Classifications

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  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
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• • G—PHYSICS
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  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
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• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
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• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
  • G06Q10/06—Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
  • G06Q10/063—Operations research, analysis or management
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  • G06Q10/06315—Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
  • G06Q10/06—Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
  • G06Q10/063—Operations research, analysis or management
  • G06Q10/0633—Workflow analysis
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
  • G06Q10/08—Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
  • G06Q10/083—Shipping
  • G06Q10/0832—Special goods or special handling procedures, e.g. handling of hazardous or fragile goods
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
  • G06Q10/08—Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
  • G06Q10/083—Shipping
  • G06Q10/0835—Relationships between shipper or supplier and carriers
  • G06Q10/08355—Routing methods
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q10/00—Administration; Management
  • G06Q10/10—Office automation; Time management
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
  • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • G06Q30/00—Commerce
  • G06Q30/06—Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Definitions

• the present disclosure generally relates to computerized systems and methods for item order and distribution management.
• embodiments of the present disclosure relate to inventive and unconventional systems and methods utilized for optimizing purchase quantities and distributions of items according to regional consumer habits.
• some distributors may have multiple consumer bases with diverse consumption habits. Although bulk purchasing may be justified for some consumer bases with high consumption rates, individual purchasing may be a better fit for other consumer bases with low consumption rates so as to avoid waste and other inventory costs.
• One aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a computerized system for item order management, comprising at least one processor; and at least one non transitory storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform steps.
• the steps comprise 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 supplier order for the number of bulk shipments and the quantity of surplus shipments 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.
• Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a computer- implemented method for item order management, comprising: 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 supplier order for the number of bulk shipments and the quantity of surplus shipments 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.
• Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a computer- implemented method for item order management, comprising: determining an order quantity of an item based on a planned item reserve level and inventory levels of each a plurality of regions; retrieve, from a data store, a bulk shipment quantity associated with the item; determine a number of bulk shipments to meet the order quantity; determine an unused storage volume for each destination within each of the plurality of regions; determine a quantity of surplus shipments to form a multiple of the number of regions; transmitting a supplier order for the number of bulk shipments and the quantity of surplus shipments in response to the quantity of surplus shipments being less than a threshold; and assigning the bulk shipments to destinations in respective regions based on the planned item reserve level and inventory level of the region, and in response to the destinations having unused storage volume exceeding a volume of the bulk shipment.
• FIG. 1 A is a schematic block diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a network comprising computerized systems for communications enabling shipping, transportation, and logistics operations, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
• FIG. 1 B depicts a sample Search Result Page (SRP) that includes one or more search results satisfying a search request along with interactive user interface elements, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
• FIG. 1 C depicts a sample Single Display Page (SDP) that includes a product and information about the product along with interactive user interface elements, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
• SRP Search Result Page
• SDP Single Display Page
• FIG. 1 D depicts a sample Cart page that includes items in a virtual shopping cart along with interactive user interface elements, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
• FIG. 1 E depicts a sample Order page that includes items from the virtual shopping cart along with information regarding purchase and shipping, along with interactive user interface elements, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
• FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of an exemplary fulfillment center configured to utilize disclosed computerized systems, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
• FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of an item order management process, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
• FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of regional destination use and capacity, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
• FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of an item order management process analyzing inventory trends and destination capacity, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
• Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to systems and methods for incorporating data from multiple data sources, which may be retrieved or reported live, into purchasing and inventory management models to automatically predict inventory shortfalls and optimize inventory distribution according to real-time conditions.
• system 100 may include a variety of systems, each of which may be connected to one another via one or more networks. The systems may also be connected to one another via a direct connection, for example, using a cable.
• the depicted systems include a shipment authority technology (SAT) system 101 , an external front end system 103, an internal front end system 105, a transportation system 107, mobile devices 107A, 107B, and 107C, seller portal 109, 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 119, mobile devices 119A, 119B, and 119C (depicted as being inside of fulfillment center (FC) 200), 3 rd party fulfillment systems 121 A, 121B, and 121C, fulfillment center authorization system (FC Auth) 123, and labor management system (LMS) 125.
• SAT shipment authority technology
• SOT shipment and order tracking
• FMG fulfillment messaging gateway
• SCM supply chain management
• FC fulfillment center authorization system
• LMS labor management system
• SAT system 101 may be implemented as a computer system that monitors order status and delivery status. For example, SAT system 101 may determine whether an order is past its Promised Delivery Date (PDD) and may take appropriate action, including initiating a new order, reshipping the items in the non-delivered order, canceling the non-delivered order, initiating contact with the ordering customer, or the like. SAT system 101 may also monitor other data, including output (such as a number of packages shipped during a particular time period) and input (such as the number of empty cardboard boxes received for use in shipping). SAT system 101 may also act as a gateway between different devices in system 100, enabling communication (e.g., using store-and- forward or other techniques) between devices such as external front end system 103 and FO system 113.
• PDD Promised Delivery Date
• 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.
• external front end system 103 may be implemented as a web server that receives search requests, presents item pages, and solicits payment information.
• external front end system 103 may be implemented as a computer or computers running software such as the Apache FITTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), NGINX, or the like.
• external front end system 103 may run custom web server software designed to receive and process requests from external devices (e.g., mobile device 102A or computer 102B), acquire information from databases and other data stores based on those requests, and provide responses to the received requests based on acquired information.
• external devices e.g., mobile device 102A or computer 102B
• external front end system 103 may include one or more of a web caching system, a database, a search system, or a payment system.
• external front end system 103 may comprise one or more of these systems, while in another aspect, external front end system 103 may comprise interfaces (e.g., server-to-server, database-to-database, or other network connections) connected to one or more of these systems.
• External front end system 103 may receive information from systems or devices in system 100 for presentation and/or display.
• external front end system 103 may host or provide one or more web pages, including a Search Result Page (SRP) (e.g., SRP) (e.g., SRP) (e.g., SRP).
• SRP Search Result Page
• FIG. 1 B a Single Detail Page (SDP) (e.g., FIG. 1 C), a Cart page (e.g., FIG. 1 D), or an Order page (e.g., FIG. 1 E).
• a user device e.g., using mobile device 102A or computer 102B may navigate to external front end system 103 and request a search by entering information into a search box.
• External front end system 103 may request information from one or more systems in system 100.
• external front end system 103 may request information from FO System 113 that satisfies the search request.
• External front end system 103 may also request and receive (from FO System 113) a Promised Delivery Date or “PDD” for each product included in the search results.
• FO System 113 a Promised Delivery Date or “PDD”
• the PDD may represent an estimate of when a package containing the product will arrive at the user’s desired location or a date by which the product is promised to be delivered at the user’s desired location if ordered within a particular period of time, for example, by the end of the day (11 :59 PM). (PDD is discussed further below with respect to FO System 113.)
• External front end system 103 may prepare an SRP (e.g., FIG. 1 B) based on the information.
• the SRP may include information that satisfies the search request. For example, this may include pictures of products that satisfy the search request.
• the SRP may also include respective prices for each product, or information relating to enhanced delivery options for each product, PDD, weight, size, offers, discounts, or the like.
• External front end system 103 may send the SRP to the requesting user device (e.g., via a network).
• a user device may then select a product from the SRP, e.g., by clicking or tapping a user interface, or using another input device, to select a product represented on the SRP.
• the user device may formulate a request for information on the selected product and send it to external front end system 103.
• external front end system 103 may request information related to the selected product.
• the information may include additional information beyond that presented for a product on the respective SRP. This could include, for example, shelf life, country of origin, weight, size, number of items in package, handling instructions, or other information about the product.
• the information could also include recommendations for similar products (based on, for example, big data and/or machine learning analysis of customers who bought this product and at least one other product), answers to frequently asked questions, reviews from customers, manufacturer information, pictures, or the like.
• External front end system 103 may prepare an SDP (Single Detail Page) (e.g., FIG. 1C) based on the received product information.
• the SDP may also include other interactive elements such as a “Buy Now” button, a “Add to Cart” button, a quantity field , a picture of the item, or the like.
• the SDP may further include a list of sellers that offer the product. The list may be ordered based on the price each seller offers such that the seller that offers to sell the product at the lowest price may be listed at the top. The list may also be ordered based on the seller ranking such that the highest ranked seller may be listed at the top. The seller ranking may be formulated based on multiple factors, including, for example, the seller’s past track record of meeting a promised PDD.
• External front end system 103 may deliver the SDP to the requesting user device (e.g., via a network).
• the requesting user device may receive the SDP which lists the product information. Upon receiving the SDP, the user device may then interact with the SDP. For example, a user of the requesting user device may click or otherwise interact with a “Place in Cart” button on the SDP. This adds the product to a shopping cart associated with the user. The user device may transmit this request to add the product to the shopping cart to external front end system 103.
• External front end system 103 may generate a Cart page (e.g.,
• the Cart page in some embodiments, lists the products that the user has added to a virtual “shopping cart.”
• a user device may request the Cart page by clicking on or otherwise interacting with an icon on the SRP, SDP, or other pages.
• the Cart page may, in some embodiments, list all products that the user has added to the shopping cart, as well as information about the products in the cart such as a quantity of each product, a price for each product per item, a price for each product based on an associated quantity, information regarding PDD, a delivery method, a shipping cost, user interface elements for modifying the products in the shopping cart (e.g., deletion or modification of a quantity), options for ordering other product or setting up periodic delivery of products, options for setting up interest payments, user interface elements for proceeding to purchase, or the like.
• a user at a user device may click on or otherwise interact with a user interface element (e.g., a button that reads “Buy Now”) to initiate the purchase of the product in the shopping cart. Upon doing so, the user device may transmit this request to initiate the purchase to external front end system 103.
• a user interface element e.g., a button that reads “Buy Now”
• External front end system 103 may generate an Order page (e.g.,
• the Order page in some embodiments, re-lists the items from the shopping cart and requests input of payment and shipping information.
• the Order page may include a section requesting information about the purchaser of the items in the shopping cart (e.g., name, address, e-mail address, phone number), information about the recipient (e.g., name, address, phone number, delivery information), shipping information (e.g., speed/method of delivery and/or pickup), payment information (e.g., credit card, bank transfer, check, stored credit), user interface elements to request a cash receipt (e.g., for tax purposes), or the like.
• 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 a user interface element that sends the information to external front end system 103. From there, external front end system 103 may send the information to different systems in system 100 to enable the creation and processing of a new order with the products in the shopping cart.
• external front end system 103 may be further configured to enable sellers to transmit and receive information relating to orders.
• Internal front end system 105 may be implemented as a computer system that enables internal users (e.g., employees of an organization that owns, operates, or leases system 100) to interact with one or more systems in system 100.
• internal front end system 105 may be implemented as a web server that enables internal users to view diagnostic and statistical information about orders, modify item information, or review statistics relating to orders.
• internal front end system 105 may be implemented as a computer or computers running software such as the Apache FITTP Server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), NGINX, or the like.
• internal front end system 105 may run custom web server software designed to receive and process requests from systems or devices depicted in system 100 (as well as other devices not depicted), acquire information from databases and other data stores based on those requests, and provide responses to the received requests based on acquired information.
• internal front end system 105 may include one or more of a web caching system, a database, a search system, a payment system, an analytics system, an order monitoring system, or the like.
• internal front end system 105 may comprise one or more of these systems, while in another aspect, internal front end system 105 may comprise interfaces (e.g., server-to- server, database-to-database, or other network connections) connected to one or more of these systems.
• 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.
• Transportation system 107 may receive information from one or more mobile devices 107A-107C (e.g., mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, or the like).
• mobile devices 107A-107C may comprise devices operated by delivery workers.
• the delivery workers who may be permanent, temporary, or shift employees, may utilize mobile devices 107A-107C to effect delivery of packages containing the products ordered by users. For example, to deliver a package, the delivery worker may receive a notification on a mobile device indicating which package to deliver and where to deliver it.
• the delivery worker may locate the package (e.g., in the back of a truck or in a crate of packages), scan or otherwise capture data associated with an identifier on the package (e.g., a barcode, an image, a text string, an RFID tag, or the like) using the mobile device, and deliver the package (e.g., by leaving it at a front door, leaving it with a security guard, handing it to the recipient, or the like).
