Overstock inventory management system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10657489-B2
Application number	US-201615096731-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 12, 2016
Priority date	Apr 14, 2015
Publication date	May 19, 2020
Grant date	May 19, 2020

Abstract

In some embodiments, methods and systems of managing overstock products at a retail sales facility include scanning a product at a stock room location of the retail sales facility using a hand-held electronic device including a processor. At least two of three functions are performed based on the scanning. First, the product may be audited by comparing data obtained by scanning the product to data contained in an inventory management database. Second, a determination of whether the scanned item is on a pick list may be made, which may include determining a demand for the scanned product to arrive at a decision whether to store the product in the stock room or place it on a shelf on the sales floor. Third, if the item is to be stored in the stock room, a determination of whether identical items are stored in bins in the stock room may be made.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of managing products at a retail sales facility, the method comprising:
scanning at least one product at a stock room location of the retail sales facility using a hand-held electronic scanner including a processor;
providing a computing device at the retail sales facility in two-way communication with the hand-held electronic scanner;
providing an inventory management database in two-way communication with the computing device, the inventory management database configured to store electronic data representing consumer demand for the products within a predetermined time interval at the retail sales facility and electronic data representing total shelf space for the products at the retail sales facility;
in response to the scanning of the at least one product, transmitting a signal from the hand-held electronic scanner to the computing device, the signal including an identifier of the at least one product scanned by the hand-held electronic scanner;
in response to receiving the signal from the hand-held electronic scanner, transmitting a query from the computing device to the inventory management database to obtain, from the inventory management database, the electronic data representing the consumer demand for the at least one scanned product and the electronic data representing shelf space allocated at the retail sales facility for the at least one scanned product;
after obtaining the electronic data from the inventory management database, transmitting the electronic data obtained from the inventory management database from the computing device to the hand-held electronic scanner;
analyzing, via the processor of the hand-held electronic scanner, the electronic data received from the computing device and, based on the analyzing of the consumer demand for the at least one scanned product and the electronic data representing shelf space allocated at the retail sales facility for the at least one scanned product:
determining, via the hand-held electronic scanner, whether to generate an alert on the hand-held electronic scanner indicating that the at least one scanned product is on a pick list; and
determining, via the hand-held electronic scanner, whether to generate an alert on the hand-held electronic scanner indicating a storage bin in the stock room location of the retail sales facility in which the at least one scanned product is to be stored;
wherein the determining whether to generate the alert further comprises:
identifying at least one storage bin in the stock room location of the retail sales facility that stores at least one product identical to the scanned product; and
identifying, in the alert, the storage bin in the stock room location of the retail sales facility that stores at least one product identical to the scanned product and in which the at least one scanned product is to be stored.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scanning of the at least one product at the stock room location includes one of scanning that at least one product at the stock room location using at least one of a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, an optical reader, and a barcode reader.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the scanning of the at least one product at the stock room location further comprises scanning the at least one product in a stocking bin at the stock room location of the retail sales facility and auditing the stocking bin containing the scanned at least one product.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining if the at least one product is on the pick list further comprises determining availability of shelf space on a sales floor at the retail sales facility by calculating a demand for the at least one product from a time of delivery of the at least one product on an immediately preceding day to a time of the scanning.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the determining if the at least one product is on the pick list further comprises calculating a total number of sales of the at least one product since delivery on an immediately preceding day.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the determining if the at least one product is on the pick list further comprising causing the hand-held electronic device to produce one of an audible alert and a visual display in response to a determination that shelf space on the sales floor of the retail sales facility is presently available for the scanned product.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising designating the scanned product for removal from being listed as located in a stocking bin at the retail sales facility in response to an acknowledgement of the audible alert or the visual display by a worker at the retail sales facility.

8. A system for managing products at a retail sales facility, the system comprising:
an hand-held electronic scanner configured to scan at least one product at the retail sales facility;
a computing device at the retail sales facility in two-way communication with the hand-held electronic scanner;
an inventory management database in two-way communication with the computing device, the inventory management database configured to store electronic data representing consumer demand for the products within a predetermined time interval at the retail sales facility and electronic data representing total shelf space for the products at the retail sales facility;
wherein the hand-held electronic device includes a control unit including a processor programmed to, in response to a scan of the at least one product by the hand-held electronic scanner, to transmit a signal from the hand-held electronic scanner to the computing device, the signal including an identifier of the at least one product scanned by the hand-held electronic scanner;
wherein, in response to receiving the signal from the hand-held electronic scanner, the computing device is configured to transmit a query to the inventory management database to obtain, from the inventory management database, the electronic data representing the consumer demand for the at least one scanned product and the electronic data representing shelf space allocated at the retail sales facility for the at least one scanned product;
wherein, in response to receipt of the electronic data from the inventory management database, the computing device is configured to transmit the electronic data obtained from the inventory management database to the hand-held electronic scanner;
wherein the processor of the electronic hand-held scanner is programmed to analyze the electronic data received from the computing device and, based on analysis of the consumer demand for the at least one scanned product and the electronic data representing shelf space allocated at the retail sales facility for the at least one scanned product, the processor of the hand-held electronic scanner is programmed to:
determine whether to generate an alert on the hand-held electronic scanner that the at least one scanned product is on a pick list;
determine whether to generate an alert on the hand-held electronic scanner indicating a storage bin in the stock room location of the retail sales facility in which the at least one scanned product is to be stored; and
if a determination is made by the processor of the hand-held electronic scanner to generate the alert indicating the storage bin in the stock room location of the retail sales facility in which the at least one scanned product is to be stored, to:
identify at least one storage bin in the stock room location of the retail sales facility that stores at least one product identical to the scanned product; and
identify the storage bin in the stock room location of the retail sales facility that stores at least one product identical to the scanned product and in which the

Assignees

• Walmart Apollo Llc

Inventors

• Jones Nicholaus Adam
• Fletter Marc Ashley
• Jones Matthew Allen
• Shields Daniel R
• Taylor Robert James

Classifications

• G06Q10/087 Primary

  Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders · CPC title

• G06Q10/0877 Primary

  by inventory control or reporting using inventory tracking or counting · CPC title