System and method for event-driven inventory disposition

• US 8,463,665 B1
• Filed: 01/11/2011
• Issued: 06/11/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Pape, Craig J., Stecconi, Denise M., Kavathekar, Sunit S., Russell, Mark P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ebersman, Bruce I
• Application Number:
  US13/004,621
• Time in Patent Office: 882 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

A method and system for event-driven inventory disposition are disclosed. According to one embodiment, a method may include detecting a disposition event associated with a given one of a number of inventory items. The method may further include evaluating each of a number of disposition channels with respect to the given item in response to detecting the disposition event, and dependent upon the evaluation, selecting a particular disposition channel through which to dispose of the given item. In one particular implementation of the method, detecting the disposition event may include detecting an indication that an expected profitability of the given item is less than a threshold value.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

associating in one or more records, using one or more computer systems, a plurality of units of a same inventory item with a particular disposition channel;

while the plurality of units of the same inventory item is being held in current inventory for the particular disposition channel, performing a unit-level evaluation of one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item, where said performing the unit-level evaluation comprises;

detecting, using one or more computer systems, a disposition event corresponding to one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item; and

in response to the disposition event;

accessing the one or more records for the one or more of the plurality of units, wherein the one or more records comprises information for the one or more of the plurality of units;

determining, using one or more computer systems, a plurality of valid alternate disposition channels according to a disposition policy and the information for the one or more of the plurality of units, wherein the disposition policy identifies valid disposition channels for the same inventory item, and wherein said determining includes;

notifying one of the plurality of valid alternate disposition channels of availability of the one or more of the plurality of units and receiving a response to said notification from said notified disposition channel; and

ranking the plurality of valid alternate disposition channels by an amount of recoverable value through each channel, wherein said amount of recoverable value through the one of the plurality of valid alternate disposition channels is dynamically determined, at least in part, by evaluating said received response;

selecting, based on said dynamic determination and said ranking, one of the plurality of valid alternate disposition channels for the one or more of the plurality of units; and

redirecting, using one or more computer systems, the one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item from the particular disposition channel to the selected valid alternate disposition channel, wherein said redirecting comprises updating the one or more records for the one or more of the plurality of units.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the particular disposition channel includes a default sales channel, and wherein the selected valid alternate disposition channel includes an alternative to said default sales channel.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein detecting said disposition event comprises detecting that an expected profitability of said one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item is less than a profitability threshold value.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein detecting said disposition event comprises detecting that said one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item is damaged.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said redirecting the one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item to the selected valid alternate disposition channel comprises disposing of any one unit of the plurality of units of the same inventory item in current inventory according to the selected valid alternate disposition channel for each of the one or more of the plurality of units.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said associating a plurality of units of the same inventory item with a particular disposition channel comprises associating each of the plurality of units of the same inventory item with a default sales channel.

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

individually comparing, to a profitability threshold, an expected profitability for one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item;

determining that one of more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item is associated with an expected profitability that is less than the profitability threshold value;

generating, upon determining that one of more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item is associated with an expected profitability that is less than the profitability threshold value, the disposition event;

wherein the disposition event is indicative of a number of the plurality of units of the same inventory item to be disposed of; and

wherein said redirecting the one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item from the particular disposition channel to the selected valid alternate disposition channel comprises redirecting the number of the plurality of units of the same inventory item to the selected valid alternate disposition channel.

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

associating in one or more records, using one or more computer systems, a plurality of units of a same inventory item with a particular disposition channel;

while the plurality of units of the same inventory item is being held in current inventory for the particular disposition channel, performing a unit-level evaluation of one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item, where said performing the unit-level evaluation comprises;

detecting, using one or more computer systems, a disposition event corresponding to one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item; and

in response to the disposition event;

accessing the one or more records for the one or more of the plurality of units, wherein the one or more records comprises information for the one or more of the plurality of units;

determining a plurality of valid alternate disposition channels according to a disposition policy and the information for the one or more of the plurality of units, wherein the disposition policy identifies valid disposition channels for the same inventory item, and wherein said determining includes;

notifying one of the plurality of valid alternate disposition channels of availability of the one or more of the plurality of units and receiving a response to said notification from said notified disposition channel; and

ranking the plurality of valid alternate disposition channels by an amount of recoverable value through each channel, wherein said amount of recoverable value through the one of the plurality of valid alternate disposition channels is dynamically determined, at least in part, by evaluating said received response;

selecting, based on said dynamic determination and said ranking, one of the plurality of valid alternate disposition channels for the one or more of the plurality of units; and

redirecting the one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item from the particular disposition channel to the selected valid alternate disposition channel, wherein said redirecting comprises updating the one or more records for the one or more of the plurality of units.

