Patent Application
20080313060
The present disclosure is in the field of inventory management.
Inventory management systems enable an entity to monitor its inventory and react to inventory changes. Inventory management can be especially challenging in the context of an emergency, natural disaster, or any other condition that produces sudden, dramatic, and often localized disparities in the supply and demand of goods.
Disclosed is a system enabling users to view and initiate action to alter the geographic distribution of or otherwise affect the pooled inventory of a good, product, or other item of inventory. The system is suitable, as an example, for discovering and moving scarce inventory to ease critical shortages of specific items at specific locations. In this context, the items of inventory may be pharmaceutical products, bottled water, non perishable food items, and so forth. The disclosed system is suitable for addressing inventory imbalances following natural disasters, emergency conditions, or simply due to unavailability of items due to high demand at specific stores.
In one aspect, an inventory manager is disclosed. The inventory manager may be implemented as an integrated or distributed system that includes at least one processor, one or more network interfaces, and one or more storage resources. The processors have access to network interfaces enabling them to communicate via one or more networks. The storage resources are accessible to the processors may include persistent storage devices or other forms of computer readable medium in or on which data, data structures, and/or software modules are stored.
The storage resource(s) contain one more data structures and software modules including an inventory registry, a transaction module, and a viewing module. These elements may integrated within a single physical system or distributed across two or more distinct systems. In the distributed implementation, the elements may exist on systems that are widely dispersed geographically and connected via a network. The system may include redundant or proxy instances of one or more of the elements, and these redundant or proxy instances may, themselves be distributed across disparate systems.
The inventory registry includes information indicative of a pooled inventory of an item including inventory from two or more suppliers of the item. In some embodiments, the registry is openly accessible to multiple suppliers and multiple consumers of the item. The transaction module enables a remote user to execute an inventory transaction to alter the pooled inventory distribution indicated in the inventory registry. The viewing module accesses the inventory registry and produces information enabling a user to visualize the inventory distribution. The inventory management system may interface with value added service including as examples, an auction/bidding module, a price negotiation module, and a cost estimation module.
In some embodiments, the inventory registry is openly available via the network and, as such, is accessible to a plurality of remotely located suppliers, including competing suppliers, of the item and to a plurality of remotely located consumers of the item. The inventory registry may include or support a standardized identification of the item to ensure uniqueness and consistency of product identifiers. Exemplary identifiers might be based on a global trade identifier number (GTIN) as specified by the GS1. The inventory registry may also include or support a standardized identification of the supplier or other user. A supplier or consumer might, for example, uniquely identify itself with a GS1 Global Location Number (GLN). GS1 is a global organization dedicated to the design and implementation of global standards and solutions to improve the efficiency and visibility of supply and demand chains globally and across multiple sectors.
In some embodiments, the inventory registry includes separate entries for inventory of the item located at two different physical locations, i.e., a first entry for inventory located at a first location and a second entry for inventory stored at a second location.
The transaction module is preferably responsible for updating the contents of the inventory registry to reflect changes in inventory distribution caused by inventory consuming transactions inventory generating transactions. The transaction module preferably detects a request to access the inventory registry and, in response, determines whether the request is from a supplier or a consumer of the item. In some embodiments, the viewing module produces information enabling the user to visualize the inventory distribution via a plurality of quantity indicators superimposed on a map encompassing at least location in the geographic distribution.
In one aspect, a computer implemented inventory manager is disclosed as including an inventory registry, a viewing module, and a transaction module. The inventory register represents or contains information indicative of a pooled inventory of an item where the pooled inventory includes inventory of the item from supplied by two or more suppliers. The item may be a critical item such as medicine, bottled water, or a food staple. In at least some embodiments, the registry is openly accessible to multiple suppliers of the item and to multiple consumers of the item. The viewing module accesses the inventory registry and produces information indicative of or otherwise representing the pooled inventory. The transaction module enables a remote user to execute an inventory transaction to alter the pooled inventory indicated in the inventory registry.
The inventory registry information may include a standardized identification of each item, for example, a global trade identification number (GTIN). The pooled inventory may be suitable to convey a geographic distribution of the pooled inventory. In some implementations, the item is in critical shortage at a first geographic location and the pooled inventory reflects inventory of the item at a second geographic location. In this context, the transaction module may enable a consumer to initiate movement of at least some of the inventory at the second geographic location to the first geographic location.