• the delivery worker may capture photo(s) of the package and/or may obtain a signature using the mobile device.
• the mobile device may send information to transportation system 107 including information about the delivery, including, for example, time, date, GPS location, photo(s), an identifier associated with the delivery worker, an identifier associated with the mobile device, or the like.
• Transportation system 107 may store this information in a database (not pictured) for access by other systems in system 100.
• Transportation system 107 may, in some embodiments, use this information to prepare and send tracking data to other systems indicating the location of a particular package.
• certain users may use one kind of mobile device (e.g., permanent workers may use a specialized PDA with custom hardware such as a barcode scanner, stylus, and other devices) while other users may use other kinds of mobile devices (e.g., temporary or shift workers may utilize off-the- shelf mobile phones and/or smartphones).
• transportation system 107 may associate a user with each device.
• transportation system 107 may store an association between a user (represented by, e.g., a user identifier, an employee identifier, or a phone number) and a mobile device (represented by, e.g., an International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), an International Mobile Subscription Identifier (IMSI), a phone number, a Universal Unique Identifier (UUID), or a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID)).
• IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identity
• IMSI International Mobile Subscription Identifier
• UUID Universal Unique Identifier
• GUID Globally Unique Identifier
• Transportation system 107 may use this association in conjunction with data received on deliveries to analyze data stored in the database in order to determine, among other things, a location of the worker, an efficiency of the worker, or a speed of the worker.
• Seller portal 109 may be implemented as a computer system that enables sellers or other external entities to electronically communicate with one or more systems in system 100.
• a seller may utilize a computer system (not pictured) to upload or provide product information, order information, contact information, or the like, for products that the seller wishes to sell through system 100 using seller portal 109.
• Shipment and order tracking system 111 may be implemented as a computer system that receives, stores, and forwards information regarding the location of packages containing products ordered by customers (e.g., by a user using devices 102A-102B).
• shipment and order tracking system 111 may request or store information from web servers (not pictured) operated by shipping companies that deliver packages containing products ordered by customers.
• shipment and order tracking system 111 may request and store information from systems depicted in system 100.
• shipment and order tracking system 111 may request information from transportation system 107.
• transportation system 107 may receive information from one or more mobile devices 107A-107C (e.g., mobile phones, smart phones, PDAs, or the like) that are associated with one or more of a user (e.g., a delivery worker) or a vehicle (e.g., a delivery truck).
• shipment and order tracking system 111 may also request information from warehouse management system (WMS) 119 to determine the location of individual products inside of a fulfillment center (e.g., fulfillment center 200).
• WMS warehouse management system
• Shipment and order tracking system 111 may request data from one or more of transportation system 107 or WMS 119, process it, and present it to a device (e.g., user devices 102A and 102B) upon request.
• WMS warehouse management system
• Fulfillment optimization (FO) system 113 may be implemented as a computer system that stores information for customer orders from other systems (e.g., external front end system 103 and/or shipment and order tracking system 111).
• FO system 113 may also store information describing where particular items are held or stored. For example, certain items may be stored only in one fulfillment center, while certain other items may be stored in multiple fulfillment centers. In still other embodiments, certain fulfillment centers may be designed to store only a particular set of items (e.g., fresh produce or frozen products).
• FO system 113 stores this information as well as associated information (e.g., quantity, size, date of receipt, expiration date, etc.).
• FO system 113 may also calculate a corresponding PDD (promised delivery date) for each product.
• the PDD may be based on one or more factors.
• FO system 113 may calculate a PDD for a product based on a past demand for a product (e.g., how many times that product was ordered during a period of time), an expected demand for a product (e.g., how many customers are forecast to order the product during an upcoming period of time), a network-wide past demand indicating how many products were ordered during a period of time, a network-wide expected demand indicating how many products are expected to be ordered during an upcoming period of time, one or more counts of the product stored in each fulfillment center 200, which fulfillment center stores each product, expected or current orders for that product, or the like.
• a past demand for a product e.g., how many times that product was ordered during a period of time
• an expected demand for a product e.g., how many customers are forecast to order the product during an upcoming period of
• FO system 113 may determine a PDD for each product on a periodic basis (e.g., hourly) and store it in a database for retrieval or sending to other systems (e.g., external front end system 103, SAT system 101 , shipment and order tracking system 111).
• FO system 113 may receive electronic requests from one or more systems (e.g., external front end system 103, SAT system 101 , shipment and order tracking system 111) and calculate the PDD on demand.
• Fulfillment messaging gateway (FMG) 115 may be implemented as a computer system that receives a request or response in one format or protocol from one or more systems in system 100, such as FO system 113, converts it to another format or protocol, and forward it in the converted format or protocol to other systems, such as WMS 119 or 3 rd party fulfillment systems 121 A, 121 B, or 121 C, and vice versa.
• Supply chain management (SCM) system 117 may be implemented as a computer system that performs forecasting functions. For example, SCM system 117 may forecast a level of demand for a particular product based on, for example, based on a past demand for products, an expected demand for a product, a network-wide past demand, a network-wide expected demand, a count products stored in each fulfillment center 200, expected or current orders for each product, or the like. In response to this forecasted level and the amount of each product across all fulfillment centers, SCM system 117 may generate one or more purchase orders to purchase and stock a sufficient quantity to satisfy the forecasted demand for a particular product.
• WMS 119 may be implemented as a computer system that monitors workflow.
• WMS 119 may receive event data from individual devices (e.g., devices 107A-107C or 119A-119C) indicating discrete events.
• WMS 119 may receive event data indicating the use of one of these devices to scan a package. As discussed below with respect to fulfillment center 200 and FIG.
• a package identifier (e.g., a barcode or RFID tag data) may be scanned or read by machines at particular stages (e.g., automated or handheld barcode scanners, RFID readers, high-speed cameras, devices such as tablet 119A, mobile device/PDA 119B, computer 119C, or the like).
• WMS 119 may store each event indicating a scan or a read of a package identifier in a corresponding database (not pictured) along with the package identifier, a time, date, location, user identifier, or other information, and may provide this information to other systems (e.g., shipment and order tracking system 111).
• WMS 119 may store information associating one or more devices (e.g., devices 107A-107C or 119A-119C) with one or more users associated with system 100.
• a user such as a part- or full-time employee
• a mobile device in that the user owns the mobile device (e.g., the mobile device is a smartphone).
• a user may be associated with a mobile device in that the user is temporarily in custody of the mobile device (e.g., the user checked the mobile device out at the start of the day, will use it during the day, and will return it at the end of the day).
• WMS 119 may maintain a work log for each user associated with system 100.
• WMS 119 may store information associated with each employee, including any assigned processes (e.g., unloading trucks, picking items from a pick zone, rebin wall work, packing items), a user identifier, a location (e.g., a floor or zone in a fulfillment center 200), a number of units moved through the system by the employee (e.g., number of items picked, number of items packed), an identifier associated with a device (e.g., devices 119A- 119C), or the like.
• WMS 119 may receive check-in and check-out information from a timekeeping system, such as a timekeeping system operated on a device 119A-119C.
• 3 rd party fulfillment (3PL) systems 121 A-121C represent 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 be otherwise unavailable for storage in fulfillment center 200. 3PL systems 121 A-121C may be configured to receive orders from FO system 113 (e.g., through FMG 115) and may provide products and/or services (e.g., delivery or installation) to customers directly.
• FO system 113 e.g., through FMG 115
• products and/or services e.g., delivery or installation
• one or more of 3PL systems 121 A-121 C may be part of system 100, while in other embodiments, one or more of 3PL systems 121 A-121 C may be outside of system 100 (e.g., owned or operated by a third-party provider).
• FC Auth 123 may be implemented as a computer system with a variety of functions.
• FC Auth 123 may act as a single-sign on (SSO) service for one or more other systems in system 100.
• 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 shipment and order tracking system 111 , and enable the user to access those privileges without requiring a second log in process.
• FC Auth 123 in other embodiments, may enable users (e.g., employees) to associate themselves with a particular task.
• FC Auth 123 may be configured to enable those employees to indicate what task they are performing and what zone they are in at different times of day.
• LMS 125 may be implemented as a computer system that stores attendance and overtime information for employees (including full-time and part-time employees).
• LMS 125 may receive information from FC Auth 123, WMS 119, devices 119A-119C, transportation system 107, and/or devices 107A-107C.
• FIG. 1 A The particular configuration depicted in FIG. 1 A is an example only.
• FIG. 1 A depicts FC Auth system 123 connected to FO system 113, not all embodiments require this particular configuration.
• the systems in system 100 may be connected to one another through one or more public or private networks, including the Internet, an Intranet, a WAN (Wide-Area Network), a MAN (Metropolitan-Area Network), a wireless network compliant with the IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n Standards, a leased line, or the like.
• 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.
• Fulfillment center 200 is an example of a physical location that stores items for shipping to customers when ordered.
• Fulfillment center (FC) 200 may be divided into multiple zones, each of which are depicted in FIG. 2. These “zones,” in some embodiments, may be thought of as virtual divisions between different stages of a process of receiving items, storing the items, retrieving the items, and shipping the items. So while the “zones” are depicted in FIG. 2, other divisions of zones are possible, and the zones in FIG. 2 may be omitted, duplicated, or modified in some embodiments.
• Inbound zone 203 represents an area of FC 200 where items are received from sellers who wish to sell products using system 100 from FIG. 1 A.
• a seller may deliver items 202A and 202B using truck 201.
• Item 202A may represent a single item large enough to occupy its own shipping pallet, while item 202B may represent a set of items that are stacked together on the same pallet to save space.
• a worker will receive the items in inbound zone 203 and may optionally check the items for damage and correctness using a computer system (not pictured). For example, the worker may use a computer system to compare the quantity of items 202A and 202B to an ordered quantity of items. If the quantity does not match, that worker may refuse one or more of items 202A or 202B. If the quantity does match, the worker may move those items (using, e.g., a dolly, a handtruck, a forklift, or manually) to buffer zone 205.
• Buffer zone 205 may be a temporary storage area for items that are not currently needed in the picking zone, for example, because there is a high enough quantity of that item in the picking zone to satisfy forecasted demand.
• forklifts 206 operate to move items around buffer zone 205 and between inbound zone 203 and drop zone 207. If there is a need for items 202A or 202B in the picking zone (e.g., because of forecasted demand), a forklift may move items 202A or 202B to drop zone 207.
• Drop zone 207 may be an area of FC 200 that stores items before they are moved to picking zone 209.
• a worker assigned to the picking task (a “picker”) may approach items 202A and 202B in the picking zone, scan a barcode for the picking zone, and scan barcodes associated with items 202A and 202B using a mobile device (e.g., device 119B). The picker may then take the item to picking zone 209 (e.g., by placing it on a cart or carrying it).
• Picking zone 209 may be an area of FC 200 where items 208 are stored on storage units 210.
• storage units 210 may comprise one or more of physical shelving, bookshelves, boxes, totes, refrigerators, freezers, cold stores, or the like.
• picking zone 209 may be organized into multiple floors.
• workers or machines may move items into picking zone 209 in multiple ways, including, for example, a forklift, an elevator, a conveyor belt, a cart, a handtruck, a dolly, an automated robot or device, or manually.
• a picker may place items 202A and 202B on a handtruck or cart in drop zone 207 and walk items 202A and 202B to picking zone 209.
• a picker may receive an instruction to place (or “stow”) the items in particular spots in picking zone 209, such as a particular space on a storage unit 210.
• a picker may scan item 202A using a mobile device (e.g., device 119B).
• the device may indicate where the picker should stow item 202A, for example, using a system that indicate an aisle, shelf, and location.
• the device may then prompt the picker to scan a barcode at that location before stowing item 202A in that location.
• the device may send (e.g., via a wireless network) data to a computer system such as WMS 119 in FIG. 1 A indicating that item 202A has been stowed at the location by the user using device 119B.
• a picker may receive an instruction on device 119B to retrieve one or more items 208 from storage unit 210.
• the picker may retrieve item 208, scan a barcode on item 208, and place it on transport mechanism 214.
• transport mechanism 214 is represented as a slide, in some embodiments, transport mechanism may be implemented as one or more of a conveyor belt, an elevator, a cart, a forklift, a handtruck, a dolly, or the like. Item 208 may then arrive at packing zone 211.
