Method and system for order fulfillment in a distribution center
First Claim
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1. A system for a distribution center with a plurality of sites, each site having a collection of storage areas to store a plurality of items, the system comprising:
- a management system configured to (a) receive and analyze at least a first customer order and a second customer order, each of the first and second customer orders indicating a plurality of items, with a quantity for each item;
(b) identify a first site with the highest number of items in the first customer order available from the first site, and a second site with the highest number of items in the second customer order available from the second site;
(c) determine the items remaining in the first end second customer orders after removing those corresponding items identified as being available from the first and the second sites;
(d) thereafter for each of the first and second customer orders, identify another site with the highest number of the items remaining in the corresponding order available from the another site; and
(e) determine the items remaining in the first and second customer orders, if any, after removing those corresponding items identified as being available from the corresponding another site; and
wherein the system for the distribution center is configured to control a plurality of conveyors in the distribution center to at least route the identified items for fulfilling the customer orders,wherein based on the identified sites, the system determines at least a first route to fulfill the first customer order and a second route to fulfill the second customer order, with the first route going to the first site before going to the corresponding another site, and with the second route going to the second site before going to the corresponding anther site.
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Abstract
Order allocation techniques that reduce the number of stops that a container makes in the process of fulfilling a customer order is disclosed. In one embodiment, this is accomplished by first identifying a pod that stocks the largest number of different items in a customer order. Then, a second pod is identified that stocks the largest number of remaining items in the customer order. Ultimately, all items in the customer order are assigned a pod. The collection of pods defines a container path through the distribution center.
273 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for a distribution center with a plurality of sites, each site having a collection of storage areas to store a plurality of items, the system comprising:
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a management system configured to (a) receive and analyze at least a first customer order and a second customer order, each of the first and second customer orders indicating a plurality of items, with a quantity for each item;
(b) identify a first site with the highest number of items in the first customer order available from the first site, and a second site with the highest number of items in the second customer order available from the second site;
(c) determine the items remaining in the first end second customer orders after removing those corresponding items identified as being available from the first and the second sites;
(d) thereafter for each of the first and second customer orders, identify another site with the highest number of the items remaining in the corresponding order available from the another site; and
(e) determine the items remaining in the first and second customer orders, if any, after removing those corresponding items identified as being available from the corresponding another site; andwherein the system for the distribution center is configured to control a plurality of conveyors in the distribution center to at least route the identified items for fulfilling the customer orders, wherein based on the identified sites, the system determines at least a first route to fulfill the first customer order and a second route to fulfill the second customer order, with the first route going to the first site before going to the corresponding another site, and with the second route going to the second site before going to the corresponding anther site. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer-implemented method to manage a distribution center with a plurality of sites, each site having a collection of storage areas to store a plurality of items, the method comprising:
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receiving and analyzing at least a first customer order and a second customer order, each of the first an the second customer orders indicating a plurality of items, with a quantity for each item; identifying a first site with the highest number of items in the first customer order available from the first site, and a second site with the highest number of items in the second customer order available from the second site; determining the items remaining in the first and second customer orders after removing those corresponding items identified as being available from the first and the second sites; thereafter for each of the first and second customer orders, identifying another site with the highest number of the items remaining in the corresponding order available from the another site; determining the items remaining in the first and second customer orders, if any, after removing those corresponding items identified as being available from the corresponding another site; and controlling a plurality of conveyors in the distribution center to route the identified items for fulfilling the customer orders, wherein based on the identified sites, the method further determines at least a first route to fulfill the first customer order and a second route to fulfill the second order, with the first route going to the first site before going to the corresponding another site, and with the second route going to the second site before going to the corresponding another site.
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20. A system for a distribution center with a plurality of sites, each site having a collection of storage areas to store a plurality of items, the system comprising:
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a management system configured to (a) receive and analyze at least a first customer order and a second customer order, each of the first and second customer orders indicating a plurality of items, with a quantity for each item;
(b) identify a first site with the highest number of items in the first customer order available from the first site, and a second site with the highest number of items in the second customer order available from the second site;
(c) determine the items remaining in the first and second customer orders after removing those corresponding items identified as being available from the first and the second sites;
(d) thereafter for each of the first and second customer orders, identify another site with the highest number of the items remaining in the corresponding order available from the another site; and
(e) determine the items remaining in the first and second customer orders, if any, after removing those corresponding items identified as being available from the corresponding another site; andwherein based on the identified sites, the system determines at least a first route to fulfill the first customer order and a second route to fulfill the second customer order, with the first route going to the first site before going to the corresponding another site, and with the second route going to the second site before going to the corresponding another site.
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Specification