POS-predictive food buffet

• US 20070162325A1
• Filed: 12/21/2005
• Published: 07/12/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Singer-Harter, Debra
• Application Number:
  US11/314,277
• Publication Number:
  US 20070162325A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/10
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A method, system and computer-program for speculative stocking consumable goods are presented. The method includes the steps method for speculative stocking consumable items, the method comprising: receiving a current speculative order from a current customer for a consumable item; and speculatively preparing the consumable item, according to the current speculative order, before the current customer selects one or more consumable items from a selection of consumable items.

Claims

1. A method for speculative stocking consumable items, the method comprising:

receiving a current speculative order from a current customer for a consumable item; and

speculatively preparing the consumable item, according to the current speculative order, before the current customer selects one or more consumable items from a selection of consumable items.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the current speculative order is received contemporaneously with a payment transaction recorded at an entrance Point-Of-Sale (POS) terminal.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving other speculative orders from one or more prior customers, wherein. the current speculative order and the other speculative orders are combined to predictively determine what consumable items are required to stock a consumable items buffet.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein combined speculative orders are partially based on a sex distribution of the current and prior customers.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein combined speculative orders are partially based on an age distribution of the current and prior customers.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the consumable items buffet is a food buffet that is stocked with cooked pizza, and wherein the pizza is robotically prepared and robotically delivered to the food buffet.

7. A system comprising:

a processor;

a data bus coupled to the processor; and

a computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer-usable medium being coupled to the data bus, the computer program code comprising instructions executable by the processor and configured for;

receiving a current speculative order from a current customer for a consumable item; and

speculatively preparing the consumable item, according to the current speculative order, before the current customer selects one or more consumable items from a selection of consumable items.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the current speculative food order is received contemporaneously with a payment transaction recorded at an entrance Point-Of-Sale (POS) terminal.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the instructions are further configured for:

receiving other speculative orders from one or more prior customers, wherein the current speculative order and the other speculative orders are combined to predictively determine what consumable items are required to stock a consumable items buffet.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein combined speculative orders are partially based on a sex distribution of the current and prior customers.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein combined speculative orders are partially based on an age distribution of the current and prior customers.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the consumable items buffet is a food buffet that is robotically stocked.

13. A computer-usable medium embodying computer program code, the computer program code comprising computer executable instructions configured for:

receiving a current speculative order from a current customer for a consumable item; and

speculatively preparing the consumable item, according to the current speculative order, before the current customer selects one or more consumable items from a selection of consumable items.

14. The computer-usable medium of claim 13, wherein the current speculative food order is received contemporaneously with a payment transaction recorded at an entrance Point-Of-Sale (POS) terminal.

15. The computer-usable medium of claim 13, wherein the embodied computer program code further comprises computer executable instructions configured for:

receiving other speculative orders from one or more prior customers, wherein the current speculative order and the other speculative orders are combined to predictively determine what consumable items are required to stock a consumable items buffet.

16. The computer-usable medium of claim 15, wherein combined speculative orders are partially based on a sex distribution of the current and prior customers.

17. The computer-usable medium of claim 15, wherein combined speculative orders are partially based on an age distribution of the current and prior customers.

18. The computer-usable medium of claim 15, wherein the consumable items buffet is a food buffet, and wherein the embodied computer program code further comprises computer executable instructions configured for:

controlling a robotic stocking of the food buffet.

19. The computer-useable medium of claim 13, wherein the computer executable instructions are deployable to a client computer from a server at a remote location.

20. The computer-useable medium of claim 13, wherein the computer program code is provided by a service provider to a customer on an on-demand basis.