Removal of expiring items from inventory
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- performing, by one or more computers;
determining a breakeven holding time for an inventory item based, at least in part, on a disposition value of the inventory item, a cost of re-buying the inventory item, and a cost of holding the inventory item in the inventory;
calculating, based at least in part on a demand forecast for the inventory item and on the breakeven holding time, a first quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory;
identifying an expiration time corresponding to the given inventory item;
in response to the expiration time being shorter than the breakeven holding time, calculating a second quantity of the inventory item, wherein a difference between the second and first quantities represents an additional quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory; and
causing at least one portion of the additional quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory according to an inventory removal function.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods for the removal of expiring items from inventory are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method includes determining a breakeven holding time for an inventory item and calculating, based at least in part on a demand forecast for the inventory item and on the breakeven holding time, a first quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory. The method also includes identifying an expiration time corresponding to the given inventory item and, in response to the expiration time being shorter than the breakeven holding time, calculating a second quantity of the inventory item, where a difference between the second and first quantities represents an additional quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory. The method further includes causing at least one portion of the additional quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory according to an inventory removal function.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
performing, by one or more computers; determining a breakeven holding time for an inventory item based, at least in part, on a disposition value of the inventory item, a cost of re-buying the inventory item, and a cost of holding the inventory item in the inventory; calculating, based at least in part on a demand forecast for the inventory item and on the breakeven holding time, a first quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory; identifying an expiration time corresponding to the given inventory item; in response to the expiration time being shorter than the breakeven holding time, calculating a second quantity of the inventory item, wherein a difference between the second and first quantities represents an additional quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory; and causing at least one portion of the additional quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory according to an inventory removal function. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system, comprising:
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at least one processor; and a memory coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the memory stores program instructions, and wherein the program instructions are executable by the at least one processor to cause the system to; determine a first quantity of an inventory item to be removed from an inventory, wherein an economic benefit of disposing of the first quantity of the inventory item and re-buying the first quantity of the inventory item at the end of a time period is greater than an economic benefit of holding the first quantity of the inventory item in the inventory through the time period; determine a second quantity of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory due to an expiration date; and cause at least a portion of a difference between the second and first quantities of the inventory item to be removed from the inventory using an inventory removal function. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by a computer system, cause the computer system to:
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calculate a first number of units of an inventory item to be removed from an inventory to reduce a potential economic loss associated with stocking the inventory item; and determine a second number of units of the inventory item in addition to the first number of units to be removed from the inventory due to an expiration of the inventory item in accordance with an inventory removal function. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification