System and method for allocating resources of a retailer among multiple wholesalers

• US 5,402,336 A
• Filed: 01/15/1993
• Issued: 03/28/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: SS&D Corporation
• Original Assignee: SS&D Corporation
• Inventors: Spiegelhoff, Steven, Kraetz, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Weinhardt, Robert A.
• Application Number:
  US08/005,248
• Time in Patent Office: 802 Days
• Field of Search: 364/401, 364/402, 364/403, 364/406
• US Class Current: 705/7.25
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06315 Needs-based resource requirements planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06375 Prediction of business process outcome or impact based on a proposed change
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0623 Item investigation

Abstract

A computerized system receives an input request from the orderer for a retailer, of searching selected wholesalers, and of then comparing these wholesalers to one another so as to provide a desired allocation of resources among these selected wholesalers. The system is preferably capable of searching both the warehouse of a primary wholesaler and the warehouses of a number of secondary wholesalers and of allocating resources so as to meet designated ordering criterion or constraints for the warehouse of the primary wholesaler. The search may be performed, for example, on the basis of net price per unit item or on the basis of net price per unit weight or per unit volume. The system preferably automatically creates an order file which can be transmitted to the selected warehouses to order the selected products but which can be manually edited prior to transmission.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

(A) means, containing information about items offered by a primary warehouse and at least one secondary warehouse, for receiving orders from an orderer for a retailer and for transmitting information about said items to said orderer; and

(B) means, electronically linked to said means (A) and being operated by said orderer for said retailer, for receiving said information from said means (A) and for creating order files used to order said items from said warehouses, said means (B) including

(i) means for obtaining said information from said means (A) about each of said items offered by said warehouses,

(ii) means for evaluating, on an item-by-item basis, the information obtained by said means for obtaining, and for selecting one of said primary and said at least one secondary warehouse for the delivery of each item, based on a predetermined criterion,

(iii) means, electronically linked to said means (ii), for automatically creating initial order files for ordering said items from said warehouses without reference to a designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse, said initial order files including an initial order file for said primary warehouse, and

(iv) means, electronically linked to said means (ii) and said means (iii), for determining whether said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse is met by said initial order file for said primary warehouse and, if said designated ordering criterion is not met by said initial order file for said primary warehouse, for causing said means (iii) to create revised order files including a revised order file which meets said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse;

wherein said means (i) obtains information from said means (A) relating to prices of items, and wherein said means (ii) determines, for each item, the net price per unit item demanded by each of said warehouses, and selects a warehouse on the basis of the net price demanded per unit item; and

wherein said means (ii) initially selects the warehouse offering an item at the lowest net price per unit item, wherein

said designated ordering criterion is a designated number of items, and wherein

if said means (iv) determines that selection on the basis of lowest net price per unit item alone would result in less than said designated number of items being ordered from said primary warehouse, said means (iv) causes said means (ii) to select said secondary warehouse to deliver a given item only when the difference in price per unit item between said primary warehouse and said secondary warehouse exceeds the smallest integer multiple of a designated amount L, resulting in the preparation of said revised order file ordering said designated number of items from said primary warehouse.

2. A system comprising:

(A) means, containing information about items offered by a primary warehouse and at least one secondary warehouse, for receiving orders from an orderer for a retailer and for transmitting information about said items to said orderer; and

(B) means, electronically linked to said means (A) and being operated by said orderer for said retailer, for receiving said information from said means (A) and for creating order files used to order said items from said warehouses, said means (B) including

(i) means for obtaining said information from said means (A) about each of said items offered by said warehouses,

(ii) means for evaluating, on an item-by-item basis, the information obtained by said means for obtaining, and for selecting one of said primary and said at least one secondary warehouse for the delivery of each item, based on a predetermined criterion,

(iii) means, electronically linked to said means (ii), for automatically creating initial order files for ordering said items from said warehouses without reference to a designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse, said initial order files including an initial order file for said primary warehouse, and

