Technical Field

The present invention relates to an operating method of production planning, storage, sales network and logistics network creation, sales (marketing) information and management system in the light of spatial data analysis in the process of transporting agricultural products from the field to the consumer.

The present invention particularly relates to an operating method of creating ecological crop production, storage, sales network and logistics network, sales (marketing) information and management system based on geographic information system (GIS) that enables the collection, standardization, management, questioning and product analysis of the data needed by the producer according to the region where ecological agricultural products will be produced, that helps to plan the production and produce the crops in accordance with the analysis results, that enables planning and optimization in post-production logistics and storing, and that provides knowledgebased guidance in order to create new sales channels.

State of the Art

Various analysis methods are used in conventional agriculture today. However, these analysis methods depend on non-scientific and unpredictable parameters such as the producer's traditions, experience, exchange of ideas, advice from the past, and knowledge of geography. Especially considering the fact that climatic conditions change extremely fast, it becomes extremely difficult to obtain high efficiency from the lands cultivated with traditional methods as before.

Thus, solution methods are started to be used in the production of agricultural products, where analyzes can be carried out on a digital basis. In said digital-based solutions, factors such as analysis of soil, weather, production area, transportation, product variety, seeding-planting, risk, sustainability and sales amount, making production planning, planning the producer-consumer logistics connection on a local scale, not reaching the target consumer within the local-regional influence areas by the producer are among the main factors that should be taken as reference. However, in today's solutions, an ecosystem-based design created over local-regional geographic data and producer network is ignored.

In the state of the art, in the document attached to the document with the number of US6691135 (B2), it is mentioned a method and system for automated tracing of an agricultural product. In the application, at least one of pre-planting information, planting information, growing information, harvesting information, chemical information, weather information, adjacent crop information, processing information, producing information and retail information is stored in data storage. The stored information is arranged to provide a data profile associated with a particular crop for a defined geographic area. A storage identifier is associated with the arranged data profile for the particular crop. The storage identifier identifies at least one of a container and segregated storage bin for holding a particular crop for a tracked (e.g., an assigned) time duration. However, the method protected in the relevant application encompasses the analysis and postproduction stocking processes for the production of agricultural products. It does not comprise any process steps for the access of agricultural products to the customer. In addition, the application does not mention mapping and utilizing the geographic information system (GIS).

In the state of the art, another document attached to the document with the publication number of US9268423 (B2) mentions the definition and use of node-based shapes, areas and windows on touch screen devices. In the application, a method and system are presented which will detect combinations of user touches on a touch screen device as nodes, and will create shapes, areas and windows from these nodes. Where the device has a communications capability, the locally defined shapes, areas, and windows can be shared with remote users and databases, and similarly shapes, areas and windows created by others can be viewed on a local display. The method and system are of particular benefit to drawing applications, windows definition on touch screen devices, real estate management, navigation, and exploitation of mapping resources. In the application, mapping and geographic information system (GIS) for agricultural activities are also mentioned superficially. Even if the application is similar to our invention in terms of purpose, it does not comprise any details regarding mapping and geographic information system (GIS). In addition, when the scope of protection is examined, only the definition and usage features are emphasized.

Consequently, in addition to disadvantages mentioned above, the insufficiency of available solutions necessitated making improvement in the related technical field.

Objects of the Invention

Inspired by the current situation, the present invention aims to solve the problems experienced by the producers of ecological production regarding analysis, planning, production planning, storage, logistics, creating sales channels, and information-based guidance.

The main object of the present invention is to provide an operating method of information and management system that enables production, storage, creating sales network and logistics network and making sales in the light of spatial data analysis in the process of transporting agricultural products from the field to the consumer. This situation necessitates cost-benefit analysis, healthy data documentation, and current situation analysis. In addition to all these, the use of these tools and methods in the making of future-oriented projects constitutes a proactive planning process whose importance gradually increases.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an operating method of creating ecological crop production, storage, sales network and logistics network, sales information and management system based on geographic information system (GIS) that enables the collection, standardization, management, questioning and product analysis of the data needed by the producer according to the region where ecological agricultural products will be produced, that helps to plan the production and produce the crops in accordance with the analysis results, that enables planning and optimization in post-production logistics and storing, and that provides knowledgebased guidance in order to create new sales channels.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an operating method of creating ecological crop production, storage, sales network and logistics network and sales information and management system that enables the producer to produce, store, create and sell agricultural products without being dependent on unscientific and unpredictable parameters that will give precise results.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an operating method of creating ecological crop production, storage, sales network and logistics network and sales information and management system that enables the producer to obtain high yielding products from his/her lands.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an operating method of creating ecological crop production, storage, sales network and logistics network, and sales information and management system that allows the producer to perform analysis of soil, weather, production area, transportation, product variety, seeding-planting, risk, sustainability and sales amount, make production planning, plan the producerconsumer logistics connection on a local scale, reach the target consumer within the local-regional influence areas. Small-scale local producers of ecological production are provided to analyze the above-mentioned data with a GIS (Geographic Information System)-based holistic design.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an operating method of creating ecological crop production, storage, sales network and logistics network and sales information and management system that allows the producer to produce, store, create and sell agricultural products, sales network and logistics network, with an ecosystembased design created over local-regional geographical data and producer network.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an operating method of creating ecological crop production, storage, sales network and logistics network and sales information and management system that allows the consumer and producer to meet within the regionally and locally defined zones, designed as a "producer network ecosystem" by enabling the producer to use the resources in effective, efficient, and sustainable methods as a result of the analysis.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an operating method of creating production, storage, sales network and logistics network and sales information and management system applicable to all kinds of industries (construction, architecture, finance, education, energy, health, retail, logistics, etc.) that require spatial data analysis. The method can also be applied to industries other than agriculture by means of the principle of producing information by synthesizing analysis data and spatial data in a multiple querying environment.

The Figures to Assist in Understanding the Invention

Figure 1 is the representative view of the areas created by the inventive information and management system operating method depending on the location.

Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, the inventive operating method of creating ecological crop production, storage, sales network and logistics network, and sales information and management system, and /or preferred embodiments thereof are explained only for a better understanding of the subject without constituting any limiting effect.

A geographic information system (GIS) based operating method of creating ecological crop production, storage, sales network and logistics network and sales information and management system that enables agricultural products to be produced, stored, sold, and creating sales network and logistics network comprises the following process steps of;

• collecting and recording agricultural technique data, product data, economic data, estimation data and instant data to the database,

• saving the location information entered by the producer by the application,

• performing analysis by the application by using the information kept in the database according to the producer's planting location and product,

• presenting the production suggestions obtained as a result of the analysis carried out to the producer over the application,

• determining the location of logistics and/or storage companies around the producer according to the location of the producer after the information that the agricultural product is produced is entered into the application,

• presenting the locations of the determined logistics and/or storage companies to the producer via the application over the map based on the geographic information system (GIS),

• contacting the logistics and/or storage companies around the producer according to the location of the producer and presenting delivery planning suggestions by the application,

• identifying the areas containing the points where agricultural products can be purchased in accordance with the location information of the people who desire to purchase agricultural products,

• presenting to the people who desires to purchase agricultural products, points where they can purchase agricultural products within the areas defined according to their locations on the map as based on a geographic information system (GIS) by the application,

• sending notification to the seller by the application by entering the order information of the people who desire to purchase agricultural products.

After the process step of presenting the production suggestions obtained as a result of the analysis carried out to the producer over the application, The producer can perform production by considering these suggestions or he/she can obtain the agricultural product by making additions and deductions in the recommended ways based on his/her own experience.

