Methods and Apparatus for Fulfilling Tote Deliveries
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- processing, by enterprise logic implemented on one or more computer devices, tote delivery data indicating items to be delivered to delivery addresses in one or more zones via a tote delivery service from a sortation node that serves the one or more zones to generate bulk transfer data for two or more fulfillment centers and zone delivery data for the sortation node, wherein the tote delivery service delivers totes including items ordered by customers via a network site to delivery addresses corresponding to the customers on assigned tote delivery days;
picking, at each of the two or more fulfillment centers, items indicated by the bulk transfer data corresponding to the fulfillment center and bulk transferring the picked items to the sortation node, wherein at least some of the items are picked at the two or more fulfillment centers as single units of a respective item, wherein the bulk transfer from each of the two or more fulfillment centers is an unsorted collection of the items picked at the respective fulfillment center, wherein the picked items in the unsorted collection are not sorted according to delivery orders for delivery addresses;
receiving, at the sortation node, the bulk transfer from each of the two or more fulfillment centers and sorting the unsorted collections of items from the bulk transfers into totes corresponding to the delivery addresses according to the zone delivery data;
loading, at the sortation node, the totes including the sorted items onto one or more delivery vehicles; and
each delivery vehicle delivering totes to delivery addresses in at least one of the one or more zones.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for fulfilling tote delivery orders. A tote delivery service directs delivery of items ordered by customers via a network site to delivery addresses corresponding to the customers in reusable totes on assigned tote delivery days. Tote delivery data may be processed to generate bulk transfer data for fulfillment centers and zone delivery data for sortation nodes. Each fulfillment center may pick items indicated by the bulk transfer data and bulk transfer the items to particular sortation nodes. At a sortation node, the items in the received bulk transfers, and possibly items received from other sources such as direct transfers from vendors, are rebinned into totes corresponding to delivery addresses in zones. The totes are loaded onto delivery vehicles, which deliver the totes to the delivery addresses in particular zones served by the sortation node. The zones and tote delivery days may be determined by zip code.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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processing, by enterprise logic implemented on one or more computer devices, tote delivery data indicating items to be delivered to delivery addresses in one or more zones via a tote delivery service from a sortation node that serves the one or more zones to generate bulk transfer data for two or more fulfillment centers and zone delivery data for the sortation node, wherein the tote delivery service delivers totes including items ordered by customers via a network site to delivery addresses corresponding to the customers on assigned tote delivery days; picking, at each of the two or more fulfillment centers, items indicated by the bulk transfer data corresponding to the fulfillment center and bulk transferring the picked items to the sortation node, wherein at least some of the items are picked at the two or more fulfillment centers as single units of a respective item, wherein the bulk transfer from each of the two or more fulfillment centers is an unsorted collection of the items picked at the respective fulfillment center, wherein the picked items in the unsorted collection are not sorted according to delivery orders for delivery addresses; receiving, at the sortation node, the bulk transfer from each of the two or more fulfillment centers and sorting the unsorted collections of items from the bulk transfers into totes corresponding to the delivery addresses according to the zone delivery data; loading, at the sortation node, the totes including the sorted items onto one or more delivery vehicles; and each delivery vehicle delivering totes to delivery addresses in at least one of the one or more zones. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system, comprising:
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one or more data storage devices that store data including tote delivery data for an enterprise, wherein the tote delivery data indicates items to be delivered to delivery addresses in one or more zones via a tote delivery service from a sortation node that serves the one or more zones; and one or more servers that implement enterprise logic executable on the one or more servers to; process the tote delivery data to generate bulk transfer data for two or more fulfillment centers and zone delivery data for the sortation node, wherein the tote delivery service delivers totes including items ordered by customers to delivery addresses corresponding to the customers on assigned tote delivery days; direct picking, at each of the two or more fulfillment centers, of items according to the bulk transfer data corresponding to the fulfillment center, wherein at least some of the items are picked at the two or more fulfillment centers as single units of a respective item; direct bulk transfer of the picked items from each of the two or more fulfillment centers to the sortation node, wherein the bulk transfer from each of the two or more fulfillment centers is an unsorted collection of the items picked at the respective fulfillment center, wherein the picked items in the unsorted collection are not sorted according to delivery orders for delivery addresses; and direct sorting, at the sortation node, of the unsorted collections of items from the bulk transfers into totes corresponding to the delivery addresses according to the zone delivery data. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:
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processing tote delivery data to generate bulk transfer data for two or more fulfillment centers and zone delivery data for a sortation node, wherein said tote delivery data indicates items in tote orders to be delivered from the sortation node to customers of an enterprise via a tote delivery service, wherein the tote delivery service delivers tote orders to the customers on assigned tote delivery days, wherein each tote delivery includes one or more totes that include a tote order of one or more items; directing picking, at each of the two or more fulfillment centers, of items according to the bulk transfer data corresponding to the fulfillment center, wherein at least some of the items are picked at the two or more fulfillment centers as single units of a respective item; directing bulk transfer of the picked items from each of the two or more fulfillment centers to the sortation node, wherein the bulk transfer from each of the two or more fulfillment centers is an unsorted collection of the items picked at the respective fulfillment center, wherein the picked items in the unsorted collection are not sorted according to delivery orders for delivery addresses; and directing sorting, at the sortation node, of the unsorted collections of items from the bulk transfers into totes corresponding to the delivery addresses according to the zone delivery data. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification