TWI820728B - Computerized system and computer-implemented methods for item order management - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a computerized method for item order management, including receiving an order quantity of an item; retrieving, from a data store, a bulk shipment quantity associated with the item; determining a number of bulk shipments to meet the order quantity; retrieving a number of destinations; determining a quantity of surplus shipments to form a multiple of the number of destinations; transmitting a bulk supplier order in response to the quantity of surplus shipments being less than a threshold; determining a least amount of minimum order quantities to supply a difference between the order quantity and a product of a floor round of the number of bulk shipments and the bulk shipment quantity, and transmitting a supplier order for the amount of minimum order quantities and the number of bulk shipments in response to the quantity of surplus shipments being greater than the threshold.

Description

Computerized system for item ordering management and methods of computer implementation Law

This disclosure generally relates to computerized systems and methods for item ordering and distribution management. Specifically, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to inventive and unconventional systems and methods for optimizing purchase quantities and distribution of items based on regional consumer habits.

Modern manufacturing and shipping customs allow lower unit pricing due to increased efficiencies in bulk shipping and purchasing (for example, by reducing transaction costs while maintaining sales margins). Distributors' economies of scale are often passed on to individual consumers, thereby reducing consumer costs and thereby increasing sales and profits for distributors and manufacturers.

However, supplier orders that allow for economies of scale require complex tracking and management of inventory and sales. Furthermore, sales, deliveries, and shipments are often measured in rates (eg, units sold per hour), and these rates often accelerate and decelerate rapidly. Distributors may attempt to estimate these values based on historical sales data. However, these methods ignore other variables (such as changes in warehouse storage space and capacity). ization), this is because many rapidly fluctuating data flows cannot be measured and combined to generate customized purchase orders.

Additionally, some distributors may have multiple consumer groups with different consumption habits. While bulk purchasing makes sense for some consumer groups with high consumption rates, individual purchasing may be more appropriate for other consumer groups with low consumption rates to avoid waste and other inventory costs.

The decision to purchase in bulk becomes more complicated because the goods need to be staged throughout the district in anticipation of consumer purchases. Different regions may exhibit different consumption patterns, and individually, consumption patterns may be better suited to be matched by ordering either individually or in bulk from the manufacturer. However, when multiple consumer groups are considered together, new efficiencies may arise, for example by consolidating individual orders into batches.

Because of these complexities, distributors were previously forced to accept simple computerized methods that based orders and allocations on past average sales. At the same time, distributors often intentionally overestimate requirements to ensure that customer needs are met and, in turn, customer satisfaction is maintained. However, the savings from economies of scale can be offset by over-ordering resulting in waste and unsold inventory in an attempt to avoid the complexity of managing many rapidly changing variables reported through multiple data streams.

Alternatively, to avoid wasting goods and inventory costs, some distributors default to purchasing individually from manufacturers (which prevents the benefits of economies of scale), or purchase insufficient inventory (which results in an inability to meet customer demand and shipments). schedule).

Accordingly, there is a need for improved methods and systems that optimize bulk purchase quantities while taking into account fluctuating consumption patterns, real-time data reporting of warehouse capacity, and inventory costs.

An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a computerized system for item ordering management. The computerized system includes: at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory storage medium, including instructions, which are executed by the at least one processor. causing the at least one processor to perform steps. The steps include: receiving an order quantity for an item; retrieving a batch shipment quantity associated with the item from a data store; determining a batch shipment quantity to satisfy the order quantity; retrieving a destination number; and determining a remaining shipment quantity to form a destination. Multiples of the number of places; transmit supplier orders for the batch shipment quantity and the remaining shipment quantity in response to the remaining shipment quantity being less than the threshold value; determine the minimum order quantity to supply the rounded-down sum of the order quantity and the batch shipment quantity The difference between the product of the batch shipment quantity and transmitting the supplier order for the minimum order quantity and the batch shipment quantity in response to the remaining shipment quantity being greater than the threshold.

Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a computer-implemented method of item order management, the method including: receiving an order quantity of an item; retrieving a batch shipment quantity associated with the item from a data storage; determining Bulk shipment quantity to meet the order quantity; retrieve the destination number; determine the remaining shipment quantity to form a multiple of the destination number; transmit supplier orders for the bulk shipment quantity and the remaining shipment quantity in response to the remaining shipment quantity being less than the threshold; Determine the minimum order quantity to supply the order quantity and the rounded down number of the batch shipment quantity and the round number of the batch shipment quantity The difference between the products, and the supplier order for the minimum order quantity and batch shipment quantity is transmitted in response to the remaining shipment quantity being greater than the threshold value.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a computer-implemented method of item order management. The computer-implemented method includes determining items based on planned item reservation levels and inventory levels in each of a plurality of zones. an order quantity; retrieving a bulk shipment quantity associated with an item from a data store; determining a bulk shipment quantity to satisfy the order quantity; determining unused storage for each destination within each of the plurality of zones Capacity; determining the remaining shipment quantity to form a multiple of the zone number; transmitting supplier orders for the bulk shipment quantity and the remaining shipment quantity in response to the remaining shipment quantity being less than a threshold; and zone-based planning item reservation levels and inventory levels And the bulk shipment is allocated to the destination in response to the unused storage capacity of the destination in the corresponding zone exceeding the capacity of the bulk shipment.

Other systems, methods, and computer-readable media are also discussed herein.

100:System/Block Diagram

101: Shipment Authorization Technology (SAT) System

102A:Mobile device/device/user device

102B: Computer/Device/User Device

103:External front-end system

105: Internal front-end system

107:Transportation system

107A, 107C: Mobile device/device

107B:Mobile device

109:Seller entrance

111:Shipping and Order Tracking System

113: Fulfillment Optimization (FO) System

115: Fulfillment Messaging Gateway (FMG)

117: Supply Chain Management (SCM) System

119: Warehouse Management System (WMS)

119A:Mobile device/device/tablet

119B:Mobile device/PDA/device

119C:Mobile device/device/computer

121A, 121B, 121C: Third Party Fulfillment (3PL) System

123: Fulfillment Center Authorization System (FC Auth)

125: Labor Management System (LMS)

200: Fulfillment Center (FC)

201, 222: Truck

202A, 202B, 208: Items

203: Inbound area

205:Buffer

206: Forklift

207:Unloading area

209:Selection area

210:Storage unit

211:Packaging area

213: Central area

214:Transportation agencies

215: Camp area

216:Wall

218, 220: Packaging

224A, 224B: Delivery workers

226:Car

300: Item ordering management process/process

302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, 316, 318, 320, 322, 324, 502, 504, 506, 508, 510, 512, 514, 516: Steps

402, 404, 406: Area

408, 410, 412, 414, 416: destination

500:Process

1A is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a network including computerized systems for communications-enabled shipping, transportation, and logistics operations in accordance with the disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1B illustrates a sample search results page (SRP) including one or more search results that satisfy a search request and interactive user interface elements, in accordance with disclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1C illustrates a sample single display page in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. (SDP), which includes products and information about products as well as interactive user interface elements.

FIG. 1D illustrates a sample shopping cart page including items in a virtual shopping cart and interactive user interface elements in accordance with the disclosed embodiments.

Figure IE illustrates a sample order page including items from a virtual shopping cart as well as information about purchasing and shipping and interactive user interface elements, in accordance with disclosed embodiments.

2 is an illustration of an exemplary fulfillment center configured to utilize the disclosed computerized system in accordance with the disclosed embodiments.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of an item order management process in accordance with the disclosed embodiments.

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of regional destination usage and capacity according to disclosed embodiments.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of an item order management process that analyzes inventory trends and destination capacity in accordance with disclosed embodiments.

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar parts. Although several illustrative embodiments are set forth herein, various modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example, the components and steps shown in the drawings may be replaced, added, or modified, and the examples set forth herein may be modified by replacing, reordering, removing, or adding steps of the disclosed methods. sexual methods. Therefore, the following detailed description is not only Limited to the disclosed embodiments and examples. Rather, the correct scope of the invention is defined by the appended patent claims.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems and methods for combining data from multiple data sources that can be captured or reported live in purchasing and inventory management models to automatically anticipate inventory shortages and optimize inventory allocation based on real-time conditions.

