Method and system for managing task for replenishment of inventory

Abstract

Provided are a method and system for managing a task. The method includes: obtaining a first task generated to replenish a first stock keeping unit (SKU) to a first slot mapped to the first SKU; adding the first task to a task queue, the task queue including a plurality of tasks including the first task that are sequentially generated; and updating the task queue based on the demand for the SKU of each of the plurality of tasks.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to an operational management method and system for replenishing inventory. Prior Technology

[0002] In logistics warehouses, various devices can work together to support efficient inventory storage and outbound operations. Flow racks are a typical example of such equipment, using tilting shelves and rollers to transport products to storage slots. When users empty a storage slot by picking products, the flow rack can receive replenished inventory through automated equipment such as mini-load systems and refill the slots, thus enabling continuous picking.

[0003] If the flow racks are not replenished smoothly, causing delays in picking operations at the storage locations, idle time may occur. In order to minimize idle time, it is crucial to replenish the flow rack storage locations with the appropriate amount of products at the right time.

[0004] However, mobile shelving may include one or more storage locations, and the number of products that automated equipment replenishing products into mobile shelving can transport is limited. Therefore, a new method is needed to efficiently manage product replenishment operations by determining which storage location to prioritize replenishing products into.

[0005] Prior technology documents

[0006] Patent documents

[0007] (Patent Document 0001) Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2024-0073457 (Published on May 27, 2024) Summary of the Invention

[0008] Problem to be solved:

[0009] The technical problem to be solved by the embodiments disclosed herein is to provide a method for managing tasks for replenishing SKUs to multiple storage locations using task queue management, and a computing system for executing the method.

[0010] Another technical problem to be solved by the embodiments disclosed herein is to provide a method for determining the priority of jobs based on SKU requirements to achieve efficient job processing, and a computing system for performing the method.

[0011] Another technical problem to be solved by the embodiments disclosed herein is a job management method and a computing system for executing the method, which provides an optimized user experience by determining the priority of manually created jobs in accordance with the job creation order and assigning them a higher priority than automatically created jobs.

[0012] Another technical problem to be solved by the embodiments disclosed herein is to provide a method for managing the transportation and / or storage of logistics by using work queue control logistics management equipment, and a computing system for performing the method.

[0013] The technical problems to be solved by this disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above. Those skilled in the art can clearly solve other technical problems not mentioned based on the following detailed description.

[0014] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows:

[0015] According to one embodiment of this disclosure, a job management method executed through a computing system is provided. The method may include the following steps: obtaining a first job created to replenish a first stock keeping unit (SKU) to a first storage location mapped to the first SKU; adding the first job to a job queue, the job queue including a plurality of jobs created sequentially, each including the first job; and updating the job queue based on the demand of the respective SKUs of the plurality of jobs.

[0016] In several embodiments disclosed herein, the step of adding the first job to the job queue may include the following steps: determining the priority of the first job as the lowest priority among the remaining jobs other than the first job in the plurality of jobs.

[0017] In several embodiments disclosed herein, the step of updating the job queue based on the demand of each of the multiple jobs' respective SKUs may include the following steps: obtaining the demand of each of the multiple jobs' respective SKUs; and updating the priority order of each of the multiple jobs to assign a higher priority order according to the order of higher demand.

[0018] In several embodiments disclosed herein, the step of updating the job queue based on the demand of each of the multiple jobs' respective SKUs may include the following steps: monitoring whether the storage slots mapped to each of the multiple jobs' respective SKUs are in an empty state; and updating the priority of a portion of the multiple jobs corresponding to the empty storage slots to a higher priority than the remaining jobs excluding that portion of the jobs.

[0019] In several embodiments disclosed herein, the plurality of jobs includes jobs created manually based on user input and jobs created automatically. The step of updating the job queue based on the needs of the respective SKUs of the plurality of jobs may include the following step: determining the priority of the manually created jobs as higher than the priority of the automatically created jobs.

