Method and system for order fulfillment in a distribution center
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method of fulfilling an order, the method using a distribution center having a plurality of sites for storing a plurality of items, the method comprising:
- receiving an order designating items and quantities of items;
identifying a first site which has the highest number of items in the order, and the items in the order that are available from the first site;
determining the items remaining in the order after removing those items identified as being available from the first site; and
identifying a second site which has the highest number of the items remaining in the order, and the items remaining in the order that are available from the second site, wherein the method further comprises retrieving at least one item identified from one of the sites, with the retrieval of the at least one item being dependent on an expiration time associated with the at least one item, wherein the center has at least two major sites, wherein at least one item in the order is located in a first major site and at least one item in the order is located in a second major site, wherein the first site and the second site are in the first major site, and wherein the method is implemented by at least one computing device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Order allocation techniques that reduce the number of stops that a container makes in the process of fulfilling a customer order is disclosed. In one embodiment, this is accomplished by first identifying a pod that stocks the largest number of different items in a customer order. Then, a second pod is identified that stocks the largest number of remaining items in the customer order. Ultimately, all items in the customer order are assigned a pod. The collection of pods defines a container path through the distribution center.
150 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method of fulfilling an order, the method using a distribution center having a plurality of sites for storing a plurality of items, the method comprising:
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receiving an order designating items and quantities of items;
identifying a first site which has the highest number of items in the order, and the items in the order that are available from the first site;
determining the items remaining in the order after removing those items identified as being available from the first site; and
identifying a second site which has the highest number of the items remaining in the order, and the items remaining in the order that are available from the second site, wherein the method further comprises retrieving at least one item identified from one of the sites, with the retrieval of the at least one item being dependent on an expiration time associated with the at least one item, wherein the center has at least two major sites, wherein at least one item in the order is located in a first major site and at least one item in the order is located in a second major site, wherein the first site and the second site are in the first major site, and wherein the method is implemented by at least one computing device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A computer-implemented method of fulfilling an order, the method using a distribution center having a plurality of sites for storing a plurality of items, the method comprising:
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receiving an order designating items and quantities of items;
identifying a first site which has the highest number of items in the order, and the items in the order that are available from the first site;
determining the items remaining in the order after removing those items identified as being available from the first site; and
identifying a second site which has the highest number of the items remaining in the order, and the items remaining in the order that are available from the second site, wherein the method uses information from a handheld computing device via a wireless interface, with the device being used by a center employee regarding movement of items in the center, wherein the center has at least two major sites, wherein at least one item in the order is located in a first major site and at least one item in the order is located in a second major site, wherein the first site and the second site are in the first major site, and wherein the method is implemented by at least one computing device. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A computerized order fulfillment system for fulfilling an order, the method using a distribution center having a plurality of sites for storing a plurality of items, the computerized order fulfillment system comprising:
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means for receiving an order designating items and quantities of items;
means for identifying a first site which has the highest number of items in the order, and the items in the order that are available from the first site;
means for determining the items remaining in the order after removing those items identified as being available from the first site;
means for identifying a second site which has the highest number of the items remaining in the order, and the items remaining in the order that are available from the second site; and
means for fulfilling the order by retrieving the items identified as being in the first site from the first site, and retrieving the items identified as being in the second site from the second site, wherein the retrieving of at least one of the items from the first site or the second site is performed dependent on an expiration time associated with the at least one of the items being retrieved.
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Specification