Referring to FIG. 1A , FIG. 1A illustrates a schematic block diagram 100 illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a system including a computerized system for communications-enabled shipping, transportation, and logistics operations. As shown in Figure 1A, system 100 may include various systems, each of which may be connected to one another via one or more networks. The systems may also be connected to each other via direct connections, such as using cables. The system shown includes a shipment authority technology (SAT) system 101, an external front-end system 103, an internal front-end system 105, a shipping system 107, mobile devices 107A, 107B and 107C, a seller portal 109, shipment and order tracking ( shipment and order tracking (SOT) system 111, fulfillment optimization (FO) system 113, fulfillment messaging gateway (FMG) 115, supply chain management (SCM) system 117. Warehouse management system (WMS) 119, mobile devices 119A, 119B and 119C (illustrated as located inside fulfillment center (FC) 200), ^3rd party fulfillment (3PL) systems 121A, 121B and 121C, fulfillment center authorization system (fulfillment center authorization system, FC Auth) 123 and labor management system (LMS) 125.

In some embodiments, SAT system 101 may be implemented as a computer system that monitors order status and delivery status. For example, the SAT system 101 can determine whether the order has exceeded its Promised Delivery Date (PDD), and can take steps including initiating a new order, reshipping items in the undelivered order, canceling the undelivered order, initiating and Take appropriate actions including contacting the ordering customer. The SAT system 101 may also monitor other data including outputs (eg, the number of packages shipped during a specific time period) and inputs (eg, the number of empty cartons received for shipment). SAT system 101 may also act as a gateway between different devices in system 100, enabling communication between devices such as external front-end system 103 and FO system 113 (e.g., using store-and-forward or other technologies).

In some embodiments, external front-end system 103 may be implemented as a computer system that enables external users to interact with one or more systems in system 100 . For example, in embodiments in which system 100 is capable of rendering a system to enable users to place orders for items, external front-end system 103 may be implemented as a website server that receives search requests, renders item pages, and requests payment information. . For example, the external front-end system 103 may be implemented as a software running software such as Apache Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), NGINX, etc. or multiple computers. In other embodiments, the external front-end system 103 may run custom website server software designed to receive and process requests from external devices (eg, mobile device 102A or computer 102B), based on which Request from database and its Other data stores obtain information and provide responses to received requests based on the obtained information.

In some embodiments, the external front-end system 103 may include one or more of a web caching system, a database, a search system, or a payment system. In one aspect, external front-end system 103 may include one or more of these systems, while in another aspect, external front-end system 103 may include an interface to one or more of these systems ( For example, server-to-server, database-to-database or other network connections).

An exemplary set of steps illustrated in FIGS. 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E will help illustrate some of the operations of the external front-end system 103. External front-end system 103 may receive information from systems or devices in system 100 for presentation and/or display. For example, the external front-end system 103 may host or provide one or more web pages, including a Search Result Page (SRP) (eg, FIG. 1B ), a Single Detail Page (Single Detail Page, SDP) (eg, Figure 1C), a shopping cart page (eg, Figure 1D), or an order page (eg, Figure 1E). A user device (eg, using mobile device 102A or computer 102B) can navigate to external front-end system 103 and request a search by entering information in a search box. External front-end system 103 may request information from one or more systems in system 100 . For example, the external front-end system 103 may request information from the FO system 113 that satisfies the search request. The external front-end system 103 may also request and receive (from the FO system 113) the promised delivery date or "PDD" for each product included in the search results. In some embodiments, the PDD may represent an estimate of when the packaging containing the product will arrive for use. the user's desired location, or the date on which the product is promised to be delivered to the user's desired location if ordered within a specific time period (for example, before the end of the day (11:59 p.m.)). (PDD is discussed further below with reference to FO system 113.)

The external front-end system 103 may prepare an SRP based on the information (eg, Figure IB). The SRP may include information that satisfies the search request. This could include, for example, images of products that satisfy the search request. The SRP may also include the corresponding price for each product, or information related to each product’s enhanced delivery options, PDD, weight, size, offers, discounts, etc. The external front-end system 103 may send the SRP to the requesting user device (eg, via the network).

The user device may then select a product from the SRP, such as by clicking or tapping the user interface (or using another input device) to select a product represented on the SRP. The user device can formulate a request for information on the selected product and send it to the external front-end system 103 . In response, the external front-end system 103 may request information related to the selected product. For example, the information may include additional information in addition to the information presented for the product on the corresponding SRP. This additional information may include, for example, shelf life, country of origin, weight, size, number of items in the package, handling instructions or other information about the product. The information may also include recommendations for similar products (e.g., based on extensive data and/or machine learning analysis of customers who purchased this product and at least one other product), answers to frequently asked questions, reviews from customers, manufacturing Business information, pictures, etc.

The external front-end system 103 may prepare a single detail page (SDP) based on the received product information (eg, Figure 1C). The SDP may also include, for example, "Buy Now (Buy Now)” button, “Add to Cart” button, quantity field, item images and other interactive elements. The SDP may further include a list of sellers offering the product. The list may be sorted based on the price offered by each seller, so that the seller offering to sell the product at the lowest price may be listed at the top. The list may also be sorted based on seller ranking so that the highest ranking seller may be listed at the top. Seller rankings may be developed based on a variety of factors including, for example, the seller's track record of meeting committed PDD. The external front-end system 103 may deliver the SDP to the requesting user device (eg, via a network).

The requesting user device receives an SDP listing product information. After receiving the SDP, the user device can then interact with the SDP. For example, the user of the requesting user device may click or otherwise interact with the "Add to Cart" button on the SDP. This will add the product to the shopping cart associated with the user. The user device may transmit such a request to the external front-end system 103 to add a product to the shopping cart.

The external front-end system 103 may generate a shopping cart page (eg, Figure ID). In some embodiments, the shopping cart page lists products that have been added to the virtual "shopping cart" by the user. A user device may request a shopping cart page by clicking on or otherwise interacting with an icon on an SRP, SDP, or other page. In some embodiments, the shopping cart page may list all products that have been added to the shopping cart by the user, as well as information about the products in the shopping cart, such as the quantity of each product, the unit price of each product, the Prices based on associated quantities, information about PDD, delivery methods, shipping costs, for modifying purchases UI elements for the products in the cart (e.g. deletion or modification of quantity), options for ordering additional products or setting up recurring deliveries of products, options for setting up interest payments, UI elements for continuing the purchase wait. The user at the user's device may click or otherwise interact with a user interface element (e.g., a button that reads "Buy Now") to initiate Purchase of products in shopping cart. In doing so, the user device may transmit such a request to the external front-end system 103 to initiate a purchase.

The external front-end system 103 may generate an order page (eg, FIG. 1E ) in response to receiving a request to initiate a purchase. In some embodiments, the order page relists items from the shopping cart and requests entry of payment and shipping information. For example, the order page may include a request for information about the purchaser of the items in the shopping cart (e.g., name, address, email address, phone number), information about the recipient (e.g., name, address, phone number), phone number, delivery information), shipping information (e.g., speed/method of delivery and/or collection), payment information (e.g., credit card, bank transfer, check, stored credit), request for cash receipt (e.g., outgoing for tax purposes), user interface elements, etc. The external front-end system 103 may send the order page to the user device.

The user device may enter information on the order page and click or otherwise interact with user interface elements that send the information to external front-end system 103 . The external front-end system 103 can send information from the user interface elements to different systems in the system 100 to enable new orders to be created and processed using the products in the shopping cart.

In some embodiments, the external front-end system 103 may be further configured to enable the seller to transmit and receive order-related information.

In some embodiments, internal front-end system 105 may be implemented as a computer system that enables internal users (eg, employees of an organization that owns, operates, or leases system 100 ) to interact with one or more systems in system 100 . For example, in embodiments where the system 100 is capable of rendering the system to enable users to place orders for items, the internal front-end system 105 may be implemented as a website server that enables internal users to view information regarding the orders. Diagnose and statistic information, modify item information, or check order-related statistics. For example, the internal front-end system 105 may be implemented as one or more computers running software such as Apache HTTP server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), NGINX, etc. In other embodiments, the internal front-end system 105 may run custom website server software designed to receive and process data from systems or devices illustrated in the system 100 (and other devices not illustrated). ) requests, obtain information from databases and other data stores based on those requests, and provide responses to received requests based on the obtained information.

