Flexible store fulfillment
First Claim
1. An order fulfillment system comprising:
- a fulfillment management and applications server including an order fulfillment management engine configured to be coupled to a retail store computer system, the order fulfillment management engine configured to receive orders forwarded by a central order management system;
a database coupled to the order fulfillment management engine, the database including storage for fulfillment operation information including a plurality of predefined fulfillment workflows stored within, each predefined fulfillment workflow including a plurality of predefined common business processes, each common business process including at least one task;
at least one device configured to communicate with a task management system and including software components that implement business processes of a selected predefined fulfillment workflow, wherein the at least one device is a portable device configured to display instructions to a user to drive the user to perform actions associated with the business processes of the selected predefined process workflow, andthe task management system coupled to the order fulfillment management engine and including an optimization agent that is configured to arrange tasks into an execution sequence based on route information, the route information identifying respective locations where the tasks are to be completed;
wherein the order fulfillment management engine is configured to select a predefined fulfillment workflow from the plurality of predefined fulfillment workflows for each received order,wherein the task management system is further configured to;
drive the at least one device to instruct a user of the at least one device to perform a first task of a first group of tasks associated with the plurality of predefined common business processes of the first selected predefined fulfillment workflow,determine that the user while performing the first task is at a location where a business process of a second predefined fulfillment workflow can be completed, wherein the location is a characteristic of the user using the at least one device,interrupt a next subsequent instruction in the first selected predefined fulfillment workflow, andsubsequently drive the at least one device to instruct the user to perform a second task of a second group of tasks associated with the plurality of predefined common business process of the second predefined fulfillment workflow based on the location of the user while performing the first task.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Aspects described herein relate to a flexible order fulfillment management system that utilizes predefined fulfillment workflows including common business processes. By utilizing predefined workflows including common business processes, the order fulfillment management system is able to drive store-based fulfillment programs efficiently as multiple fulfillment workflows may utilize the same common business processes and a single fulfillment management system may operate workflows in parallel. In addition, such an order fulfillment management system may also be more easily adapted for different retail store environments as the system allows a designer to easily create or modify a fulfillment workflow by selecting predefined common business processes or creating any additional custom business processes. Another aspect described herein relates to a tool that allows a designer of an order fulfillment program to select from a group of predefined common business processes to create workflows associated with an order fulfillment program.
28 Citations
30 Claims
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1. An order fulfillment system comprising:
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a fulfillment management and applications server including an order fulfillment management engine configured to be coupled to a retail store computer system, the order fulfillment management engine configured to receive orders forwarded by a central order management system; a database coupled to the order fulfillment management engine, the database including storage for fulfillment operation information including a plurality of predefined fulfillment workflows stored within, each predefined fulfillment workflow including a plurality of predefined common business processes, each common business process including at least one task; at least one device configured to communicate with a task management system and including software components that implement business processes of a selected predefined fulfillment workflow, wherein the at least one device is a portable device configured to display instructions to a user to drive the user to perform actions associated with the business processes of the selected predefined process workflow, and the task management system coupled to the order fulfillment management engine and including an optimization agent that is configured to arrange tasks into an execution sequence based on route information, the route information identifying respective locations where the tasks are to be completed; wherein the order fulfillment management engine is configured to select a predefined fulfillment workflow from the plurality of predefined fulfillment workflows for each received order, wherein the task management system is further configured to; drive the at least one device to instruct a user of the at least one device to perform a first task of a first group of tasks associated with the plurality of predefined common business processes of the first selected predefined fulfillment workflow, determine that the user while performing the first task is at a location where a business process of a second predefined fulfillment workflow can be completed, wherein the location is a characteristic of the user using the at least one device, interrupt a next subsequent instruction in the first selected predefined fulfillment workflow, and subsequently drive the at least one device to instruct the user to perform a second task of a second group of tasks associated with the plurality of predefined common business process of the second predefined fulfillment workflow based on the location of the user while performing the first task. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for fulfilling customer orders, the method comprising acts of:
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receiving, via an input device of a process design system within a distributed computer system, a selection of a first group of common predefined business processes from a plurality of common predefined business processes stored in a database coupled to the process design system, each one of the plurality of common predefined business process including at least one task; and receiving, via the input device of the process design system, a definition of at least a portion of a fulfillment workflow of a first fulfillment program to include the selected first group of common predefined business processes; transmitting the first fulfillment program to an order fulfillment management system of a distributed computer system; receiving, at the order fulfillment management system of the distributed computer system, orders forwarded by an order management system of a retail store; programmatically selecting, with the order fulfillment management system, the fulfillment workflow of the first fulfillment program to fulfill a received order; assigning, by a task management system, a performance of the at least one task from the defined first group of predefined common business processes of the fulfillment workflow of the selected first fulfillment program to at least one associate of the retail store to fulfill the received order, the task management system including an optimization agent that is configured to arrange tasks into an execution sequence based on route information, the route information identifying respective locations where the tasks are to be completed; transmitting, from the task management system, at least one instruction related to the performance of a first task from the first group of predefined common business processes of the selected first fulfillment program to a handheld device operated by the at least one associate, wherein the handheld device is a portable device configured to display instructions to a user to drive the user to perform actions associated with the performance of the first task; determining, by the task management system, that the at least one associate while performing the first task is at a location where a business process of a second fulfillment program can be completed, wherein the location is a characteristic of the user using the handheld device; interrupting, by the task management system, a next subsequent instruction in the selected first fulfillment program; and subsequently transmitting, from the task management system, another instruction related to performance of a second task from a second group of predefined common business processes of the second fulfillment program to the handheld device operated by the at least one associate based on the location of the at least one associate while performing the first task. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform a method for fulfilling customer orders, the method comprising acts of:
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receiving, via an input device of a process design system within the distributed computer system, a selection of a first group of common predefined business processes from a plurality of common predefined business processes stored in a database coupled to the process design system, each one of the plurality of common predefined business process including at least one task; and receiving, via the input device of the process design system, a definition of at least a portion of a fulfillment workflow of a first fulfillment program to include the selected first group of common predefined business processes; receiving, at an order fulfillment management system of a distributed computer system, orders forwarded by an order management system of a retail store; programmatically selecting, with the order fulfillment management system, the fulfillment workflow of the first fulfillment program to fulfill a received order; assigning, by a task management system, a performance of the at least one task from the defined first group of predefined common business processes of the fulfillment workflow of the selected first fulfillment program to at least one associate of the retail store to fulfill the received order, the task management system including an optimization agent that is configured to arrange tasks into an execution sequence based on route information, the route information identifying respective locations where the tasks are to be completed; transmitting, from the task management system, at least one instruction related to the performance of a first task from the first group of predefined common business processes of the selected first fulfillment program to a handheld device operated by the at least one associate, wherein the handheld device is a portable device configured to display instructions to a user to drive the user to perform actions associated with the performance of the first task; determining, by the task management system, that the at least one associate while performing the first task is at a location where a business process of a second fulfillment program can be completed, wherein the location is a characteristic of the user using the handheld device; interrupting, by the task management system, a next subsequent instruction in the selected first fulfillment program; and subsequently transmitting, from the task management system, another instruction related to performance of a second task from a second group of predefined common business processes of the second fulfillment program to the handheld device operated by the at least one associate based on the location of the at least one associate while performing the first task. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification