JP2001344499A - Method and system for point service - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a point service method which can provide points common to stores of plural companies. SOLUTION: A common center 3 receives an application for entry and issues a membership IC card which is usable in common to the stores of plural affiliated companies. Store terminals 1 at the stores of the respective companies give pints to membership cards 5 of members according to the members purchase articles or services. The common center 3 when requested to exchange points stored on a membership cared 5 with a gift makes one of the affiliated company to supply the article or service to the member.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a point service method for executing a loyalty program (point service) for supplying points to a customer according to purchase of a product or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a company or the like issues a membership card to its own customers, and a point service that gives points according to the purchase amount every time a member presents a membership card by presenting the membership card. The system has been realized. The points provided to the customer can be exchanged for prizes or the like provided by the company.

[0003]

In the point service system as described above, since each company provides its own service, the customer holds a plurality of cards issued for each company that provides the point service. It had to be complicated. Also, the membership card can be used only at the store of the company, and the exchangeable prizes are often products of the company, etc., so that the convenience is not good for customers. Also, there has been a demand on the corporate side to expand the customer base, and a mechanism for realizing it has been required. Therefore, realization of a point service that can be used in common by different companies has been desired.

[0004] However, if each member company constructs and operates its own system, the burden on each company is great.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a point service method and the like that can provide a common point service at stores of a plurality of companies. Another object of the present invention is to provide a point service method and the like that can provide a point service highly convenient for members. It is another object of the present invention to provide a point service method and the like that can reduce the load on each company in implementing the point service. It is another object of the present invention to provide a point service method and the like that can expand a customer group for a company.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, a point service method according to a first aspect of the present invention is a point service method for performing a common point service at a plurality of member companies, The service management organization accepts the membership application, issues a member storage medium that can be commonly used in the stores of the plurality of member companies, and responds to the purchase of a product or service by the member in the store of each member company. Receiving the request to exchange the points supplied to the storage medium for a prize, and causing the member company to supply goods or services to the member in response to a request to exchange the points supplied to the storage medium for a prize.

According to such a configuration, by distributing a storage medium such as one IC card that can be used by a plurality of member companies to the member, the member is treated as a common member for the plurality of member companies, Each member company can provide a common point service (loyalty program). This eliminates the need for members to have multiple cards for each company as in the past, and is a common point for multiple companies, making it easier to collect points and to offer a wide range of products offered by member companies. Since a prize can be selected from among them, a highly convenient point service can be realized. In addition, the service management organization issues point-of-sale services, such as issuing storage media for members and exchanging premiums, so that each member company can create and operate point-service systems without having to build and operate point-service systems individually. Because it can be realized, the burden on each company can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to expand the customer base for the company.

[0008] The points supplied to the storage medium may include at least one of a point accumulated in the storage medium and a point managed by a point issuer as a point of the storage medium.

[0009] Further, the number of points that the service management organization has permitted to use for each member company or the store of each member company,
The number of points that each member company's store has supplied to members, point grant information on point supply to members, purchase information on goods or services purchased at each member company's store, and prize exchange on exchange of points and prizes At least one of the information and the information may be centrally managed in the service operation organization.

In the service management organization, marketing analysis may be performed based on the centrally managed information, and the analysis result may be supplied to each member company or a marketing agency service may be supplied to each member company. .

[0011] The service operating organization may permit the member company or the store of the member company to use a part of the memory area of the member's storage medium upon request.

[0012] The point price of points permitted to be used by the member company or the store of the member company, a commission based on the sales amount of the goods or services, and The service management organization may collect at least one of a fee for the memory area of the storage medium and a fee for supplying the result of the marketing analysis or for providing the marketing analysis agency service from the member company.

[0013] Further, a point service system according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises a store terminal installed in a store of each member company, a joint center connected to each of the store terminals,
A point service system for performing a common point service in a plurality of member companies, wherein the joint center accepts an application for membership and is a member service that can be commonly used in stores of the plurality of member companies. Means for issuing a storage medium, and means for receiving a request to exchange points accumulated in the storage medium for a prize, and requesting a computer of a member company which handles the prize to supply goods or services to members. Wherein the store terminal includes means for supplying points to the member's storage medium in response to purchase of a product or service.