(iv) means, electronically linked to said means (ii) and said means (iii), for determining whether said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse is met by said initial order file for said primary warehouse and, if said designated ordering criterion is not met by said initial order file for said primary warehouse, for causing said means (iii) to create revised order files including a revised order file which meets said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse;

wherein

said means (ii) selects warehouses based on one of net price per unit weight and net price per unit volume and initially selects the warehouse offering an item at the lowest of said one of net price per unit weight and said net price per unit volume, wherein

said designated ordering criterion comprises one of a designated volume and a designated weight, and wherein

if said means (iv) determines that items taking up more than said one of said designated weight and said designated volume would be ordered from said primary warehouse using said initial order file for said primary warehouse, said means (iv) causes said means (ii) to select said primary warehouse to deliver a given item only when the difference in said one of said net price per unit weight and said net price per unit volume between said secondary and said primary warehouses exceeds the smallest integer multiple of a designated amount L, resulting in the preparation of said revised order file ordering items taking up no more than said one of said designated weight and said volume from said primary warehouse.

3. A system comprising:

(A) means, containing information about items offered by warehouses, for receiving orders from an orderer for a retailer and for transmitting information about said items to said orderer; and

(B) means, electronically linked to said means (A) and being operated by said orderer for said retailer, for receiving said information from said means (A) and for creating order files used to order said items from said warehouses, said means (B) including;

(i) means for obtaining said information from said means (A) about each of said items offered by at least two of said warehouses,

(ii) means for evaluating, on an item-by-item basis, the information obtained by said means for obtaining, and for selecting one of said at least two warehouses for the delivery of each of said items based on a predetermined criterion, and

(iii) means, electronically linked to said means (ii), for automatically creating said order files for ordering said items from said warehouses, wherein

said warehouses include a primary warehouse and at least one secondary warehouse,

said means (ii) includes means for creating a secondary warehouse comparison file listing only those items offered by a secondary warehouse at a cost which is preferred to that offered by said primary warehouse, and wherein

said means (iii) includes means for selecting a particular item to be searched, for searching said secondary warehouse comparison file for said selected item, and for creating order files for ordering said selected item from a secondary warehouse only if said selected item is found in said secondary warehouse comparison file.

4. A system comprising:

(A) means, containing information about items offered by remote warehouses including a primary warehouse and a number n of secondary warehouses, n being greater than one, for receiving orders from an orderer for a retailer and for transmitting information about said items to said orderer; and

(B) means, electronically linked to said means (A) and being operated by said orderer for said retailer, for receiving said information from said means (A), for creating order files used to order a desired quantity of each of a plurality of items from said warehouses, said desired quantity being input by said orderer, and for transmitting said order files to said means (A), said means (B) including

(i) means for obtaining said information about said plurality of items from said means (A),

(ii) means, electronically linked to said means (i), for (a) determining an allocation of orders between said primary and secondary warehouses such that said desired quantity of each of said plurality of items is determined to be available from a combination of said primary and secondary warehouses in a combination in which orders are allocated in a designated manner, and (b) creating initial order files based upon said determination, said means (ii) including

(a) means for initially selecting, based upon a designated selection criterion, one of said warehouses to deliver each of said items, and

(b) means for creating initial order files reflecting the initial selections;

(iii) means for determining whether a designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse is met and, if said designated ordering criterion is not met, for causing said means (ii) to determine a revised allocation of orders which meets said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse and to create revised order files based upon said determination, said means (iii)

revising said selection criterion when said designated ordering criterion is not met,

causing said means (ii)(a) to select one of said warehouses for the delivery of each item based upon the revised selection criterion, and

causing said means (ii)(b) to create said revised order files based upon the operation of said means (ii)(a), and further comprising

(iv) means, electronically linked to said means (ii), for transmitting said revised order files to said warehouses, and

(v) means, electronically linked to said means (ii), for inputting said designated ordering criterion.

5. A system comprising:

(A) means, containing information about items offered by remote warehouses including a primary warehouse and a number n of secondary warehouses, n being greater than one, for receiving orders from an orderer for a retailer and for transmitting information about said items to said orderer; and

(B) means, electronically linked to said means (A) and being operated by said orderer for said retailer, for receiving said information from said means (A), for creating order files used to order a desired quantity of each of a plurality of items from said warehouses, said desired quantity being input by said orderer, and for transmitting said order files to said means (A), said means (B) including

(i) means for obtaining said information about said plurality of items offered by said warehouses,

