Typically, the access point is a device that operates with a communication protocol of a first layer (physical layer) and a second layer (data link layer) in an OSI reference model. 
     The mobile phone, the portable information terminal, or the tablet at the time point of filing of the present application may have a similar processing capability (a communication processing speed, an image processing capability, etc.) as that of the personal computer (PC), and should be said as a small computer. 
     A program or software required for the embodiment of the present invention is generally installed or stored in an HDD, an SSD, or the like in a storage unit in the PC or the portable information terminal. The program or the software is read into a memory in the storage unit, as needed, as a software module of its whole or part and is operated and executed in a CPU when executed. 
     Alternatively, a browser-based computer or portable information terminal can also be adopted. In this case, a program is distributed to the terminal from another server or computer, as needed, and is executed by a browser on the terminal. 
     A hardware configuration of the management server  21  can basically adopt a PC (described below with reference to  FIG.  3   , as a precaution). Although the present invention is not limited to this, the management server  21  can also have a configuration suitable for processing of large-scaled data by operating a plurality of PCs (several tens to several tens of thousands as an example) in parallel in raising a hardware specification, as needed. 
       FIG.  3    is a functional block diagram of a management server in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. By way of example, an operation of the management server is implemented by each operation of hardware described below and a cooperation operation between software and the hardware. 
     In  FIG.  3   , a management server  300  as an entire hardware block generally includes a CPU  301  for performing various types of comparison and operation processing, a storage unit  302  such as a RAM, a ROM, and a flash memory, an input unit  303  such as a keyboard and a pointing device, an output unit  304  such as a display and a speaker, a control unit  305  for various types of signal control, a communication (interface) unit  306  (that may be either wireless or wired), a time measurement unit  307  for measuring time or the like, and a power supply unit  308 . 
     The modules are appropriately connected to one another via a communication bus and a power feed line, as needed, (the lines are collectively represented as a wire connection  399  appropriately divided for convenience in  FIG.  3   ). 
     A program or software to be executed on the management server  300  required for the embodiment of the present invention is generally installed or stored in a hard disk, an SSD (solid state drive), a flash memory, and the like constituting the storage unit  302 . The program or the software is read into a memory in the storage unit  302 , as needed, as a software module of its whole or part and is operated and executed in the CPU  301  when executed. 
     In the embodiment of the present invention, the storage unit  302  includes a customer management database  311  and a sales management database  312 . The customer management database  311  (hereinafter also referred to as “customer management DB  311 ”) is a database in which items relating to a customer are registered, in which personal information such as a name, an address, and a telephone number of the customer and appended information such as held points and a nearest base are registered as an example. The points may be electronic money. The points may be exchanged to another electronic money or cash. Information about a customer charge (including a leave-at-door delivery charge) is also registered in the customer management DB  311 . Information about a customer charge caused by settlement may be managed by another server. The sales management database  312  (hereinafter also referred to as “sales management DB  312 ) is an actual result management database relating to sold commodities for each base or store. Information about setting of leave-at-door delivery, a progress status of delivery and leave-at-door delivery, and the like is also registered and managed in addition to a delivery status of commodities or the like in the sales management DB  312 . 
     In the embodiment of the present invention, the control unit  305  performs control relating to progress status management of delivery and leave-at-door delivery (details of which will be described below). 
     The operation and the execution need not necessarily be performed in a central processing unit such as the CPU  301 , and can also be performed by using an auxiliary operation apparatus such as a digital signal processor (DSP) not illustrated. 
       FIG.  4    illustrates an external configuration of a tablet terminal  42  ( 22 ) as an information processing apparatus or a user terminal in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG.  4   , the user terminal (tablet terminal)  42  includes a housing unit  421 , a display  422 , and a hardware button  423  provided in a lower center portion of the housing unit  421 . The display  422  is typically composed of a liquid crystal display (LCD) or the like, and can display various information such as characters, a still image, and a moving image. A menu button and a software keyboard are displayed on the display  422 , and are touched with a finger or a touch pen (not illustrated), for example, to issue an instruction (command) to the tablet terminal  42 . Although the above-described hardware button  423  is not an essential constituent element in this respect, the hardware button  223  is mounted as a button having a predetermined function for convenience of description of the present invention. Needless to say, the hardware button  423  can also be replaced with a menu button displayed on a part of the display  422 . 
     The display  422  includes a multi-touch input panel, and touch input position coordinates on the touch input panel are transmitted to a processing system (CPU) of the tablet terminal  42  via an input device interface (not illustrated) and are processed. The multi-touch input panel is configured to be able to simultaneously sense a plurality of contact points for the panel. The detection (sensor) can be implemented using various methods, and is not necessarily limited to a contact sensor. For example, an instruction point for the panel can also be extracted using an optical sensor. Further, as the sensor, a capacitive sensor that senses contact of a person&#39;s skin can also be used in addition to a contact type sensor and an optical sensor. 
     The tablet terminal  42  can also include a microphone and a speaker, which do not appear in  FIG.  4   . In this case, a user&#39;s voice or the like picked from the microphone can be determined and set as an input command. Further, a camera device such as a CMOS can also be mounted on a back surface of the tablet terminal  42 , for example, which does not appear in  FIG.  4   . 
