Methods and apparatus for fulfilling tote deliveries

• US 8,156,013 B2
• Filed: 06/28/2010
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dearlove, Janice Vivienne, Vuillemot, Ward W., Wilke, Jeffrey A., Herrington, Douglas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Levine, Adam
• Assistant Examiner(s): Civan, Ethan D
• Application Number:
  US12/825,249
• Publication Number:
  US 20110320034A1
• Time in Patent Office: 652 Days
• Field of Search: 705 26- 27
• US Class Current: 705/27.1
• 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 30/0641 Shopping interfaces

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.

Claims

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.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the sortation node, a direct transfer of items from a vendor; and

sorting the items from the direct transfer into the totes corresponding to the delivery addresses according to the zone delivery data.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising at least one delivery vehicle retrieving at least one previously delivered tote from at least one delivery address and returning the at least one retrieved tote to the sortation node.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the sortation node is a station within one of the two or more fulfillment centers.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the items picked for the bulk transfer in the fulfillment center that includes the sortation node are transferred to the sortation node within the fulfillment center.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising sorting one or more items picked from inventory stored at the sortation node into the totes corresponding to the delivery addresses according to the zone delivery data.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one bulk transfer from the two or more fulfillment centers includes items for two or more tote delivery days.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the zones are determined by zip code.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the tote delivery days are assigned according to zip code of the delivery addresses.

10. A system, comprising:

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.

11. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the enterprise logic is executable on the one or more servers to direct sorting, at the sortation node, of items received at the sortation node in a direct transfer from a vendor into the totes corresponding to the delivery addresses according to the zone delivery data.

12. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the enterprise logic is executable on the one or more servers to direct loading, at the sortation node, of the totes including the sorted items onto one or more delivery vehicles.

13. The system as recited in claim 12, wherein the enterprise logic is executable on the one or more servers to direct each delivery vehicle in delivering totes to delivery addresses in at least one of the one or more zones.

14. The system as recited in claim 13, wherein the enterprise logic is executable on the one or more servers to direct at least one delivery vehicle to retrieve at least one previously delivered tote from at least one delivery address and return the at least one retrieved tote to the sortation node.

15. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the sortation node is a station within one of the two or more fulfillment centers.

16. The system as recited in claim 15, wherein the enterprise logic is executable on the one or more servers to direct the transfer of the items picked for the bulk transfer in the fulfillment center that includes the sortation node to the sortation node within the fulfillment center.

17. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the enterprise logic is executable on the one or more servers to direct picking of items from inventory stored at the sortation node and sorting of the items picked from the inventory stored at the sortation node into the totes corresponding to the delivery addresses according to the zone delivery data.

18. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein at least one bulk transfer from the two or more fulfillment centers includes items for two or more tote delivery days.

19. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the enterprise logic is executable on the one or more servers to determine the zones according to zip code.

20. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the enterprise logic is executable on the one or more servers to assign the tote delivery days according to zip code of the delivery addresses.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:

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.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement directing sorting, at the sortation node, of items received at the sortation node in a direct transfer from a vendor into the totes corresponding to the delivery addresses according to the zone delivery data.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement directing loading, at the sortation node, of the totes including the sorted items onto one or more delivery vehicles.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 23, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement directing each delivery vehicle in delivering totes to delivery addresses in at least one of the one or more zones.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 24, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement directing at least one delivery vehicle to retrieve at least one previously delivered tote from at least one delivery address and return the at least one retrieved tote to the sortation node.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the sortation node is a station within one of the two or more fulfillment centers.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement directing the transfer of the items picked for the bulk transfer in the fulfillment center that includes the sortation node to the sortation node within the fulfillment center.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement directing picking of items from inventory stored at the sortation node and sorting of the items picked from the inventory stored at the sortation node into the totes corresponding to the delivery addresses according to the zone delivery data.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein at least one bulk transfer from the two or more fulfillment centers include items for two or more tote delivery days.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement determining the zones according to zip code.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium as recited in claim 21, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement assigning the tote delivery days according to zip code of the delivery addresses.