According to such a configuration, by distributing a storage medium such as an IC card that can be used by a plurality of member companies to the member, the member is treated as a common member for the plurality of member companies, Each member company can provide a common point service (loyalty program). This eliminates the need for members to have multiple cards for each company as in the past, and is a common point for multiple companies, making it easier to collect points and to offer a wide range of products offered by member companies. Since a prize can be selected from among them, a highly convenient point service system can be realized. In addition, the service management organization issues point-based services such as issuing storage media for members and exchanging prizes, so that each member company does not individually build and operate a system for point services, and Therefore, the burden on each company can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to expand the customer base for the company.

[0015] The joint center may include at least one of point grant information relating to point supply to members, purchase information relating to goods or services purchased at stores of each member company, and prize exchange information relating to exchange of points and prizes. The centralized management may be performed, marketing analysis may be performed based on the centrally managed information, and the analysis result may be supplied to each member company or the marketing agency service may be supplied to each member company.

According to a request, the joint center may permit the member company or the store of the member company to use a part of the memory area of the member's storage medium.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a point service system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a system configuration diagram of the point service system according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the point service system includes a store terminal 1 installed at each store of a plurality of member companies and an operating organization (or a company or the like) that operates a point service (loyalty program).
And a membership card 5 distributed to customers (member customers) who have performed predetermined enrollment procedures. The type of network to which these are connected is arbitrary, such as a dedicated line, a public line, the Internet,
(Local area network), WAN (wide area network)
k), including wireless communication networks using infrared rays and the like. A member company refers to a company that participates in the point service provided by the present system.

The store terminal 1 is a terminal for giving points to the member card 5 in accordance with the purchase of a product or service by a member customer, and is connected to an IC card reader / writer.

The store terminal 1 performs a process for purchasing points to be supplied to members from the joint center 3. The store terminal 1 transmits a point purchase request including, for example, the number of requested points, the store code of the store, the company code of the member company to which the store belongs, and the like to the joint center 3. And
For example, a point supplied from the joint center 3 is received and stored in a storage unit (not shown).

The timing of transmission of the point purchase request is arbitrary. For example, the point purchase request is input by a clerk, at predetermined time intervals, or the number of points that the store terminal 1 can supply to the member becomes less than a certain point. Sometimes, it may be. The number of requested points may be a preset numerical value or may be input by a clerk or the like.

The shop terminal 1 gives points to the member card 5 at a predetermined rate in accordance with the purchase of a product or service by a member. At this time, the store terminal 1 may check whether the accumulated value of the provided points does not exceed the number of purchased points, and perform predetermined error processing such as stopping the point provision when the total value exceeds the number of purchased points. Good. The content of the rate is arbitrary, and for example, one point may be supplied for a purchase price of 100 yen.

In addition, the store terminal 1 stores a company code, a store code, and a card I of a purchaser's membership card 5 as shown in FIG.
D, purchase information including a purchase amount, and point providing information including a supply point number, a store terminal number, a store code, and the like, for example, as shown in FIG. 2B, are generated, stored, and stored. Then, the untransmitted portion of the accumulated purchase information and point giving information is stored at a predetermined timing in the joint center 3.
Send to

In addition, in response to an input of a point redemption request for exchanging points for prizes (products, services, etc.), the store terminal 1 receives a predetermined number of points from the number of points recorded on the member card 5. In addition, point redemption information including the number of points to be redeemed, a commodity code of a prize to be exchanged for points, a card ID, and the like as shown in FIG. 3 is generated, accumulated, and stored. And
An untransmitted portion of the accumulated point redemption information is transmitted to the joint center 3 at a predetermined timing.

The joint center 3 has a function of managing the entire system, and includes a point management unit 31 and a marketing unit 33. The point management unit 31 includes, for example, a member database that stores member information including a customer's name, address, card ID, and the like for each member, as shown in FIG. 4, and a company code and a store code, for example, as shown in FIG. And a point management database for storing point management information including the number of sales points and the number of actual points for each store. Here, the number of sales points indicates the number of points sold by the joint center 3 to the store.
The actual number of points indicates the number of points the store has given to the member.

When receiving a membership application from a customer, the point management unit 31 creates member information, registers it in the member database, and issues a member card 5 to the member. The membership application may be received from the store terminal 1 of the store that has received the membership application from the customer, or may be directly received from the customer via the Internet or the like.

Further, the point management section 31 stores the shop terminal 1
When a point purchase request is received, the requested points are generated and supplied to the store terminal 1. Further, in the point management database, the point management information of the store that sold the points is specified, and the number of sales points of the point management information is updated.

