Adaptive control of an item inventory plan

US9805402B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• AMAZON TECHNOLOGIES, INC. · US

Inventors

• Jeffrey B. Maurer · Port Orchard, US
• Deepak Bhatia · Issaquah, US
• Gordon Mitchell Goetz · Seattle, US
• Onur Özkök · Issaquah, US
• Tolga Han Seyhan · Seattle, US
• Nicholas Deming Sherman · Mercer Island, US
• Arjun Krishna Subramaniam · Seattle, US
• Jingchen Wu · Seattle, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 26, 2014
• Grant date: Oct 31, 2017
• Expiry date: Jan 20, 2036

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06Q10/087
• WIPO field: IT methods for management
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Techniques for determining a decision to acquire units of an item to be inventoried may be provided. For example, a demand for an item may be simulated to determine a consumption of a capacity for inventorying the item. A discrepancy between the consumption of the capacity and the capacity may be determined. An opportunity cost associated with the capacity may be updated based at least in part on determining that the discrepancy fails a convergence criterion. The opportunity cost may indicate a value associated with using the capacity. The consumption of the capacity may be simulated based at least in part on the updated opportunity cost. A resulting discrepancy may be determined. If the resulting discrepancy meets the convergence criterion, the decision to acquire the units of the item may be generated based at least in part on the updated opportunity cost.