In another aspect, a computer program product is disclosed as having computer executable instructions, stored on a computer readable medium, where the instructions can cause a computer implemented inventory manager to detect a user request to access an inventory registry. The inventory register contains information indicative of an item's pooled inventory. The pooled inventory encompasses inventory of the item from two or more suppliers. In some embodiments, the inventory registry information also indicates a geographic distribution of the pooled inventory. The program product further include a viewing module and a transaction module. The viewing module includes instructions to respond to the user request by providing information enabling the user to visualize the geographic distribution of the pooled inventory. The transaction module includes instructions to enable the user to define and execute an inventory transaction that alters the geographic distribution of the pooled inventory, such as by enabling a consumer to initiate movement of at least some of the inventory located at the second geographic location to a first geographic location where there may be a sudden and/or sever shortage of the item. The transaction module may also include instructions to invoke one or more value added services that address the cost of the transaction. For example, the value added services may include a logistics estimator enabling the user to shipping cost estimates from one or more carriers.
In still another aspect, a disclosed A inventory management method includes provisioning a system with a database structure, a viewing module, and a transaction module. The database structure may be an inventory registry that represents the pooled inventory of an item where the pooled inventory reflects inventory from multiple suppliers of the item and conveys a geographic distribution of the pooled inventory. The viewing module interacts with a user's web browser and/or application specific client to enable the user to visualize the pooled inventory's geographic distribution in a graphical or textual format. The transaction module enables the user to define and execute an inventory transacation that alters the geographic distribution of the pooled inventory by moving a portion of the pooled inventory to a first geopgrahic location from a second geographic location. The transacation module updates the inventory registry to reflect the alteration. The inventory registry may include multiple entries, where each entry represents a portion of the pooled inventory. Each entry may contain a GTIN or other standardized identifier of the item, an identification of the supplier of the corresponding pooled inventory portion, a quantity indication, and an indication of the geographic location of the corresponding pooled inventory potion. In some embodiments, the transaction module enables a user to define a single transaction to transfer inventory located at a first geographic location to a second geographic location without regard to the identity or number of suppliers of the inventory at the first geographic location. Some embodiments of the method support or require user registration as part of being able to access the inventory registry. Registration may include selective registration in which access to the registry is filtered according to one or more parameters. For example, in a situation where a first geographic location is experiencing a shortage of the item supplier access to the inventory registry may be limited to suppliers that are able to provide inventory to the first location and to consumers located at the first geographic location.
Referring to
System 100 is illustrated in the depicted embodiment as including, in addition to the inventory manager 101, multiple suppliers including a first supplier 120 and a second supplier 121, multiple consumers 130, logistics service provider(s) 140, and payment services providers 150. Consumers 130 are shown as being connected to network 110 via consumer interfaces 131. First supplier 120 is shown as being in communication with network 110 via a first supplier interface 125 and Second supplier 121 is shown as being in communication with network 110 via a second supplier interface 126, which may be the same or substantially similar to first supplier interface 125. Similarly, logistics service provider 140 communicates with inventory manager 101 via a logistics interface 141 and payment service provider(s) 150 communicate with inventory manager 101 via payment provider interface 151. In some embodiments, interfaces 125, 126, 131, 141, and 151 represent and/or include conventional web browsers. In other embodiments, however, interfaces 125, 126, 131, 141, and 151 may include application specific or special purpose interfaces designed or otherwise optimized to facilitate communication between the various users of inventory manager 101.
Suppliers 120 and 121 encompass any entity that provides goods to another. Suppliers 120 and 121 could be, for example, manufacturers and wholesalersg of goods as well as retailers and other downstream providers of goods. Consumers 130 encompass individuals as well as groups of individuals and/or corporate or governmental entities that purchase or otherwise acquire goods. Thus, for example, system 100 includes implementations in which suppliers 120 and 121 are retailers and consumers 130 is an individual consumers. System 100 also includes implementations in which, for example, suppliers 120 and 121 are wholesalers or manufacturers of goods and consumers 130 include a retail store acquiring goods from its supplier.
