System and method for order fulfillment

• US 9,346,620 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2014
• Issued: 05/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/04/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brunner, Daniel T., Mountz, Michael C., Barbehenn, Michael T., Wurman, Peter R., Watt, William J., Nice, Eryk B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford, Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): Randazzo, Thomas
• Application Number:
  US14/333,191
• Publication Number:
  US 20140330426A1
• Time in Patent Office: 678 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1373 for fulfilling orders in warehouses
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1378 the orders being assembled on fixed commissioning areas remote from the storage areas
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

A system includes a first mobile drive unit and a second mobile drive unit. The system also includes a first inventory holder, a second inventory holder, and a third inventory holder. An inventory station includes a first location and a second location and the inventory station operable to receive a first inventory item from the first inventory holder at the first location. The first inventory holder is transported by the first mobile drive unit. The inventory station is also operable to receive a second inventory item from the second inventory holder at the first location. The second inventory holder is transported by the second mobile drive unit. The inventory station is also operable to receive a third inventory item from the third inventory holder at the second location. The third inventory holder is fixed at the second location while the inventory station receives the first inventory item and the second inventory item.

Claims

1. An inventory system, comprising:

a plurality of inventory holders operable to store inventory items; and

a workstation for processing a plurality of orders and comprising a first defined area located at the perimeter of the workstation, wherein the first defined area is designated for storing one or more inventory items associated with a product velocity and wherein the workstation is operable to;

receive, at the first defined area and based at least in part upon a determination of a first product velocity, a first inventory item from a first inventory holder, wherein the first inventory item is associated with the first product velocity;

receive a plurality of additional inventory items from a plurality of additional inventory holders at a second defined area located along a different portion of the perimeter of the workstation than the first defined area while the first inventory holder remains at the first defined area; and

receive, at the first defined area and based at least in part upon a determination of a second product velocity, a second inventory item from a second inventory holder, wherein the second inventory item is associated with the second product velocity and wherein the second inventory holder is transported to the first defined area from a location remote from the workstation.

2. The inventory system of claim 1 further comprising a management module, operable to:

determine the first product velocity and the second product velocity;

initiate, based at least in part upon a determination that the first product velocity is or is predicted to be lower than the second product velocity, movement of the first inventory holder from the first defined area to a storage area; and

initiate movement of the second inventory holder to the first defined area.

3. The inventory system of claim 2, wherein the management module is further operable to:

determine a first subset of the plurality of inventory holders that contain first inventory items that are ordered at a first rate that is higher than a threshold rate of ordering, wherein the first inventory holder is stationed at the first defined area in response to a determination that the first inventory holder is in the first subset;

determine a second subset of the plurality of inventory holders that contain second inventory items that are ordered at a second rate that is lower than the threshold rate of ordering;

determine, while the first inventory holder is stationed at the first defined area, that the first inventory item is subsequently ordered at the second rate that is below the threshold rate of ordering and, in response, assigning the first inventory holder to the second subset;

select the second inventory holder from among the first subset of the plurality of inventory holders to replace the first inventory holder at the first defined area; and

initiate movement of the second inventory holder to replace the first inventory holder at the first defined area.

4. The inventory system of claim 3, wherein the selection of the second inventory holder is based at least in part upon a ranking of each inventory holder in the first subset of inventory holders.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and second product velocities comprise past order information, known demand, and predicted future order information.

6. The inventory system of claim 1, wherein the first and second inventory holders are transported to the first defined area by one or more mobile drive units.

7. The inventory system of claim 2, wherein determining the first product velocity comprises:

monitoring a plurality of orders, wherein the plurality of orders comprise requests for inventory items;

determining a first number of first inventory items requested by the plurality of orders;

determining, based at least in part upon the first number of first inventory items, a frequency at which the first inventory item is requested by the plurality of orders; and

determining the first product velocity based at least in part upon the frequency.

8. The inventory system of claim 7, wherein determining the first product velocity is further based at least in part upon predicting a second number of first inventory items that are expected to be ordered on a future plurality of orders.