Further, the point management section 31 stores the shop terminal 1
A member company that accepts point redemption information from and stores it in a predetermined database, reads out the address and name of the corresponding member in the member database based on the card ID and the like, and provides prizes exchanged for points. The information such as the member's address and name, the product code of the prize, and the like are transmitted to the computer of the (privilege provider) together with the prize shipping request.

Also, the point management section 31 stores the shop terminal 1
The purchase information and the point giving information are received from and stored in a predetermined database. Further, in the point management database, based on the store code or the like included in the point grant information, specify the corresponding point management information,
Update the number of actual points. In addition, the point management unit 31 checks the presence or absence of improper point addition or the like for each store by comparing the number of sales points and the number of actual points.

In the present system, the commission on points paid by each store is the sum of the point price of the purchased points and the commission based on the sales amount of the products and the like. The rate for calculating the point price is arbitrary, and may be, for example, 0.6 yen per point. Also, the rate for calculating the commission based on the sales amount is arbitrary, and may be, for example, an amount equivalent to 0.8% of the sales amount.

The point award rate (how many points are awarded to members for how much sales) is set by each company (store), for example. For example, in the above-described calculation rate, if store a gives 1 point for sales 100 yen and store b gives 2 points for sales 100 yen, each store bears 800 yen of sales. The point price for the store a is 11.2 yen (=
6.4 yen (800 x 0.8) + 4.8 yen (8 x 0.
6)) and store b is 16.0 yen (= 6.4 yen (80
(0 × 0.8) +9.6 yen (16 × 0.6)), and it is possible to take preferential treatment for a company (store) that develops with a higher point award rate. Further, the point giving rate may be fixed for all companies (stores). In addition, the joint center 3 bills each store at a predetermined timing for each of the point price and the commission based on the sales amount.

The marketing unit 33 processes and analyzes data based on member information and purchase information held by the joint center 3 in response to a request from each member company, for example, and sends the result to each member company. provide. Further, based on each information held by the joint center 3, a promotion such as a direct mail or a questionnaire may be performed, or the promotion may be performed instead. In addition, a fee may be charged to each company (store) for processing related to marketing.

As shown in FIG. 6, the membership card 5 issued by the joint center 3 has an IC chip in which an IC chip including a memory 51, a control unit 52, and an input / output control unit 53 is embedded.
Consists of cards.

The storage area of the memory 51 is a common area E
1 and an individual area E2. The common area E1 is an area used for the point service provided by the present system. In addition to the point service application, for example, points, customer attribute information (card ID, name, address, etc.), purchase The history and the like are stored. Further, in the individual area E2, each member company or the store of each member company individually receives a part of the storage area and borrows a predetermined application in the area, so that the member company or the store of the member company can be rented. It is for providing unique services to members. The individual area E2 can optionally use attribute information of the common area E1 according to a predetermined information protection rule.

The control unit 52 responds to the reception of the point read request from the store terminal 1 and
The point stored in 1 is read and transmitted. Also,
In response to receiving a point writing request or the like from the store terminal 1, the points and the like stored in the common area E1 of the memory 51 are updated.

The control unit 52 activates a corresponding application in the individual area E2 in response to a predetermined request. Further, the input / output control unit 53 controls data communication with the shop terminal 1.

Next, the flow of each process in the point service system will be described. First, a membership enrollment process for accepting an enrollment application from a customer and issuing a membership card 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

For example, in a store of a member company, the store terminal 1 accepts an application for joining from a customer (S1). The store terminal 1 checks the contents of the application (customer's name, address, etc.) from the customer (S2), and if an error is detected, performs predetermined error processing such as rejecting the membership (S2).
3). If the check result is normal, the fact is displayed on the shop terminal 1 and the clerk receives a membership fee from the customer, and then inputs a request for transmission of the membership application of the shop terminal 1. In response, the shop terminal 1 transmits the enrollment application data indicating the application content to the joint center 3 (S4).

Upon receiving the enrollment application data from the shop terminal 1 (S5), the joint center 3 creates member information based on the received data and registers it in the member database (S5).
6). Then, the joint center 3 reads out new member information from the member database at a predetermined timing, and issues the member card 5 based on the read data (S).
7). The issued membership card 5 is mailed to the member.