[0020] In several embodiments disclosed herein, the step of updating the job queue based on the needs of each of the multiple jobs' respective SKUs includes the following steps: updating the priority order of the remaining automatically created jobs, excluding some jobs manually created according to user input, among the multiple jobs, wherein the priority order of the manually created jobs corresponds to the job creation order, and the priority order of the manually created jobs can be higher than the priority order of the remaining jobs.

[0021] In several embodiments disclosed herein, the method may further include the following steps: controlling a first device to transport the SKUs of the plurality of jobs to a second device according to the priority order of the plurality of jobs; and controlling the second device to transport the SKUs to the mapped storage locations according to the priority order of the plurality of jobs.

[0022] According to another embodiment of this disclosure, a job management system is provided. The system includes at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a plurality of operations, which may include: retrieving a first job created to replenish a first stock keeping unit (SKU) to a first storage location mapped to the first SKU; adding the first job to a job queue, the job queue including a plurality of jobs sequentially created including the first job; and updating the job queue based on the demand of the respective SKUs of the plurality of jobs.

[0023] In several embodiments disclosed herein, updating the job queue based on the demand of each of the multiple jobs' respective SKUs may include the following operations: obtaining the demand of each of the multiple jobs' respective SKUs; and updating the priority order of each of the multiple jobs to assign a higher priority order according to the order of higher demand.

[0024] In several embodiments disclosed herein, the operation of updating the job queue based on the needs of the respective SKUs of the plurality of jobs may include the following operations: monitoring whether the storage slots mapped to the respective SKUs of the plurality of jobs are in an empty state; and updating the priority of a portion of the jobs corresponding to the empty storage slots among the plurality of jobs to a higher priority than the remaining jobs excluding that portion of the jobs.

[0025] In several embodiments disclosed herein, the plurality of jobs includes jobs created manually based on user input and jobs created automatically. The operation of updating the job queue based on the needs of the respective SKUs of the plurality of jobs may include the following operation: determining the priority of the manually created jobs as higher than the priority of the automatically created jobs.

[0026] In several embodiments disclosed herein, the operation of updating the job queue based on the needs of the respective SKUs of the plurality of jobs includes the following operation: updating the priority order of the remaining automatically created jobs, excluding some jobs manually created according to user input, in the plurality of jobs, wherein the priority order of the manually created jobs corresponds to the job creation order, and the priority order of the manually created jobs may be higher than the priority order of the remaining jobs.

[0027] The technical solutions to the problems described above are only a part of the examples disclosed herein. Those skilled in the art can clearly understand the various examples reflecting the technical features of this disclosure through the following detailed description. Simple Explanation of the Diagram

[0028] Figure 1 is a structural diagram of a job management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a job management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 3 illustrates, exemplarily, a sequence of operations according to several embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for updating a demand sequence based on a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) according to several embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 5 illustrates a job queue based on SKU-based demand updates according to several embodiments of this disclosure.

[0033] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for updating a job queue based on a storage location status according to several embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining the priority order of manually created jobs and automatically created jobs according to several embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating a job queue, including manually created jobs and automatically created jobs, that can be configured according to several embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0036] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing device for performing several embodiments of the present disclosure. Implementation

[0037] The preferred embodiments of this disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The advantages and features of this disclosure, as well as the methods for achieving these advantages and features, will become apparent from the accompanying drawings and the embodiments described below. However, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described below, but can be implemented in various forms. These embodiments are intended only to make the disclosure more complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of this disclosure. The embodiments of this disclosure are defined only within the scope of the claims.

[0038] Well-known structures may be omitted, or they may be shown in the form of block diagrams centered on the core functions of each structure, in order to avoid obscuring the concepts disclosed herein. Throughout this disclosure, similar elements are described using the same reference numerals, even in different figures.