• Packing zone 211 may be an area of FC 200 where items are received from picking zone 209 and packed into boxes or bags for eventual shipping to customers.
• a worker assigned to receiving items (a “rebin worker”) will receive item 208 from picking zone 209 and determine what order it corresponds to.
• the rebin worker may use a device, such as computer 119C, to scan a barcode on item 208.
• Computer 119C may indicate visually which order item 208 is associated with. This may include, for example, a space or “cell” on a wall 216 that corresponds to an order.
• the rebin worker may indicate to a packing worker (or “packer”) that the order is complete.
• the packer may retrieve the items from the cell and place them in a box or bag for shipping.
• the packer may then send the box or bag to a hub zone 213, e.g., via forklift, cart, dolly, handtruck, conveyor belt, manually, or otherwise.
• Flub zone 213 may be an area of FC 200 that receives all boxes or bags (“packages”) from packing zone 211. Workers and/or machines in hub zone 213 may retrieve package 218 and determine which portion of a delivery area each package is intended to go to, and route the package to an appropriate camp zone 215. For example, if the delivery area has two smaller sub-areas, packages will go to one of two camp zones 215. In some embodiments, a worker or machine may scan a package (e.g., using one of devices 119A-119C) to determine its eventual destination.
• Routing the package to camp zone 215 may comprise, for example, determining a portion of a geographical area that the package is destined for (e.g., based on a postal code) and determining a camp zone 215 associated with the portion of the geographical area.
• Camp zone 215, in some embodiments, may comprise one or more buildings, one or more physical spaces, or one or more areas, where packages are received from hub zone 213 for sorting into routes and/or sub-routes.
• camp zone 215 is physically separate from FC 200 while in other embodiments camp zone 215 may form a part of FC 200.
• Workers and/or machines in camp zone 215 may determine which route and/or sub-route a package 220 should be associated with, for example, based on a comparison of the destination to an existing route and/or sub-route, a calculation of workload for each route and/or sub-route, the time of day, a shipping method, the cost to ship the package 220, a PDD associated with the items in package 220, or the like.
• a worker or machine may scan a package (e.g., using one of devices 119A-119C) to determine its eventual destination. Once package 220 is assigned to a particular route and/or sub-route, a worker and/or machine may move package 220 to be shipped.
• a package e.g., using one of devices 119A-119C
• camp zone 215 includes a truck 222, a car 226, and delivery workers 224A and 224B.
• truck 222 may be driven by delivery worker 224A, where delivery worker 224A is a full-time employee that delivers packages for FC 200 and truck 222 is owned, leased, or operated by the same company that owns, leases, or operates FC 200.
• car 226 may be driven by delivery worker 224B, where delivery worker 224B is a “flex” or occasional worker that is delivering on an as-needed basis (e.g., seasonally). Car 226 may be owned, leased, or operated by delivery worker 224B.
• FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of an item order management process 300, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
• SCM system 117 may run process 300 to generate one or more purchase orders to purchase and stock a sufficient quantity to satisfy the forecasted demand for a variety of products.
• SCM system 117 may receive an order quantity of an item.
• the order quantity may be based on, for example, historical consumption patterns and consumption predictions. Although a single item type is discussed in reference to process 300, process 300 may accommodate order quantities for a plurality of items as well, such as orders for a plurality of stock keeping units (SKUs).
• SCM system 117 may retrieve inventory information and generate an order quantity based on the inventory information rather than or in addition to receiving the order quantity, such as by retrieving inventory data from one or more WMS 119 or FO system 113.
• SCM system 117 may retrieve a current inventory of a SKU at a fulfillment center from a database, and repeat this for each of a plurality of fulfillment centers, to determine an overall inventory of a SKU.
• SCM system 117 may also retrieve past supplier orders and past consumer purchases, such as from FO system 113, and calculate a current inventory.
• SCM system 117 may determine an order quantity based on a difference between the current inventory and a required inventory.
• SCM system 117 may also determine an order quantity based on a required reserve amount.
• a required reserve amount may be a quantity of a SKU that is kept in inventory to fulfil surges in purchases from consumers. For example, a consumption rate for a SKU may be 1000 units per week, but occasionally, the consumption rate may jump to 1500 units per week. A required reserve amount may therefore be 500, such that there are minimal delays in shipment to consumers due to low inventory.
• SCM system 117 may retrieve, from a data store, a required reserve amount corresponding to the item.
• the data store may be a database accessible by SCM system 117, for instance over a network, or may be an internal storage of SCM system 117.
• the required reserve amount may be based on a statistical confidence interval surrounding a historical consumption rate. For example, a distributor may wish to have a 99.9% likelihood of meeting consumer purchases with current inventory. Based on past consumption patterns, SCM system 117 may calculate a statistical distribution, such as a Gaussian distribution, and determine a range within which 99.9% of consumption rates are expected to fall. SCM system 117 may then base a required reserve on this confidence interval.
• SCM system 117 may retrieve a stored item amount corresponding to at least one destination.
• the destination may be, for example, a fulfilment center that packages and ships items to consumers as described previously, and the stored item amount may be an inventory of a SKU at the destination.
• SCM system 117 may calculate the stored item amount as described above rather than or in addition to retrieving the stored item amount from a data store. SCM system 117 may then set the order quantity to comprise a reserve order amount, the reserve order amount being a difference between the required reserve amount and the stored item amount.
• the reserve order amount may reflect a total reserve amount for a plurality of destinations.
• the reserve order amount may also be based on a single destination stored item amount and required reserve amount.
• the required reserve amount may comprise at least one site-specific reserve amount, the site-specific reserve amount corresponding to a destination and being based on a delivery rate of the item from the destination.
• the delivery rate may correspond to a number of purchases of an item by consumers who are served by a particular destination.
• the reserve order amount may be an aggregate of a plurality of site-specific reserve amounts, and SCM system 117 may store the site-specific reserve amounts in correlation with respective destinations in order to later allocate goods to destinations.
• SCM system 117 may retrieve, from a data store, a bulk shipment quantity associated with the item.