In addition, the joint center 3 tabulates the enrollment fee paid at the store for each store on a monthly basis (S11), and transmits a request for the enrollment fee to the store terminal 1 of each store (S1).
2). In response to this, each store terminal 1 performs, for example, a payment process of paying the requested amount to the joint center 3 via a predetermined settlement institution or the like (S13), and the joint center 3 receives the enrollment fee from each store. Receiving (S14).

An application for membership may be received directly from a customer via the Internet or the like. In this case, the customer accesses the joint center 3 from a personal computer or the like via the Internet, inputs necessary items on a predetermined input screen, and applies for membership. The joint center 3 checks the contents of the application and performs error processing if an error is detected. When the check result is normal, the joint center 3 performs a predetermined payment process according to the payment method of the enrollment fee selected by the customer, and issues the membership card 5.

When the payment method at the store is selected as the payment method of the enrollment fee, the enrollment fee is paid at a certain store, and in the same manner as described above, the enrollment fee is calculated based on the enrollment fee for each store by the joint center 3 every month. The money request is transmitted to each store terminal 1 and an enrollment fee from each store is received. When the credit method is selected as the payment method, information such as the customer's credit number and the amount of the enrollment fee is transmitted to the credit company or the like.

Next, a point purchase process in which the store terminal 1 purchases points to be supplied to members from the joint center 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The store terminal 1 transmits a point purchase request including a company code, a store code, and the like to the joint center 3 (S21). The joint center 3 receives the point purchase request from the store terminal 1 (S22),
The requested points are generated and transmitted to the shop terminal 1 (step S23). The shop terminal 1 stores the points received from the joint center 3 (Step S24). Further, the joint center 3 updates the number of sales points in the point management information of the store that sold the points (S25).

The timing of point sales, the number of sales points, and the like are set in advance in the joint center 3 as parameters.
May automatically sell points.

The joint center 3 totals the number of sales points for each store every month (S31), and transmits a request for the point price to the store terminal 1 of each store (S32). In response to this, each store terminal 1 performs, for example, a payment process of paying the requested amount to the joint center 3 via a predetermined settlement institution or the like (S33), and the joint center 3 receives the point price from each store. Receiving (S34).

Next, a point giving process in which the shop terminal 1 gives points to the member card 5 will be described with reference to FIG. For example, the member purchases a product at a certain store, pays the price, and gives the member card 5 to the clerk. The clerk sets the member card 5 of the member on the store terminal 1 and inputs the purchase price. In response, the store terminal 1
Calculates the number of points to be given to the member card 5 according to a predetermined rate (for example, 1 point per 100 yen of sales amount), and transmits a writing request for giving points to the member card 5 (S41). In response, the member card 5 updates the number of points and the like in the memory 51 (S4).
2).

The store terminal 1 includes purchase information including a card ID, a company code, a store code, a purchase amount, and the like read from the member card 5, the number of supply points, the store terminal number of the store terminal 1, the store terminal. Point creation information including the store code (store name) of the store where 1 is provided is created, accumulated, and stored (S43). And
At a predetermined timing (for example, once a day or the like), untransmitted purchase information and point giving information are extracted from the accumulated data and transmitted to the joint center 3 (S44).

The joint center 3 receives and stores the purchase information and the point giving information from the shop terminal 1 (S45,
S46). At this time, based on the number of supply points included in the point provision information, the actual point number of the point management information of the corresponding store is also updated.

Further, the joint center 3 tabulates the sales amount for each store every month (S51), and stores the total amount in the store terminal 1 of each store.
Commission based on sales amount (eg, 0.8% of sales amount)
Etc.) are transmitted (S52). In response to this, each store terminal 1 performs, for example, a payment process of paying the requested amount to the joint center 3 via a predetermined settlement institution or the like (S5).
3) The joint center 3 receives a commission from each store (S54).

Next, the store terminal 1 displays that the member is a member card 5
The point redemption process for exchanging the points stored in the prize for prizes will be described with reference to FIG. For example, in a store of a member company, the store terminal 1 receives a point redemption application from a member (S61). Store terminal 1
Transmits a write request to the member card 5 to reduce the applied number of return points from the number of points held by the card (S62). In response, the member card 5 updates the number of points and the like in the memory 51 (S63).