After the information that the agricultural product is produced is entered to the application, in the process step of presenting the locations of the logistics and/or storage companies to the producer via the application on the map based on the geographic information system (GIS), by determining them according to the location information that the producer is entered, producer can choose a company or use the company recommendation given by the application. In fact, at this point, the producer may choose to sell all the agricultural products he/she produces directly to the end customer by storing and providing the logistics.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, remote sensing tools such as UAV (Drone-Unmanned aerial vehicle), satellite image, aerial photographs, videos, Lidar (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) are used in order to collect agricultural technique data, product data, economic data, estimation data, and instant data. In addition, as it can be obtained from 3rd party portals, the producer can both store information and direct the production based on his/her own experience by means of entering information into the database over the application. Obtained data are collected, controlled, standardized, stored, and kept up to date for analyzes such as soil classes, land capability classes, crop variety distribution, and total harvest estimation.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, said agricultural technique data comprises the information of seeding-planting-harvesting characteristics, soil condition, cropping, crop harvest amount; the economic data comprises the information of number of potential customers, sales amount and price, and price optimization of the past periods, estimation data comprises the information of market-product-consumer- service segmentation, regional weather information, sales revenue data, weather estimation in the possible plant and harvest period, and seasonal production need; crop data comprises the information of origin, genus, species, organicism and the period of remaining fresh of the product; and instant data comprises the data of similar crop planting locations available during the period. However, since all these data can be derived after the implementation of the present invention (e.g. required, product data's origin, type, species, organic etc. properties), sub-titles of these basic data titles may vary according to the requirements, diversity, current situations or climate changes.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the recording of the location information entered by producer by the application, the vector image consisting of the points, lines and areas that determine the geographical location of the producer and the geographical coordinate data (X, Y) are recorded.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, after the producer's location information is saved in the application, data standardization is carried out by selecting the information to be used in the database by the application according to the location where the producer will plant, and to the crop chosen to be produced.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in performing analysis by the application by using the information kept in the database according to the producer's planting location and product, graphical and non-graphical verbal data are visualized as 2D and/or 3D maps by using image processing, data management and data integration with ArcGis Pro and/or ArcMap GIS software. In this configuration, 2 and/or 3 dimensional maps obtained when the production suggestions obtained as a result of the analysis are presented to the producer through the application are also presented to the user. The results can be shared on the Internet, mobile applications, and social media. Thus, other producers in the environment can also be directed.

With the above-mentioned geographic information system-based software, data transfer is provided with an additional web service to the application where integrated producer data entry is made. Producers are able to perform product sales-order and logistics management with the order management system software integrated with the Geographic Information System.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, subsequent to the process step of sending notification to the seller, after the seller confirms that the order has been sent, the application informs the buyer that the order has been sent.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, said order information includes address, price and payment data.

By means of the inventive application, production, order management, logistics management, storing, corporate customer (restaurant, hotel, cafe, etc.) and retail customer planning can be performed.

While production data, site-specific data and geographic data are used in production planning, in addition to these, corporate and individual customer/consumer data can be used in order management, logistics management, storing, corporate customer (restaurant, hotel, cafe, etc.), and retail customer planning.

The areas mentioned in the invention are the regions that show the places and information needed away from the near geography, which are defined dynamically according to the location on the map. If desired, it can also be shown as more than one sub-zone at a certain diameter. In Figure 1 , these sub-zones are illustrated representatively.

With the inventive application, customers can ask producers, logistics companies and/or storage companies about the product and delivery and receive answers. By approving their products, producers can ensure their desired features stand out. Producer information, production and harvesting methods can be reported to the customer.

Options can be provided to customers for payment transactions.