• a manufacturer or supplier may set the bulk shipment quantity based on item characteristics. For example, a bulk shipment of tissues may be 100 boxes based on a standard pallet size used by a tissue manufacturer and the volume of the boxes; a bulk shipment of chairs may be 4 chairs due to the weight of the chairs. Bulk shipments may also separate into tiers, such that, for instance, 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.
• SCM system 117 may determine a number of bulk shipments to meet the order quantity.
• Step 306 may calculate a fractional number of bulk shipments. For example, if the order quantity from step 302 is 1500 units, and the bulk shipment quantity is 1000 units, 1.5 bulk shipments would be needed to fulfill the order quantity.
• SCM system 117 may determine whether to round up a fractional number of bulk shipments calculated at step 306, or to round down the fractional number of bulk shipments and order the remaining units required to meet the order quantity individually or in a different bulk shipment tier.
• a bulk shipment may be arranged into groupings of pallets, and each pallet may hold, for instance, 300 units of a SKU. If a distributor network needs 750 units, the 750 units corresponds to 2.5 pallets. An order of pallets would be either 2 pallets (600 units), or 3 pallets (900 units).
• a determination of rounding up or down may be determined by the nature of the SKU. For instance, for SKUs that may be held in a reserve in anticipation of unusual increases in customer demand (i.e.
• the order may be rounded up when the number of pallets exceeds a threshold, such as 2.5 pallets, because entering inventory into a long-term storage may be cost effective for certain numbers of pallets (i.e., at least 3).
• some SKUs may be dispatched quickly (i.e., “non-redundancy” or “short-term” inventory).
• the order may be rounded up when the number of pallets exceeds a lower threshold, such at 0.5. If the number of pallets is rounded down, such that there are additional units needed to meet the original requirements, the remaining units may be ordered as individual units. For instance, if the network needs 700 units, and a pallet is 300 units, the network needs 2.33 pallets. This may be rounded down to 2 pallets for 600 units, and the remaining 100 units may be ordered individually.
• redundancy or long-term SKUs may also be rounded up even in cases where individual units are purchased.
• a supplier may provide units in quantities of pallets or minimum order quantities, where minimum order quantities contain fewer units than a pallet and indicate the minimum number of units a supplier will ship.
• minimum order quantities may be counted as minimum order quantities. For example, if a distributor network needs 750 units of a SKU, and pallets contain 1500 units while the minimum order quantity is 400 units, the delivery network would require 2 pallets, or 1.875 minimum order quantities.
• the 2 pallets may be too few pallets, based on handling and storage costs, and so the network may prefer to order as minimum order quantities.
• the 1.875 minimum order quantities may be increased, for instance, to 3, since excess redundancy units may still be beneficial to offset sales surges.
• Non redundancy SKUs may be treated differently, in that the 1.875 minimum order quantities may only be rounded up to 2 as excess inventory may be wasted.
• SKUs may be categorized by final shipment method to a customer. For example, certain SKUs, such as low value, non-fragile SKUs, may be shipped in a bag (i.e. , “totable”). Fligher-value or fragile SKUs may require shipment in a box with other packaging (i.e., “non-totable”). Other SKUs may be shipped in large quantities, or in original packaging from a manufacturer or supplier (i.e., “grande”). For example, boxes of toilet paper may be categorized as grande, as consumers may often purchase large quantities of toilet paper, and the boxes may be shipped from a destination to the consumer in the original packaging provided by the toilet paper manufacturer. In some embodiments, the SKU type may determine thresholds required for rounding up pallets and minimum order quantities.
• SCM system 117 may retrieve a number of destinations, such as a number of destinations in a fulfilment center network, or a number of destinations requiring additional stock to meet required reserves and predicted consumption rates. SCM system 117 may then, at step 310, determine a quantity of surplus shipments to form a multiple of the number of destinations.
• a quantity of surplus shipments may be 1200 boxes, and a bulk shipment quantity may be 300 boxes. Thus, 4 bulk shipments are required to obtain 1200 boxes. If there are 5 destinations requiring additional inventory of tissues, however, one destination would not be resupplied unless the bulk shipments were separated into individual units.
• SCM system 117 may determine that the quantity of surplus shipments is 1 , such that the number of bulk shipments (4) and the quantity of surplus shipments (1) is a multiple of the number of destinations (5).
• an order quantity of chairs may be 16 chairs, and a bulk shipment quantity of chairs may be 3. Thus, 5.33 bulk shipments are required to meet the order quantity. Further, there may be 8 destinations requiring additional stock of chairs to meet respective required reserves.
• SCM system 117 would determine that a surplus shipment of 2.66 bulk shipments is required, such that 8 total bulk shipment quantities could be spread across 8 destinations equally. In other words, to distribute at least 16 chairs to 8 destinations when chairs are shipped in bulks of 3, SCM system 117 would order a total of 18 chairs, or 2 more than the 16 chairs actually required.
• SCM system 117 may have to order more inventory than actually needed in order to distribute inventory throughout a network.
• the extra inventory may be small, such that a risk of waste and added storage cost of unnecessary inventory is also small.
• the extra inventory may be large, resulting in increased waste and added storage costs that negate the benefits of bulk shipping.
• SCM system 117 may, at step 312, compare the quantity of surplus shipments to a threshold.
• the threshold may be dependent on SKU characteristics, such as sale rate, perishability, and unit value. For example, high throughput items such as toiletries may have a high threshold, as the risk of waste may be reduced, and storage costs may be small. Perishable goods may have low thresholds due to the risk of loss of being unsold. High value goods may have high storage costs, and thus a high threshold so that a distributor avoids incurring excess cost. Additionally, the threshold may be proportional to the bulk shipment quantity.
• adding 3 bulk shipments to 1 bulk shipment in order to be a multiple of 4 destinations may be too costly, while adding 3 bulk shipments to 97 in order to be a multiple of 4 may be a marginal increase in costs over the originally-planned costs of storing the original order.
• SCM system 117 may calculate a threshold based on a total amount of money saved by ordering in bulk and an estimated cost of storage and waste of excess goods.