In some embodiments, the internal front-end system 105 may include one or more of a website caching system, a database, a search system, a payment system, an analysis system, an order monitoring system, and the like. In one aspect, internal front-end system 105 may include one or more of these systems, while in another aspect, internal front-end system 105 may include an interface to one or more of these systems ( For example, server-to-server, database-to-database or other network connections).

In some embodiments, transportation system 107 may be implemented as a computer system that enables communication between systems or devices in system 100 and mobile devices 107A-107C. In some embodiments, transportation system 107 may receive information from one or more mobile devices 107A-107C (eg, cell phone, smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), etc.). For example, in some embodiments, mobile devices 107A-107C may include devices operated by delivery workers. Delivery workers (who may be permanent, temporary, or shift employees) may utilize mobile devices 107A-107C to effect delivery of packages containing products ordered by users. For example, to deliver a package, a delivery worker may receive a notification on the mobile device indicating which package to deliver and where to deliver the package. Upon arrival at the delivery location, the delivery worker may use the mobile device to locate the package (e.g., in the back of a truck or in a packaging crate), scan or otherwise capture an identifier (e.g., barcode, image) on the package , text string, radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, etc.) and the delivery packaging (e.g., by leaving the package at the front door, leaving it with a security guard, giving it to the recipient, etc.) . In some embodiments, a delivery worker may use a mobile device to capture a photo of the package and/or may use the mobile device to obtain a signature. The mobile device can send information to the transportation system 107 including information about the delivery, such as time, date, Global Positioning System (GPS) location, photos, and association with the delivery worker. identifier, an identifier associated with the mobile device, etc. Transportation system 107 may store this information in a database (not shown) for access by other systems in system 100 . In some implementations For example, the shipping system 107 may use this information to prepare tracking data and send the tracking data to other systems indicating the location of specific packages.

In some embodiments, certain users may use one type of mobile device (e.g., a permanent worker may use a dedicated PDA with custom hardware such as a barcode scanner, stylus, and other devices), Other users may use other types of mobile devices (for example, temporary workers or shift workers may use readily available mobile phones and/or smart phones).

In some embodiments, transportation system 107 may associate a user with each device. For example, the transportation system 107 may store users (represented by, for example, user identifiers, employee identifiers, or phone numbers) and mobile devices (represented by, for example, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), international mobile subscriptions, etc. The association between the identifier (International Mobile Subscription Identifier, IMSI), phone number, Universal Unique Identifier (UUID) or Globally Unique Identifier (GUID)). The transportation system 107 may use this correlation to analyze the data stored in the database in conjunction with the data received at the time of delivery to determine, among other information, the location of the worker, the efficiency of the worker, or the speed of the worker.

In some embodiments, seller portal 109 may be implemented as a computer system that enables sellers or other external entities to communicate electronically with one or more systems in system 100 . For example, the seller may utilize a computer system (not shown) to upload or provide product information, order information, contact information, etc. for products that the seller wishes to sell through the system 100 using the seller portal 109 .

In some embodiments, the shipping and order tracking system 111 may be implemented as a computer system that receives, stores, and forwards information regarding accommodating products ordered by customers (eg, by users of devices 102A-102B). Information about the location of the packaging. In some embodiments, the shipping and order tracking system 111 may request or store information from a website server (not shown) operated by the shipping company that delivers the packaging containing the product ordered by the customer.

In some embodiments, shipment and order tracking system 111 may request and store information from the system illustrated in system 100 . For example, shipment and order tracking system 111 may request information from shipping system 107 . As discussed above, the transportation system 107 may operate from one or more mobile devices 107A-107C (e.g., mobile devices) associated with one or more of a user (e.g., a delivery worker) or a vehicle (e.g., a delivery truck). telephone, smart phone, PDA, etc.) to receive information. In some embodiments, shipment and order tracking system 111 may also request information from warehouse management system (WMS) 119 to determine the location of individual products within a fulfillment center (eg, fulfillment center 200). Shipping and order tracking system 111 may request data from one or more of shipping system 107 or WMS 119, process it, and present it to devices (eg, user devices 102A and 102B) upon request.

In some embodiments, fulfillment optimization (FO) system 113 may be implemented as a computer system that stores data from other systems (e.g., external front-end system 103 and/or shipping and order tracking system 111 ). Information about customer orders. The FO system 113 may also store information describing where specific items are housed or stored. For example, some items may be stored in only one fulfillment center, while some Other items may be stored in multiple fulfillment centers. In still other embodiments, certain fulfillment centers may be designed to stock only a specific set of items (eg, fresh produce or frozen product). The FO system 113 stores this information and associated information (eg, quantity, size, receipt date, expiration date, etc.).

The FO system 113 may also calculate a corresponding promised delivery date (PDD) for each product. In some embodiments, PDD may be based on one or more factors. For example, the FO system 113 may calculate a PDD for a product based on past demand for the product (e.g., how many times the product has been ordered during a period of time), expected demand for the product (e.g., forecast demand for the product in an upcoming period of time) How many customers will order the product during the period), network-wide past demand indicating how many products have been ordered during a period of time, network-wide expected demand indicating how many products are expected to be ordered in the upcoming period, stored in each One or more counts of products in a fulfillment center 200, which fulfillment center each product is stocked by, expected or current orders for this product, etc.

In some embodiments, the FO system 113 may determine the PDD for each product periodically (e.g., every hour) and store it in a database for retrieval or sending to other systems (e.g., external front-end systems). 103. SAT system 101, shipment and order tracking system 111). In other embodiments, FO system 113 may receive electronic requests from one or more systems (eg, external front-end system 103, SAT system 101, shipping and order tracking system 111) and calculate PDD on demand.

In some embodiments, Fulfillment Messaging Gateway (FMG) 115 may be implemented as a computer system configured from one or more of system 100 A system (such as FO system 113) receives a request or response in one format or protocol, converts it into another format or protocol, and forwards it in the converted format or protocol to, for example, WMS 119 or third-party fulfillment system 121A, other systems such as 121B or 121C, and vice versa.

In some embodiments, supply chain management (SCM) system 117 may be implemented as a computer system that performs forecasting functions. For example, the SCM system 117 may be based on, for example, past demand for a product, expected demand for a product, past demand across the network, expected demand across the network, product counts stored in each fulfillment center 200 , expected orders for each product or current orders, etc. to forecast demand levels for specific products. Based on this forecast level and the volume of each product across all fulfillment centers, the SCM system 117 may generate one or more purchase orders to purchase and store sufficient quantities to meet the forecast demand for the specific product.

In some embodiments, warehouse management system (WMS) 119 may be implemented as a computer system that monitors workflow. For example, WMS 119 may receive event data from respective devices indicating discrete events (eg, devices 107A-107C or 119A-119C). For example, WMS 119 may receive event data indicating that one of the devices is used to scan a package. As discussed below with reference to fulfillment center 200 and FIG. 2 , during the fulfillment process, package identifiers (eg, barcode or RFID tag data) may be read by machines (eg, automated barcode scanners or handheld barcode scanners, RFID readers) at certain stages. scanner, high-speed camera, device such as tablet 119A, mobile device/PDA 119B, computer 119C or similar machine) to scan or read. WMS 119 converts everything that indicates the scanning or reading of a package identifier into a The package is stored in the corresponding database (not shown) along with the package identifier, time, date, location, user identifier or other information, and this information can be provided to other systems (e.g., shipping and order tracking systems 111).

In some embodiments, WMS 119 may store information that associates one or more devices (eg, devices 107A-107C or 119A-119C) with one or more users associated with system 100. For example, in some cases, the association between a user (eg, a part-time employee or a full-time employee) and a mobile device may be that the user owns the mobile device (eg, the mobile device is a smartphone). In other cases, the user's association with the mobile device may be that the user has temporary custody of the mobile device (e.g., the user signs up to lend out the mobile device at the beginning of the day, will use the mobile device during the day, and will return it at the end of the day mobile device).

