EP4162425A1 - Apparatus and method for controlling the distribution of a multiplicity of different goods - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a storage and distribution system which is designed for a multiplicity of different articles and has the following elements: a central warehouse (100) designed for storing and picking the articles in selling units and/or in packaging units in which a plurality of selling units of an article are packaged together, as well as a multiplicity of points of sale (20, 20a, 20b) which are designed to receive delivered articles from the central warehouse (100) and to provide the articles for sale in selling units and/or in packaging units, wherein each point of sale (20, 20a, 20b) has devices for recording selling units and packaging units of delivered and sold articles, and for recording repacking among packaging units and selling units. The system also has a database device (110) which is connected to the central warehouse (100) and to the points of sale (20, 20a, 20b) and which is designed (i) to store and update the number of selling units and packaging units of each article which are stored in the central warehouse (100), and (ii) to store and update the number of selling units and packaging units of each article which are provided at each of the points of sale (20, 20a, 20b).

Description

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE DISTRIBUTION OF A VARIETY

DIFFERENT GOODS

Field of invention

The invention relates to a storage and distribution system and a computer-implemented method for controlling the storage, picking and distribution of a large number of different goods, for example food and other consumer goods for daily use.

Background of the invention

Groceries and other everyday goods are currently predominantly (> 95%) distributed via traditional retail channels, i.e. via supermarkets, discounters and hypermarkets of various sizes. A central large warehouse is typically responsible for the sales of a supermarket chain in a geographically defined area (e.g. North Rhine-Westphalia, Northern Bavaria). The goods (hereinafter also referred to as “articles”) are delivered by the manufacturers or forwarders to the central warehouse, stored there on pallets and registered in a database system. If a point of sale such as a supermarket orders new goods, these are picked in the central warehouse for transport to this supermarket and then delivered by truck.

The central warehouse is equipped with a warehouse management system that records all goods delivered and stored as well as the goods delivered. In this way, the quantity of each product stored in the central warehouse can be taken from the warehouse management system at any time.

In addition, it can be provided that fresh goods such as fruit, vegetables or dairy products are delivered directly from the manufacturer or the shipping company to the point of sale in order to ensure the freshness of the products. This fresh product is preferably recorded when it is delivered to the point of sale and fed into the central warehouse management system.

The goods are typically delivered to the sales outlets in the form of packaging units (cardboard boxes and the like, also called “cases”). Each packaging unit contains several sales units (individual bottle, glass, or other individual packaging of the product, also called "pieces"). In the sales outlets, the goods are partly made from the packaging units removed and the sales units are placed on a sales shelf. If there is not enough space on the shelves, goods are often temporarily stored in side rooms or buffer stores in the form of storage units and / or sales units.

The goods sold in the sales points are recorded via cash registers and the sale of the goods is transmitted to local software at the point of sale and, if necessary, also to the central administration system.

The problem often arises that the goods stored in the side rooms of the sales outlets in the form of storage units or sales units are “forgotten”. Occasionally, goods are ordered from the point of sale based on an empty storage shelf, although there would still be enough of them in the adjoining room. Special offers or promotional goods in the sales outlets are often particularly affected.

Problems of this kind are exacerbated with the increasing proportion of goods ordered online (e-commerce) that are delivered to the end customer's home or made available for collection at collection points. Often, undelivered goods or returns are returned to the sales outlets. An efficient warehousing of the stocks of different articles in the sales outlets is therefore a great challenge.

The present invention is therefore based on the object of proposing a storage and distribution system as well as a computer-implemented method for controlling the storage, picking and distribution of a large number of different goods, which enables a more precise recording of the stocks of each article also in the sales outlets.

Summary of the invention

The object is achieved by the storage and distribution system according to the invention described in claim 1. This is designed for a multitude of different articles, with the following elements: a central warehouse designed for storing and picking the articles in sales units and / or in packaging units in which several sales units of an article are packed together, and a multitude of sales outlets designed to receive delivered items Articles from the central warehouse and for making the articles available for sale in sales units and / or in packaging units, each sales point having devices for recording sales units and packaging units of delivered and sold articles, and repackaging between packaging and packaging units Sales units. The system also has a database device connected to the central warehouse and the sales outlets, which is designed (i) to store and update the number of sales units stored in the central warehouse and the packaging units of each article, and (ii) to store and update those in the sales outlets the number of sales units and the packaging units for each item.

