SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VIRTUAL INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

• US 20110055102A1
• Filed: 11/10/2010
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Inventors: Marcus, Stuart D., Amling, Alan, Rankin, Kenneth T., Post, George R., Woods, Bruce L., Zamsky, David S.
• Granted Patent: US 8,744,977 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/331
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0831 Overseas transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination

Abstract

Disclosed is an integrated global shipment system that provides end-to-end visibility of the movement of a package. The integrated global shipment system employs a shipment consolidating application for integrating one or more freight tracking systems with one or more end-delivery systems. As a result, shippers are provided with complete visibility of the movement of their shipments of goods from an origin country to a destination country and till the final consignees. In addition, the integrated shipment system significantly decreases the cost of managing inventories by providing a virtual inventory solution. Under this virtual inventory solution, suppliers are able to bypass distribution centers and delay allocation of goods until after the importation of goods into a destination country.

Claims

1-6. -6. (canceled)

7. A method for virtual inventory management, said method comprising the steps of:

(1) receiving from a shipper a shipment request for a carrier to ship packages, said shipment request identifying at least a destination country where said packages need to be shipped;

(2) upon an approval of said shipment request by said carrier, receiving said packages from said shipper at a first operation station of said carrier;

(3) receiving and processing shipping data associated with said packages in a global shipment system operated by said carrier, said global shipment system comprising one or more processors connected to one or more respective memories, said processors configured to generate data representative of a consolidated shipment, said consolidated shipment comprising said packages from said shipper with one or more shipments to be shipped to said destination country;

(4) sending a notification to said shipper when said consolidated shipment comprising said packages is received at a second operation station of said carrier in said destination country; and

(5) upon said notification, receiving from said shipper specific consignee locations in said destination country, said processors configured to to separate said consolidated shipment into one or more child shipments, each of said one or more child shipments associated with one of said consignee locations and comprising one or more of said packages so that said each of said one or more child shipments can be dispatched and delivered by said carrier to respective consignee locations.

8. The method of claim 7, comprising a further step of providing an interface for said shipper to track a status of said packages by entering one or more package identifiers.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein said global shipment system is further configured to generate a consolidated shipment reference number for identifying said consolidated shipment and to associate said consolidated shipment reference number with identifiers of said packages.