FILLING AN ORDER AT AN INVENTORY PIER

• US 20140100998A1
• Filed: 10/04/2012
• Published: 04/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Mountz, Michael C., Wurman, Peter R., Wilson, Steven A., Mallary, Caroline F., Peng, Zhouzhou, Durham, Joseph W.
• Granted Patent: US 9,009,072 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

A system includes an inventory pier, a mobile drive unit, and a management module. The inventory pier includes a defined area arranged to station an inventory holder. The inventory holder stores an inventory item. The mobile drive unit is operable to transport an order holder. The management module is operable to calculate a metric associated with demand for the inventory item. Based at least in part upon the metric, the management module is operable to select, from a plurality of inventory holders, the inventory holder storing the inventory item to be stationed at the defined area of the inventory pier. The management module is further operable to receive an order for the inventory item and instruct the mobile drive unit to transport the order holder to the inventory pier. The order holder is operable to receive the inventory item from the inventory holder proximate to the defined area.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

calculating, by a management module, a plurality of product velocities, a product velocity associated with demand for an inventory item available for ordering within an inventory system;

selecting, by the management module, a fixed number of inventory holders to be stationed at the inventory pier, the fixed number corresponding to a plurality of defined areas along a first side of an inventory pier, wherein the selection of an inventory holder to be stationed at a defined area is based at least in part upon the product velocity of the inventory item, the inventory item stored by the inventory holder;

instructing, by the management module, a mobile drive unit to transport the selected inventory holder to the defined area;

receiving, by the management module, an order for the inventory item; and

instructing, by the management module, the mobile drive unit to transport an order holder associated with the order to a second side of the inventory pier, wherein the order holder is operable to receive the inventory item at a location along the second side opposite the defined area.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the inventory holder comprises a first inventory holder and the method further comprises:

determining a first total number of lines on orders that the first inventory holder would satisfy at the inventory pier; and

wherein selecting the first inventory holder is further based at least in part upon determining that the first total number of lines on orders is greater than a second total number of lines on orders that a second inventory holder would satisfy at the inventory pier.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein selecting the first inventory holder is further based on determining that the first inventory holder would complete a greater number of orders at the inventory pier than the second inventory holder, the method further comprising:

determining that an order would be completed at the inventory pier if a plurality of inventory items requested by the order are all located in one or more inventory holders stationed at the inventory pier.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of product velocities comprises one or more of:

a first frequency at which a first inventory item appears on a plurality of orders for inventory items; and

a second frequency at which a second inventory item is expected to appear on the plurality of orders for inventory items.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the inventory holder comprises a first inventory holder that stores the first inventory item and the method further comprises:

determining that the first frequency has changed; and

based at least in part upon the change of the first frequency, determining to transport a second inventory holder to the defined area of the first inventory holder to replace the first inventory holder.

6. A system comprising:

an inventory pier comprising a defined area arranged to station an inventory holder, the inventory holder storing an inventory item;

a mobile drive unit operable to transport an order holder; and

a management module operable to;

calculate a metric associated with demand for the inventory item;

based at least in part upon the metric, select, from a plurality of inventory holders, the inventory holder storing the inventory item to be stationed at the defined area of the inventory pier;

receive an order for the inventory item;

instruct the mobile drive unit to transport the order holder to the inventory pier, the order holder operable to receive the inventory item from the inventory holder proximate to the defined area.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the metric associated with demand comprises an amount of task assignments generated by the management module, and the management module is further operable to:

calculate the amount of generated task assignments based at least in part upon receiving orders for the inventory item; and

select the inventory holder storing the inventory item to be stationed at the defined area based at least in part upon reducing the amount of generated task assignments.

8. The system of claim 6, the management module further operable to:

compare product velocities of each of a plurality of inventory items available for ordering;

based at least in part upon the comparison, select a number of inventory holders storing inventory items having high product velocities; and

instruct one or more mobile drive units to transport the number of inventory holders to the inventory pier.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the order holder receives the inventory item at a location opposite to the defined area of the inventory holder storing the inventory item.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein:

the mobile drive unit is further operable to transport the inventory holder; and

the management module is further operable to instruct the mobile drive unit to transport the inventory holder to the defined area.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the inventory holder comprises a first inventory holder and the management module is further operable to instruct the mobile drive unit to replace the first inventory holder with a second inventory holder.

12. The system of claim 6, wherein the metric comprises a product velocity determined based at least in part upon at least one of past order information, known demand, and predicted future order information.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the metric further comprises a product volume, the product volume comprising a cubic volume of a number of inventory items requested by a plurality of orders.

14. The system of claim 6, wherein the inventory holder comprises two or more sides, each side capable of storing one or more inventory items and the management module is further operable to:

determine that a quantity of inventory items stored on a first side of the inventory holder is below a predetermined amount, the first side facing the inventory pier; and

instruct the mobile drive unit to rotate the inventory holder such that a second side of the inventory holder faces the inventory pier.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising logic, the logic, when executed by a processor, operable to:

instruct a first mobile drive unit to transport an inventory holder to an inventory pier, the instruction responsive to a velocity of one or more inventory items stored by the inventory holder; and

instruct a second mobile drive unit to transport an order holder to the inventory pier, the instruction responsive to an order comprising the one or more inventory items, wherein the second mobile drive unit moves the order holder along the inventory pier to receive one or more of the inventory items.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, the logic further operable to designate the inventory holder to remain stationary at one of a plurality of defined areas at the inventory pier while a plurality of orders are fulfilled.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein:

the velocity comprises a first velocity;

the one or more inventory items comprise one or more first inventory items;

the inventory holder comprises a first inventory holder; and

the logic is further operable to;

calculate the first velocity of the one or more first inventory items; and

instruct the first mobile drive unit to transport the first inventory holder to the inventory pier based at least in part upon determining that the first velocity of the one or more first inventory items is higher than a second velocity of one or more second inventory items stored by a second inventory holder.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 17, the logic further operable to:

calculate the first velocity of the one or more first inventory items at a time subsequent to instructing the first mobile drive unit to transport the first inventory holder to the inventory pier; and

based at least in part upon calculating that the first velocity is lower than a third velocity, instruct the first mobile drive unit to transport a third inventory holder to the inventory pier.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the velocity further comprises one or more of a historical velocity, known demand, and expected demand.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the order holder comprises a first order holder and the logic is further operable to instruct a third mobile drive unit to transport a second order holder along the inventory pier, wherein the third mobile drive unit and the second mobile drive unit move in a same direction and move along the inventory pier at a substantially same time.

21. The computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the inventory holder comprises a first inventory holder, the order holder comprises a first order holder, and the logic is further operable to:

instruct the first mobile drive unit to transport a second inventory holder storing the one or more inventory items to the inventory pier; and

instruct a third mobile drive unit to transport a second order holder to the inventory pier, wherein the second order holder receives one or more of the inventory items from the second inventory holder while the first holder receives one or more of the inventory items from the first inventory holder, wherein the inventory items in the first inventory holder and the second inventory holder are the same.