(ii) means, electronically linked to said means (i), for (a) determining an allocation of orders between said primary and secondary warehouses such that said desired quantity of each of said plurality of items is determined to be available from a combination of said primary and secondary warehouses in a combination in which orders are allocated in a designated manner, and (b) creating initial order files based upon said determination,

(iii) means for determining whether a designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse is met and, if said designated ordering criterion is not met, for causing said means (ii) to determine a revised allocation of orders which meets said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse and to create revised order files based upon said determination,

(iv) means, electronically linked to said means (ii), for transmitting said revised order files to said warehouses, and

(v) means, electronically linked to said means (ii), for inputting said designated ordering criterion, wherein

said means (ii) initially selects the warehouse offering an item at the lowest net price per unit item, wherein,

said designated ordering criterion is a designated number of items, and wherein,

if said means (iii) determines that selection on the basis of lowest net price per unit item alone would result in less than said designated number of items being ordered from said primary warehouse, said means (iii) causes said means (ii) to select said secondary warehouse only when the difference in price per unit item between said primary warehouse and said secondary warehouse exceeds the smallest integer multiple of a designated amount L, resulting in the preparation of said revised order files including a revised order file for said primary warehouse for ordering said designated number of items from said primary warehouse.

6. A system comprising:

(A) means, containing information about items offered by remote warehouses including a primary warehouse and a number n of secondary warehouses, n being greater than one, for receiving orders from an orderer for a retailer and for transmitting information about said items to said orderer; and

(B) means, electronically linked to said means (A) and being operated by said orderer for said retailer, for receiving said information from said means (A), for creating order files used to order a desired quantity of each of a plurality of items from said warehouses, said desired quantity being input by said orderer, and for transmitting said order files to said means (A), said means (B) including

(i) means for obtaining said information about said plurality of items offered by said warehouses,

(ii) means, electronically linked to said means (i), for (a) determining an allocation of orders between said primary and secondary warehouses such that said desired quantity of each of said plurality of items is determined to be available from a combination of said primary and secondary warehouses in a combination in which orders are allocated in a designated manner, and (b) creating initial order files based upon said determination,

(iii) means for determining whether a designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse is met and, if said designated ordering criterion is not met, for causing said means (ii) to determine a revised allocation of orders which meets said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse and to create revised order files based upon said determination,

(iv) means, electronically linked to said means (ii), for transmitting said revised order files to said warehouses, and

(v) means, electronically linked to said means (ii), for inputting said designated ordering criterion, wherein

said means (ii) initially selects the warehouse offering an item at the lowest of said one of net price per unit weight and said net price per unit volume, wherein

said designated ordering criterion comprises one of a designated volume and a designated weight, and wherein

if said means (iii) determines that items taking up more than said one of said designated weight and said designated volume are to be ordered from said primary warehouse, said means (iii) causes said means (ii) to select said primary warehouse only when the difference in said one of said net price per unit weight and said net price per unit volume between said secondary and said primary warehouses exceeds the smallest integer multiple of a designated amount L, resulting in the preparation of said revised order files including a revised order file for ordering items, taking up no more than said one of said designated weight and said volume, from said primary warehouse.

7. A system comprising:

(A) means, containing information about items offered by remote warehouses including a primary warehouse and a number n of secondary warehouses, n being greater than one, for receiving orders from an orderer for a retailer and for transmitting information about said items to said orderer; and

(B) means, electronically linked to said means (A) and being operated by said orderer for said retailer, for receiving said information from said means (A) and for creating order files used to order a desired quantity of each of a plurality of items from said warehouses, said desired quantity being input by said orderer, said means (B) including

(i) means for obtaining said information about said plurality of items from said means (A),

(ii) means, electronically linked to said means (i), for (a) determining an allocation of orders between said primary and secondary warehouses such that said desired quantity of each of said plurality of items is determined to be available from a combination of said primary and secondary warehouses in a combination in which orders are allocated in a designated manner, and (b) creating initial order files based upon said determination,

(iii) means for determining whether a designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse is met and, if said designated ordering criterion is not met, for causing said means (ii) to determine a revised allocation of orders which meets said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse and to create revised order files based upon said determination,

(iv) means, electronically linked to said means (ii), for inputting said designated ordering criterion, wherein

said means (ii) includes means for creating a secondary warehouse comparison file listing only those items offered by a secondary warehouse at a cost which is preferred to that offered by said primary warehouse, and wherein

said means (B) further comprises means for selecting a particular item to be searched, for searching said secondary warehouse comparison file for said selected item, and for creating an order file for ordering said selected item from a secondary warehouse only if said selected item is found in said secondary warehouse comparison file.

8. A system as defined in claim 7 wherein said initial order files include a primary warehouse order file and a secondary warehouse order file, and wherein said means (iii) causes said means (ii) to create said revised order files by deleting an order for at least one item from said secondary warehouse order file and by writing a corresponding order to said primary warehouse order file.

9. A system comprising:

(A) means, located at remote warehouses including a primary warehouse and a number n of secondary warehouses, n being greater than one, for receiving orders from an orderer for a retailer and for transmitting information about items to said orderer;

(B) means, located at said retailer and electronically linked to said means (A), for receiving said information from said means (A), and for ordering a desired quantity of each of a plurality j of items from said warehouses, said desired quantity being input by said orderer, said means for ordering including

(i) means, located at said retailer and electronically linked to said means (A), for obtaining information about items offered by said primary warehouse and a number m of said secondary warehouses, m being no greater than n, said means for obtaining including means for

(a) transmitting to said means (A) a batch request for information about said plurality of items offered by said warehouses, and

(b) receiving replies from said means (A), said means (i) including means for permitting the manual selection of the m secondary warehouses;

(ii) means, electronically linked to said means (i), for creating an initial order file for each of said primary warehouse and said m number of secondary warehouses, said means (ii) including means for performing the following functions for each of said j items

(a) determining a net price per unit item demanded by said primary warehouse,

(b) determining a net price per unit item demanded by each of k secondary warehouses which are capable of delivering each item, k being no greater than m, and

(c) determining a lowest net price per unit item demanded by said k number of secondary warehouses,

(d) comparing said net price per unit item demanded by said primary warehouse to said lowest net price per unit item demanded by said k number of secondary warehouses, and selecting a warehouse based on said comparison,

(e) preparing an initial order file requesting the delivery of said plurality of said items from said selected warehouse;

(iii) means, electronically linked to said means (ii), for determining whether a designated number of items to be ordered from said primary warehouse has been met and, if said designated number has not been met, for causing said means (ii) to prepare revised order files resulting in the preparation of order files including a revised order file ordering said designated number of items from said primary warehouse, said means (iii) causing said means (ii) to revise said initial order files by altering said comparison such that said lowest-price secondary warehouse is selected only when the difference in price per unit item between said primary warehouse and said lowest-price secondary warehouse exceeds a designated amount L, said means (iii) causing said means (ii) to increase said difference by increments of said amount L until said means (ii) prepares a final order file ordering said designated number of items from said primary warehouse, and

(iv) means, electronically linked to said means (iii), for permitting manual editing of said final order file; and

(C) means for inputting said batch request into said means (B).

10. A method comprising:

(A) obtaining, via operation of a first computer operated by an orderer for a retailer and electronically linked to further computers of remote warehouses including a primary warehouse and at least one secondary warehouse, information about each of a plurality of items from said computers of said primary warehouse and said at least one secondary warehouse;

(B) evaluating, via said first computer, based on a predetermined criterion, said information received from said warehouses;

(C) initially selecting, via said first computer, one of said warehouses to deliver each of said items based on said evaluating step and creating order files reflecting said initial selections;

(D) inputting a designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse into said first computer;

(E) determining whether said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse is met and, if said designated ordering criterion is not met, repeating said steps (B) and (C) so as to create revised order files including a revised order file meeting said designated ordering criterion for said primary waterhouse; and

(F) transmitting said revised order files to said the computers of said warehouses from said first computer, wherein

said step (B) comprises selecting warehouses based on net price per unit item and initially selecting the warehouses offering items at the lowest net price per unit item and preparing initial order files for the selected warehouses, and wherein

said designated ordering criterion is a designated number of items, wherein

if it is determined in said step (E) that selection on the basis of lowest net price per unit item alone would result in less than said designated number of items being ordered from said primary warehouse, said step (E) comprises selecting said secondary warehouse for the delivery of each item only when the difference in price per unit item between said primary and said secondary warehouse exceeds the smallest integer multiple of a designated amount L, resulting in the preparation of said revised order file for said primary warehouse.

11. A method comprising:

(A) obtaining, via operation of a first computer operated by an orderer for a retailer and electronically linked to further computers of remote warehouses, information about each of a plurality of items from said computers of said primary warehouse and said at least one secondary warehouse;

(B) evaluating, via said first computer, based on a predetermined criterion, said information received from said warehouses;

(C) initially selecting, via said first computer, one of said at least two warehouses to deliver each of said items based on said evaluating step and creating order files reflecting said initial selections; and

(D) inputting a designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse into said first computer;

(E) determining whether said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse is met and, if said designated ordering criterion is not met, repeating said steps (B) and (C) so as to create revised order files including a revised order file meeting said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse; and

(F) transmitting said revised order files to the computers of said warehouses from said first computer, wherein

said step (B) comprises selecting warehouses based on one of net price per unit weight and net price per unit volume and initially selecting the warehouses offering items at the lowest of said one of net price per unit weight and said net price per unit volume and preparing initial order files for the selected warehouses, wherein

said designated ordering criterion comprises one of a designated volume and a designated weight, and wherein

if it is determined in said step (E) that items taking up more than said one of said designated weight and said designated volume are to be ordered from said primary warehouse, said step (E) comprises selecting said primary warehouse only when the difference in said one of said net price per unit weight and said net price per unit volume between said secondary and said primary warehouses exceed the smallest integer multiple of a designated amount L, resulting in the preparation of said revised order file for said primary warehouse.

12. A system comprising:

(A) means, containing information about items offered by a primary warehouse and at least one secondary warehouse, for receiving orders from an orderer for a retailer and for transmitting information about said items to said orderer; and

(B) means, electronically linked to said means (A) and being operated by said orderer for said retailer, for receiving said information from said means (A) and for creating order files used to order said items from said warehouses, said means (B) including

(i) means for obtaining said information from said means (A) about each of said items offered by said warehouses,

(ii) means for evaluating, on an item-by-item basis, the information obtained by said means for obtaining, and for selecting one of said primary and said at least one secondary warehouse for the delivery of each item, based on a predetermined selection criterion,

(iii) means, electronically linked to said means (ii), for automatically creating initial order files for ordering said items from said warehouses without reference to a designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse, said initial order files including an initial order file for said primary warehouse, and

(iv) means, electronically linked to said means (ii) and said means (iii), for determining whether said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse is met by said initial order file for said primary warehouse and, if said designated ordering criterion is not met by said initial order file for said primary warehouse, for causing said means (ii) to select items based upon a revised selection criterion and for causing said means (iii) to create revised order files including a revised order file which meets said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse

(v) means, electronically linked to said means (iii) and said means (iv), for transmitting said revised order files to said warehouses;

wherein said means (i) obtains information from said means (A) relating to prices of items, and wherein said means (ii) determines, for each item, be net price per unit item demanded by each of said warehouses, and selects a warehouse on the basis of a designated difference between the net price per unit item demanded by said primary and secondary warehouses, and wherein said means (iv) causes said means (ii) to revise the selection criterion to select a warehouse based on an increased difference in price per unit item demanded by said primary and secondary warehouses.

13. A method comprising:

(A) obtaining, via operation of a first computer operated by an orderer for a retailer and electronically linked to further computers of remote warehouses including a primary warehouse and at least one secondary warehouse, information about each of a plurality of items from said computers of said primary warehouse and said at least one secondary warehouse;

(B) evaluating, via said first computer, based on a predetermined evaluation criterion, said information received from said warehouses;

(C) initially selecting, via said first computer, based upon said evaluating step and upon a designated selection criterion, one of said warehouses to deliver each of said items and creating order files reflecting said initial selections;

(D) inputting a designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse into said first computer;

(E) determining, via said first computer, whether said designated ordering criterion for said primary warehouse is met and, if said designated ordering criterion is not met, revising said selection criterion and repeating said steps (B) and (C), based on the revised selection criterion, so as to create revised order files including a revised order file meeting said designated ordering criterion for said primary waterhouse; and

(F) transmitting said revised order files to said the computers of said warehouses from said first computer.