The present invention also proposes a computer-implemented method for controlling the storage, picking and distribution of a large number of different articles. This includes the process steps carried out in a central warehouse of receiving, storing and picking the articles in sales units and / or in packaging units in which several sales units of an article are packed together, as well as the process steps carried out in a large number of sales outlets: (a) Receipt of delivered articles from the central warehouse, (b) recording the number of sales units and packaging units of the delivered articles, (c) making the articles available for sale in sales units and / or in packaging units, (d) recording the number of sales units and packaging units of articles sold, and (e) Acquisition of repackaging between packaging and sales units, as well as the procedural steps of (i) storage and updating of the number of sales units and packaging stored in the central warehouse and carried out in a database device connected to the central warehouse and the sales outlets kung units of each article, and (ii) the storage and updating of the number of sales units and the packaging units of each article present in the sales outlets.

The invention enables an improved, integrated warehouse management of sales and packaging units of the articles sold in the sales outlets and thus a saving of time, space and costs. It can also reduce the amount of goods that expire before they are sold.

In this case, the data associated with a sales point of the stored sales units and packaging units of the articles in the assortment are preferably made available to an operator of the sales point for processing. The operator of the point of sale, such as a supermarket, can optimize storage on the basis of this data.

The devices for detecting repackaging between packaging and sales units in a sales point can, for example, use a scanning device Have detection of codes applied to the packaging unit and / or the sales unit.

For example, sales outlets can have one or more storage rooms or ancillary rooms in addition to one or more sales rooms, with a recording device for separate recording and transmission to the database device of the number of packaging and sales units of the items present in the sales and storage rooms . These detection devices can have one or more light barriers and / or scanners for detection of articles moved between sales and storage rooms.

One or more of the sales points can be designed as distribution and / or collection points for deliveries of goods to end customers for online trading.

According to the invention, a device for recording and storing expiry and / or consumption data of delivered articles can be provided in the database device in order to minimize a loss of fresh goods due to the expiry date being exceeded.

Furthermore, a recording unit can be provided for recording a temporal development of the order quantities of the items in the assortment of individual sales points, as well as a checking unit which is set up to ensure the consistency of manual orders of the individual sales points on the basis of the recorded chronological order of the orders and the respective existing number of sales and the packaging units of the respective article to be checked. This allows the order quantities to be optimized based on historical data and errors in manual goods ordering can be minimized.

Furthermore, a prediction unit can be provided for estimating future order quantities of individual sales points on the basis of the recorded past order quantities, with a machine learning model being able to be used to estimate future order quantities.

Figure description

The invention is described in detail below on the basis of exemplary embodiments with reference to the figures. It shows:

1 shows a schematic representation of an exemplary embodiment of a storage and distribution system according to the invention; 2 shows a schematic representation of a central warehouse of the exemplary embodiment of a storage and distribution system according to the invention;

3 shows a cross-sectional view of the central warehouse according to FIG. 2;

4 shows a schematic flow diagram to illustrate method steps of a

Embodiment of the method according to the invention in relation to the central warehouse;

5 shows a schematic flow diagram to illustrate method steps of a

Embodiment of the method according to the invention in relation to a point of sale;

6 shows a schematic diagram to explain the mode of operation of an exemplary embodiment of the storage and distribution system according to the invention; and

7 shows a schematic diagram to explain a further aspect of the mode of operation of an exemplary embodiment of the storage and distribution system according to the invention.

Detailed description of the invention

Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of a storage and distribution system according to the invention. This has a central warehouse 100 and several sales outlets 20, 20a, 20b. The sales points can be supermarkets, discounters or hypermarkets, which are designated by reference number 20, or also collection points 20a or distribution points 20b for executing online orders (e-commerce). The supermarkets 20 have one or more sales rooms 21 in which the articles are offered for sale, but can still have one or more storage rooms or side rooms 22 in which articles are temporarily stored.