[0039] Unless otherwise defined, all terms used in this specification (including technical and scientific terms) are to be used in the sense commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains. Furthermore, terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should not be interpreted ideally or excessively unless explicitly defined otherwise. The terminology used in this specification is for describing embodiments and not for limiting the scope of this disclosure. In this disclosure, unless specifically mentioned otherwise, singular forms also include plural forms.

[0040] Furthermore, the terminology used in this disclosure is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit the features, elements, or order described in the specification. Terms such as “comprises” and / or “comprising” as used in this disclosure indicate the presence of features, elements, steps, operations, and / or combinations thereof described in the specification, but do not exclude the presence of one or more other features, elements, steps, operations, and / or combinations thereof.

[0041] Furthermore, the terms first, second, A, B, (a), (b), etc., used in the following embodiments are only used to distinguish certain elements from other elements, and the nature, order, or sequence of the elements are not limited by the above terms. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element, without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0042] Furthermore, in this disclosure, “ / ” and “、” should be interpreted as meaning “and / or”. For example, “A / B” and “A、B” can mean “A and / or B”.

[0043] Figure 1 is a structural diagram of a job management system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] The operations management system in Figure 1 can provide a framework for managing operations assigned to one or more devices within a logistics center to efficiently execute the transportation and / or storage of logistics within the logistics center.

[0045] For example, according to several embodiments of this disclosure, the operations management system can determine the priority of operations for replenishing goods from multiple Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) to the storage location mapped to each goods. Hereinafter, the goods in an SKU will be simply referred to as SKUs, and each SKU can be distinguished by a unique identifier.

[0046] A storage location can refer to a space for transporting and storing SKUs. SKUs can be transported to the storage location through one or more devices 410, 420 to perform SKU replenishment operations at the storage location.

[0047] In this disclosure, a task refers to an operation used to replenish a specific SKU to a specific storage location, which may include the SKU (SKU identifier) ​​and / or the storage location mapped to the SKU. Tasks may be executed via one or more devices 410, 420.

[0048] Jobs can be created by mapping a specific SKU to a storage location that complements that specific SKU, and jobs can be created automatically based on SKU requirements through a job management system and / or an external server, or manually based on user input.

[0049] In other words, the job management system can decide which storage location's SKU replenishment job to prioritize among multiple storage locations.

[0050] In this disclosure, goods may include items containing food, but goods managed by the operations management system are not limited to this.

[0051] Referring to Figure 1, the job management system may include user equipment 100, service server 200, database 300 and / or logistics management equipment 400.

[0052] User equipment 100 may include various devices used by a user to communicate with other devices and to send and receive various data and / or information. User equipment 100 may include, but is not limited to, smartphones, tablet PCs, laptops, etc. For example, user equipment 100 may include various computing devices equipped with wireless communication tools and computing tools. User equipment 100 may be referred to as a user terminal, wireless device, mobile terminal, portable device, etc.

[0053] In this disclosure, "user" may refer to an administrator who creates a job according to several embodiments of this disclosure.

[0054] For example, a user can use user device 100 to create a job that controls one or more devices 410, 420 to replenish a specific SKU to a specific storage location. As another example, a user can use user device 100 to stop a job or restart a stopped job.

[0055] For example, a user can use user device 100 to manually update the job queue by manually adjusting the priority of the jobs included in the job queue, which includes one or more jobs with a priority order.

[0056] User device 100 can be used to utilize the functionality of service server 200 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, user device 100 can display a user interface on an application and / or web browser that implements the functionality of service server 200, according to several embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0057] Service server 200 can represent a computing device / system that manages a job queue including one or more jobs by performing methods and / or operations according to several embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0058] A job list is a list of jobs that are created sequentially. The jobs in a job list have a priority order and can be arranged in the job list according to their priority. A job list can be named a job list, job team, job list, or job arrangement.

[0059] Jobs can be processed in the job queue in order of priority, and jobs that have started processing and / or have been completed can be deleted from the job queue.