     In the tablet terminal  42  in the embodiment of the present invention, a recipient can designate or indicate leave-at-door delivery for delivering commodities or the like to a predetermined location at a delivery destination even when absent (details of which will be described below). 
       FIG.  5    illustrates a functional block diagram of hardware constituting the tablet terminal  42  ( 22 ) according to the embodiment of the present invention. An operation of the tablet terminal  42  is implemented by each operation of the hardware described below and a cooperation operation between software and the hardware. 
     In  FIG.  5   , a tablet terminal  500  as an entire hardware block generally includes an input unit  501  composed of a multi-touch input panel, a microphone, and the like provided in the hardware button  423  and the display  422  in  FIG.  4   , a storage unit  502  composed of a hard disk, a RAM, and/or a ROM or the like for storing a program, data, and the like, a central processing unit  503  composed of a CPU that uses the program to perform various numerical calculations and logic operations, a display unit  504  composed of the display  422  and the like, a control unit  505  for controlling a chip, an electric system, and the like, a communication interface unit  506  composed of a slot for accessing the Internet, a port for performing optical communication, and a communication interface, an output unit  507  such as a speaker, a vibration, and an infrared projector, a time measurement unit  508  for measuring time or the like, a sensor unit  509  composed of an image sensor such as a CMOS, an infrared sensor, an inertial sensor, and the like, and a power supply unit  510  for supplying power to each of modules in an apparatus, and the modules are appropriately connected, as needed, to one another via a communication bus and a power feed line (the lines are collectively represented as a wire connection  599  appropriately divided for convenience in  FIG.  5   ). 
     The sensor unit  509  may include a GPS sensor module for identifying a position of the tablet terminal  500  ( 22 ). Signals respectively detected by the image sensor such as a CMOS, the infrared sensor, and the like constituting the sensor unit  509  can be processed as input information in the input unit  501 . 
     A program or software to be executed on the tablet terminal  500  required for the embodiment of the present invention is generally installed or stored in a hard disk, an SSD (solid state drive), a flash memory, and the like constituting the storage unit  502 . The program or the software is read into a memory in the storage unit  502 , as needed, as a software module of its whole or part and is operated and executed in the CPU  503  when executed. 
     The operation and the execution need not necessarily be performed in the central processing unit  503  such as the CPU, and can also be performed by using an auxiliary operation device such as a digital signal processor (DSP) not illustrated. 
       FIG.  6    illustrates an external configuration of a deliverer terminal  67  ( 27 ) as an information processing apparatus or a deliverer terminal (or a company terminal) in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG.  6   , the deliverer terminal  67  includes a housing unit  671 , a display  672 , and a plurality of hardware buttons  673  provided in a lower portion of the housing unit  671 . Respective basic configurations and functions of the housing unit  671 , the display  672 , the hardware button  673 , and the like in the deliverer terminal  67  are similar to those of the housing unit  421 , the display  422 , the hardware button  423 , and the like in the tablet terminal  42  or are known, and detailed description thereof is omitted. 
     In the deliverer terminal  67  in the embodiment of the present invention, the deliverer can input completion of leave-at-door delivery. When the completion of the leave-at-door delivery is inputted, the deliverer terminal  67  performs various types of processing caused by the input (details of which will be described below). 
       FIG.  7    illustrates a functional block diagram of hardware constituting the deliverer terminal  67  ( 27 ) according to the embodiment of the present invention. An operation of the deliverer terminal  67  is implemented by each operation of the hardware described below and a cooperation operation between software and the hardware. 
     In  FIG.  7   , a deliverer terminal  700  as an entire hardware block includes an input unit  701 , a storage unit  702 , a central processing unit  703 , a display unit  704 , a control unit  705 , a communication interface unit  706 , an output unit  707 , a time measurement unit  708 , a sensor unit  709 , and a power supply unit  710 , and the modules are appropriately connected, as needed, to one another via a communication bus and a power feed line (the lines are collectively represented as a wire connection  799  appropriately divided for convenience in  FIG.  7   ). 
     Respective basic configurations and functions of the components in the deliverer terminal  700  illustrated in  FIG.  7    are similar to those of the components in the tablet terminal  42  ( 22 ) illustrated in  FIG.  4    or are known, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The input unit  701  is composed of the hardware buttons  673  in  FIG.  6   , a multi-touch input panel provided in the display  672  in  FIG.  6   , a microphone, and the like, and the display unit  704  is composed of the display  672  and the like. 
       FIG.  8    illustrates a processing operation flow at the time of normal leave-at-door delivery in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The operation flow illustrated in  FIG.  8    illustrate a variation of delivery from a “nearest base” in the embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG.  8   , a processing flow (a processing flow at the time of normal leave-at-door delivery) in which a commodity delivered from the nearest base is left by the door. In  FIG.  8   , a thick solid line arrow in a vertical direction (e.g., a user terminal from a time t 11  to a time t 12 ) indicates internal processing in the terminal or a management server, a thin solid line arrow in a horizontal direction (e.g., between the user terminal and the management server at the time t 12 ) indicates processing between each of the terminals and the management server, a thick one-dot-and-dash arrow in the vertical direction (a base terminal from a time t 13  to a time t 14 ) and a thin one-dot-and-dash line arrow in the horizontal direction (between a nearest base and a customer&#39;s home at the time t 14 ) indicate work by a deliverer, and a thin broken line in the horizontal direction (e.g., between the user terminal and the base terminal at the time t 13 ) indicates a point of time. Respective meanings of the solid line arrow, the one-dot-and-dash arrow, the broken line, and the like are similar to those in  FIG.  13    and  FIG.  14   , described below. 
     [Scene In which Leave-at-Door Delivery is Performed upon Delivery from Nearest Base] 
     At the time t 11  to the time t 12  illustrated in  FIG.  8   , the user terminal receives an order for a commodity while switching a screen to a commodity selection screen, an order screen, or the like depending on a user&#39;s operation for an input unit (step S 801 ). In the one embodiment, the user terminal also receives designation or indication of leave-at-door delivery (details of which will be described below with reference to  FIG.  10   ). It is assumed that the leave-at-door delivery has been designated or indicated. 
     At the time t 12 , the user terminal transmits, when it receives the order from a user via the input unit, a content of the order to the management server (step S 802 ). The management server  21  that has received the content of the order performs order receiving processing at the time t 12  to the time t 13 . In the one embodiment, in the order receiving processing, the content of the order received from the user terminal is registered in the customer information DB  311  and the sales management DB  312  in association with a customer (a client or an orderer), and a leave-at-door delivery fee is collected from the customer. The collected leave-at-door delivery fee, together with a price of the commodity itself (a delivery charge when a package is to be delivered), can be settled using information about a credit card or the like of the customer in the one embodiment. In another embodiment, a user can pay a leave-at-door delivery fee using points already accumulated by himself/herself. 
     In the embodiment of the present invention, the leave-at-door delivery fee may be uniform. The leave-at-door delivery fee may be changed depending on the size of the commodity or the like and the price of the commodity or the like. 
     The settlement is not limited to be implemented by a single management server but can also be performed by the management server communicating with another settlement server. Then, the management server transmits an instruction to deliver the ordered commodity to the base terminal at the nearest base (step S 804 ). 
     The base terminal at the nearest base that has received the delivery instruction displays an instruction to prepare shipment to a display unit. A deliverer prepares delivery of the ordered commodity at the time t 13  to the time t 14  based on the shipment preparation instruction (step S 805 ). Then, at the time t 14 , the deliverer delivers the commodity to a delivery destination (customer&#39;s home) using a delivery vehicle (step S 806 ). 
     In the flow illustrated in  FIG.  8   , the leave-at-door delivery has been designated or indicated from the user. Accordingly, when the deliverer arrives at the customer&#39;s home, the deliverer leaves the commodity by the door based on a system operation in the embodiment of the present invention (step S 807 ). “Leave-at-door delivery” herein referred to means delivering and putting the commodity at a predetermined location at the delivery destination even when a recipient is absent or its service. As the predetermined location in this case, one or more of an entrance, a home delivery box, a gas meter box, a bicycle basket, a garage, and a reception desk in a building, for example, can be used. 
     To implement a variation of the order receiving/delivery described with reference to  FIG.  8   , an inventory quantity for each commodity in each base, a delivery time period between bases, and a delivery time period to a customer&#39;s home are managed, are calculated again each time, and are updated and controlled as an example in the management server  21 . The commodity is tracked after shipment from the base, a current position of the commodity that is being delivered is updated and managed, and a scheduled arrival time is calculated again and is appropriately notified to a customer terminal and a movement terminal of a deliverer according to an additional order or a change of the content of the order. In such a case, an example of the screen to be displayed on the user terminal will be described below with reference to  FIG.  11   . 
     When the leave-at-door delivery is completed, a deliverer terminal receives input of the completion of the leave-at-door delivery in response to a deliverer&#39;s operation (step S 808 ), and transmits a report that the leave-at-door delivery has been completed to the management server (step S 809 ) at the time t 14  to a time t 15  in  FIG.  8   . The management server that has received the report that the leave-at-door delivery has been completed registers the completion of the leave-at-door delivery in the sales management DB ( 312  in  FIG.  3   ) (step S 810 ) at the time t 15  to a time t 16 . The management server transmits a leave-at-door delivery completion notification for notifying that the leave-at-door delivery has been completed to the user terminal (step S 811 ). Although the leave-at-door delivery completion notification is preferably a push notification to the user terminal, the present invention is not limited to this. The leave-at-door delivery completion notification may be made at a timing at which an access (that is based on a customer&#39;s operation or is automatically performed periodically by the user terminal, for example) has been made from the user terminal to the management server. 
     The user terminal that has received the leave-at-door delivery completion notification from the management server displays the completion of the leave-at-door delivery (step S 812 ) at the time t 16  to a time t 17 . In the one embodiment, on the user terminal, the completion of the leave-at-door delivery is displayed, and an acceptance button ( 1213  in  FIG.  12   ) is displayed. When an intension of acceptance from the customer is confirmed by the button being pressed, the user terminal transmits to the management server an acceptance notification representing the intension of acceptance from the customer (step S 813 ) at the time t 17 . 