9. The storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein the particular disposition channel includes a default sales channel, and wherein the selected valid alternate disposition channel includes an alternative to said default sales channel.

10. The storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein detecting said event comprises detecting that an expected profitability of said one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item is less than a profitability threshold value.

11. The storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein redirecting the one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item to the selected valid alternate disposition channel comprises disposing of any one unit of the plurality of units of the same inventory item in current inventory according to the selected valid alternate disposition channel for each of the one or more of the plurality of units.

12. The storage medium as recited in claim 8, wherein said associating a plurality of units of the same inventory item with a disposition channel comprises associating each of the plurality of units of the same inventory item with a default sales channel.

13. The storage medium as recited in claim 8, further comprising:

individually comparing, to a profitability threshold, an expected profitability for one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item;

determining that one of more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item is associated with an expected profitability that is less than the profitability threshold value;

generating, upon determining that one of more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item is associated with an expected profitability that is less than the profitability threshold value, the disposition event;

wherein the disposition event is indicative of a number of the plurality of units of the same inventory item to be disposed of; and

wherein said redirecting said one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item from the particular disposition channel to the selected alternate valid disposition channel comprises redirecting the number of the plurality of units of the same inventory item to the selected valid alternate disposition channel.

14. A system, comprising:

an inventory management system comprising one or more computers configured to associate in one or more records a plurality of units of a same inventory item with a particular disposition channel; and

a disposition system comprising one or more computers configured to;

while the plurality of units of the same inventory item is being held in current inventory for the particular disposition channel, perform a unit-level evaluation of one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item, where said perform the unit-level evaluation comprises;

detect a disposition event corresponding to one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item;

in response to said disposition event;

access the one or more records for the one or more of the plurality of units, wherein the one or more records comprises information for the one or more of the plurality of units;

determine a plurality of valid alternate disposition channels according to a disposition policy and the information for the one or more of the plurality of units, wherein the disposition policy identifies valid disposition channels for the same inventory item, and wherein said determine includes;

 

notify one of the plurality of valid alternate disposition channels of availability of the one or more of the plurality of the units and receiving a response to said notification from said notified disposition channel; and

 

rank plurality of valid alternate disposition channels by an amount of recoverable value through each channel, wherein said amount of recoverable value through the one of the plurality of valid alternate disposition channels is dynamically determined, at least in part, by evaluating said received response;

select, based on said dynamic determination and said rank, one of the plurality of valid alternate disposition channels for the one or more of the plurality of units; and

redirect, the one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item from the particular disposition channel to the selected valid alternate disposition channel, wherein said redirect comprises updating the one or more records for the one or more of the plurality of units.

15. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the particular disposition channel includes a default sales channel, and wherein the selected valid alternate disposition channel includes an alternative to said default sales channel.

16. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein detecting said event comprises detecting that an expected profitability of said one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item is less than a profitability threshold value.

17. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein redirecting the one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item to the selected valid alternate disposition channel comprises disposing of any one unit of the plurality of units of the same inventory item in current inventory according to the selected valid alternate disposition channel for each of the one or more of the plurality of units.

18. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein said associating a plurality of units of the same inventory item with a disposition channel comprises associating each of the plurality of units of the same inventory item with a default sales channel.

19. The system as recited in claim 14, wherein the inventory management system is further configured to:

individually compare, to a profitability threshold, an expected profitability for one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item;

determine that one of more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item is associated with an expected profitability that is less than the profitability threshold value;

generate, upon determining that one of more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item is associated with an expected profitability that is less than the profitability threshold value, the disposition event;

wherein said disposition event is indicative of a number of the plurality of units of the same inventory item to be disposed of; and

wherein said redirecting the one or more of the plurality of units of the same inventory item to the selected valid alternate disposition channel comprises redirecting the number of the plurality of units of the same inventory items to the selected valid alternate disposition channel.