Inventory manager 101 includes functionality enabling multiple suppliers 125 and 126 and multiple consumers 130 to monitor and alter the inventory and, more particularly, the pooled inventory of a particular item. The pooled inventory of an item is a cumulative inventory that encompasses the inventories of multiple and potentially competing suppliers of the product. In the implementation depicted in
IR 105 is a database structure that includes information indicative of an item's pooled inventory. IR 105 includes quantity and geographic location information for multiple suppliers of the item so that IR 105 contains information that conveys the geographic distribution of the item's pooled inventory. In embodiments suitable for use with applications that include the redistribution of scare inventory following a natural disaster, for example, IR 105 may be implemented as an openly accessible database structure that reflects the pooled inventory of critical items including, as examples, medicine, food staples, and bottled water. IR 105 may also contain information that conveys the geographic distribution of the pooled inventory of an item. For example, where a shortage of an item is occurring at a first geographic location, such as the site of an emergency or disaster, IR 105 may contain information conveying the pooled inventory of an item at a second geographic location that is removed from the first geographic location.
An embodiment of IR 105 is illustrated in
The standardized number 203 may be implemented with a global trade identification number (GTIN). A GTIN is an identifier for trade items developed by GS1. GTIN encompasses all of the GS1 data structures for trade item identification. A GTIN may be 8, 12, 13 or 14 digits long, and can be constructed using any of four numbering structures, depending upon the exact application. Although GTIN is referred to specifically in this disclosure as a standardized numbering structure suitable for the described application, the reference to GTIN is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting. Similarly, the supplier indication 205 may reflect or comply with a GLN recognized by GS1.
In the depicted embodiment, each entry 201 of IR 105 corresponds to the inventory of a particular supplier at a particular geographic location. Other embodiments of data table 201 may aggregate all items of inventory at a particular geographic location, regardless of supplier identity. Still other implementations of data table 201 may include fewer, more, and/or different columns of information. Moreover, although data table 201 representing IR 105 of
Returning to
Referring to
Following the definition of any applicable data filters, the depicted example of viewing module 104 retrieves or otherwise accesses (block 404) the requested data, as determined by the defined filters, from IR 105. The viewing module then generates (block 406) a geographical representation of the retrieved inventory information. The geographical representation enables a user to visualize the inventory distribution of one or more products or goods. The geographical representation, for example, might superimpose an indication of inventory levels, e.g., a bar over a map of a particular geographic region, e.g., a map of the United States to indicate visually the geographic distribution of inventory for a particular product. Viewing module 104 as shown in
Returning to
After the user has provided information sufficient to define a transaction, the exemplified embodiment of method 300 may invoke (block 325) value added services including the value added services 160, depicted in
Value added services 160 as shown in
In the implementation as depicted in
Logistics estimator 165, for example, may enable users to obtain shipping cost estimates from one or more common carriers, who would interact with logistics estimator 165 and bidding module 161 to submit bids or estimates for shipping inventory specified in a transaction from an origin to a destination. Referring to
Returning to
In block 506, the depicted embodiment of logistics module 500 evaluates the common carrier quotes and selects a common carrier to execute the transaction. Criteria for selecting a quote is an implementation detail, but may include, in addition to the quoted price and delivery time, consideration of other factors, e.g., the carrier's historical reliability in meeting its quotes. After selecting a carrier, method 500 as shown includes initiating (block 508) the physical transport of the goods by submitting an transportation order to the selected carrier.
Returning now to
Also disclosed herein is a method of providing a service via which a data processing system is provisioned or otherwise enabled to include and support the inventory management functionality described herein. Referring to
Some embodiments of the method support or require user registration as part of being able to access the inventory registry. Registration may include selective registration in which access to the registry is filtered according to one or more parameters. For example, in a situation where a first geographic location is experiencing a shortage of the item supplier access to the inventory registry may be limited to suppliers that are able to provide inventory to the first location and to consumers located at the first geographic location. In some embodiments, registration may be required to access inventory registry 105, but registration does not imply a fixed classification or relationship of the registrant with respect to inventory registry 105. In these embodiments, inventory manager 101 and inventory registry 105 support flexible interactions with users. Thus, for example, some embodiments may permit a user to execute consumer transactions during one session and supplier transactions during another. [0042] Referring now to
As depicted in
Processor(s) 702 may be implemented with x86 type processors including various processors from Intel, AMD, and others. Peripheral bus 708 is exemplified, for example, by a peripheral components interface (PCI) bus. Persistent storage 730 may be implemented with a conventional magnetic disk drive. Alternatively, mass storage may be provided to system 700 via networked storage including, as examples, a storage area network (SAN) or network attached storage (NAS). System 700 may further include input devices including keyboards, mouse, and so forth as well as output devices including a display terminal and one or more printers. Moreover, although system 700 in
In a networked deployment, the computer system may operate in the capacity of a server or as a client user computer in a server-client user network environment, or as a peer computer system in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. The computer system 700 can also be implemented as or incorporated into various devices, such as a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile device, a palmtop computer, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a communications device, a wireless telephone, a land-line telephone, a control system, a camera, a scanner, a facsimile machine, a printer, a pager, a personal trusted device, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any other machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. In a particular embodiment, the computer system X00 can be implemented using electronic devices that provide voice, video or data communication. Further, while a single computer system 700 is illustrated, the term “system” shall also be taken to include any collection of systems or sub-systems that individually or jointly execute a set, or multiple sets, of instructions to perform one or more computer functions.