     The management server that has received the acceptance notification performs point provision processing (step S 814 ) at the time t 17  to a time t 18 . In the embodiment of the present invention, the point provision processing (step S 814 ) is processing for providing points corresponding to an amount obtained by adding a predetermined amount of money to the whole of the leave-at-door delivery fee collected from the customer when the leave-at-door delivery is designated to the customer (the orderer of the commodity) (step S 803 ). When the points are provided, the management server adds the points to a total amount of the points in the customer information DB ( 311  in  FIG.  3   ), to update the total amount of the points. Setting may be performed such that the larger the number of times of use of the leave-at-door delivery by the customer is, the larger points to be provided is (e.g., the larger a reduction rate is). This makes it possible to promote the use of the leave-at-door delivery. 
     Then, the management server transmits to the user terminal a point provision notification for notifying that the points have been provided and notifying an added amount and a total value of the points (step S 815 ). The transmission may be positioned as a part of the point provision processing. 
     The user terminal that has received the point provision notification displays on the display unit a content of the point provision notification (step S 16 ) at the time t 18  to a time t 19 . 
       FIG.  9    to  FIG.  10    illustrate a display example of an information processing apparatus (user or customer terminal) in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The display examples respectively illustrate variations of a mechanism for receiving an order for a commodity from a customer in the embodiment of the present invention. In the order receiving mechanism, commodities are guided and an order can be received at various timings on respective screens of a WEB site (not illustrated) on an electronic commerce server directed toward the user terminal and a terminal application of the user terminal or the like. The present invention is not limited to these. However, examples of the scene include respective scenes in the following items (S1) to (S4). 
     (S1) When a customer accesses a WEB site directed toward a user terminal or starts an application on the user terminal, commodities are guided and an order is received. (S2) When the customer is attempting to purchase a commodity on the WEB site directed toward the user terminal or a terminal such as the user terminal, commodities are guided as “commodities ready to immediate and together delivery” and an order is received. (S3) When an action history (a page view, a purchase pattern, etc.) of the customer is analyzed, to match predetermined action criteria, target commodities are guided and an order is received using a notification function of a smartphone application, for example. 
     (S4) While a commodity is being delivered to the customer (e.g., while a commodity is being delivered from a distribution center to a nearest base), commodities that have been stocked in the nearest base are guided and an additionally order is received as a commodity that can be together delivered. 
       FIG.  9    illustrates an example of a screen of a user terminal configured such that commodities are guided and an order can be received from a customer. In the same drawing, a header  911  including a current time display, a display column  921  in which a current address or a current location is displayed, a message  931  “Delivered by 14:03 when ordered now”, and a search column  941  are displayed on a screen of a customer terminal  901 , and a list of commodities that can be delivered to a customer&#39;s home in a short time (e.g., 30 minutes or one hour) is displayed in a commodity display column  950 . Although even commodities A to C are displayed in the same drawing, the present invention is not limited to this. More commodities can also be presented by scrolling means and page ejection means not illustrated. Narrowing-down based on a desired commodity genre or commodity category can also be performed by a search keyword or the like for the search column  941 . 
     As to a content of each of commodities to be displayed in the commodity display column  950 , a commodity name  952 , together with a commodity image  951 , is presented, and a normal price and a sales price  953  are also presented for a commodity A by way of example. Further, an estimated arrival time  954  for a case where the commodity A is ordered now is displayed. A provided point  955  at the time of purchase is also presented. 
     When the customer desires to order the commodity A, the customer can shift the screen to an order procedure screen, for example, by pressing an order button  956  on the screen. 
     In  FIG.  9   , it can be confirmed how respective information about a commodity B and a commodity C are provided, like the information about the commodity A. 
       FIG.  10    illustrates an example of a screen of a user terminal configured such that a commodity can be ordered and leave-at-door delivery can be designated or indicated. In  FIG.  10   , a header  1011  including a current time display, a display column  1021  in which a current address or a current location is displayed, a message  1025  “Order this product” and a commodity display column  1030  relating to a commodity (here, a commodity D) to be ordered, and a display column  1040  relating to information about delivery are displayed on a screen of a user terminal  1001 . The commodity display column  1030  includes a commodity image  1031  and a commodity name  1032  of the commodity to be ordered. The display column  1040  includes an expected arrival time  1041  and an expected commodity arrival time  1042  required from the order to delivery. 
     Further, on the screen of the user terminal  1001 , an amount description  1051  of a leave-at-door delivery fee (deposit), a toggle button  1052  for designating or indicating or applying for leave-at-door delivery, and an order button  1053  are displayed. As illustrated in  FIG.  10   , when the leave-at-door delivery is designated or indicated, the leave-at-door delivery fee (deposit) needs to be paid. In the one embodiment, the leave-at-door delivery fee (deposit) can be positioned as a deposit caused by the leave-at-door delivery or an insurance premium of the leave-at-door delivery, for example. 
     In the one embodiment, the customer uses the toggle button  1052  to set whether or not leave-at-door delivery is used, and presses the order button  1053 . If the toggle button  1052  is set to “Apply for leave-at-door delivery”, leave-at-door delivery can be designated or indicated. Although only whether or not leave-at-door delivery is used can be set in  FIG.  10   , there may be provided an interface not illustrated for designating a location (an entrance, a home delivery box, etc.) for the leave-at-door delivery. Implementation examples include a select box for selecting the location for the leave-at-door delivery. 
       FIG.  11    illustrates an example of a screen for presenting or the like to a user a current position or the like of a commodity that is being delivered. On the screen in the same drawing, the current position or the like of the commodity that is being delivered is displayed with a dedicated application started at a user terminal. In  FIG.  11   , a map display  1101 , a header  1102  including a message “This product is on delivery” and a current time display, an icon  1103  representing a current position of a delivery vehicle loaded with the commodity that is being delivered, a delivery destination icon  1104  representing a position of a customer&#39;s home as a delivery destination, and a footer  1105  that displays information about a commodity (another commodity) other than the selected commodity are displayed on a screen of a user terminal  1100 . The user can confirm the current position of the delivery vehicle, a road to the delivery destination, and the existence of the other commodity by seeing the screen illustrated in  FIG.  11   . 
     Although the icon  1103  representing the current position of the delivery vehicle loaded with the commodity that is being delivered is displayed in a center portion of the screen in the example illustrated in  FIG.  11   , the present invention is not limited to this. The delivery destination icon  1104  representing the position of the customer&#39;s home as the delivery destination may be displayed in the center portion of the screen. The icons may be switchably mounted. 
       FIG.  12    illustrates an example of a screen of a user terminal that notifies a user that leave-at-door delivery has been completed. In the present embodiment, the screen in the same drawing is displayed when the leave-at-door delivery has been completed with a dedicated application started at the user terminal and the user terminal has received a leave-at-door delivery completion notification from a management server (step S 812  in  FIG.  8   ). In  FIG.  12   , a leave-at-door delivery completion notification window  1210  is displayed on a screen  1201  of a user terminal  1200 . The leave-at-door delivery completion notification window  1210  includes a message  1211  “Delivered by leave-at-door delivery”, a leave-at-door delivery completion notification date  1212 , and an acceptance button  1213 . In the one embodiment, when the user presses the acceptance button  1213 , the user terminal makes an acceptance notification to the management server (step S 813  in  FIG.  8   ), and the management server that has received the acceptance notification performs point provision processing for the user (steps S 814  and S 815 ). Points are provided to the user as the point provision processing is performed. 
     Although the number of points to be provided is preferably a number of points having a value equivalent to that of a leave-at-door delivery fee, the present invention is not limited to this. 
     [When Leave-at-Door Delivery is unavailable] 
       FIG.  13    illustrates a processing operation flow in a case where leave-at-door delivery is unavailable in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the same drawing, a processing flow in a case where the leave-at-door delivery is unavailable due to a situation at a delivery destination (a processing flow at the time of the leave-at-door delivery being unavailable), although a deliverer has attempted to leave a commodity delivered from a nearest base by the door is illustrated. Various situations are assumed as a case where the leave-at-door delivery is unavailable although the deliverer has attempted the leave-at-door delivery, such as a case where the leave-at-door delivery cannot be performed from the viewpoint of preventing theft because the periphery of the delivery destination is crowded with people, a case where the weather is unsuitable for the leave-at-door delivery, for example, the rain or the wind is strong, and a case where a deliverer cannot reach an entrance or the like of the delivery destination because a door to an apartment automatically locks. 
     Steps S 1301  to S 1306  at a time t 21  to a time t 24  illustrated in  FIG.  13    are respectively similar to steps S 801  to S 806  at the time t 11  to the time t 14  illustrated in  FIG.  8   , and detailed description thereof is omitted. 
     When leave-at-door delivery is unavailable, although a deliverer has attempted the leave-at-door delivery at the time t 24  (step S 1307 ), a deliverer terminal receives input of the unavailability of leave-at-door delivery in response to a deliverer&#39;s operation (step S 1308 ) at the time t 24  to a time t 25 , and transmits a report that the leave-at-door delivery is unavailable to a management server (step S 1309 ). In the embodiment of the present invention, the deliverer may post an absence notice to a delivery destination together with the report that the leave-at-door delivery is unavailable. The management server that has received the report that the leave-at-door delivery is unavailable registers information about the leave-at-door delivery being unavailable, together with area information of the delivery destination, in the sales management DB ( 312  in  FIG.  3   ) at the time t 25  to a time t 26  (step S 1310 ; Here, refund processing is also performed, as described below). Examples of the area information include information about the same range as those of the nearest areas  140 ,  150 , and  160  ( FIG.  1   ), area information using an area in a narrower range than those of the nearest areas as a unit, and street information or neighborhood information including the delivery destination, although not limited to these. The management server can perform control, by storing and managing the information about the leave-at-door delivery being unavailable, together with the area information, such that “designation of leave-at-door delivery” cannot be performed or set the leave-at-door delivery designation itself to non-display at the time of an order from a specific client or a specific area (step S 1301 ). For example, the management server instructs the user terminal not to be able to select the displays  1051  and  1052  on the order screen ( FIG.  10   ). Alternatively, the management server or the user terminal performs control such that the displays  1051  and  1052  are not included on the order screen ( FIG.  10   ) to be transmitted to the user terminal. 
