System and method for optimizing use of standardized shipping containers

Abstract

A system and method for determining an optimal number and size of standardized containers for shipping product items in a purchase order is provided. Shipping by using standardized containers is different from standard shipping since the shipping rate for a standardized container of a particular size may be fixed irrespective of the number of items that are actually put into such a container. With such standardized shipping containers, customers may simply place an item in a selected shipping container and ship the item at a fixed price, regardless of weight of the item or destination. The systems and methods may determine the optimal number by minimizing the number of standardized containers using a cornering technique. The systems and methods may determine the optimal size of the standardized containers by re-evaluating the size of each of the standardized containers within the determined optimal number of containers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for optimizing use of standardized shipping containers, the method being implemented in a computer that includes one or more processors configured to execute one or more computer program modules, the method comprising:
 identifying, by an order identification module, an order comprising one or more items to be shipped;   determining, by a shipping optimization module, a number of standardized containers that can be used to ship the one or more items based on information related to the standardized containers and the one or more items, wherein the information comprises dimensional information; and   determining, by the shipping optimization module, a size of each of the standardized containers within the determined number of standardized containers, wherein the determining of the size of each of the standardized containers is based on determining whether each of the standardized containers is the smallest standardized container that can be used to ship the one or more items based on the information related to the standardized containers and the one or more items.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the number of standardized containers is the fewest number of standardized containers that can be used to ship the one or more items. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the number of standardized containers is a predetermined number. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein determining the fewest number of standardized containers further comprising:
 sorting, by the shipping optimization module, the one or more items by size based on the dimensional information related to the one or more items;   selecting, by the shipping optimization module, a standardized container in which a largest item can fit, wherein the largest item is determined based on the sorting;   determining, by the shipping optimization module, whether a next largest item determined based on the sorting fits in the selected standardized container; and   assigning, by the shipping optimization module, the next largest item to the selected standardized container or a new standardized container based on the determination of whether the next largest item fits in the selected container.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein determining the size of the each of the standardized containers within the determined number of standardized containers further comprising:
 determining, by the shipping optimization module, whether the each of the standardized containers within the determined number of standardized containers can be replaced by a smaller standardized container based on the dimensional information related to the smaller standardized container and the dimensional information related to the one or more items.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein determining the fewest number of standardized containers further comprising:
 identifying, by the shipping optimization module, one or more open corners each time an item is assigned to a standardized container; and   selecting, by the shipping optimization module, an open corner from the identified one or more open corners to place a next item.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the dimensional information related to the standardized containers comprises height, width, and/or length of the standardized containers. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the dimensional information related to the one or more items comprises height, width, and/or length of the one or more items. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information related to the standardized containers comprises a maximum weight threshold, shipping rate, and/or delivery time for shipping. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the information related to the one or more items comprises identifications of the one or more items, quantity information, dimensional information, shape, orientation, and/or weight related to the one or more items. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising:
 communicating, by a visualization module, a visual representation of the one or more items in the standardized containers.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the visual representation comprises a three dimensional graphic. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , the method further comprising:
 receiving, by the visualization module, a user input, the user input arranging the one or more items in the standardized containers.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising:
 determining, by a shipping cost computation module, a shipping cost based on the determined number and size of the standardized containers.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , the method further comprising:
 comparing, by a comparison module, the shipping cost with shipping costs associated with other shipping options;   determining, by the comparison module, a lowest shipping cost based on the comparison; and   communicating, by a communication module, the lowest shipping cost.   
     
     
         16 . A system for optimizing use of standardized shipping containers, the system comprising:
 one or more processors configured to execute computer program modules, the computer program modules comprising:   an order identification module configured to:
 identify an order comprising one or more items to be shipped; 
   a shipping optimization module configured to:
 determine a number of standardized containers that can be used to ship the one or more items based on information related to the standardized containers and the one or more items, wherein the information comprises dimensional information; and 
 determine a size of each of the standardized containers within the determined number of standardized containers, wherein the determining of the size of each of the standardized containers is based on determining whether each of the standardized containers is the smallest standardized container that can be used to ship the one or more items based on the information related to the standardized containers and the one or more items. 
   
     
     
         17 . A method for obtaining a shipping cost that is determined by optimizing use of standardized shipping containers, the method being implemented in a computer that includes one or more processors, the method comprising:
 sending information related to one or more items to be shipped;   receiving a shipping cost for shipping the one or more items using standardized containers, wherein the shipping cost is determined based on determining a number of standardized containers that can be used to ship the one or more items and a size of each of the standardized containers within the determined number of the standardized containers based on the information related to the one or more items, the size of each of the standardized containers is determined based on determining whether each of the standardized containers within the determined number is the smallest standardized container that can be used to ship the one or more items; and   displaying the shipping cost.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the information related to the one or more items comprises identifications of the one or more items, quantity information, dimensional information, shape, orientation, and/or weight related to the one or more items.