Patent ID: 7668760

Claim:
A distribution management device comprising: means for receiving via a network first order information of merchandise and second order information of said merchandise, the first order information being formed based on a first purchase request received via a first sales channel that uses the network and the second order information being formed based on a second purchase request received via a second sales channel which is a point-of-sale location that does not use the network, the first order information indicating a first quantity of merchandise purchased via the first sales channel, and the second order information indicating a second quantity of merchandise purchased via the second sales channel; means for generating stock control information to control a stock of said merchandise to be distributed to the first and the second sales channels based on the first quantity of merchandise purchased in the first sales channel in the first order information and the second quantity of merchandise purchased in the second sales channel in the second order information; means for storing information regarding a debut date on which a new product in the merchandise will replace an old product in the merchandise, and a transportation delay time indicating a time required to transport the second quantity of merchandise from a manufacturing factory to a point-of-sale location that does not use the network to receive the second purchase request; means for deleting, from the generated stock control information, a quantity of the old product purchased in the first sales channel and a quantity of the old product purchased in the second sales channel to produce updated stock control information when a current date is within the transportation delay time of the debut date; and means for instructing a supplier of said merchandise to supply the merchandise to the first sales channel and the second sales channel based on the updated stock control information from which was deleted the quantity of the old product purchased in the first sales channel that receives the first purchase request via the network and the quantity of the old product purchased in the second sales channel that receives the second purchase request at the point-of-sale location that does not use the network to receive the second purchase request.