With the storage and distribution system according to the invention, all possible goods can be stored, picked and delivered to the sales points. In particular, the inventive storage and distribution system is suitable for groceries and other everyday items that are typically sold in supermarkets of all sizes, discounters and hypermarkets. Orders via the Internet can, however, also be integrated with the system according to the invention.

The articles are typically offered for sale in standard household packaging, for example a liter of milk, a bag of oatmeal, a bottle of water, a pack Dog food etc. These common household packaging units (often also called "pieces") are referred to as sales units in the present case. However, this designation is not to be understood as limiting to a specific type or size of packaging.

For the purpose of delivering the articles from the manufacturer to the central warehouse 100 and for storage in the central warehouse 100, several sales units are often combined into one packaging unit (also referred to as a "case"), e.g. ten bags of milk in a ten-pack or six 1.5-liter bottles. PET water bottles in one container. Such combined sales units are referred to here as packaging units. This designation is also not to be understood as restrictive. The storage and distribution system according to the invention is suitable for processing all possible types of packaging.

The central warehouse 100 has a control module 110 which comprises a database system for recording and updating the number of articles present in the central warehouse 100 and in the sales outlets 20, 20a, 20b, the packaging units and the sales units of the articles being recorded separately. In the schematic illustration of FIG. 1, the control module and thus the database system are assigned to the central warehouse 100. The control module 110 can also be arranged spatially separated from the central warehouse 100. In addition, according to the invention, several central warehouses 100 can be controlled by means of a control module 110.

An exemplary embodiment of a central warehouse is described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. However, the storage and distribution system according to the invention and the method according to the invention are not limited to a specific type of central warehouse.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a central warehouse 100 and FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view along the line II-II from FIG. 2.

An inbound store 102 is designed, for example, as a pallet store, ie the articles or goods delivered to a delivery station 115 are stored on the delivery pallets in a pallet store 102 in rows of racks 101. In the aisles 103 formed between the rows of shelves 101 (see FIG. 3), shelf vehicles can be moved in a manner known per se and store the delivered storage pallets in the shelf warehouse. A likewise automated order-picking system 130, for example, is connected to the rack store via a preferably automated conveyor system. As is shown schematically in FIG. 2, the pallet store 102 and the automatic storage and order-picking system 130 are laterally adjoined by a functional area 120 which is used for maintenance and repair and can contain, for example, a warehouse management computer. A loading zone 140, in turn, adjoins the automatic storage and order-picking system 130, where load carriers such as order pallets are loaded with the articles required for a order-picking order from one or more sales points 20. The loading stacks formed on the pallet are loaded into a truck 200 at the same level via a truck ramp 141. The loading stacks preferably consist of different articles that are present as packaging units. However, mixed loading stacks consisting of packaging units and sales units of different articles are also possible. The truck conveys the ordered articles to the individual sales points 20 on a route that has been optimized, for example, in terms of travel time.

The database system can be a system consisting of known hardware and software components, which can also be connected to an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The database system of the storage and distribution system according to the invention is set up to record the articles delivered and shipped in the central warehouse 100 and the articles delivered to the respective sales points 20, 20a, 20b as well as the articles sold in the sales points. The registration of sold articles can be done, for example, with existing cash register systems. There is also an incoming goods check in the sales outlets and a return check from the sales rooms 21 to the storage rooms or ancillary rooms 22 updated in real time. According to the invention, the number of packaging units and sales units of the individual articles is recorded separately in each case. To do this, however, it is necessary that “unpacking” and “dividing” a packaging unit into several sales units, for example in a sales point, for example by means of a hand scanner or comparable devices, is also recorded. The separate recording of packaging units and sales units enables, in particular, the operators of sales outlets a more precise storage and gives a better overview of the amount of currently available articles. The separate recording of packaging units and sales units is also of great use for warehousing in online trading, since small order quantities from end customers predominate here, which are usually delivered in the form of packaging units. According to a preferred variant of the invention, it is also possible to record separately the sales and packaging units of the articles in stock that are stored in the sales room 21 of a sales point 20 and the sales and packaging units stored in a separate storage room 22 of the same. This can prevent items that are present in a (possibly confusing) storage or side room of a point of sale from being overlooked or forgotten. However, it is then necessary to record the movement of articles between the sales room and the storage room in the warehouse management system, for example by means of a light barrier or with the aid of hand scanners.