The shop terminal 1 creates and stores point redemption information indicating the contents of the application (the number of redemption points, the commodity code of the premium, the card ID, etc.) (S64). And
At a predetermined timing (for example, once a day or the like), untransmitted point redemption information is extracted from the accumulated data and transmitted to the joint center 3 (S65). The joint center 3 is a store terminal 1
And stores the point redemption information (S66,
S67). Also, while updating the corresponding member information in the member database, reading out the member's address and name, etc., the information of the member's address and name, the product code of the gift, etc. is provided to the computer of the privilege providing company which handles the prize. (S68, S6)
9). In response, the computer of the benefit provider will
A process for mailing the designated premium to the member is performed (S
70).

Further, the joint center 3 totals the number of return points for each privilege providing company every month (S71), and pays each privilege providing company at a predetermined rate (for example, 0.6 yen per point). The amount to be paid (reward point price) is calculated, and payment processing is performed to pay the calculated amount to each privilege providing company via a predetermined settlement institution (S72). Receiving (S73).

Further, at the store where the member has applied for the point redemption, the points of the member card 5 may be exchanged for merchandise, gift certificates, vouchers and the like at the store. In this case, since the prize is directly delivered to the member at the store, there is no need for a request for shipping the prize by the joint center 3 or mailing of the prize by the privilege providing company. In this case, the joint center 3 totals the number of redemption points for each store every month, calculates a redemption point price based on the totaled result, and pays the calculated amount to each store.

In this way, a member is treated as a common member for a plurality of member companies, one member card 5 is issued to each member, and a common point service is provided for each member company. As a result, the member does not need to have a plurality of cards for each company as in the related art, and since the points are common to a plurality of companies, points can be easily collected.
In addition, prizes can be selected from abundant products provided by the member companies. In addition, the joint center 3 operates a point service, and centrally manages member information of all members, information on purchase of goods and the like, information on prize exchange, and the like. As a result, the point service can be realized without reducing the burden on each company, without each member company individually constructing and operating a system for the point service (loyalty program). In addition, since member information and transaction-related information centrally managed by the joint center 3 or information obtained by processing and analyzing such information can be provided to each member company, highly accurate marketing can be realized. In addition, by providing an area for each company to provide its own service in the IC card, multipurpose use of the IC card can be achieved, and a composite service can be provided.

The settlement of the enrollment fee, the price of the product, etc., the price and commission of the points, the price of the redemption points, etc.
Various settlement means such as credit settlement, electronic money settlement, debit settlement and the like may be used.

In the above description, points are purchased for each store, but points may be purchased for each company. In this case, a predetermined computer of the company transmits a point purchase request to the joint center 3, and the joint center 3 manages sales points and the like for each company.

The store terminal 1 may transmit the purchase information, the point grant information, the point redemption information, and the like to the joint center 3 in real time.

The store terminal 1 can also be realized by a device other than the dedicated device (a personal computer to which an IC card reader / writer is connected). Further, the function of transmitting an application for membership, purchase information, and the like to the joint center 3 may be realized by, for example, a facsimile or a telephone.

In the above embodiment, an IC card is used as a storage medium for storing points. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and another storage medium may be used. For example, points may be stored in a storage unit such as a mobile phone or a mobile terminal owned by each member.

The stores also include, for example, virtual stores that are operated by companies on the Internet and that sell products and the like. When the present invention is applicable to a system via the Internet, for example, a member accesses a site of a store provided on a network such as the Internet from a personal computer or the like, purchases a product or the like in the store, and purchases a product in the store. Receive points from servers and so on. The points may be stored in a storage unit such as a personal computer or the like.
The information may be recorded on a C card or the like, or may be managed in a joint center.

As for an application for a prize exchange via the Internet, a member may apply to the joint center 3 via a server or the like of a store.
You may apply directly to.

In principle, the points are given to the IC card. However, when the IC card cannot be used, the points may be accumulated in the joint center and downloaded to the IC card at another timing. If a point exchange request for a prize is made while the points supplied to the IC card are held at the joint center, for example, the points on the IC card and the points managed by the joint center are added up. You may make it usable. Further, only the points held in the joint center may be used for prize exchange.

The points may not be supplied to the IC card, but the points for each member may be managed by the joint center. In this case, at a certain store, the member
When a product is purchased by presenting a card (member card), the corresponding purchase information and the like are transmitted from the store terminal 1 to the joint center 3.
Sent to The joint center 3 updates the corresponding member points based on the received purchase information. In addition, when receiving a request for prize exchange, the joint center 3 subtracts a predetermined number of points from points of the corresponding member and requests the privilege providing company to supply a prize to the member.

Further, the sale of points, the billing of the sold points, the billing of commissions based on the sales amount at the store by the members, the payment of the redemption points, etc. are performed by the joint center 3.
Is performed on the store terminal 1, but is not limited to this, and may be performed on a computer of a member company that controls the store terminal 1.

It should be noted that the system of the present invention can be realized using an ordinary computer system without using a dedicated system. For example, by installing the program from a medium (floppy (registered trademark) disk, CD-ROM, or the like) storing a program for executing the above-described operation in a computer, the store terminal 1 that executes the above-described processing, The center 3 and the like can be configured. In the case where the above-described functions are realized by the OS sharing or the OS and the application being jointly used, only the part other than the OS may be stored in the medium.

Note that it is also possible to superimpose a program on a carrier wave and distribute the program via a communication network. For example, the program may be posted on a bulletin board (BBS) of a communication network and distributed via the network. Then, by starting this program and executing it in the same manner as other application programs under the control of the OS, the above-described processing can be executed.

[0066]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By distributing one IC card that can be used by multiple member companies to members, treat members as common members for multiple member companies and provide a common point service (loyalty program) for each member company be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of a point service system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a data configuration of purchase information and point grant information.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a data structure of point redemption information.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a data configuration of member information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration of point management information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a configuration of an IC card used in the point service system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a member enrollment process.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a point purchase process.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a point giving process.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a point return process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 store terminal 3 joint center 31 point management part 33 marketing part 5 member card 51 memory 52 control part 53 input / output control part

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Atsuko Kosaku 3-3-3 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo Inside NTT Data Corporation (72) Inventor Kyoko Ohira Toyosu Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo 3-3-3 F term in NTT DATA Corporation (reference) 3E042 AA01 CC02 CC06 CD04 EA01 5B049 BB11 CC36 CC38 DD04 FF08 GG04 GG07

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A point service method for performing a point service common to a plurality of member companies, wherein the service management organization accepts an application for membership and can be used in common at the stores of the plurality of member companies. Issue storage media for members, supply points to storage media of members according to purchase of goods or services by members at stores of each member company, and exchange points supplied to storage media for prizes A member service is provided to a member company in response to the request of the member, and the member service is provided to the member. 2. The point supplied to the storage medium includes at least one of a point stored in the storage medium and a point managed by a point issuer as a point of the storage medium. The point service method according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The number of points that the service management organization has permitted to use for each member company or each member company's store, the number of points that each member company's store has supplied to members, and points related to point supply to members. The service management organization centrally manages at least one of the grant information, purchase information on goods or services purchased in stores of each member company, and prize exchange information on exchange of points and prizes. The point service method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 4. The service management organization performs marketing analysis based on the centrally managed information, and supplies the analysis result to each member company or supplies a marketing agency service to each member company. The point service method according to claim 3, wherein: 5. The service management system according to claim 1, wherein the service management organization permits the member company or a store of the member company to use a part of the memory area of the storage medium of the member upon request. The point service method according to claim 1. Claim 6: The point price of points permitted to be used by the member company or the store of the member company, a fee based on the sales amount of the product or service, and the use of the member company or the store of the member company is permitted. The service management organization collects at least one of a fee for a memory area of a member's storage medium and a fee for providing a result of marketing analysis or providing a marketing agency service from a member company. The point service method according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. A point service system for providing a point service common to a plurality of member companies, comprising a store terminal installed at a store of each member company and a common center connected to each of the store terminals. The joint center receives a membership application and issues a member storage medium that can be commonly used in the stores of the plurality of member companies, and exchanges points accumulated in the storage medium for prizes. Means for receiving a request to do so, and requesting that the computer of the member company handling the prize supply the product or service to the member, the shop terminal comprising: A point service system, comprising: means for supplying points to the storage medium. 8. The joint center includes: point grant information relating to point supply to members, purchase information relating to goods or services purchased at stores of each member company, and prize exchange information relating to exchange of points and prizes. Centrally managing at least one, performing marketing analysis based on the centrally managed information, and supplying the analysis result to each member company or supplying a marketing agency service to each member company. The point service system according to claim 7. 9. The member according to claim 7, wherein the joint center permits the member company or the member company's store to use a part of the memory area of the member's storage medium upon request. The point service system described.