System and method to incorporate node fulfillment capacity and network average capacity utilization in balancing fulfillment load across retail supply networks

US10776747B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• International Business Machines Corporation · US

Inventors

• Ajay A. Deshpande · White Plains, US
• Saurabh Gupta · Delhi, IN
• Arun Hampapur · Norwalk, US
• Alan J. King · South Salem, US
• Ali Koc · White Plains, US
• Yingjie Li · Elgin, US
• Xuan Liu · Yorktown Heights, US
• Christopher S. Milite · Oxford, US
• Brian Leo Quanz · Yorktown Heights, US
• Chek Keong Tan · Danbury, US
• Dahai Xing · White Plains, US
• Xiaobo Zheng · Shanghai, CN

Key dates

• Filing date: Apr 1, 2016
• Grant date: Sep 15, 2020
• Expiry date: Mar 1, 2039

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04L43/0876
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A method and system for evaluating node fulfillment capacity in node order assignment. The method includes receiving by a network average capacity utilization cost module an electronic record of a current order. The method includes retrieving data of a plurality of nodes, calculating an actual capacity utilization on an expected date, and determining a probability of backlog on the expected date. The method includes generating a network average capacity utilization cost model, automatically converting one or more of a plurality of costs and capacity utilization into a capacity utilization cost, and transmitting the capacity utilization cost of each node to an order fulfillment engine. The method includes receiving by the engine the current order, the processing cost data, and the capacity utilization cost. The method includes automatically calculating a fulfillment cost and identifying a node with the lowest fulfillment cost for assignment.