KR-20260067281-A - OPTIMIZING ORDER FULFILLMENT PROCESSES

Abstract

A method of order fulfillment at a fulfillment center comprises: identifying a first number of available collection units available for processing a first number of corresponding orders; identifying a second number of non-fulfilled orders from a list of non-fulfilled orders at the fulfillment center, each of which is to be assigned to one of the first number of available collection units for packing, wherein the second number is selected such that an efficiency metric based on (i) a total distance traversed by a collection device to collect component items corresponding to the second number of non-fulfilled orders from a storage area and (ii) a third number of component items collected using a collection device while traversing the total distance satisfies a threshold condition; and generating a signal for assigning one or more specific collection devices to collect the third number of component items.

Inventors

• 넬로르, 벤카타라자
• 완자리, 하샬
• 류, 즈신
• 가르그, 마니쉬
• 발라지, 비크람
• 이, 지웅
• 스트룹, 폴

Assignees

• 쿠팡 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20250306

Priority Date

20241105

Claims (20)

1. As a method of order fulfillment at a fulfillment center, A step of identifying a first number of available collection units available for processing a corresponding first number of orders within a first order collection area of the above-mentioned fulfillment center; A step of identifying a second number of unfulfilled orders from a list of unfulfilled orders at the fulfillment center, each of which is to be assigned to one of the first number of available collection units for packing; the fulfillment process for each order comprises: (i) collecting one or more component items from a storage area comprising a plurality of aisles, each aisle having a plurality of locations for storing order-items; and (ii) delivering the collected one or more component items to a corresponding collection unit, wherein the second number of unfulfilled orders are selected such that an efficiency metric associated with the second number of unfulfilled orders satisfies a threshold condition, and the efficiency metric is based on (i) the total distance traversed by a collection device to collect component items corresponding to the second number of unfulfilled orders from the storage area; and (ii) a third number of component items collected using the collection device while traversing the total distance. A step of generating a signal for allocating one or more specific collection devices from a pool of candidate collection devices to collect the above-mentioned third number of component items—the specific collection devices are allocated based on location information corresponding to each collection device of the pool of candidate collection devices—; and A step of allocating at least a subset of the first number of available collection units to receive each of the third number of component items corresponding to the second number of unfulfilled orders. A method including
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the efficiency metric is also based on the total time associated with traversing the total distance and delivering the third number of collected component items to the assigned collection unit.
3. A method according to claim 1, wherein location information corresponding to each collection device of the candidate collection device pool is derived based on the last-known location of the corresponding collection device.
4. A method according to claim 1, wherein location information corresponding to each collection device of the candidate collection device pool is received from the corresponding collection device in response to transmitting a request for said location information.
5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the efficiency metric is recalculated when the occurrence of predetermined events is detected.
6. In paragraph 5, the method comprises the predetermined events reaching a capacity associated with a collection device.
7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of repeating the method until each of the first number of available collection units is assigned to at least one of the second number of unfulfilled orders.
8. As a system implemented by a computer for order fulfillment at a fulfillment center, At least one processor; and A memory that stores instructions for performing operations based on being coupled to the at least one processor and executed by the at least one processor. Includes, The above operations are: An operation to identify a first number of available collection units available for processing a corresponding first number of orders within a first order collection area of the above-mentioned fulfillment center; An operation to identify a second number of non-fulfilled orders, each to be assigned to one of the first number of available collection units for packing, from a list of non-fulfilled orders at the aforementioned fulfillment center—the fulfillment process for each order comprises: (i) collecting one or more component items from a storage area including a plurality of passages—each passage having a plurality of locations for storing order-items—, and (ii) delivering the collected one or more component items to a corresponding collection unit, wherein the second number of non-fulfilled orders are selected such that an efficiency metric associated with the second number of non-fulfilled orders satisfies a threshold condition, and the efficiency metric is based on (i) the total distance traversed by a collection device to collect component items corresponding to the second number of non-fulfilled orders from the storage area, and (ii) a third number of component items collected using the collection device while traversing the total distance—; The operation of generating a signal for allocating one or more specific collection devices from a pool of candidate collection devices to collect the above-mentioned third number of component items—the specific collection devices are allocated based on location information corresponding to each collection device of the pool of candidate collection devices—; and The operation of allocating at least a subset of the first number of available collection units to receive each of the third number of component items corresponding to the second number of unfulfilled orders. A system implemented by a computer that includes
9. In paragraph 8, the efficiency metric is also based on the total time associated with traversing the total distance and delivering the collected third number of component items to the assigned collection unit, a system implemented by a computer.
10. In paragraph 8, a system implemented by a computer, wherein location information corresponding to each collection device of the candidate collection device pool is derived based on the last known location of the corresponding collection device.
11. In paragraph 8, a system implemented by a computer, wherein location information corresponding to each collection device of the candidate collection device pool is received from the corresponding collection device in response to transmitting a request for said location information.
12. In paragraph 8, the efficiency metric is a system implemented by a computer that is recalculated when the occurrence of predetermined events is detected.
13. In paragraph 12, the above-mentioned predetermined events include reaching a capacity associated with a collection device, a system implemented by a computer.
14. A system implemented by a computer, wherein, in paragraph 8, the above operations further include the operation of repeating the above operations until each of the first number of available collection units is assigned to at least one of the second number of unfulfilled orders.
15. As a non-transient recording medium storing a program, The execution of the above program causes one or more computers to perform operations, and said operations are: An action of identifying a first number of available collection units available for processing a corresponding first number of orders within a first order collection area of a fulfillment center; An operation to identify a second number of non-fulfilled orders, each to be assigned to one of the first number of available collection units for packing, from a list of non-fulfilled orders at the aforementioned fulfillment center—the fulfillment process for each order comprises: (i) collecting one or more component items from a storage area including a plurality of passages—each passage having a plurality of locations for storing order-items—, and (ii) delivering the collected one or more component items to a corresponding collection unit, wherein the second number of non-fulfilled orders are selected such that an efficiency metric associated with the second number of non-fulfilled orders satisfies a threshold condition, and the efficiency metric is based on (i) the total distance traversed by a collection device to collect component items corresponding to the second number of non-fulfilled orders from the storage area, and (ii) a third number of component items collected using the collection device while traversing the total distance—; The operation of generating a signal for allocating one or more specific collection devices from a pool of candidate collection devices to collect the above-mentioned third number of component items—the specific collection devices are allocated based on location information corresponding to each collection device of the pool of candidate collection devices—; and The operation of allocating at least a subset of the first number of available collection units to receive each of the third number of component items corresponding to the second number of unfulfilled orders. A non-transient recording medium including
16. In paragraph 15, the efficiency metric is also based on the total time associated with traversing the total distance and delivering the third number of collected component items to the assigned collection unit, a non-transient recording medium.
17. In paragraph 15, a non-transient recording medium in which location information corresponding to each collection device of the candidate collection device pool is derived based on the last known location of the corresponding collection device.
18. In paragraph 15, a non-transient recording medium in which location information corresponding to each collection device of the candidate collection device pool is received from the corresponding collection device in response to transmitting a request for said location information.
19. In paragraph 15, the efficiency metric is recalculated when the occurrence of predetermined events is detected; The above-mentioned predetermined events include reaching a capacity associated with a collection device, a non-transient recording medium.
20. A non-transient recording medium according to claim 15, wherein the above operations further include the operation of repeating the above operations until each of the first number of available collection units is assigned to at least one of the second number of unfulfilled orders.