[0060] Server 200 can add newly created jobs to the job queue and update the job queue.

[0061] Updating a job list can refer to updating the priority order of the jobs included in the job list and rearranging one or more jobs in the job list according to the updated priority order. For reference, when updating a job list, the priority order of the jobs included in the job list may or may not change.

[0062] For example, the service server 200 can update the job queue based on the demand of each SKU included in the job queue.

[0063] The demand for SKUs can change in real time and can represent the demand at a specific point in time (e.g., one hour from now).

[0064] For example, the server 200 can monitor in real time whether the storage slot is empty, and first replenish the empty storage slot among multiple storage slots. In the job queue, as the job corresponding to the empty storage slot, if there is a job to replenish the SKU to the empty storage slot, the job queue can be updated so that the priority of the job is higher than the priority of other jobs corresponding to the non-empty storage slot.

[0065] The service server 200 can automatically create jobs based on SKU requirements without additional user input for job creation, or automatically retrieve already created jobs from external servers.

[0066] Alternatively, the service server 200 may receive user input containing job information (e.g., SKU, SKU-mapped storage location) and / or job creation request, and respond to the received user input by creating a job.

[0067] A job created based on user input, including job information and / or job creation request, is a manually created job. The service server 200 can separate manually created jobs from jobs automatically created by the service server 200 and / or external servers to update the priority order.

[0068] When the job queue includes both manually created jobs and automatically created jobs, the service server 200 can update the priority of manually created jobs and the priority of automatically created jobs based on different criteria (e.g., job creation time, SKU demand, storage status, and / or whether it is at least one of manually created jobs).

[0069] For example, the service server 200 can determine the priority of manually created jobs based on creation time and the priority of automatically created jobs based on SKU requirements to update the job queue.

[0070] The service server 200 can receive user input including the selection to stop and / or restart jobs in the job queue, and stop and / or restart jobs in response to receiving user input.

[0071] A job that has stopped processing in the job queue may not be deleted from the job queue until it is restarted to begin processing and / or completed.

[0072] The server 200 can update the job queue when a new job is added, or periodically according to a preset cycle. Alternatively, if the job queue is updated based on the ever-changing demand for SKUs, the server 200 can update the job queue whenever the demand for a SKU changes.

[0073] Additionally, the service server 200 can receive user input containing the selection of jobs whose priority is to be updated and the adjusted priority, and update the job queue in response to receiving user input so that the priority of the selected jobs is changed to the adjusted priority included in the user input, thereby enabling manual updates of the job queue based on user input.

[0074] According to several embodiments disclosed herein, the service server 200 can display, on the user device 100, the job queue to be acquired / updated and / or information about the jobs included in the job queue (e.g., SKU, the storage location to which the SKU is mapped, the job creation time, the creator of manually created jobs, the requirements of the SKU, the priority of jobs, etc.) through a graphical user interface (GUI).

[0075] Additionally, according to several embodiments disclosed herein, the service server 200 may display a user interface (UI) on the user device 100 for receiving user input to create jobs and / or update job queues.

[0076] For example, the service server 200 can display a UI on the user device 100 for receiving job information (e.g., SKU, SKU-mapped storage location) from the user in order to create a job.

[0077] For example, the service server 200 can display a UI on the user device 100 for receiving the priority order of jobs included in the job queue from the user, so as to manually update the job queue.

[0078] For example, the service server 200 may display a UI on the user device 100 for receiving the user's selection of whether to stop or restart a job, so as to stop and no longer process jobs included in the job queue and / or restart stopped jobs.

[0079] The service server 200 can use job queues to control the logistics management equipment 400.

[0080] The logistics management equipment 400 may include one or more devices for transporting and / or storing SKUs. Referring to Figure 1, the logistics management equipment 400 may include a first device 410 and / or a second device 420. Furthermore, although not shown in Figure 1, the logistics management equipment 400 may also include buffers for loading and storing SKUs. These buffers may be named SKU buffers, tote box buffers, etc.