     The management server performs processing for refunding a leave-at-door delivery fee (deposit) (step S 1310 ). In the refund processing according to the embodiment of the present invention, the management server refunds the leave-at-door delivery fee (deposit) to a designated account of a customer (step S 1310 ). The leave-at-door delivery fee may be refunded by returning points instead of refunding cash. Alternatively, the customer may be made to be able to select either refund by cash or return by points via an interface not illustrated at the time of refunding. The management server notifies the user terminal that the leave-at-door delivery has been unavailable and the leave-at-door delivery fee has been refunded (or will be refunded) (step S 1311 ). 
     Alternatively, in another embodiment of the present invention, a notification that leave-at-door delivery is unavailable or refund (or point return) processing may be respectively separate processes. In this case, only a notification that leave-at-door delivery is unavailable is made in step S 1311 , and refund or point return processing is separately performed later. As a time difference therebetween, various examples such as “several minutes later”, “several hours later”, or “several days later” can be adopted. 
     The user terminal that has received the notification indicates on a display unit (the display  422  or the like illustrated in  FIG.  4   ) that the leave-at-door delivery has been unavailable and that the leave-at-door delivery fee has been refunded (or will be refunded) at the time t 26  to a time t 27  (step S 1312 ). 
     In the one embodiment, control may be performed such that a redelivery request screen (not illustrated) is displayed when a redelivery request button not illustrated is pressed, although the present invention is not limited to this. In this case, when necessary items (a date, etc.) for redelivery are inputted and a transmission button is pressed on the redelivery request screen, the user terminal is controlled to transmit a redelivery request to the management server (step S 1313 ). 
     The management server that has received the redelivery request registers a content of the redelivery request in the sales management DB ( 312  in  FIG.  3   ) (step S 1314 ) at the time t 27  to a time t 28 . The management server transmits a redelivery receiving notification to the user terminal (step S 1315 ). The user terminal that has received the redelivery receiving notification displays a content of the receiving on the display unit (step S 1316 ) at the time t 28  to a time t 29 . A redelivery request may be made using not the user terminal but a telephone or the like. 
     [When Leave-at-Door Delivery is Completed but Acceptance from Customer is not Obtained] 
       FIG.  14    illustrates a processing operation flow in a case where leave-at-door delivery has been completed but an acceptance from a customer is not obtained in the delivery system according to the embodiment of the present invention.  FIG.  14    illustrates a processing flow in a case where a deliverer can complete the leave-at-door delivery for a commodity delivered from a nearest base but an acceptance from the customer cannot be obtained (when the customer does not press the acceptance button  1213  ( FIG.  12   )) (a processing flow at the time of completion of the leave-at-door delivery and no acceptance from the customer). As a case where the customer does not press the acceptance button, a case where a dedicated application has not been started and a case where the acceptance button  1213  is left without being pressed, although the leave-at-door completion notification window  1210  is displayed, for example, are assumed in addition to a case where a power supply of a terminal remains off, for example. 
     In the processing flow illustrated in  FIG.  14   , if a predetermined period has elapsed since leave-at-door delivery was completed even when an acceptance from a customer is not obtained, point provision processing is performed assuming that the leave-at-door delivery has been normally completed (the customer has safely received a commodity). 
     Steps S 1401  to S 1411  at a time t 31  to a time t 36  illustrated in  FIG.  14    are respectively similar to steps S 801  to S 811  at the time t 11  to the time t 16  illustrated in  FIG.  8   , and detailed description thereof is omitted. In another embodiment of the present invention, control can also be performed such that step S 1411  is not performed in a case where a power supply of a user terminal remains off and a case where a leave-at-door delivery completion notification is made when an access from the user terminal to a management server is made. 
     At the time t 36 , if the management server transmits a leave-at-door delivery completion notification to the user terminal (step S 1411 ), but a customer has not yet confirmed the notification (step S 1412 ), the management server starts to count a time period elapsed since the leave-at-door delivery was completed. The start of the counting may be another timing after the completion of the leave-at-door delivery instead of using transmission of the leave-at-door delivery completion notification as a trigger. When a count value exceeds a predetermined threshold value (that may be any value in a range from several hours to one week or any value outside the range) (at a time t 37  in  FIG.  14   ), the management server performs point provision processing (step S 1413 ) at the time t 37  to a time t 38 . 
     In another embodiment of the present invention, control may be performed to confirm on the management server side whether or not a leave-at-door notification from the management server has been confirmed by the user for each fixed time (e.g., for 30 minutes, for one hour, for three hours, for six hours, for 12 hours, or for one day). 
     Steps S 1413  to S 1415  illustrated in  FIG.  14    are respectively similar to steps S 814  to S 816  illustrated in  FIG.  8   . In the one embodiment, control may be performed such that the number of points (S 814  in  FIG.  8   ) to be provided when the acceptance from the customer has been obtained is made larger than the number of points (S 1413  in  FIG.  14   ) to be provided when the acceptance from the customer has not been obtained (a return rate is increased). In this case, the acceptance from the customer will be able to be easily obtained. 