In some embodiments, WMS 119 may maintain a work log for each user associated with system 100 . For example, WMS 119 can store information associated with each employee, including any assigned processes (e.g., unloading trucks, picking items from picking areas, rebin wall work, packaging items) , user identifier, location (e.g., floor or zone in fulfillment center 200), number of units the employee moves through the system (e.g., number of items picked, number of items packed), and Identifiers associated with devices (eg, devices 119A to 119C), etc. In some embodiments, WMS 119 may receive check-in information and check-out information from a timing system, such as a timing system operating on devices 119A-119C.

In some embodiments, third-party fulfillment (3PL) systems 121A-121C Represents computer systems associated with third-party providers of logistics and products. For example, while some products are stored in fulfillment center 200 (as discussed below with respect to FIG. 2 ), other products may be stored off-site, may be produced on demand, or may otherwise not be stored in fulfillment center 200 . 3PL systems 121A-121C may be configured to receive orders from FO system 113 (eg, via FMG 115) and may provide products and/or services directly to customers (eg, delivery or installation). In some embodiments, one or more of 3PL systems 121A-121C may be part of system 100, while in other embodiments, one or more of 3PL systems 121A-121C may be external to system 100 (e.g., , owned or operated by a third-party provider).

In some embodiments, the fulfillment center authorization system (FC Auth) 123 may be implemented as a computer system with various functions. For example, in some embodiments, FC Auth 123 may serve as a single-sign on (SSO) service for one or more other systems in system 100 . For example, FC Auth 123 may enable a user to log in via internal front-end system 105, determine that the user has similar privileges to access resources at shipping and order tracking system 111, and enable the user to access those privileges without A second login process is required. In other embodiments, FC Auth 123 may enable users (eg, employees) to associate themselves with specific tasks. For example, some employees may not have electronic devices (eg, devices 119A-119C) and may instead move within fulfillment center 200 between tasks and between areas during the course of a day. FC Auth 123 can be configured to enable the employees to indicate what tasks they are performing and where they are at different times of the day.

In some embodiments, the labor management system (LMS) 125 may be implemented as a computer system that stores attendance information and overtime information of employees (including full-time employees and part-time employees). For example, LMS 125 may receive information from FC Auth 123, WMS 119, devices 119A-119C, transportation system 107, and/or devices 107A-107C.

The specific configuration illustrated in Figure 1A is an example only. For example, although FIG. 1A illustrates FC Auth system 123 connected to FO system 113, not all embodiments require this specific configuration. In fact, in some embodiments, systems in system 100 may be connected to each other through one or more public or private networks including: the Internet, an intranet, a wide area network ( Wide-Area Network (WAN), Metropolitan-Area Network (MAN), wireless network compliant with Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a/b/g/n standards , leased line (leased line), etc. In some embodiments, one or more of the systems in system 100 may be implemented as one or more virtual servers implemented at a data center, server farm, or the like.

Figure 2 illustrates fulfillment center 200. Fulfillment center 200 is an example of a physical location that stores items ordered for shipment to customers. Fulfillment center (FC) 200 may be divided into multiple zones, each of which is illustrated in FIG. 2 . In some embodiments, these "zones" may be viewed as virtual divisions between different stages of the process of receiving an item, storing an item, retrieving an item, and shipping an item. Thus, although "zones" are illustrated in Figure 2, other divisions of zones may exist, and in some embodiments, Regions in Figure 2 may be omitted, duplicated or modified.

Inbound area 203 represents the area of FC 200 that receives items from sellers wishing to sell products using system 100 from Figure 1A. For example, the seller may use truck 201 to deliver items 202A and 202B. Item 202A may represent a single item large enough to occupy its own shipping pallet, while item 202B may represent a group of items stacked together on the same pallet to save space.

Workers will receive items in the inbound area 203 and may optionally inspect the items for damage and correctness using a computer system (not shown). For example, a worker may use a computer system to compare the quantities of items 202A and 202B to the quantity of items ordered. If the quantities do not match, the worker may reject one or more of items 202A or 202B. If the quantities match, the worker can move the items (using, for example, a cart, hand truck, forklift, or manually) to buffer zone 205. Buffer 205 may be a temporary storage area for items that are not currently needed in the picking area (eg, because there is a high enough quantity of this item in the picking area to meet forecast demand). In some embodiments, the forklift 206 operates to move items around in the buffer zone 205 and between the inbound zone 203 and the unloading zone 207 . If item 202A or 202B is needed in the picking area (eg, due to forecast demand), the forklift can move item 202A or 202B to unloading area 207 .

Unloading area 207 may be an area of FC 200 where items are stored before being moved to picking area 209 . A worker assigned to pick (the "picker") may approach items 202A and 202B in the pick area, use a mobile device (e.g., device 119B) to scan the barcode in the pick area and scan the barcode associated with items 202A and 202B barcode. The picker may then bring the item to picking area 209 (eg, by placing the item on a cart or transporting the item).

Picking area 209 may be an area of FC 200 where items 208 are stored on storage units 210 . In some embodiments, storage unit 210 may include one or more of physical shelving, bookshelves, boxes, shipping boxes, refrigerators, freezers, freezers, and the like. In some embodiments, picking area 209 may be organized into multiple floors. In some embodiments, workers or machines may move items into picking area 209 in a variety of ways, including, for example, stackers, lifts, conveyors, trucks, hand trucks, dollies, automated robots or devices, or manually. . For example, a picker may place items 202A and 202B on a cart or truck in unloading area 207 and deliver items 202A and 202B to picking area 209 on foot.

The picker may receive instructions to place (or "stow") items into a specific location within picking area 209 (eg, a specific space on storage unit 210). For example, a picker may scan item 202A using a mobile device (eg, device 119B). The device may instruct the picker where item 202A should be deposited, for example using a system indicating aisles, shelves and locations. The device can then prompt the picker to scan the barcode at this location before depositing item 202A in this location. The device may send (eg, via a wireless network) data to a computer system (eg, WMS 119 in FIG. 1A) indicating that item 202A has been deposited at the location by the user of device 119B.

Once the user places an order, the picker may receive instructions on device 119B to retrieve one or more items 208 from storage unit 210 . Selectors can retrieve items 208. Scan the barcode on the item 208 and place it on the transport mechanism 214. Although the transportation mechanism 214 is shown as a slide, in some embodiments, the transportation mechanism may be implemented as one or more of a conveyor belt, an elevator, a truck, a stacker, a hand truck, a cart, or the like. Item 208 may then arrive at packaging area 211.

Packaging area 211 may be the area where items are received by self-picking area 209 of FC 200 and packaged into boxes or bags for final shipment to the customer. In packing area 211, a worker assigned to receive items (a "rebin worker") will receive items 208 from picking area 209 and determine what order item 208 corresponds to. For example, a distribution worker may scan a barcode on item 208 using a device such as computer 119C. Computer 119C may visually indicate which order item 208 is associated with. For example, this may include spaces or "cells" on wall 216 that correspond to orders. Once the order is complete (eg, because the cells hold all items for the order), the dispatch worker can indicate to the packer (or "packer") that the order is complete. Packers can retrieve items from cells and place them into boxes or bags for shipping. The packer may then send the boxes or bags to hub zone 213, such as by forklift, truck, cart, trolley, conveyor belt, manual means, or other means.

Hub area 213 may be the area of FC 200 that receives all boxes or bags ("packs") from packaging area 211. Workers and/or machines in hub area 213 can retrieve packages 218 and determine which part of the delivery area each package is destined for, and route the packages to the appropriate camp area 215 . For example, if the delivery area has two smaller sub-areas, the package will go to one of the two camp areas 215. In some embodiments , a worker or machine can scan the package (eg, using one of devices 119A through 119C) to determine its final destination. Routing the package to the camp area 215 may include, for example, determining a portion of the geographic area to which the package is destined (eg, based on a zip code), and determining the camp area 215 associated with the portion of the geographic area.

In some embodiments, camp area 215 may include one or more buildings, one or more physical spaces, or one or more areas where packages are received from hub area 213 for sorting to routes and/or sub-routes. middle. In some embodiments, camp area 215 is physically separate from FC 200 , while in other embodiments, camp area 215 may form part of FC 200 .