[0081] The first device 410 and / or the second device 420 are devices that transport SKUs to their destination and may be named transport equipment, transport robot, etc. The first device 410 and / or the second device 420 may include, but are not limited to, mini load systems and / or flow racks. The first device 410 and / or the second device 420 may include various devices that can transport SKUs from a first location to a second location different from the first location.

[0082] In this disclosure, for ease of explanation, it is assumed that the first device 410 is the device that transports SKUs to the second device 420, and the second device 420 is the device that transports SKUs to storage locations. For example, if there are empty storage locations among multiple storage locations, the second device 420 can receive replenished SKUs from the first device 410 and transport the replenished SKUs to the storage locations to replenish the SKUs in the storage locations.

[0083] The service server 200 can control the first device 410 and / or the second device 420 to prioritize high-priority jobs using a job queue. For example, to replenish the SKU corresponding to the highest-priority job in the job queue to the mapped storage location, the first device 410 can transport the corresponding job's SKU to the second device 420, and the second device 420 can replenish the corresponding job's SKU to the mapped storage location. The corresponding job, completed by replenishing the corresponding job's SKU to the storage location, can be removed from the job queue, and the next job in the sequence can be processed.

[0084] The service server 200 can be implemented on at least one computing device. For example, all the functions of the service server 200 can be implemented on a single computing device. Alternatively, some of the functions of the service server 200 can be implemented on a first computing device, and the remaining functions on a second computing device. Furthermore, specific functions of the service server 200 can also be implemented through one or more computing devices.

[0085] Database 300 may refer to a repository that stores various data and / or information that can be used by the service server 200 of several embodiments of this disclosure.

[0086] For example, database 300 may include a job repository that includes information about jobs created to replenish a specific SKU to a specific mapped storage location (e.g., SKU, the storage location mapped to the SKU, the job creation time, the creator of the manually created job, the SKU requirement, and the job priority).

[0087] For example, database 300 may include a job queue repository that includes job queues updated according to several embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0088] For example, database 300 may include an SKU information repository, which includes real-time changes in SKU demand, SKU order quantities, etc.

[0089] The components shown in Figure 1 can communicate through various wired / wireless networks. The devices and / or systems disclosed herein can be applied to local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), mobile radio communication networks, wireless broadband networks (Wibro), etc., but are not limited thereto, and can also be applied to any other communication system.

[0090] Hereinafter, with reference to Figures 2 through 8, an embodiment of one or more computing devices managing jobs using a job queue according to an embodiment of this disclosure will be described in detail. For reference, Figures 2, 4, and 6 through 7 illustrate steps / operations performed in the server 200. Therefore, in the following description, if the subject of a particular step / action is omitted, it can be understood that the step / action is performed in the computing system of Figure 1. The following description will refer to Figure 1 and Figures 2 through 8.

[0091] In addition, it should be noted that, even if not otherwise mentioned, the technical ideas that can be understood through the embodiments described with reference to FIG1 can also be applied to the methods of the embodiments described with reference to FIG2 to FIG8, which is self-evident.

[0092] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating a job management method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0093] Referring to Figure 2, the first job (S100) created to replenish SKUs to the storage location mapped to the SKUs can be obtained.

[0094] The jobs obtained in S100 are newly created jobs not included in the job queue; for ease of explanation, they will be referred to as new jobs in the following text.

[0095] New jobs can be added to the job queue (S200).

[0096] A job queue is a list of jobs created sequentially, and may include multiple jobs, including the new job added in S200. In other words, a job queue may include a new job, as well as one or more other jobs that are different from the new job and were created earlier than the new job.

[0097] Before updating the job queue according to the prescribed standards, the priority order of the multiple jobs included in the job queue can be preset (by default) to be determined according to the job creation time. Therefore, in S200, each job included in the job queue can have a priority order determined according to the job creation time.

[0098] For example, when a newly created first job is added to the job queue, and the job queue includes other remaining jobs besides the first job, the other remaining jobs are created sequentially before the first job is created. After the first job is added to the job queue, in S200 when the job queue is not updated, the priority of the first job can be determined as the lowest priority among the remaining jobs.

[0099] In this example, before adding the first job, the priority of the remaining jobs has been updated according to several disclosed embodiments based on prescribed criteria (e.g., job creation time, SKU requirements, storage status, whether the job was created manually, etc.), and can be arranged in the job queue based on the updated priority.

[0100] The work queue (S300) can be updated according to the prescribed standards.

[0101] For example, in S300, the job queue can be updated based on the needs of each job's SKU.

[0102] For example, in S300, the job queue can be updated based on the creation time of each job, the status of the storage location mapped to the SKU, and / or whether the job was created manually.

[0103] For example, in S300, the priority of some jobs in a job queue can be updated based on the job creation time, SKU requirements, storage status, and / or whether it is one of the manually created jobs, and the priority of other jobs in multiple jobs and / or all remaining jobs other than some jobs can be updated based on other criteria.

[0104] In S300, as the job queue is updated, the priority of some or all of the jobs in the multiple jobs included in the job queue can be changed.

[0105] The job queue can be updated according to specified standards when a new job is added to the job queue, or it can be updated periodically according to a preset cycle.

[0106] Next, referring to the job queue shown in Figure 3, we will specifically explain the job queue including multiple jobs created sequentially.

[0107] Figure 3 illustrates, exemplarily, a sequence of operations according to several embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0108] Referring to Figure 3, the job sequence may include a first job 31 for replenishing a first SKU to a first storage location mapped to the first SKU, a second job 32 for replenishing a second SKU to a second storage location mapped to the second SKU, and a third job 33 for replenishing a third SKU to a third storage location mapped to the third SKU.

[0109] The first assignment 31, the second assignment 32, and / or the third assignment 33 are assignments created sequentially, as shown in Figure 3. They can be arranged in descending order in the assignment queue based on the priority order determined according to the creation time.

[0110] The processing of the first job 31, which has the highest priority, can be executed first. After the processing of the first job 31 is started and / or completed, the first job 31 is removed from the job queue. The second job 32 and the second job 33 can be processed in sequence after the first job 31 is processed.

[0111] As shown in Figure 3, the job queue includes jobs arranged in a priority order based on the creation time corresponding to the job. It can be updated according to several embodiments of this disclosure based on prescribed criteria (e.g., SKU demand, storage status, whether the job was created manually, etc.). This can change the priority order of all or some of the jobs in the first job 31, the second job 32, and the third job 33, and they can be arranged in descending order in the job queue based on the changed priority order.

[0112] For example, if a newly created fourth job is added to a job queue that includes jobs as shown in Figure 3 (i.e., a job queue that includes jobs with a priority order determined by the job's creation time) and / or jobs whose priority order is updated according to specified criteria (e.g., SKU demand, storage status, whether the job was created manually, etc., not shown in Figure 3), then the priority of the fourth job can be preset (by default) to correspond to a priority order that is lower than all other jobs included in the job queue, as determined by the creation time.

[0113] For reference, Figure 3 shows different SKUs mapped to different storage locations, but it is not limited to this. For example, different SKUs can be added to the same storage location by mapping them to the same storage location.

[0114] Next, referring to Figure 4, we will explain in detail the method of updating job queues based on SKU requirements.

[0115] Figure 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for updating a sequence of operations based on demand for a Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) according to several embodiments of this disclosure.

[0116] S300 in Figure 4 can correspond to S300 in Figure 2.

[0117] Referring to Figure 4, in S300, the SKU requirements of each of the multiple jobs included in the job queue can be obtained (S310).

[0118] In S310, the SKU requirement for a job can refer to the requirement at a specific point in time (e.g., one hour from now).