Description

Optimizing Order Fulfillment Processes The present disclosure relates to a system for order fulfillment in a fulfillment center, and more specifically, to a computerized method of order fulfillment in a fulfillment center. The efficiency of fulfillment center (FC) operations is critical to meeting increasing demands from online customers and ensuring timely delivery of products to them. One essential process for FCs is order consolidation through rebinning, which involves grouping items from multiple orders together for efficient packing and shipping. The present disclosure relates to a method of order fulfillment at a fulfillment center. According to one aspect of the subject matter described in this application, a method for fulfilling orders in a fulfillment center comprises the steps of: identifying a first number of available collection units available for processing a first number of orders within a first order collection area of the fulfillment center; identifying a second number of unfulfilled orders from a list of unfulfilled orders in the fulfillment center, each of which is to be assigned to one of the first number of available collection units for packing; the fulfillment process for each order comprises: (i) collecting one or more component items from a storage area comprising a plurality of aisles, each aisle having a plurality of locations for storing order-items; and (ii) delivering the collected one or more component items to a corresponding collection unit, wherein the second number of unfulfilled orders are selected such that an efficiency metric associated with the second number of unfulfilled orders satisfies a threshold condition, and the efficiency metric is by (i) a collection device for collecting component items corresponding to the second number of unfulfilled orders from the storage area (ii) a total distance traversed, and (ii) a third number of component items collected using a collection device while traversing the total distance, based on -, a step of generating a signal for allocating one or more specific collection devices from a pool of candidate collection devices to collect the third number of component items - the specific collection devices are allocated based on location information corresponding to each collection device in the pool of candidate collection devices -, and a step of allocating at least a subset of a first number of available collection units to receive each of the third number of component items corresponding to the second number of unfulfilled orders. Implementations according to the present embodiment may include one or more of the following features. For example, the efficiency metric may also be based on the total time associated with traversing the total distance and delivering a third number of component items collected to an assigned collection unit. In some implementations, location information corresponding to each collection device in the candidate collection device pool may be derived based on the last-known location of the corresponding collection device. In some implementations, location information corresponding to each collection device in the candidate collection device pool may be received from the corresponding collection device in response to transmitting a request for location information. In some examples, the efficiency metric may be recalculated upon detecting the occurrence of predetermined events. In some examples, the predetermined events may include reaching the capacity associated with the collection device. In some implementations, the method may further include the step of repeating the method until each of the first number of available collection units is assigned to at least one of the second number of unfulfilled orders. According to another aspect of the subject matter described in this application, a system implemented by a computer for order fulfillment at a fulfillment center may include at least one processor and a memory that stores instructions for performing operations based on being coupled to at least one processor and executed by at least one processor. The operations include identifying a first number of available collection units available for processing a first number of corresponding orders within a first order collection area of a fulfillment center, and identifying a second number of non-fulfilled orders from a list of non-fulfilled orders in the fulfillment center, each to be assigned to one of the first number of available collection units for packing; the fulfillment process for each order comprises: (i) collecting one or more component items from a storage area containing a plurality of passages—each passage having a plurality of locations for storing order-items—; and (ii) delivering the collected one or more component items to a corresponding collection unit, wherein the second number of non-fulfilled orders are selected such that an efficiency metric associated with the second number of non-fulfi