System and Method for Assortment Planning with Interactive Similarity and Transferable Demand Visualization

Abstract

A system and method are disclosed for interactive product assortment planning and visualization by receiving product attribute values for items of a product assortment is disclosed. Embodiments include displaying icons on an interactive visualization, connecting the icons with transferable demand links, identifying items to be removed from a product assortment, and transporting items among one or more supply chain entities.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system for interactive transferable demand visualization and execution, comprising:
 a networked supply chain comprising an assortment planner, an inventory system, one or more imagers, a transportation network, and one or more supply chain entities;   the one or more imagers comprising one or more networked electronic devices that receive imaging information from one or more sensors and configured to:
 identify one or more items near the one or more sensors and generate a mapping of the one or more items in the networked supply chain; 
 the transportation network comprising a server and a database and configured to:
 locate the one or more items based on the mapping; and 
 communicate global positioning satellite information to identify a location of one or more transportation vehicles and a location of any inventory or shipment of the one or more items located on the one or more transportation vehicles; 
 
   the inventory system comprising a server and a database and configured to:
 locate the one or more items in the supply chain based on the mapping; 
 the assortment planner comprising a server and a database and configured to:
 receive from the transportation network the global positioning satellite information identifying one or more locations of the one or more items; 
 receive from the inventory system the location of the one or more items in the networked supply chain; 
 receive from the one or more supply chain entities product data of the one or more items; 
 generate a product similarity analysis; 
 generate an interactive graphical user interface comprising selectable icons depicting a product assortment based on the product similarity analysis; 
 receive by the interactive graphical user interface one or more user selections selected from the group consisting of:
 selecting, adding or removing one or more products from the product assortment; 
 selection of an icon, and in response automatically generate transferable demand links connecting the icon and all icons representing similar products; 
 selection of an icon to generate a popup box comprising additional information; and 
 in response to the one or more user selections to the interactive graphical user interface, automatically initiating one or more supply chain processes. 
 
 
   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more supply chain processes are selected from the group consisting of:
 automatically control product mix ratios or production of products of manufacturing equipment;   direct automated warehousing systems to automatically adjust one or more inventory levels of products;   direct automated distribution system to automatically transport products to one or more manufacturers;   adjust shelving systems at one or more retailers automatically by machinery to place one or more items in a desired location; and   place product orders at the one or more supply chain entities comprising one or more manufacturers and one or more distribution centers.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more imagers further comprise one or more of the following:
 a camera, a scanner, an electronic eye, a photodiode, a charged coupled device, and a radio receiver and transmitter configured to read a radio frequency identification tag.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more imagers further comprise one or more stationary scanners located at the one or more supply chain entities that identifies items of the one or more items as the items pass near the scanner. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more imagers further comprise:
 a smartphone, a tablet computer, a wireless device or one or more networked electronic devices configured to transmit item identity information to one or more databases as an item of the one or more items passes by or is scanned.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more transportation vehicles comprise one or more of: trucks, cars, vans, boats, airplanes, unmanned aerial vehicles, cranes and robotic machinery. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the networked supply chain operates on one or more computers that are integral to or separate from hardware and software that support the assortment planner, the inventory system, the one or more imagers, the transportation network, and the one or more supply chain entities. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the networked supply chain comprises a:
 cloud-based computing system having processing and storage devices at one or more locations, local to, or remote from the assortment planner, the inventory system, the one or more imagers, the transportation network, and the one or more supply chain entities.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more imagers generate the mapping by scanning an identifier associated with an item or associating an image of an item with an identifier stored in a database. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server of the assortment planner further comprises:
 a similarity module configured to generate a similarity matrix for the product similarity analysis;   a visualization module configured to generate an assortment visualization;   a product substitution module configured to generate the interactive graphical user interface, wherein the database of the assortment planner further comprises one or more data structures identifying products and attribute data associated with the products.   
     
     
         11 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodied with software, the software when executed configured to provide interactive product assortment planning, visualization and execution by performing the following steps:
 identify, by one or more imagers comprising one or more networked electronic devices that receive imaging information from one or more sensors, one or more items near the one or more sensors and generate a mapping of the one or more items in a networked supply chain;   locate, by a transportation network comprising a server and a database, the one or more items based on the mapping; and   communicate, by the transportation network, global positioning satellite information to identify a location of one or more transportation vehicles and a location of any inventory or shipment of the one or more items located on the one or more transportation vehicles;   locate, by an inventory system comprising a server and a database, the one or more items in the supply chain based on the mapping;   receive, by an assortment planner comprising a server and a database, from the transportation network the global positioning satellite information identifying one or more locations of the one or more items;   receive, by the assortment planner, from the inventory system the location of the one or more items in the networked supply chain;   receive, by the assortment planner, from the one or more supply chain entities product data of the one or more items;   generate, by the assortment planner, a product similarity analysis;   generate, by the assortment planner, an interactive graphical user interface comprising selectable icons depicting a product assortment based on the product similarity analysis;   receive, by the assortment planner, by the interactive graphical user interface one or more user selections selected from the group consisting of:
 selecting, adding or removing one or more products from the product assortment; 
 selection of an icon, and in response automatically generate transferable demand links connecting the icon and all icons representing similar products; 
 selection of an icon to generate a popup box comprising additional information; and 
 in response to the one or more user selections to the interactive graphical user interface, automatically, by the assortment planner, initiating one or more supply chain processes. 
   
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium embodied with software of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more supply chain processes are selected from the group consisting of:
 automatically control product mix ratios or production of products of manufacturing equipment;   direct automated warehousing systems to automatically adjust one or more inventory levels of products;   direct automated distribution system to automatically transport products to one or more manufacturers;   adjust shelving systems at one or more retailers automatically by machinery to place one or more items in a desired location; and   places product orders at the one or more supply chain entities comprising one or more manufacturers and one or more distribution centers.   
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium embodied with software of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more imagers further comprise one or more of the following:
 a camera, a scanner, an electronic eye, a photodiode, a charged coupled device, and a radio receiver and transmitter configured to read a radio frequency identification tag.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium embodied with software of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more imagers further comprise one or more stationary scanners located at one or more supply chain entities that identifies items of the one or more items as the items pass near the scanner. 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium embodied with software of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more imagers further comprise:
 a smartphone, a tablet computer, a wireless device or one or more networked electronic devices configured to transmit item identity information to one or more databases as an item of the one or more items passes by or is scanned.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium embodied with software of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more transportation vehicles comprise one or more of: trucks, cars, vans, boats, airplanes, unmanned aerial vehicles, cranes and robotic machinery. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium embodied with software of  claim 11 , wherein the networked supply chain operates on one or more computers that are integral to or separate from hardware and software that support the assortment planner, the inventory system, the one or more imagers, the transportation network, and the one or more supply chain entities. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium embodied with software of  claim 11 , wherein the networked supply chain comprises a cloud-based computing system having processing and storage devices at one or more locations, local to, or remote from the assortment planner, the inventory system, the one or more imagers, the transportation network, and the one or more supply chain entities. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium embodied with software of  claim 11 , wherein the one or more imagers generate the mapping by scanning an identifier associated with an item or associating an image of an item with an identifier stored in a database. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium embodied with software of  claim 11 , wherein the server of the assortment planner further comprises:
 a similarity module configured to generate a similarity matrix for the product similarity analysis;   a visualization module configured to generate an assortment visualization;   a product substitution module configured to generate the interactive graphical user interface, wherein the database of the assortment planner further comprises one or more data structures identifying products and attribute data associated with the products.