• a distributor may pay $0.25 per box of tissues if ordered in a shipment of 100, for a total cost of $25. If the distributor only needed 40 boxes and purchased them individually, the distributor may pay $0.50 per box, for a total cost of $50. Thus, the distributor would save $25 by ordering in bulk. However, the extra 60 boxes (i.e., 0.6 surplus shipments) may require $30 in excess handling and storage fees that could be avoided by purchasing individually. Thus, it would be advantageous to purchase 40 boxes individually for $50, rather than purchasing a bulk shipment of 100 for $25 and incurring $30 in fees.
• SCM system 117 may set a threshold of 0.5 surplus shipments, indicating that it is cost effective to increase an original purchase quantity by up to 0.5 surplus shipments, but further increases are not cost effective. Further, SCM system 117 may calculate a threshold based on the SKU type (i.e., totable, non-totable, grande), and whether the SKU is considered a redundancy SKU or a non-redundancy SKU.
• SKU type i.e., totable, non-totable, grande
• a non-redundancy SKU that is expected to leave a destination quickly may have a higher threshold, indicating a need to reduce excess inventory, while a redundancy SKU may have a lower threshold, as excess inventory can be stored for a longer duration.
• a distributor may find added efficiencies in handling bulk shipments as a group. For example, handling one bulk shipment amount may require additional equipment, such as a forklift, to handle the shipping mechanism, such as a pallet. In contrast, smaller or individual shipping quantities may be simpler and cheaper to process, resulting in lower overall cost despite a potentially higher unit cost.
• a distributor may only order bulk shipments if the total number of bulk shipments exceeds a bulk shipment threshold. Therefore, after determining that the quantity of surplus shipments is less than the first threshold (i.e., step 312 is YES) SCM system 117 may proceed to step 318. At step 318, SCM system 117 may compare a sum of the number of bulk shipments and the quantity of surplus shipments to a bulk shipment threshold. If the sum is greater than the bulk shipment threshold, step 318 is YES, and SCM system 117 may proceed to step 320. In some embodiments, SCM system 117 may omit step 318 or step 312.
• SCM system 117 may transmit a supplier order for the number of bulk shipments and the quantity of surplus shipments.
• SCM system 117 may require human approval of the supplier order before transmitting.
• SCM system 117 may transmit the supplier order to a manufacturer of a SKU, for instance, or another distributor. Further, the supplier order may specify a delivery location and time.
• a manufacturer or other supplier may specify a minimum order quantity of an item. For instance, a tissue manufacturer may refuse to ship fewer than 10 boxes of tissues at a time, or may be willing to ship a single box at a time such that the minimum order quantity is one.
• SCM system 117 may retrieve a minimum order quantity corresponding to an item from the data store, for instance. Thus, if bulk shipping is not selected, a distributor may need to order on the basis of minimum order quantity.
• SCM system 117 may also retrieve a least number of minimum order quantities, i.e., a minimum number of minimum order quantities, that may be based on the status of a SKU as being a redundancy or non redundancy SKU. For example, redundancy SKUs may have a least number of minimum order quantities of 3, such that SCM system 117 orders at least 3 minimum order quantities, while non-redundancy SKUs may have a least number of minimum order quantities of 1 to reduce excess inventory.
• step 318 is NO, such that the number of bulk shipments and quantity of surplus shipments is less than the bulk shipment threshold
• SCM system 117 may proceed to step 322 to determine a least amount of minimum order quantities to supply the order quantity. For instance, if the order quantity is 1005 units, and the minimum order quantity is 10 units, the least amount of minimum order quantities to supply the order quantity would be 101 , as 100 minimum order quantities would be less than 1005. SCM system 117 may proceed to step 324 and transmit the alternate supplier order for a least amount of minimum order quantities to supply the order quantity.
• SCM system 117 may determine a mix of bulk shipments and minimum order quantities. At step 314, SCM system 117 may determine 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. Step 314 may include subtracting, from the order quantity of the item, a product of a floor round of the number of bulk shipments (i.e., a while number of bulk shipments) and the bulk shipment quantity. The difference may be divided by the minimum order quantity, and the minimum order quantity may be ceiling rounded, thus ensuring that enough units may be ordered to meet the distributor’s reserves, orders, and projected orders.
• SCM system 117 may transmit a supplier order for the amount of minimum order quantities and the number of bulk shipments.
• the supplier order may be transmitted, for instance, via email, website, or fax, to a supplier of a SKU, and detail information such as the SKU, amount, shipment type, delivery date, and delivery destination.
• SCM system 117 may determine an optimal combination of bulk shipments and minimum order quantities to satisfy a received order quantity (i.e., bulk, mixture of bulk and minimum order quantity, or only minimum order quantity), taking advantage of economies of scale while reducing losses due to waste, storage, and handling costs.
• FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of regional destination use and capacity, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
• a geographic area e.g., a country, a county, a city, or other political/geographical subdivision
• region 402 a geographic area
• region 404 a geographic area
• region 406 Each region has at least one destination (i.e., fulfilment center 200).
• region 404 has two destinations 410 and 412.
• regions may have different numbers of destinations.
• destinations may have differing capacities, throughput, and inventories.
• Information about the attributes of a destination may be stored, for instance, in a data store or another database.
• SCM system 117 may query WMSs 119 to obtain destination attributes as well.
• destination 410 has a capacity of six units, illustrated as six boxes, an inventory of six units, illustrated by the boxes being filled in, and a spare capacity of zero units.
• destination 412 has a capacity of nine units, illustrated by nine boxes, with an inventory of seven units and spare capacity of two units.
• Capacity may be SKU-specific, indicating, for instance, that a destination may store 150 televisions.
• Capacity may be SKU-agnostic, indicating open space that can store any of a plurality of items, individually or in combination.
• Throughput of destinations may be based on consumption habits of nearby customers. For example, books may be frequently purchased in region 404, while video games may be frequently purchased in region 402. Therefore, destinations 410 and 412 may have a larger inventory and required reserve of books than video games, while destinations 414 and 416 may have a larger inventory and required reserve of video games than books.
• SCM system 117 may take into consideration the ability of individual destinations to house additional inventory when transmitting supplier orders. For example, although a particular destination may have a required reserve of an item, SCM system 117 may determine that the particular destination does not have sufficient vacant storage volume to store the required reserve, and forego sending a supplier order. Alternatively, SCM system 117 may determine that a destination is unable to store a bulk shipment of an item, which may contain excess inventory in order to benefit from bulk shipment prices, but that the destination is able to store individual items. Thus, SCM system 117 may place a supplier order for a minimum quantity of an item, rather than a bulk quantity, based on the available space at a destination.
• FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of an item order management process analyzing inventory trends and destination capacity, consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
• SCM system 117 may perform steps of process 500 for destinations individually, for instance, to determine if each destination could handle a bulk shipment due to space constraints.
• SCM system 117 may reduce the number of bulk shipments in a supplier order in response to a destination having insufficient space, and instead order minimum order quantities.
• SCM system 117 may determine an occupied volume of a destination.
• SCM system 117 may perform step 502 by accessing WMS 119 or FO system 113, or may access the data store to determine an inventory of the destination, the inventory comprising stock keeping units and respective volumes.
• SCM system 117 may also determine a volume of the goods, and calculate a total occupied volume based on the inventory. For example, SCM system 117 may combine information of a unit volume for a first SKU, such as 1 cubic foot, with an inventory of the first SKU, such as 1000, to determine that the first SKU occupies 1000 cubic feet. SCM system 117 may repeat this for each SKU at a destination to arrive at a total occupied volume.
• SCM system 117 may measure volume as units of storage, such as a number of filled shelves or pallet parking spaces, or other measurements of the space taken up by an item.
• the occupied volume may be based on SKU-specific storage requirements. For instance, a destination may have 10 storage spaces designated for bicycles.
• SCM system 117 may also determine an inbound volume. For example, SCM system 117 may access the data store to determine an inbound inventory of the destination, the inbound inventory comprising stock keeping units and respective volumes of placed supplier orders. SCM system 117 may review previously-transmitted supplier orders and expected arrival dates of new inventory at step 504. In some embodiments, the inbound inventory may comprise stock keeping units expected to arrive at the destination before an estimated arrival of the bulk shipment. To illustrate, SCM system 117 may retrieve from the data store a typical delivery time for a SKU, for instance, that tissue boxes are typically delivered within one week of transmitting a supplier order.
• SCM system 117 may access the data store to obtain a unit volume of the SKU, and combine the unit volume with an order quantity to determine the inbound volume. As stated previously, the volume may be measured in units of storage as well. Thus, SCM system 117 may review previously-transmitted supplier orders to determine which shipments are expected to arrive at a destination within one week when determining if a destination can store an additional shipment of tissue boxes.
• SCM system 117 may access the data store to determine an outbound inventory of the destination, the outbound inventory comprising stock keeping units and respective volumes of placed customer orders.
• FO system 113 may supply information on placed customer orders to SCM system 117, or SCM system 117 may obtain this information from the data store.
• the outbound inventory may comprise the stock keeping units expected to depart from the destination before the estimated arrival. Continuing the tissue box example, the outbound inventory may be units that will be shipped to customers, thus making empty space, within a week.
• SCM system 117 may access the data store to determine a total volume of the destination. SCM system 117 may determine that a particular destination has a total volume of 30,000 cubic feet of storage, or 15,000 shelf locations, or 1 ,000 pallet parking spaces. The data store may correlate a destination identifier with the total volume attribute. SCM system 117 may retrieve the destination information from other or a plurality of data stores, as well.
• SCM system 117 may determine an unused storage volume of the destination.
• the unused storage volume may be a difference of the total volume and the occupied volume.
• SCM system 117 may also combine the total volume, the outbound volume, the occupied volume, and the inbound volume. For example, SCM system 117 may find a first sum of the total volume and an outbound volume based on the outbound inventory; and a second a sum of the occupied volume and an inbound volume based on the inbound inventory. SCM system 117 may then find a difference of the first sum and the second sum, and set the difference as the unused storage volume.
• SCM system 117 may compare the unused storage volume to the bulk shipment volume to see if the destination has sufficient, unallocated space to store the bulk shipment. If the unused storage volume is greater than the bulk shipment volume, step 512 is YES, and SCM system 117 may proceed to step 514 to transmit the supplier order the number of bulk shipments and the quantity of surplus shipments. However, if the unused storage volume is greater than the unused storage volume, the destination may be unable to store excess inventory in bulk form, and step 512 is NO. SCM system 117 may then proceed to step 516 to transmit order for a least amount of minimum order quantities to supply the order quantity. SCM system 117 may also forego transmitting any supplier order until the destination has sufficient unused storage volume.
• SCM system 117 may identify an alternate destination with sufficient spare volume to store bulk shipments. For example, returning to FIG. 4, destination 410 is full, while destination 408, 412, 414, and 416 have unused storage volume. If destination 410 has insufficient inventory to meet a required reserve for an item, SCM system 117 may direct additional inventory to another destination. Further, SCM system 117 may direct inventory to a destination in the same region. In this manner, SCM system 117 may arrange inventory sufficient to meet a required reserve within a region. This may avoid shipping delays due to reserve being held in a different, distant region that may also have differing consumption patterns and rarely consume the particular item being reserved.
• a computer- implemented method for item order management may include a plurality of steps. The steps may include determining an order quantity of an item based on a planned item reserve level and inventory levels of each a plurality of regions; retrieve, from a data store, a bulk shipment quantity associated with the item; determine a number of bulk shipments to meet the order quantity; determine an unused storage volume for each destination within each of the plurality of regions; determine a quantity of surplus shipments to form a multiple of the number of regions; transmitting a supplier order for the number of bulk shipments and the quantity of surplus shipments in response to the quantity of surplus shipments being less than a threshold; and assigning the bulk shipments to destinations in respective regions based on the planned item reserve level and inventory level of the region, and in response to the destinations having unused storage volume exceeding a volume of the bulk shipment.
• Programs based on the written description and disclosed methods are within the skill of an experienced developer.
• Various programs or program modules can be created using any of the techniques known to one skilled in the art or can be designed in connection with existing software.
• program sections or program modules can be designed in or by means of .Net Framework, .Net Compact Framework (and related languages, such as Visual Basic, C, etc.), Java, C++, Objective-C, FITML, HTML/AJAX combinations, XML, or HTML with included Java applets.

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