Methods and systems for customizing inventory in an automated dispensing cabinet

Abstract

A system and method for configuring a dispensing cabinet with products within an electronic catalog hosted by a wholesaler system includes a display of a user interface having a graphical representation of a dispensing cabinet for dispensing products including a graphical representation of each dispensing mechanism. A selection of a single product from a listing of products associates the selected single product to at least one dispensing mechanism and causes a change in the graphical representation of the dispensing cabinet such that the at least one dispensing mechanism is visually identified as having the selected single product associated with the dispensing mechanism.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A non-transient, computer-readable media having stored thereon instructions for customizing inventory in a dispensing cabinet with products within an electronic catalog hosted by a wholesaler system, the instructions performing steps comprising:
 causing a user interface to be displayed on a client device, the user interface having user interface elements for specifying a type for the dispensing cabinet, for specifying a product to be added to the dispensing cabinet, and for specifying a quantity of the product to be added to the dispensing cabinet;   using at least one characteristic associated with the product to be added to the dispensing cabinet, the quantity of the product to be added to the dispensing cabinet, information related to the type for the dispensing cabinet, and at least one predetermined rule to automatically select one or more of locations within the dispensing cabinet for use in holding the quantity of product to be added to the dispensing cabinet; and   causing a virtual representation of the dispensing cabinet to be displayed on the client device wherein the product and the quantity of the product to be added to the dispensing cabinet is visually identified as being associated with the selected one or more locations within the dispensing cabinet.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-readable media as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the information related to the type for the dispensing cabinet comprises information related to ones of a plurality of dispensing coils in the dispensing cabinet having availability to hold product. 
     
     
         3 . The computer-readable media as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the information related to ones of the plurality of dispensing coils in the dispensing cabinet having availability to hold product comprises information related to a size of product each of the ones of the plurality of dispensing coils can accommodate. 
     
     
         4 . The computer-readable media as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the user interface has user interface elements for specifying a size for the dispensing cabinet. 
     
     
         5 . The computer-readable media as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the user interface has user interface elements for specifying a number of dispensing coils to be included in the dispensing cabinet. 
     
     
         6 . The computer-readable media as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the user interface has user interface elements for specifying a size for the dispensing cabinet and for specifying a number of dispensing coils to be included in the dispensing cabinet. 
     
     
         7 . The computer-readable media as recited in  claim 2 , wherein the information related to one of the plurality of dispensing coils in the dispensing cabinet having availability to hold product comprises information related to at least a row location of each of the ones of the plurality of dispensing coils in the dispensing cabinet. 
     
     
         8 . The computer-readable media as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic of the product to be added to the dispensing cabinet comprises a weight of the product. 
     
     
         9 . The computer-readable media as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic of the product to be added to the dispensing cabinet comprises a size of the product. 
     
     
         10 . The computer-readable media as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic of the product to be added to the dispensing cabinet comprises a genre of the product. 
     
     
         11 . The computer-readable media as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic of the product to be added to the dispensing cabinet comprises a predicted usage rate of the product. 
     
     
         12 . The computer-readable media as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the at least one characteristic of the product to be added to the dispensing cabinet comprises a historical usage rate of the product. 
     
     
         13 . The computer-readable media as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the client computing device is at least one of an appliance, a personal computer, a tablet computer, a mobile device, or an ereader.