In an alternative embodiment, dedicated hardware implementations, such as application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices, can be constructed to implement one or more of the methods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatus and systems of various embodiments can broadly include a variety of electronic and computer systems. One or more embodiments described herein may implement functions using two or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices with related control and data signals that can be communicated between and through the modules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit. Accordingly, the present system encompasses software, firmware, and hardware implementations.
In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, the methods described herein may be implemented by software programs executable by a computer system. Further, in an exemplary, non-limited embodiment, implementations can include distributed processing elements in which portions of a system, data structure, and/or software module are located on different physical devices that may be dispersed across a wide geographic region, component/object distributed processing, and parallel processing. Alternatively, virtual computer system processing can be constructed to implement one or more of the methods or functionality as described herein.
While the computer-readable medium is shown to be a single medium, the term “computer-readable medium” includes a single medium or multiple media, such as a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers that store one or more sets of instructions. The term “computer-readable medium” shall also include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by a processor or that cause a computer system to perform any one or more of the methods or operations disclosed herein.
In a particular non-limiting, exemplary embodiment, the computer-readable medium can include a solid-state memory such as a memory card or other package that houses one or more non-volatile read-only memories. Further, the computer-readable medium can be a random access memory or other volatile re-writable memory. Additionally, the computer-readable medium can include a magneto-optical or optical medium, such as a disk or tapes or other storage device to capture carrier wave signals such as a signal communicated over a transmission medium. A digital file attachment to an e-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archives may be considered a distribution medium that is equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include any one or more of a computer-readable medium or a distribution medium and other equivalents and successor media, in which data or instructions may be stored.
In accordance with various embodiments, the methods described herein may be implemented as one or more software programs running on one or more computer processors, which may be located on one or more geographically dispersed physical systems. Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to, application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays and other hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement the methods described herein. Furthermore, alternative software implementations including, but not limited to, distributed processing or component/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also be constructed to implement the methods described herein.
It should also be noted that software that implements the disclosed methods may optionally be stored on a tangible storage medium, such as: a magnetic medium, such as a disk or tape; a magneto-optical or optical medium, such as a disk; or a solid state medium, such as a memory card or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile) memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile) memories. The software may also utilize a signal containing computer instructions. A digital file attachment to e-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archives is considered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include a tangible storage medium or distribution medium as listed herein, and other equivalents and successor media, in which the software implementations herein may be stored.
Although the present specification describes components and functions that may be implemented in particular embodiments with reference to particular standards and protocols, the invention is not limited to such standards and protocols. For example, standards for Internet and other packet switched network transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) represent examples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodically superseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentially the same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocols having the same or similar functions as those disclosed herein are considered equivalents thereof.
The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended to provide a general understanding of the structure of the various embodiments. The illustrations are not intended to serve as a complete description of all of the elements and features of apparatus and systems that utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many other embodiments may be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived from the disclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Additionally, the illustrations are merely representational and may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions within the illustrations may be exaggerated, while other proportions may be minimized. Accordingly, the disclosure and the figures are to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.
One or more embodiments of the disclosure may be referred to herein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merely for convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any particular invention or inventive concept. Moreover, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that any subsequent arrangement designed to achieve the same or similar purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all subsequent adaptations or variations of various embodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the description.
The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b) and is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, various features may be grouped together or described in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter may be directed to less than all of the features of any of the disclosed embodiments. Thus, the following claims are incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as defining separately claimed subject matter.
The above disclosed subject matter is to be considered illustrative, and not restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments, which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, to the maximum extent allowed by law, the scope of the present invention is to be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the following claims and their equivalents, and shall not be restricted or limited by the foregoing detailed description.