Workers and/or machines in camp area 215 may be selected based on, for example, a comparison of the destination to existing routes and/or sub-routes, calculation of workload for each route and/or sub-route, time of day, shipping method, The cost of shipping the package 220, the PDD associated with the items in the package 220, etc. determine which route and/or sub-route the package 220 should be associated with. In some embodiments, a worker or machine may scan a package (eg, using one of devices 119A-119C) to determine its final destination. Once a package 220 is assigned to a particular route and/or sub-route, workers and/or machines may move the package 220 for shipment. In the exemplary Figure 2, camp area 215 includes trucks 222, cars 226, and delivery workers 224A and 224B. In some embodiments, truck 222 may be driven by a delivery worker 224A, where delivery worker 224A is a full-time employee delivering packages for FC 200, and truck 222 is owned, leased, or operated by the same company that owns, leases, or operates FC 200. In some embodiments, automobile 226 may be driven by a traffic Delivery workers 224B are driven by delivery workers 224B, which are "flex" or occasional workers who make deliveries as needed (eg, seasonally). Car 226 may be owned, leased, or operated by delivery worker 224B.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of an item order management process 300 in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. In some embodiments, SCM system 117 may run process 300 to generate one or more purchase orders to purchase and stock sufficient quantities to meet forecasted demand for various products.

In step 302, the SCM system 117 may receive an order quantity for the item. Order quantities may be based on, for example, historical consumption patterns and consumption plans. Although discussed with reference to process 300 for a single item type, process 300 may also accommodate order quantities of multiple items, such as orders for multiple stock keeping units (SKUs). In some embodiments, SCM system 117 may retrieve inventory information and generate order quantities based on the inventory information (rather than or based on receiving order quantities), such as by retrieving from one or more WMS 119 or FO systems 113 Inventory information. For example, the SCM system 117 may retrieve the current inventory of the SKU at the fulfillment center from the database and repeat this process for each of the multiple fulfillment centers to determine the total inventory of the SKU. The SCM system 117 may also retrieve past supplier orders and past customer purchases, for example, from the FO system 113 and calculate current inventory.

Additionally, the SCM system 117 may determine the order quantity based on the difference between current inventory and required inventory. Required inventory may be determined based on unfulfilled sales to consumers or planned sales of the SKU and planned supplier time required to deliver the goods to the fulfillment center. For example, if the SCM system 117 determines that in at least one fulfillment If there are 1,000 widgets in stock, 1,500 widgets have been purchased but have not yet been shipped to consumers, 1,500 will be purchased within a week, and the supplier needs a week to deliver the new widgets to the fulfillment center, then SCM The system 117 can determine that the order quantity is 2,000 small components (1,500 purchased + 1,500 planned purchases - 1,000 in stock = 2,000 to be ordered).

In some embodiments, the SCM system 117 may also determine the order quantity based on the required reservation amount. The required reserve amount can be the number of SKUs that are kept in stock to accommodate surges in consumer purchases. For example, a SKU may have a consumption rate of 1,000 units per week, but occasionally, the consumption rate may jump to 1,500 units per week. The required reserve can therefore be 500, minimizing shipment delays to consumers due to low inventory.

Therefore, the SCM system 117 can retrieve the required reserve amount corresponding to the item from the data storage. The data storage may be a database accessible to the SCM system 117 (eg, via a network), or may be internal storage of the SCM system 117 . The required reservation amount may be based on a statistical confidence interval around historical consumption rates. For example, a distributor may want to have a 99.9% probability of satisfying a consumer purchase using current inventory. Based on past consumption patterns, the SCM system 117 may calculate a statistical distribution (eg, a Gaussian distribution) and determine the range within which a 99.9% consumption rate is expected to fall. The SCM system 117 may then base the required reservation on this confidence interval.

Additionally, the SCM system 117 can retrieve the stored item quantity corresponding to at least one destination. The destination may be, for example, a fulfillment center where items are packaged and shipped to consumers as described above, and the amount of items stored may be the inventory of the SKU at the destination. The SCM system 117 may calculate the amount of stored items as described above (rather than from data storage). The amount of stored items retrieved from the device or based on the amount of stored items retrieved from the data storage device). The SCM system 117 may then set the order quantity to include the reserve order quantity, which is the difference between the required reserve quantity and the quantity of the item stored.

In some embodiments, the reservation subscription amount may reflect the total reservation amount for multiple destinations. The reserved order quantity can also be based on the quantity of items stored at a single destination and the required reserved quantity. For example, the required reservation may include at least one location-specific reservation corresponding to the destination and based on the delivery rate of the item from the destination. The delivery rate may correspond to the number of consumer purchased items served by a particular destination. Additionally, the reserved order quantity may be the sum of multiple location-specific reservations, and the SCM system 117 may store the location-specific reservations associated with corresponding destinations for later allocation of shipments to destinations.

Returning to FIG. 3, at step 304, the SCM system 117 may retrieve the batch shipment quantity associated with the item from the data store. Manufacturers or suppliers can set batch shipment quantities based on item characteristics. For example, based on the standard pallet size and box capacity used by tissue manufacturers, a bulk shipment of paper towels may be 100 boxes; due to the weight of chairs, a bulk shipment of chairs may be 4. Bulk shipments may also be divided into tires, such that, for example, a bulk shipment of 100 boxes of tissues may cost $0.30 per box, while a bulk shipment of 200 boxes of tissues may cost $0.25 per box.

At step 306, the SCM system 117 may determine the batch shipment number to satisfy the order quantity. Step 306 may calculate a fraction of the batch shipment number. For example, if the order quantity from step 302 is 1500 units and the batch shipment quantity For a quantity of 1000 units, 1.5 bulk shipments will be required to meet the order quantity.

However, in many cases, manufacturers may not accept fractional quantities for bulk shipments because doing so may increase baseline shipping and transaction costs while reducing total sales, thereby lowering profits. Additionally, the efficiencies of bulk ordering may be offset if dealers have to break bulk shipments into smaller sizes to match destination requirements and potentially avoid destinations being overwhelmed with excess units that may not be dispatched quickly. In addition to increasing unit shipping costs for distributors, excess, unsold units can increase storage costs and potentially even create waste, such as if the units are never sold.

Accordingly, the SCM system 117 may determine whether to round up the fraction of the batch shipment number calculated at step 306 or to round down the fraction of the batch shipment number and order, individually or in different batch shipment levels, satisfying Order the remaining units in the required quantity.

For example, bulk shipments may be arranged into groups of pallets, with each pallet holding, for example, 300 units of a SKU. If the distributor network requires 750 units, then 750 units corresponds to 2.5 pallets. Pallet orders will be for 2 pallets (600 units) or for 3 pallets (900 units). In some cases, the determination of rounding up or rounding down can be determined by the nature of the SKU. For example, for SKUs that may be kept on reserve due to anticipated abnormal increases in customer demand (i.e., "redundant" or "long-term" inventory), when the number of pallets exceeds a threshold (for example, 2.5 pallets), Orders may be rounded up because for a specific number of pallets (i.e. at least 3) it may be cost effective to enter inventory into long-term storage. as another Alternatively, certain SKUs may be quickly dispatched (i.e. "non-redundant" or "short-term" inventory). In these situations, orders may be rounded up when the number of pallets exceeds a lower threshold (eg, at 0.5) since inventory will be maintained in short-term storage and shipped quickly to customers. If the pallet count is rounded down, additional units are required to meet the original requirement and the remaining units can be ordered as individual units. For example, if the network requires 700 units, and a pallet is 300 units, the network requires 2.33 pallets. For 600 units, this can be rounded down to 2 pallets, and the remaining 100 units can be ordered individually.

In some cases, redundant or long-term SKUs may also be rounded up, even where individual units are purchased. For example, a supplier may provide units in pallet quantities or in a minimum order quantity, where the minimum order quantity consists of fewer units than pallets and indicates the minimum number of units that the supplier will ship. Therefore, if less than the threshold number of pallets of a redundant SKU is required, the order can be calculated as the minimum order quantity. For example, if the distributor network requires 750 units of a SKU and the pallet contains 1500 units and the minimum order quantity is 400 units, the delivery network will require 2 pallets or 1.875 minimum order quantity. Based on handling and storage costs, 2 pallets may be too few, and therefore the network may prefer to order the minimum order quantity. In order to reduce the number of transactions, the minimum order quantity of 1.875 can be increased to, for example, 3 as excess redundant units are still beneficial to offset sales surges. However, non-redundant SKUs may be treated differently because the minimum order quantity of 1.875 may be rounded up to 2 (as excess inventory may be wasted).

In addition, SKUs can be categorized by final shipping method to the customer. Example For example, certain SKUs (such as low-value, non-fragile SKUs) can be shipped in bags (i.e., "carryable"). High-value or fragile SKUs may need to be shipped in a box with other packaging (i.e. "not portable"). Other SKUs may be shipped in bulk from the manufacturer or supplier, or in original packaging (i.e., "grande"). For example, since consumers may often purchase large quantities of toilet paper, boxes of toilet paper may be sorted into large pieces, and the boxes may be shipped from their destination to the consumer in the original packaging provided by the toilet paper manufacturer. In some embodiments, the SKU type may determine the threshold required to round up the pallet and minimum order quantity.

Accordingly, at step 308, the SCM system 117 may retrieve the number of destinations, such as the number of destinations in the fulfillment center network, or the number of destinations that require additional inventory to meet required reservations and planned consumption rates. The SCM system 117 may then determine the remaining shipment quantity at step 310 to form a multiple of the number of destinations. By way of example, the order quantity of tissues can be 1200 boxes and the bulk shipment quantity can be 300 boxes. So to get 1200 boxes, 4 bulk shipments are required. However, if there are 5 destinations that require additional tissue inventory, one destination will not be resupplied unless the bulk shipment is divided into individual units. Therefore, at step 310, the SCM system 117 may determine that the remaining shipment quantity is 1 such that the batch shipment number (4) and the remaining shipment quantity (1) are multiples of the destination number (5).

As an additional example, the order quantity of chairs may be 16 chairs and the bulk shipment quantity of chairs may be 3. Therefore, 5.33 bulk shipments are required to meet the order quantity. In addition, there may be 8 destinations that require additional inventory of chairs to meet the corresponding required reservations. At step 310, the SCM system 117 will determine the need The remaining shipments of 2.66 batch shipments are required so that the 8 total batch shipment quantities can be evenly distributed across the 8 destinations. In other words, in order to distribute at least 16 chairs to 8 destinations when shipping chairs in a lot of 3, the SCM system 117 would order a total of 18 chairs, or 2 more than the 16 chairs actually needed.

Therefore, the SCM system 117 may have to order more inventory than actually needed in order to distribute the inventory throughout the network. In some cases, the additional inventory may be small, so that the risk of waste and additional storage costs of unnecessary inventory are also small. In other cases, the additional inventory can be large, resulting in increased waste and increased storage costs, which can negate the benefits of bulk shipments.

Therefore, the SCM system 117 may compare the remaining shipment quantity to the threshold at step 312 . The threshold may depend on SKU characteristics such as sell-through rate, perishability, and unit value. For example, high-throughput items (such as cosmetics) may have high thresholds because the risk of waste may be reduced and storage costs may be small. Perishable goods may have a lower threshold value due to the risk of loss if unsold. High value goods may have high storage costs, and therefore high thresholds, allowing distributors to avoid incurring excessive costs. Additionally, the threshold value may be proportional to the batch shipment quantity. For example, adding 3 bulk shipments to 1 bulk shipment to become a multiple of 4 destinations may be too costly, while adding 3 bulk shipments to 97 to become a multiple of 4 may cost less than The original planned cost of storing the original order increases very little.

In some embodiments, the SCM system 117 may calculate the temporary cost based on the total amount of money saved by bulk ordering and the estimated storage costs and waste of excess goods. limit. For example, if ordered in a shipment of 100 boxes, the distributor could pay $0.25 per box of tissues for a total cost of $25. If the distributor only needs 40 boxes and purchases them individually, the distributor can pay $0.50 per box for a total cost of $50. Therefore, distributors can save $25 by ordering in bulk. However, an additional 60 boxes (i.e. 0.6 remaining shipments) may require $30 in additional handling and storage fees (which could have been avoided by purchasing individually). Therefore, it is more beneficial to purchase 40 boxes individually for $50 than to purchase 100 boxes in bulk for $25 and incur an expense of $30. Therefore, the SCM system 117 may set a threshold of 0.5 remaining shipments, indicating that it is cost-effective to increase the original purchase quantity by up to 0.5 remaining shipments, but that it is not cost-effective to increase further. Additionally, the SCM system 117 may calculate the threshold based on the SKU type (ie, portable, non-portable, bulky) and whether the SKU is considered a redundant SKU or a non-redundant SKU. As an example, a non-redundant SKU that is expected to leave its destination quickly may have a higher threshold value, indicating the need to reduce excess inventory, while a redundant SKU may have a lower threshold value (since excess inventory can be stored for a longer period of time) ).

In some cases, distributors may find increased efficiency in processing bulk shipments as a group. For example, handling a bulk shipment may require additional equipment (eg, a forklift) to handle shipping mechanisms (eg, pallets). In comparison, smaller or individual shipment quantities may be simpler and cheaper to handle, resulting in lower overall costs (although unit costs may be higher).

Therefore, if the total number of batch shipments exceeds the batch shipment threshold, the distribution Merchant may order bulk shipment only. Therefore, after determining that the remaining shipment quantity is less than the first threshold (ie, YES in step 312 ), the SCM system 117 may proceed to step 318 . At step 318, the SCM system 117 may compare the sum of the batch shipment number and the remaining shipment quantity to the batch shipment threshold. If the sum is greater than the batch shipment threshold, step 318 is yes, and the SCM system 117 may proceed to step 320 . In some embodiments, SCM system 117 may omit step 318 or step 312.

At step 320, the SCM system 117 may transmit the supplier order for the batch shipment quantity and the remaining shipment quantity. The SCM system 117 may require manual approval of supplier orders prior to transmission. The SCM system 117 may transmit the supplier order to the manufacturer of the SKU or to another distributor, for example. In addition, supplier orders can specify delivery locations and times.

In some cases, the manufacturer or other supplier may specify a minimum order quantity for an item. For example, a tissue manufacturer may refuse to ship less than 10 boxes of tissues at a time, or may be willing to ship a single box of tissues at a time, making the minimum order quantity one. For example, the SCM system 117 may retrieve the minimum order quantity corresponding to the item from the data storage. Therefore, if bulk shipment is not selected, distributors may be required to order based on minimum order quantities. The SCM system 117 may also retrieve the minimum order quantity (i.e., the minimum order quantity minimum), which may be based on the SKU's status as a redundant SKU or a non-redundant SKU. For example, a redundant SKU may have a minimum order quantity of 3 such that the SCM system 117 orders at least 3 minimum order quantities, while a non-redundant SKU may have a minimum order quantity of 1 to reduce excess inventory.

Therefore, if step 318 is negative such that the batch shipment number and the remaining shipment quantity are less than the batch shipment threshold, the SCM system 117 may proceed to step 322 to determine the minimum order quantity to supply the order quantity. For example, if the order quantity is 1005 units and the minimum order quantity is 10 units, the minimum minimum order quantity to supply the order quantity will be 101 because the minimum order quantity of 100 will be less than 1005. The SCM system 117 may proceed to step 324 and transmit an alternative supplier order for the minimum quantity ordered to supply the ordered quantity.

Returning to step 312, if the remaining shipment quantity is less than the threshold at step 312 (ie, it is not cost-effective to increase the order size to benefit from bulk purchasing), the SCM system 117 may determine a mix of bulk shipments and minimum order quantities. At step 314, the SCM system 117 may determine a minimum order quantity to supply the difference between the order quantity and the product of the rounded down number of the batch shipment number and the batch shipment quantity. Step 314 may include subtracting the batch shipment number (i.e., the entire shipment number) from the order quantity of the item by the product of the rounded down number multiplied by the batch shipment quantity. The difference can be divided by the minimum order quantity, which can be rounded up, thus ensuring that enough units can be ordered to satisfy the dealer's reservations, orders and planned orders.

