Method of monitoring inventory on an open shelving system
View Patent ↗A carousel used in a restocking system is comprised of a drive track. A plurality of bins are arranged into rows, with the rows being driven by said drive track. A drive mechanism, e.g. an electric motor, drives the drive track. A sensor is provided to sense the position of the rows of bins. A processor is responsive to the sensor and data representative of a plurality of picks for more than one order for controlling the drive mechanism. By combining picks from different orders into a batch, the time spent driving the rows and time between picks is minimized. The carousel may be divided into a plurality of columns, each with its own drive track, drive mechanism, and sensor, to enable several rows to be brought into a pick position simultaneously. Various methods and forms of restocking packages are also disclosed.
1. A method comprising:
receiving information input into a handheld device from an indicium on an open shelving system, said information identifying an item stocked on said open shelving system;
receiving a quantity of said item requested at a decentralized storage location into the handheld device;
receiving into a workstation a current quantity of said item stored in a centralized storage location;
transferring the information and the quantity of said item requested from the handheld device;
automatically comparing, in a computing device, the current quantity to a par level for said item; and
queuing in the computing device a restocking package to be processed for the decentralized storage location in response to the information and the quantity of said item requested.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the indicium is a barcode and the inputting is performed by scanning the barcode.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein said transferring includes transporting the handheld device to a location where the information and quantity are downloaded.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein said transferring includes transmitting the information and quantity over a wireless link.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein said transferring includes inserting the handheld device into a docking station located proximate to said open shelving system.
6. The method of claim 1 additionally comprising selecting information identifying a second item not represented by an indicium on said open shelving system and inputting to the handheld device a quantity of said second item requested at a decentralized storage location.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the open shelving unit is one of a fixed unit or a carousel.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the par level is set using one of a statically or dynamically determined level.
9. A method of restocking an open shelving system of the type having a plurality of bins, each of said bins having a unique indicium associated therewith, said method comprising:
receiving information input into a handheld device from said indicium associated with each bin identifying an item stored therein;
receiving a quantity of each of the items requested at a decentralized storage location into the handheld device corresponding to the input information;
receiving into a workstation a current quantity of the items stored in a centralized storage location;
transferring the information and the quantity of each of the items requested from the handheld device;
automatically comparing, in a computing device, the current quantity of each of the items to a par level for each item; and
queuing in the computing device a restocking package to be processed for the decentralized storage location in response to the information and the quantity of each of the items requested.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the indicium is a barcode and the inputting is performed by scanning the barcode.
11. The method of claim 9 wherein said transferring includes transporting the handheld device to a location where the information and the current quantity of each of the items are downloaded.
12. The method of claim 9 wherein said transferring includes transmitting the information and the current quantity of each of the items over a wireless link.
13. The method of claim 9 wherein said transferring includes inserting the handheld device into a docking station located proximate to said open shelving system.
14. The method of claim 9 additionally comprising selecting information identifying an additional item not represented by an indicium on said open shelving system and inputting to the handheld device a quantity of said additional item requested at the decentralized storage location.
15. The method of claim 9 wherein the open shelving unit is one of a fixed unit or a carousel.
16. The method of claim 9 wherein the par level of each of the items is set using one of a statically or dynamically determined level.