     Effect According to Embodiment of Invention 
     According to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, the display unit ( 504 ) in the user terminal ( 500  in  FIG.  5   ) displays a leave-at-door delivery fee when leave-at-door delivery is designated (S 801  in  FIG.  8   , and  FIG.  10   ), and displays a point provision notification on condition that the leave-at-door delivery is completed (S 816  in  FIG.  8   ). The control unit ( 505  in  FIG.  5   ) in the user terminal notifies the management server of information about the leave-at-door delivery when the leave-at-door delivery is designated on the leave-at-door delivery designation screen ( FIG.  10   ) (S 802  in  FIG.  8   ). Further, the control unit ( 705 ) in the deliverer terminal ( 700  in  FIG.  7   ) notifies the management server of the completion of the leave-at-door delivery when the completion of the leave-at-door delivery is inputted on the leave-at-door delivery completion input screen (S 809  in  FIG.  8   ). Further, the control unit ( 305 ) in the management server ( 300  in  FIG.  3   ) registers a need for the leave-at-door delivery in the sales management DB ( 312 ) on condition that the designation of the leave-at-door delivery has been received from the user terminal, and collects the leave-at-door delivery fee from a customer (a client of the leave-at-door delivery) (S 803  in  FIG.  8   ). In addition, the control unit in the management server performs point provision processing on condition that the completion of the leave-at-door delivery has been received from the deliverer terminal (S 814 ). 
     According to the above-described embodiment, the leave-at-door delivery fee is collected from the customer when the leave-at-door delivery is designated, thereby making it possible to urge the customer to deliberately designate the leave-at-door delivery. The point provision processing is performed when the leave-at-door delivery is completed. This makes it possible to urge the customer to designate the next and subsequent leave-at-door delivery services. 
     The foregoing makes it possible to enhance the effectiveness of the leave-at-door delivery, reduce the frequency of a redelivery, and easily cope with shortage of labor. 
     According to the embodiment of the present invention, the display unit ( 704 ) in the deliverer terminal ( 700  in  FIG.  7   ; the company terminal) displays the leave-at-door delivery unavailable input screen into which the unavailability of leave-at-door delivery is inputted when the leave-at-door delivery at a predetermined location cannot be performed (S 1308  in  FIG.  13   ), and the control unit ( 705  in  FIG.  7   ) notifies the management server that the leave-at-door delivery is unavailable when the unavailability of leave-at-door delivery is inputted (S 1309  in  FIG.  13   ). The control unit ( 305  in  FIG.  3   ) in the management server registers the unavailability of leave-at-door delivery, together with the area information of the delivery destination, in the sales management DB ( 312  in  FIG.  3   ), and performs refund processing for refunding the leave-at-door delivery fee to the customer (the client) when the unavailability of leave-at-door delivery is received (S 1310  in  FIG.  13   ). 
     This makes it easy to refund the leave-at-door delivery fee to the customer when the unavailability of leave-at-door delivery has occurred. Information about the leave-at-door delivery being unavailable, together with the area information, is stored, thereby making it possible to perform control such that “designation of leave-at-door delivery” cannot be performed at the time of an order from a specific client or area. This makes it possible to reduce an unnecessary load caused by performing processing for leave-at-door delivery regardless of the unavailability of leave-at-door delivery. 
     In the embodiment of the present invention, the management server ( 300  in  FIG.  3   ) transmits the leave-at-door delivery completion notification for notifying the user terminal ( 500  in  FIG.  5   ) of completion of the leave-at-door delivery on condition that the completion of the leave-at-door delivery has been received from the deliverer terminal ( 700  in  FIG.  7   ; the company terminal) (S 811  in  FIG.  8   ). The user terminal displays, when it receives the leave-at-door delivery completion notification, the leave-at-door delivery completion notification ( 1211  in  FIG.  12   ) and the acceptance button that inputs an acceptance of the completion of the leave-at-door delivery from the customer (requestor) ( 1213 ; the acceptance input display) (S 812  in  FIG.  8   ). When the acceptance from the customer has been inputted, the user terminal notifies the management server of the acceptance from the customer (S 813  in  FIG.  8   ). Further, the management server performs the point provision processing when it receives the acceptance from the customer (S 814 ). Further, the management server performs the point provision processing (S 1413 ) when a predetermined period has elapsed even when it does not receive an acceptance from the customer (client) since the leave-at-door delivery was completed (S 1408  in  FIG.  14   ). 
     When the completion of the delivery is inputted to the deliverer terminal, if the point provision processing is performed by using the input of the acceptance from the customer as a trigger, it is possible to urge acceptance confirmation (receiving confirmation) from the customer. Even when the acceptance from the customer is not inputted, the point provision processing is enabled, thereby making it possible to improve customer&#39;s convenience associated with point provision. 
     Modification 
     Although leave-at-door delivery has been set at the time of an order (S 801  in  FIG.  8   , and  FIG.  10   ) in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. The leave-at-door delivery may be set until a deliverer visits a delivery destination at the time of redelivery, for example. For example, leave-at-door delivery can be newly designated from the time of an order to the time of completion of delivery (also including the time of redelivery), or a delivery date designated by a customer after the leave-at-door delivery has been designated can be changed. 