Additionally, at step 316, the SCM system 117 may transmit the supplier order for the minimum order quantity and batch shipment number. Supplier orders may be transmitted to the supplier of the SKU, such as via email, website or fax, along with details such as SKU, quantity, shipment type, delivery date and delivery destination. Accordingly, through process 300, the SCM system 117 may determine the optimal combination of batch shipments and minimum order quantities to satisfy the order quantities received (i.e., batch size, batch size, and minimum order quantity). mix of quantities, or only minimum order quantities), taking advantage of economies of scale while reducing losses due to waste, storage and disposal costs.

Although process 300 provides a way to maximize bulk shipment ordering by taking into account the number of destinations in the distribution network, in some cases different destinations may have different needs and capabilities. To further illustrate, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of regional destination usage and capacity in accordance with disclosed embodiments. In Figure 4, a geographic area (eg, a country, county, city, or other political/geographic subdivision) is divided into three districts, district 402, district 404, and district 406. Each zone has at least one destination (ie, fulfillment center 200). For example, zone 404 has two destinations 410 and 412. Therefore, zones can have different numbers of destinations.

In addition, destinations may have different capacities, throughputs and inventories. Information about destination attributes may be stored, for example, in a data store or another database. Alternatively, in some embodiments, SCM system 117 may also query WMS 119 to obtain destination attributes. For example, destination 410 has six units of capacity (shown as six boxes), six units of inventory (shown as filled boxes), and zero units of spare capacity. In comparison, destination 412 has nine units of capacity (shown by the nine boxes), with seven units of inventory and two units of spare capacity. Capacity can be SKU specific, indicating that a destination can store 150 TVs, for example. Capacity may be SKU agnostic, indicating an open space in which any of multiple items may be stored individually or in combination.

The flux to a destination may be based on the spending habits of nearby customers. For example, books may be purchased frequently in area 404, while books may be purchased frequently in area 402. Video games. Therefore, destinations 410 and 412 may have larger inventories and required reservations of books than video games, while destinations 414 and 416 may have larger inventories and required reservations of video games than books. Required reservation.

Due to changing consumption patterns and destination capacities, the SCM system 117 may consider the ability of individual destinations to accommodate additional inventory when transmitting supplier orders. For example, although a particular destination may have a required reservation for an item, the SCM system 117 may determine that the particular destination does not have sufficient free storage capacity to store the required reservation and abandon sending the supplier order. Alternatively, the SCM system 117 may determine that the destination is unable to store bulk shipments of items, which may contain excess inventory to benefit from bulk shipment pricing, but that the destination is able to store individual items. Therefore, the SCM system 117 can place supplier orders for minimum quantities of items (rather than in batch quantities) based on available space at the destination.

5 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of an item order management process that analyzes inventory trends and destination capacity in accordance with disclosed embodiments. The SCM system 117 may perform the steps of process 500 individually for destinations, for example, determining whether each destination is able to handle bulk shipments due to space constraints. The SCM system 117 may reduce the batch shipment number in the supplier's order in response to insufficient space at the destination and order the minimum order quantity instead.

At step 502, the SCM system 117 may determine the occupied capacity of the destination. The SCM system 117 may perform step 502 by accessing the WMS 119 or FO system 113, or may access a data store to determine the inventory at the destination, including inventory units of measure and corresponding capacities. SCM System 117 also The capacity of the goods can be determined and the total occupied capacity calculated based on the inventory. For example, the SCM system 117 may combine information about the unit capacity of the first SKU, such as 1 cubic foot, with inventory of the first SKU, such as 1,000, to determine that the first SKU occupies 1,000 cubic feet. The SCM system 117 may repeat this process for each SKU at the destination to reach the total occupied capacity. The SCM system 117 may measure capacity as a unit of storage, such as the number of shelves filled or pallet parking space, or other measure of space occupied by items. Occupied capacity may be based on SKU-specific storage requirements. For example, a destination could have 10 bike-specific storage spaces.

At step 504, the SCM system 117 may also determine inbound capacity. For example, the SCM system 117 may access the data store to determine the inbound inventory at the destination, including the inventory unit of measure and the corresponding capacity of the supplier order placed. At step 504, the SCM system 117 may review previously transmitted supplier orders and expected arrival dates for new inventory. In some embodiments, inbound inventory may include inventory units expected to arrive at the destination prior to the estimated arrival of the bulk shipment. For purposes of illustration, the SCM system 117 may retrieve the SKU's typical delivery time from the data store, for example, tissue boxes are typically delivered within a week of transmitting the supplier order. Additionally, the SCM system 117 may access the data store to obtain the unit capacity of the SKU and combine the unit capacity with the order quantity to determine inbound capacity. As mentioned earlier, capacity can also be measured in storage units. Therefore, the SCM system 117 may examine previously transmitted supplier orders to determine which shipments are expected to arrive at the destination within a week when determining whether the destination can store additional shipments of tissue boxes.

At step 506, the SCM system 117 may access the data storage To determine the outbound inventory at the destination, the outbound inventory includes the inventory unit of measure and the corresponding capacity for the customer order placed. The FO system 113 may provide information about placed customer orders to the SCM system 117, or the SCM system 117 may obtain this information from a data store. Outbound inventory may include inventory units expected to leave the destination prior to estimated arrival. Continuing with the tissue box example, outbound inventory could be units that will be shipped to the customer within a week (thus creating empty space).

At step 508, the SCM system 117 may access the data store to determine the total capacity of the destination. The SCM system 117 may determine that a particular destination has a total storage capacity of 30,000 cubic feet, or 15,000 rack positions, or 1,000 pallet parking spaces. The data store can associate a destination identifier with a total capacity attribute. The SCM system 117 may also retrieve destination information from other or multiple data stores.

At step 510, the SCM system 117 may determine the destination's unused storage capacity. Unused storage capacity may be the difference between total capacity and occupied capacity. The SCM system 117 can also combine total capacity, outbound capacity, occupied capacity and inbound capacity. For example, the SCM system 117 may look for a first sum of total capacity and outbound capacity based on outbound inventory; and a second sum of occupied capacity and inbound capacity based on inbound inventory. The SCM system 117 may then find the difference between the first sum and the second sum and set the difference to the unused storage capacity.

At step 512, the SCM system 117 may compare the unused storage capacity to the bulk shipment capacity to see if the destination has enough unallocated space to store the bulk shipment. If the unused storage capacity is greater than the bulk shipment capacity, then the steps 512 is yes, and the SCM system 117 may proceed to step 514 to transmit the supplier order for the bulk shipment quantity and the remaining shipment quantity. However, if the bulk shipping capacity is greater than the unused storage capacity, the destination may not be able to store the excess inventory in bulk form, and step 512 is no. The SCM system 117 may then proceed to step 516 to transmit the order for the smallest quantity for the minimum order quantity to supply the order quantity. The SCM system 117 may also forgo transmitting any supplier orders until the destination has sufficient unused storage capacity.

In some embodiments, the SCM system 117 may identify alternative destinations that have sufficient spare capacity to store bulk shipments. For example, returning to Figure 4, destination 410 is full, while destinations 408, 412, 414, and 416 have unused storage capacity. If destination 410 does not have sufficient inventory to meet the required reservation of the item, SCM system 117 may direct additional inventory to another destination. Additionally, the SCM system 117 can direct inventory to destinations in the same region. In this manner, the SCM system 117 can arrange inventory sufficient to meet the required reservations within the zone. This avoids shipment delays caused by reservations being held in different, distant zones, which may also have different consumption patterns and rarely consume the specific items being reserved.

As an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a computer-implemented method for item order management may include multiple steps. The steps may include: determining an order quantity of the item based on a planned item reservation level and an inventory level for each of the plurality of zones; retrieving a batch shipment quantity associated with the item from the data store; determining a bulk shipment number to satisfy said ordered quantity; determining unused storage capacity for each destination within each of said plurality of zones; determining a remaining shipment quantity to form said zone number a multiple of; transmitting supplier orders for the bulk shipment quantity and the remaining shipment quantity in response to the remaining shipment quantity being less than a threshold value; and based on the planned item reservation level and inventory level of the zone and in response to the corresponding A bulk shipment is assigned to the destination if the destination's unused storage capacity in the zone exceeds the bulk shipment's capacity.