An expiration or use-by date is preferably assigned to the articles stored in the database, as a result of which in particular the spoilage of fresh products can be minimized.

The invention also proposes a computer-implemented method for controlling the storage, picking and distribution of a large number of different articles, which, as described, are stored and stored as sales units and as packaging units.

The method steps carried out in a central warehouse 100 are illustrated schematically in FIG. 4, including method step S10 of recording the sales units and packaging units of the respective articles delivered to the central warehouse. In method step S12, the sales units and packaging units of the respective articles delivered from the central warehouse are recorded. Then, in method step S14, the number of packaging units and sales units of the stored articles present in the central warehouse 100 can be updated in the database.

The method steps carried out in the sales outlets 20, 20a, 20b are illustrated schematically in FIG. 5: In method step S20, the sales units and packaging units of the respective articles delivered to the respective sales outlet 20 are recorded. In method step S22, the sales units and packaging units of the respective articles stored in the respective sales points 20 in the sales room 21 and in the storage room 22 are recorded. In addition, in a method step S24, the sales units and packaging units of the respective articles moved between sales room 21 and storage room 22 are continuously recorded. In a further method step (not shown in FIG. 5), sales units “unpacked” from a packaging unit are recorded, for example, by scanner or camera. It goes without saying that those typically sold in sales room 22 are also sold Articles captured, preferably by means of a cash register system. Finally, in method step S28, each status change is registered in the database. The method steps are therefore not necessarily shown chronologically in FIG. 5. As soon as a change in the sales or packaging units present in the sales room and / or the storage room is registered, this change is tracked in the database. It should also be noted that method step S28 typically does not take place in the individual sales outlets 20, but in the control unit 110, where the database entries with regard to the respective sales outlets are updated.

The data of the stored sales units and packaging units of the articles assigned to a sales point are made available to an operator of the sales point for further processing. The development over time of the order quantities of the items in the range can be recorded for each sales point. This enables an optimization and verification of orders as well as a prediction of future order quantities of different articles. Machine learning models can be used for the prediction. Depending on the size of the warehouse in the individual sales outlets, goods can be delivered from the central warehouse 100 in advance, matching the capacity of the respective storage room 22, and central warehouses and transport logistics can be optimized and the flow of goods smoothed, especially at peak times.

6 shows a schematic diagram to explain the mode of operation of the application of an exemplary embodiment of the storage and distribution system according to the invention to a multi-channel distribution system.

The goods are delivered by the suppliers to the central warehouse and stored there. When an order is placed, the corresponding quantities of packaging units and sales units of the items ordered are delivered to the sales points, i.e. classic markets as well as collection points 20a and distribution points 20b for e-commerce. The customers buy the goods in a sales room 21 of a market or pick them up at a pick-up point 20a. Alternatively, the goods can be delivered to the customer's home from a distribution point 20b. The flow of goods of all three sales channels are modeled in an integrated manner by the system according to the invention.

Fig. 7 shows schematically the optimization and control options in the integrated supply chain from the supplier to the end customer. The delivery to the central warehouse 100 can be optimized with regard to the storage capacities of certain products. The transport between the central warehouse 100 and the sales points 20, 20a, 20b can be controlled and optimized with regard to the driving time of the trucks or the customer frequency in the sales points. Furthermore, as explained above, the storage in the various types of sales outlets can be continuously improved and adapted based on the (real-time) data of the sales and packaging units in stock for the respective articles, whereby costs can be reduced and customer-friendliness can be improved. The returns that are frequent in online business can also be taken into account by the storage and distribution system according to the invention.

Claims

Patent claims: 1. Storage and distribution system for a large number of different articles, comprising: a central warehouse (100) designed for storing and picking the articles in sales units and / or in packaging units in which several sales units of an article are packed together, a multiplicity of sales points (20, 20a, 20b), designed to receive delivered articles from the central warehouse (100) and to provide the articles for sale in sales units and / or in packaging units, each sales point (20, 20a, 20b) having devices for recording sales units and packaging units delivered and sold items, and repackaging between packaging and sales units, a database device (110) connected to the central warehouse (100) and the sales outlets (20, 20a, 20b), designed for: Storage and updating of the number of sales units and packaging units of each article stored in the central warehouse (100), and Storage and updating of the number of sales units and the packaging units of each article present in the sales outlets (20, 20a, 20b). 2. Storage and distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the central warehouse (100) has devices for detecting the packaging and sales units of delivered and shipped articles. 3. Storage and distribution system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the database system (110) is configured to transfer the data of the stored sales units and packaging units of the items in the assortment assigned to a sales point (20, 20a, 20b) to an operator of the sales point (20, 20a, 20b) available for processing. 4. Storage and distribution system according to one of claims 1-3, wherein the devices for detecting repackaging between packaging and sales units in a sales point (20, 20a, 20b) include a scanning device for detecting items applied to the packaging unit and / or the sales unit Have codes. 5. Storage and distribution system according to one of claims 1-4, having sales outlets (20, 20a, 20b) with separate sales rooms (21) and storage rooms (22), each of which has a detection device for separate detection and for transmission to the database device of the number the packaging and sales units present in the sales and storage rooms. 6. Storage and distribution system according to claim 5, wherein the detection devices provided in the sales outlets (20, 20a, 20b) have a light barrier and / or a scanner for detecting items moved between sales and storage rooms. 7. Storage and distribution system according to one of claims 1-6, having sales points (20a, 20b) designed as distribution and / or collection points for deliveries of goods to end customers. 8. Storage and distribution system according to one of claims 1-7, having a device for recording and storing expiration and / or consumption data of delivered articles in the database device (110). 9. Storage and distribution system according to one of claims 1-8, having a detection unit for detecting a temporal development of the order quantities of the items in the range of individual sales outlets (20, 20a, 20b), and a checking unit set up to check the consistency of manual orders individual sales points (20, 20a, 20b) based on the recorded chronological sequence of orders and the respective existing number of sales and packaging units of the respective article. 10. Storage and distribution system according to claim 9, comprising a prediction unit for estimating future order quantities of individual sales points (20, 20a, 20b) on the basis of recorded past order quantities, a machine learning model being used to estimate future order quantities. 11. Computer-implemented method for controlling the storage, picking and distribution of a large number of different articles, comprising the process steps: in a central warehouse (100): Acceptance, storage and picking of the articles in sales units and / or in packaging units in which several sales units of an article are packed together in a large number of sales outlets (20, 20a, 20b): (a) Receipt of delivered items from the central warehouse (100), (b) Recording the number of sales units and packaging units of the delivered items, (c) Provision of the articles for sale as sales units and / or as packaging units, (d) recording the number of sales units and packaging units of articles sold, and (e) Detection of repackaging between packaging and sales units in a database device (110) connected to the central warehouse (100) and the sales outlets (20, 20a, 20b): (i) Saving and updating the number of sales units and packaging units of each article stored in the central warehouse (100), and (ii) Storage and updating of the number of sales units and the packaging units of each article present in the sales outlets (20, 20a, 20b). 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the data associated with a sales point (20, 20a, 20b) of the stored sales units and packaging units of the items in the assortment are made available to an operator of the sales point for processing. 13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, comprising the step of acquiring and transferring to the database device (110) packaging and sales units of the items in the assortment located in separate storage and sales rooms of the sales outlets (20, 20a, 20b). 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the number of articles moved between sales rooms and storage rooms is recorded. 15. The method according to any one of claims 11-14, wherein expiration and / or consumption data of delivered articles are recorded and stored in the database device (110). 16. The method according to any one of claims 11-15, comprising the step of recording a temporal development of the order quantities of the items in the range of individual sales outlets (20, 20a, 20b), and the step of checking the consistency of manual orders from the individual sales outlets (20 , 20a, 20b) based on a recorded chronological sequence of orders and the respective existing number of sales and packaging units of the respective articles. 17. The method according to claim 16, comprising the step of estimating future order quantities of individual sales points (20, 20a, 20b) on the basis of recorded past order quantities, a machine learning model being used to estimate future order quantities.