[0119] The priority order of multiple jobs included in the job queue can be updated to assign a higher priority order to multiple jobs according to the order of SKU demand (S320).

[0120] In S310, the SKU requirements of multiple jobs that change in real time can be obtained. In S320, when the priority of multiple jobs included in the job queue needs to change with the change of SKU requirements, the job queue can be continuously updated every time the SKU requirements change to reflect the changed requirements.

[0121] Alternatively, in S310, the SKU requirements of multiple jobs can be periodically obtained according to a preset period (e.g., hourly), and in S320, the job queue can be updated according to the preset period to reflect the SKU requirements obtained according to the preset period.

[0122] Next, referring to the job queue shown in Figure 5, an embodiment of the SKU-based demand update job queue in S320 of Figure 4 will be specifically described.

[0123] Figure 5 illustrates a job queue based on SKU-based demand updates according to several embodiments of this disclosure.

[0124] The job queue may include a first job 53, a second job 52 created after the creation time of the first job 53, and a third job 51 created after the creation time of the second job 52.

[0125] If the demand for the second SKU of the second job 52 is greater than the demand for the first SKU of the first job 53, and the demand for the third SKU of the third job 51 is greater than the demand for the second SKU of the second job 52, then according to the order of SKU demand, the third job 51 has the highest priority, the second job 52 has the next highest priority, and the first job 53 has the lowest priority. As shown in Figure 5, the jobs can be arranged in descending order based on the updated priority.

[0126] SKU demand can be represented as the quantity of SKUs ordered, which can be calculated based on the order quantity of the SKU.

[0127] For example, the job queue including the first job 53, the second job 52 and the third job 51 before the SKU-based demand update can include jobs arranged according to the priority order determined based on the creation time, as shown in FIG3. As the SKU-based demand is updated, the jobs can include jobs rearranged according to the updated priority order, as shown in FIG5.

[0128] Next, referring to Figure 6, we will explain in detail the method of updating the job queue based on the storage location status.

[0129] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for updating a job queue based on a storage location status according to several embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0130] S300 in Figure 6 can correspond to S300 in Figure 2.

[0131] Referring to Figure 6, in S300, it is possible to monitor whether the storage location mapped to the SKU of each of the multiple jobs included in the job queue is in an empty state (S300) without containing any SKU.

[0132] If among the multiple jobs included in the job queue, there is a job corresponding to an empty storage location, the job queue can be updated so that the priority of the job corresponding to the empty storage location is higher than the priority of other jobs, thereby allowing the SKU to be added to the empty storage location first compared to other storage locations (S340).

[0133] For example, if there are some jobs in the job queue that correspond to empty storage slots, the priority of the multiple jobs can be updated so that the priority of the partial jobs is higher than the priority of the remaining jobs in the multiple jobs excluding the partial jobs.

[0134] At the same time, the priority order between jobs corresponding to empty storage locations and / or between jobs corresponding to non-empty storage locations can be updated according to the order of job arrangement before the priority order is updated based on the storage location status (i.e., the existing priority order before the priority order is updated based on the storage location status).

[0135] Alternatively, regardless of the existing priority order, the priority order between jobs corresponding to empty storage locations and / or between jobs corresponding to non-empty storage locations can be updated based on prescribed criteria (e.g., job creation time, SKU demand, storage location status, whether the job was created manually, etc.) according to several embodiments of this disclosure.

[0136] Since the status of the storage location changes in real time, it is possible to monitor whether the storage location is empty in S330 and update the operation queue in S340 in real time based on whether the storage location is empty to reflect the changing storage location status.

[0137] Next, referring to Figure 7, we will explain in detail the method for updating the job queue based on whether the job was created manually.

[0138] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining the priority order of manually created jobs and automatically created jobs according to several embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0139] S300 in Figure 7 can correspond to S300 in Figure 2.