     The deliverer terminal may be configured such that (1) determination whether or not leave-at-door delivery has been designated at a current time point and (2) a location of the leave-at-door delivery (e.g., an entrance of a house or a foot of a gas meter) is displayed when the leave-at-door delivery has been designated (a known user interface is adopted as display means in this case). 
     Further, the leave-at-door delivery can be designated from the time of the order to the time of the completion of the delivery, as described above. When the leave-at-door delivery has been designated or additionally designated after the start of the delivery, for example, this can also be notified to the deliverer by notifying a deliverer terminal of a content of the designation and a content of a change (a PUSH notification as an example). The presence or absence of the designation of the leave-at-door delivery and the location of the leave-at-door delivery are substantially reflected in real time on the deliverer terminal every time they are updated. Alternatively, in another embodiment, a configuration in which the deliverer is not notified can also be adopted. 
     Although the deliverer has input the completion of the leave-at-door delivery at the deliverer terminal carried thereby (S 808  in  FIG.  8   ), the deliverer may input the completion of the leave-at-door delivery at the base terminal or the distribution center terminal after returning to the nearest base or the distribution center. In other words, the base terminal or the distribution center terminal may be used as a company terminal instead of the deliverer terminal. 
     Although points corresponding to an amount obtained by adding a predetermined amount of money to the whole of a leave-at-door delivery fee (deposit) has been provided to a customer (an orderer of a commodity) as the point provision processing (step S 814  in  FIG.  8   ) in the above-described embodiment, points to be provided are not limited to this, but may be points corresponding to a part or the whole of the leave-at-door delivery fee. Alternatively, the points to be provided may be points corresponding to an amount obtained by adding a predetermined amount of money to a part of the leave-at-door delivery fee or points corresponding to only the predetermined amount of money. 
     Although the point provision processing (S 814 ) has been performed at a time point where the management server has received the acceptance notification from the customer (S 813  in  FIG.  8   ) in the above-described embodiment, the point provision processing may be performed at another timing after completion of the leave-at-door delivery. 
     Although when the leave-at-door delivery has been unavailable, the unavailability of leave-at-door delivery, together with area information of a delivery destination, is registered and is used as information about the unavailability of setting of future leave-at-door delivery in the above-described embodiment, information about a trouble (e.g., a loss of a commodity) for each customer, for example, may be used as the information about the unavailability of the setting of the future leave-at-door delivery. In this case, when being reached out by a customer to inform that a commodity has not yet been arrived after leave-at-door delivery has been completed, a base terminal, a distribution center terminal, or a management server to input the trouble information, which can be stored in the customer information DB ( 311  in  FIG.  3   ) for use. An embodiment in which information about the leave-at-door delivery being unavailable is neither registered nor stored is also possible. 
     Although a case where the management server issues the delivery instruction to the base terminal has been described in examples illustrated in  FIG.  8   ,  FIG.  13   , and  FIG.  14   , similar processing can also be performed for a case where the management server issues a delivery instruction to the distribution center terminal. 
     Although the embodiment of the delivery system or the like has been described above based on specific examples, an implementation as a recording medium having a program recorded thereon (an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a CD-RW, a magnetic tape, a hard disk, or a memory card as an example), for example, in addition to a method or a program for implementing a system or an apparatus can be taken as the embodiment of the present invention. 
     The one implementation of the program is not limited to an application program such as an object code to be compiled by a complier and a program code to be executed by an interpreter, but may be a form of a program module or the like to be incorporated into an operating system. 
     Further, the program can also be configured such that all processes need not necessarily be performed in only a CPU on a control substrate but some or all of the processes are performed by another processing unit (a DSP, etc.) mounted on an extension board or an extension unit added to the substrate, as needed. 
     All of constitutional requirements described in the present specification (including the claims, the abstract, and the drawings) and/or all steps in disclosed methods or processes can be combined in any combination excluding a combination in which these features are mutually exclusive. 
     Each of the features described in the present specification (including the claims, the abstract, and the drawings) can be replaced with an alternative feature serving an identical purpose, the same purpose, or a similar purpose unless otherwise clearly contradicted. Therefore, each of the disclosed features is only an example of a series of same or equivalent comprehensive features unless otherwise clearly contradicted. 
     The present invention is not limited to any of the respective specific configurations of the above-described embodiments. The present invention can be extended to all of new features described in the present specification (including the claims, the abstract, and the drawings) or their combinations or steps of all described new methods or processes or their combinations. 
     REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
     
         
           10  Delivery system 
           11  to  13  Distribution center 
           14  to  16  Nearest base 
           141  to  142 ,  151  to  153 ,  162  to  165 ,  199  Customer&#39;s home 
           20  Delivery system 
           21  Management server 
           22  Tablet terminal (one form of user terminal or company terminal (deliverer terminal or company terminal)) 
           23  Mobile phone (one form of user terminal or company terminal (deliverer terminal or company terminal)) 
           24  to  26  PC (one form of user terminal or company terminal (deliverer terminal or company terminal) 
           27  to  28  Deliverer terminal (that may include POS terminal) 
           37 ,  38  Communication line 
           39  Public line (dedicated line, Internet, etc.)