Order fulfillment

1. A system for fulfilling orders from a fulfillment network comprising a plurality of consumer-facing retail locations, the system comprising at least one computer comprising processing circuitry and memory, the memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to:

retrieve, from a data source, operational data concerning a plurality of retail locations in the fulfillment network;

receive an order comprising at least one item for delivery to an address;

partition the order into at least one suborder comprising at least one item;

forecast the demand for the at least one suborder item for a plurality of retail locations in the fulfillment network;

select, for each suborder, a retail location in the fulfillment network for fulfilling the suborder based at least in part on the operational data and the forecasted demand; and

transmit each suborder to the selected retail location for fulfillment,

wherein the operational data comprises each and every one of the number of employees at the retail location, the shipping rate card of the retail location, the return policies of the retail location, the business hours of the retail location, and pick decline estimation for the retail location.

2. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a data source comprising the operational data concerning a plurality of retail locations in the fulfillment network.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one computer is further configured to:

calculate at least one delivery factor based on the address and at least one of the retail locations; and

wherein selecting, for each suborder, a retail location for fulfilling the suborder is also based in part on the at least one delivery factor,

wherein the at least one delivery factor is selected from the group consisting of delivery time and delivery cost.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the selection of the retail location based on the forecasted demand weighs the forecasted demand for the at least one suborder item at the selected retail location against the weight of the operational data or the at least one delivery factor.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein forecasting the demand for the at least one suborder item for a plurality of retail locations comprises:

retrieving historical demand data for the at least one suborder item for a retail location selected from the plurality of retail locations;

computing an average of the retrieved historical demand data; and

using the average as a forecast of the demand for the at least one suborder item for the selected retail location.

6. The system of claim 5 , further comprising a data store containing historical demand data for the plurality of retail locations, the historical demand data selected from the group consisting of purchase data, inventory data, and web browsing transactions.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one computer is further configured to specify the shipment method in connection with the transmission of the suborder to the selected retail location.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one computer is further configured to:

receive instructions from an operator prioritizing at least one factor; and

wherein selecting, for each suborder, a retail location for fulfilling the suborder is also based at least in part on the at least one priority factor,

wherein the at least one priority factor is selected from the group of forecasted in-store demand, delivery time, delivery cost, the number of suborders, and pick decline.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the pick decline estimation for a retail location is derived from historical pick decline data for that location.

10. The system of claim 1 , the memory further storing instructions which, when executed by the processing circuitry, cause the processing circuitry to eliminate at least some of the retail locations from the plurality of retail locations based on the ability of the retail location to meet a specified criterion prior to selecting a retail location for fulfilling the suborder.

11. A method for fulfilling orders from a fulfillment network comprising a plurality of consumer-facing retail locations, the method comprising:

retrieving, from a data source by at least one computer, operational data concerning a plurality of retail locations in the fulfillment network;

receiving, at the at least one computer, an order comprising at least one item for delivery to an address;

partitioning, by the at least one computer, the order into at least one suborder comprising at least one item;

forecasting, by the at least one computer, the demand for the at least one suborder item for a plurality of retail locations in the fulfillment network;

selecting, for each suborder by the at least one computer, a retail location in the fulfillment network for fulfilling the suborder based at least in part on the operational data and the forecasted demand; and

transmitting, by the at least one computer, each suborder to the selected retail location for fulfillment,

wherein the operational data comprises each and every one of the number of employees at the retail location, the shipping rate card of the retail location, the return policies of the retail location, the business hours of the retail location, and pick decline estimation for the retail location.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

calculating, by the at least one computer, at least one delivery factor based on the address and at least one of the retail locations; and

wherein selecting, for each suborder, a retail location for fulfilling the suborder is also based in part on the at least one delivery factor,

wherein the at least one delivery factor is selected from the group consisting of delivery time and delivery cost.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the selection of the retail location based on the forecasted demand weighs the forecasted demand for the at least one suborder item at the selected retail location against the weight of the operational data or the at least one delivery factor.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein forecasting the demand for the at least one suborder item for a plurality of retail locations comprises:

retrieving, by the at least one computer, historical demand data for the at least one suborder item for a retail location selected from the plurality of retail locations;

computing, by the at least one computer, an average of the retrieved historical demand data; and

using, by the at least one computer, the average as a forecast of the demand for the at least one suborder item for the selected retail location.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the historical demand data is at least one of purchase data, inventory data, and web browsing transactions.

16. The method of claim 11 , further comprising specifying, by the at least one computer, the shipment method in connection with the transmission of the suborder to the selected retail location.

17. The method of claim 11 , wherein the pick decline estimation for a retail location is derived from historical pick decline data for that location.

18. The method of claim 11 , further comprising eliminating, by the at least one computer, at least some of the retail locations from the plurality of retail locations based on the ability of the retail location to meet a specified criterion prior to selecting a retail location for fulfilling the suborder.