Although the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to specific embodiments of the disclosure, it is to be understood that the disclosure may be practiced without modification in other environments. The above description is presented for illustrative purposes. The above description is not exhaustive and is not limited to the precise forms or embodiments disclosed. Various modifications and adaptations will become apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosed embodiments. In addition, although aspects of the disclosed embodiments are described as being stored in memory, those skilled in the art will understand that these aspects may also be stored on other types of computer-readable media, such as auxiliary storage devices. (such as hard disk or compact disk read-only memory (CD ROM)) or other forms of random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM) ), universal serial bus (USB) media, digital versatile disc (DVD), Blu-ray (Blu-ray) or other optical drive media.

Computer programs based on the written instructions and methods disclosed are within the skill of an experienced developer. Programs or program modules may be created using any techniques known to those skilled in the art, or may be designed in conjunction with existing software. For example, you can use or use .Net Framework, .Net Compact Framework (and related languages, such as Visual Basic, C, etc.), Claw Java (Java), C++, Objective-C, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), HTML/AJAX combination, Extensible Markup Language (XML) or HTML including Java applets to design the program area segment or program module.

In addition, although exemplary embodiments have been described herein, those skilled in the art will envision equivalent elements, modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., combinations of aspects between various embodiments) based on this disclosure. , adaptations and/or changes within the scope of any and all embodiments. For example, in some embodiments, steps may be replaced, substituted, added, or reordered in the process without departing from the present disclosure. Furthermore, in some embodiments, some steps may occur simultaneously. Limitations in the claimed scope are to be construed broadly based on the language employed in the claimed scope and not limited to the examples set forth in this specification or during the prosecution of the claim. The examples described should be considered non-exclusive. Furthermore, the steps of the disclosed methods may be modified in any manner, including by reordering steps and/or inserting or deleting steps. It is therefore intended that the specification and examples be considered as illustrative only, with a true scope and spirit being indicated by the full scope of the following claims and their equivalents.

402, 404, 406: Area

408, 410, 412, 414, 416: destination

Claims (20)

A computerized system for item order management, including: at least one processor; and at least one non-transitory storage medium, including instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform The method includes the steps of: receiving an order quantity of an item; retrieving a batch shipment quantity associated with the item from a data storage; determining a batch shipment quantity to satisfy the order quantity; retrieving the items that require additional The number of destinations in inventory; determining the remaining shipment quantity to form a multiple of the destination number; transmitting a supplier order for the batch shipment number and the remaining shipment quantity in response to the remaining shipment quantity being less than a threshold value; In response to the remaining shipment quantity being greater than the threshold value, determining a minimum order quantity to supply the difference between the order quantity and the product of the rounded-down number of the batch shipment quantity and the batch shipment quantity , and transmit the supplier order for the minimum order quantity and the batch shipment number. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein said threshold value is proportional to said batch shipment quantity. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein the steps further include: retrieving the required reserve amount corresponding to the item from the data storage; Retrieve the quantity of stored items corresponding to at least one destination; wherein the order quantity further includes a reserved order quantity, the reserved order quantity being the required reserved quantity and the quantity of stored items difference between. The computerized system of claim 3, wherein the required reservation includes at least one location-specific reservation corresponding to a destination and based on the item being withdrawn from the purpose. local delivery rate. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein the steps further include: determining unused storage capacity of at least one destination; and in response to the batch shipment number and the remaining shipment number being less than the unused storage capacity. Storage capacity is used to transmit the supplier orders for the batch shipment quantity and the remaining shipment quantity. The computerized system of claim 5, wherein determining the unused storage capacity includes accessing the data storage to determine an inventory at the destination, the inventory including inventory units and corresponding capacities. ; Calculate occupied capacity based on the inventory; Access the data store to determine the total capacity of the destination; and Set the difference between the total capacity and the occupied capacity to the unused Storage capacity. The computerized system of claim 6, wherein it is determined that the Using the storage capacity further includes: accessing the data storage to determine the inbound inventory of the destination, the inbound inventory including the inventory unit of measure and the corresponding capacity of the supplier order placed; storing the data access to determine the outbound inventory at the destination, the outbound inventory including the inventory unit of measure and the corresponding capacity of the customer order placed; and setting the following difference to the unused storage capacity: the total The sum of capacity and outbound capacity based on said outbound inventory; and the sum of said occupied capacity and inbound capacity based on said inbound inventory. The computerized system of claim 7, wherein: said inbound inventory includes inventory units expected to arrive at said destination prior to the estimated arrival of a bulk shipment; and said outbound inventory includes inventory units expected to arrive at said estimated arrival Inventory unit of measure that has previously left the stated destination. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein the minimum order quantity is one. The computerized system of claim 1, wherein the step further includes: in response to the sum of the batch shipment number and the remaining shipment quantity exceeding a batch shipment threshold, transmitting the batch shipment number and the The supplier order for the remaining shipment quantity; and in response to the batch shipment number and the remaining shipment quantity being less than the batch size The shipment threshold is used to transmit the minimum quantity of alternative supplier orders for the minimum order quantity to supply the stated order quantity. A computer-implemented method of item order management, comprising: receiving an order quantity of an item; retrieving a batch shipment quantity associated with the item from a data storage; determining the batch shipment quantity to satisfy the order quantity; retrieving Obtain the number of destinations that require additional inventory of the item; determine the remaining shipment quantity to form a multiple of the destination number; and in response to the remaining shipment quantity being less than a threshold value, transmit the batch shipment number and the Supplier orders for the remaining shipment quantity; in response to the remaining shipment quantity being greater than the threshold value, determining the minimum order quantity to supply the rounded down number of the order quantity and the batch shipment quantity and the batch size The difference between the product of the shipment quantity and transmitting the supplier order for the minimum order quantity and the bulk shipment quantity. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein said threshold value is proportional to said batch shipment quantity. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising: retrieving from the data storage a required reserve quantity corresponding to the item; retrieving a stored quantity of the item corresponding to at least one destination ; wherein the order quantity further includes a reserved order quantity, and the reserved order quantity is the difference between the required reserved quantity and the amount of stored items. A computer-implemented method as described in claim 13, wherein The required reservation includes at least one location-specific reservation corresponding to a destination and based on the delivery rate of the item from the destination. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising: determining unused storage capacity of at least one destination; and in response to the capacity of the batch shipment number and the remaining shipment number being less than the unused storage capacity. Transmit the supplier order for the batch shipment number and the remaining shipment quantity. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, wherein determining the unused storage capacity includes accessing the data storage to determine an inventory at the destination, the inventory including an inventory unit of measure and a corresponding capacity; calculating occupied capacity based on the inventory; accessing the data store to determine the total capacity of the destination; and setting the difference between the total capacity and the occupied capacity to the unused capacity. Use storage capacity. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein determining the unused storage capacity further includes accessing the data store to determine an inbound inventory of the destination, the inbound inventory including an inventory units of measure and corresponding capacities of supplier orders placed; accessing the data storage to determine outbound inventory at the destination, the outbound inventory including inventory units of measure and corresponding capacities of customer orders placed; by and setting to the unused storage capacity the difference between: the sum of the total capacity and the outbound capacity based on the outbound inventory; and the sum of the occupied capacity and the inbound capacity based on the inbound inventory . The computer-implemented method of claim 17, wherein: the inbound inventory includes inventory units expected to arrive at the destination prior to the estimated arrival of the bulk shipment; and the outbound inventory includes inventory units expected to arrive at the destination before the estimated arrival A stock unit of measure that leaves the stated destination before arriving. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the minimum order quantity is one. A computer-implemented method for item order management, including: determining an order quantity of an item based on a planned item reservation level and an inventory level in each of a plurality of zones; retrieving the items from a data storage and a bulk shipment quantity associated with an item; determining a bulk shipment number to satisfy the order quantity; determining unused storage capacity for each destination within each of the plurality of zones requiring additional inventory of the item ; Determining a remaining shipment quantity to form a multiple of the plurality of zones; in response to the remaining shipment quantity being less than a threshold value, transmitting a supplier order for the batch shipment number and the remaining shipment quantity; and in response to the corresponding The unused storage capacity of the destination in the zone exceeds that of the bulk shipment Capacity to allocate bulk shipments to the destination based on the planned item reservation level for the zone and the inventory level.

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