9. An inventory system, comprising:

a plurality of inventory holders operable to store inventory items;

a first mobile drive unit configured to receive wireless instructions from a management module and independently transport one or more of the plurality of inventory holders within a workspace, the first mobile drive unit operable to;

transport, based at least in part upon a determination of a first product velocity associated with a first inventory item, a first inventory holder storing the first inventory item to a defined area associated with an inventory station configured to process a plurality of orders, wherein the defined area is located along a perimeter of the inventory station;

a second mobile drive unit operable to transport, based at least in part upon a determination of an operation request to fulfill an order for the first inventory item and a second inventory item, a second inventory holder storing the second inventory item to a queue space associated with the inventory station, the inventory station configured to fulfill the order for the first and second inventory items, wherein the queue space is located along a different portion of the perimeter of the inventory station than the defined area; and

a third mobile drive unit operable to transport, based at least in part upon a determination that the first product velocity is below a second product velocity associated with a third inventory item, a third inventory holder storing the third inventory item to the defined area, wherein the third inventory holder replaces the first inventory holder at the defined area.

10. The inventory system of claim 9, wherein the management module is further operable to:

determine that a quantity of the first inventory item at the defined area is lower than a threshold; and

assign a task to transport an additional quantity of the first inventory item to the defined area.

11. The inventory system of claim 9, wherein the inventory station further comprises an array of inventory holders operable to receive inventory items.

12. The inventory system of claim 9, wherein transporting the first inventory holder comprises:

moving the first mobile drive unit to a location associated with the first inventory holder;

docking the first mobile drive unit with the first inventory holder at the location by moving underneath the first inventory holder and raising a docking head against a lower surface of the first inventory holder; and

moving the first mobile drive unit, while docked with the first inventory holder, to the inventory station.

13. The inventory system of claim 9, wherein the first mobile drive unit is further operable to transport the first inventory holder from the defined area to a storage location remote from the inventory station.

14. The inventory system of claim 9, wherein the first and second product velocities are determined based at least in part upon predicted future order information.

15. A management module comprising:

one or more interfaces operable to transmit wireless instructions to a plurality of mobile drive units;

one or more processing units configured to manage a flow of the plurality of mobile drive units and an associated plurality of inventory holders towards spaces associated with an inventory station configured to process one or more orders, the inventory station associated with one or more queue spaces located along a perimeter of the inventory station and one or more product velocity spaces located along a different portion of the perimeter of the inventory station than the queue spaces, the one or more product velocity spaces designated for products having a product velocity above a predetermined threshold, the one or more processing units operable to;

facilitate fulfillment of a plurality of orders by transmitting wireless instructions to one or more of the plurality of mobile drive units to transport one or more inventory holders containing inventory items associated with the plurality of orders to the inventory station;

manage transportation of one or more first inventory holders containing one or more first inventory items having a first product velocity above the predetermined threshold to the one or more product velocity spaces; and

manage transportation of one or more second inventory holders containing one or more second inventory items having a second product velocity to replace the one or more first inventory holders, in response to a determination that the second product velocity is above the predetermined threshold or the first product velocity is below the predetermined threshold.

16. The management module of claim 15, wherein:

the first product velocity comprises an average of product velocities of one or more first inventory items stored by the one or more first inventory holders; and

the second product velocity comprises an average of product velocities of one or more second inventory items stored by the one or more second inventory holders.

17. The management module of claim 15, wherein:

the one or more first inventory holders store one or more of the first inventory item and one or more of the second inventory item; and

the first product velocity comprises an average of the first product velocity associated with the first inventory item and the second product velocity associated with the second inventory item.

18. The management module of claim 15, wherein replacing the one or more first inventory holders further comprises transporting, by one or more of the plurality of mobile drive units, the one or more first inventory holders to a storage area remote from the inventory station.

19. The management module of claim 15, further operable to:

monitor the plurality of orders to determine an updated first product velocity;

determine that the updated first product velocity is below the predetermined threshold;

monitor the plurality of orders to determine an updated second product velocity; and

determine that the updated second product velocity is above the predetermined threshold.

20. The management module of claim 15, wherein the wireless instructions comprise at least a portion of a path to be traversed by one or more of the plurality of mobile drive units.