Inventory management system and method
First Claim
1. A method for maintaining an optimal level of inventory comprising the following steps:
- (a) determining demands on inventory residing at a location;
(b) determining an optimum level of inventory to reside at the location based upon the inventory demands;
(c) sensing the level of inventory at the location to determine if the inventory is at the optimum level;
(d) if it is determined in step c that the level of inventory is less than the optimum level, then determining a method to replenish the inventory; and
(e) if it is determined in step c that the level of inventory is greater than or equal to the optimum level, then repeating step c and subsequent steps.
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Abstract
An inventory management system and method for maintaining an optimal level of inventory is provided. The invention analyzes a supply chain network to provide an optimal inventory level. The invented method utilizes existing inventory information to calculate an optimal inventory level. The optimal inventory level is used to devise a purchase plan for ordering replenishment inventory. The method also incorporates intra-company lateral transfers into the inventory tracking and ordering requirements. Inventory at multiple locations is considered and used to determine whether transfers of inventory among locations can resolve inventory level issues.
154 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method for maintaining an optimal level of inventory comprising the following steps:
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(a) determining demands on inventory residing at a location;
(b) determining an optimum level of inventory to reside at the location based upon the inventory demands;
(c) sensing the level of inventory at the location to determine if the inventory is at the optimum level;
(d) if it is determined in step c that the level of inventory is less than the optimum level, then determining a method to replenish the inventory; and
(e) if it is determined in step c that the level of inventory is greater than or equal to the optimum level, then repeating step c and subsequent steps.
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2. A method for maintaining an optimal level of inventory comprising the following steps:
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(a) determining a product type of a product in inventory, the inventory residing at a location;
(b) determining a demand type based on the product type of the product;
(c) determining an optimum inventory level of at least one product in inventory at the location;
(d) sensing the inventory level of at least one product in inventory at the location to determine if the inventory level of the product is at the optimum level;
(e) if it is determined in step d that the inventory level of the product is less than the optimum level, then determining a method to replenish the inventory; and
(f) if it is determined in step d that the level of inventory is greater than or equal to the optimum level, then repeating step d and subsequent steps. - View Dependent Claims (3)
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4. A method for maintaining an optimal level of inventory comprising the following steps:
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(a) determining an optimum level of at least one product in inventory of inventory residing at a first location;
(b) determining an optimum level of at least one product in inventory of inventory residing at a second location;
(c) sensing the inventory level of at least one product in inventory at the first location and the second location to determine if the inventory level of the product is less than the optimum level at either location;
(d) if it is determined in step c that the inventory level of the product is less than the optimum level at one of the first location and second location, then determining a method to replenish the inventory; and
(e) if it is determined in step c that the level of inventory is greater than or equal to the optimum level, then repeating step repeating step c and subsequent steps. - View Dependent Claims (5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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6. The method of 5 wherein the inventory replenishment source comprises an external inventory source.
- 7. The method of 5 wherein the inventory replenishment source comprises an internal inventory source.
Specification