Demand aware replenishment system

Abstract

Methods and systems for managing supply chains are disclosed. Replenishment of items within retail stores and distribution centers is optimized to respond to real-time demands. One method includes receiving demand signals corresponding to a sold inventory items and evaluating those demand signals against real-time inventory positions and demand forecasts for that particular inventory item to determine whether to replenish the inventory item and how much inventory to replenish. A router service for assessment of such demand signals is also disclosed.

1 . A method of managing inventory replenishment in a single enterprise supply chain, the method comprising:
 receiving, at a supply chain router operating within a supply chain management system, which includes a processor communicatively coupled to a memory, a demand signal including content indicating a change in demand for a product in inventory at a location within the single enterprise supply chain;   determining, with the supply chain router, whether the demand signal should be processed by a first supply chain management system or a legacy second supply chain management system that is operating concurrently with the first supply chain management system, wherein the determining includes either:
 (a) determining, based on the content of the demand signal, that the demand signal cannot be processed by the legacy second supply chain management system and should be processed by the first supply chain management system and; or 
 (b) determining, based on the content of the demand signal, that the demand signal should be processed by the legacy second supply chain management system; 
   in response to determining the demand signal should be processed by the first supply chain management system, routing the demand signal to the first supply chain management system to be processed on a per unit basis; and   in response to determining the demand signal should be processed by the legacy second supply chain management system, blocking the demand signal from the first supply chain management system and routing the demand signal to the legacy second supply chain management system to process the demand signal on a per bundle basis.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the demand signal originates from an online ordering system or a point of sale system. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the content of the demand signal comprises metadata including a product identifier and a product location of the product in inventory. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the supply chain router comprises a plurality of router services communicatively coupled to a load balancer. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the supply chain router is associated with a router dashboard presented as a user-interface to display router operation to a user. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein routing the demand signal to the first supply chain management system to be processed on a per unit basis comprises:
 analyzing the demand signal and a desired on hand signal to determine that a transfer of inventory of one or more individual units of the product in inventory to the location is needed, wherein the desired on hand signal reflects one or both of a forecasted demand and a desired additional inventory for a particular timeframe; and   responsive to determining that the transfer order is needed, generating and communicating the transfer order for the one or more individual units of the product in inventory to a transportation management system operating within the single enterprise supply chain.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising identifying a lead time for when the one or more individual units of the product in inventory associated with the transfer order will arrive at the location. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the supply chain management system deems that the change in demand has occurred based on at least one of the following occurring: (a) a sale of the product in inventory; (b) a warehouse cancellation of the product in inventory; and (c) damage to the product inventory. 
     
     
         9 . A system for managing supply chain operations in a single enterprise having both a retail store and online store, the system comprising:
 a computing system including a processor and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that the cause the processor to:
 receive, at a supply chain router operating within the computing system, a demand signal including content indicating a change in demand for a product in inventory at a location within the single enterprise; 
 determine, with the supply chain router, whether the demand signal should be processed by a first supply chain management system or a legacy second supply chain management system that is operating concurrently with the first supply chain management system, wherein the determination comprises either:
 (a) a determination, based on the content of the demand signal, that the demand signal cannot be processed by the legacy second supply chain management system and should be processed by the first supply chain management system and; or 
 (b) a determination, based on the content of the demand signal, that the demand signal should be processed by the legacy second supply chain management system; 
 
 in response to the determination that the demand signal should be processed by the first supply chain management system, route the demand signal to the first supply chain management system to be processed on a per unit basis; and 
 in response to the determination that the demand signal should be processed by the legacy second supply chain management system, block the demand signal from the first supply chain management system and route the demand signal to the legacy second supply chain management system to process the demand signal on a per bundle basis. 
   
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the demand signal originates from an online ordering system or a point of sale system. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the content of the demand signal comprises metadata including a product identifier and a product location of the product in inventory. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the supply chain router comprises a plurality of router services communicatively coupled to a load balancer. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the supply chain router is associated with a router dashboard presented as a user-interface to display supply chain router operation to a user. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein routing the demand signal to the first supply chain management system to be processed on a per unit basis includes instructions that further cause the processor to:
 analyze the demand signal and a desired on hand signal to determine that a transfer of inventory of one or more individual units of the product in inventory to the location is needed, wherein the desired on hand signal reflects one or both of a forecasted demand and a desired additional inventory for a particular timeframe; and   responsive to the determination that the transfer order is needed, generate and communicate the transfer order for the one or more individual units of the product in inventory to a transportation management system operating within the single enterprise supply chain.   
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the processor is further caused to identify a lead time for when the one or more individual units of the product in inventory associated with the transfer order will arrive at the location. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the supply chain management system deems that the change in demand has occurred based on at least one of the following occurring: (a) a sale of the product in inventory; (b) a warehouse cancellation of the product in inventory; and (c) damage to the product inventory.