An interaction is also created within the producer, consumer and sector with the present invention. Information is stored in the database in the interaction with the producer. These are, for example, production data, site-specific data and geographic data. Production data may be type, seeding-planting time, harvest time, harvest frequency, sales period, annual/monthly/weekly/daily production amount, the period of remaining fresh of the product, total planted area of the crop, customer locations of the product, and weekly cargo usage frequency/amount. Soil structure, climate and weather forecasts may be used as site-specific data. In geographical data, the production location (X, Y coordinates and location data) data may be used. Subsequently, all these data are standardized by the application and used. Also, producer-oriented geographic information system (GlS)-based mapping is also included in the invention. Data management, multiple querying, localized analyses, production-sales-income-demand estimations, price optimization, market-product- consumer-service segmentation, logistics and storing optimization, product sales and logistics route optimization, decision making based on information and proactive planning for the future are made possible with information storage, analysis, standardization and geographic information system (GIS) based mapping. All these advantages bring along production, logistics, and order management. Consequently, by means of the invention, production costs are reduced, product loss is reduced, new sales channels are created, healthy food becomes accessible to everyone, transportation costs are reduced, small and medium-sized producers are supported, income opportunities increase in rural areas for the production of non-toxic, ecological balance and biodiversity products supported by production-management-marketing- planning, an especially for the young population, the attractiveness of reverse migration (from cities to villages) increases. In consumer-oriented interactions, it is possible for corporate and individual consumers to access agricultural products. Consumers, such as hotels, restaurants and markets, who can make mass and continuous purchases, will be able to directly reach the producers in their areas created based on location data with geographic information system (GIS) based mapping. Individual consumers who reach healthy food, are educated, have small children, have mid-high-income status, are digitally literate and eat healthy can also reach the producer in the same way.

In sectoral interaction, the logistics, cold storage, gastronomy, and retail sectors will establish contact with each other by means of the present invention.

Table 1 : producer-consumer-sector interaction and data table of operating method of creating ecological crop production, storage, sales network and logistics network and sales information and management system

A preferred configuration of the present invention operates as follows;

At least one of the information of soil condition, weather forecasting, seasonal production needs, seeding-planting-harvesting characteristics, the period of remaining fresh of the product, similar crop planting locations and quantity available during the period, number of potential customers, sales amount and price information for previous periods are kept in the database for the products that can be produced and the fields to be used. The producers select a product and enters the location information into the application, the location information of the producer is recorded in the database. Then, according to the location where the producer will plant and the product selected to produce, data standardization is carried out by the application by selecting the ones to be used from the information in the database and analysis is performed by the application with these data. The data obtained as a result of the analysis and the recommended route(s) are presented to the producer. As a result of the analysis, for example, estimations such as production, sales, income, demand, and price optimization are presented to the user and an information-based guidance is provided. After the producer harvests his/her products, he/she enters into application that the harvest is over and the amount of product he/she has obtained. The application determines the locations of the logistics and/or storage companies around the producer according to the previously recorded producer location (place, location). Then, the locations of these determined logistics and/or storage companies are reported to the producer over a map based on geographic information system (GIS). Thus, the producer sees the information and locations of the companies around which he/she can do business. This information may also include the relevant product stock of the relevant company. Subsequently, suggestions are made to the producer to contact these logistics and/or storage companies and to plan the delivery. While determining these suggestions, criteria such as price, proximity, etc. can be taken into account.

If the buyer (customer) is on the side of the buyer - these customers can be corporate, individual or storages that desire to buy the producer's product, or logistics companies that desire to transport it - first of all, location information is obtained. Then, as in Figure 1 , the areas with products requested by the customer according to that location are determined by the application. A locally defined producer network ecosystem is created by determining the area according to proximity. Next, within these defined areas, the locations that have the product requested by the customer are offered to the customer on the map. Mapping operations are carried out based on geographic information system (GIS). During the ordering, the customer enters the address, price, payment and order information and this appears as a notification to the seller. When the seller confirms that the payment has been received and/or sends (ships) the order, this time a notification is sent to the buyer.

The inventive application is called "ECOLIC FARM". Thus, a geographic information system (GlS)-based solution is provided that enables local development and delivers clean, fair, reliable food from farm to fork in the light of its sustainable, social/environmental impact mission.

By means of the present invention, producer and consumer can communicate directly by using local-regional geographical data and producer network, and ecological producers can use their resources in an effective, efficient, and sustainable way by performing GIS-based analysis. With the invention, the producer, the sender, and the customer can be brought together on a virtual application environment that preferably runs on a mobile device. Decision making processes based on information are performed by evaluating graphical and/or non-graphical verbal data together.