[0140] Referring to Figure 7, in S300, based on a prescribed standard, the priority order of the remaining automatically created jobs (excluding those manually created based on user input) among the multiple jobs included in the job queue can be updated (S350). The priority order of the manually created jobs can be determined to always be higher than the priority order of the remaining jobs.

[0141] For example, according to several embodiments of this disclosure, before updating the job queue based on a specified standard, the priority order of each of the multiple jobs included in the job queue is preset (by default) to be determined according to the job creation time, and the priority order of some jobs can be determined to always be higher than the priority order of the remaining jobs.

[0142] Therefore, in S200 of Figure 2, among the multiple jobs included in the job queue, the priority of manually created jobs, based on user input, is determined to be higher than the priority of the remaining automatically created jobs. The priority order among manually created jobs and / or among automatically created jobs can be determined corresponding to the creation time. Furthermore, as described with reference to Figure 7, among the multiple jobs included in the job queue, the priority order of the remaining jobs, excluding the manually created jobs, can be updated only based on prescribed criteria (e.g., SKU demand, storage location status, whether it is a manually created job, etc.), while the priority order of the manually created jobs can remain unchanged.

[0143] For example, if a job column includes a manually created first job and an automatically created second job, and a new job different from the first and second jobs is added to the job column, the priority of the jobs (first job, second job, and new job) included in the job column can be determined according to whether the new job is a manually created job or an automatically created job, as follows.

[0144] If the new job is a manually created job (hereinafter referred to as Case 1), then the priority of the new job can be determined to be higher than the priority of the second job.

[0145] In scenario 1, a new job with a higher priority than the second job is created after the creation time of the first job. The priority of the new job can be determined to be lower than the priority of the first job, or it can be determined to be lower or higher than the priority of the first job based on specified criteria (e.g., SKU demand, storage location status, whether the job was created manually, etc.).

[0146] In scenario 1, when other automatically created jobs are added subsequently, the priority order of the automatically created second job can be updated based on prescribed criteria (e.g., SKU demand, storage location status, whether it is a manually created job, etc.) according to several embodiments disclosed herein. In this case, even if the priority order of the automatically created jobs (the second job and / or other new jobs added after the new job) is updated, the priority order of the manually created jobs (the first job and the new job) can remain unchanged.

[0147] However, the priority of manually created jobs is not limited to not changing when updating the job queue. For example, the priority of manually created jobs may be determined to be higher than that of automatically created jobs, but according to several embodiments of this disclosure, the priority of manually created jobs can be updated based on prescribed criteria (e.g., SKU demand, storage status, whether it is a manually created job, etc.).

[0148] In other words, the priority of manually created jobs and the priority of automatically created jobs can be distinguished from each other and updated. The update conditions for the priority of manually created jobs and the update conditions for the priority of automatically created jobs can be different or the same.

[0149] If the new job is an automatically created job (hereinafter referred to as Case 2), then the priority of the second job and the priority of the new job can be determined to be lower than the priority of the manually created first job.

[0150] In scenario 2, the priority of the second job and the priority of the new job can be updated based on prescribed criteria (e.g., SKU demand, storage status, whether the job was created manually, etc.) according to several embodiments of this disclosure, thereby determining the priority of the new job to be lower or higher than the priority of the second job.

[0151] Next, referring to the job queue shown in Figure 8, a specific embodiment of updating the job queue by distinguishing between manually created jobs and automatically created jobs, based on the embodiment described with reference to Figure 7, will be explained.

[0152] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating a job queue, including manually created jobs and automatically created jobs, that can be configured according to several embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0153] For example, the job queue may include automatically created first job 86, second job 85 and third job 84, and also includes fourth job 81, fifth job 82 and sixth job 83 manually created based on user input from different / same users.

[0154] The fourth job 81, the fifth job 82, and the sixth job 83 included in the job list are manually created jobs. Based on the creation time of the jobs, the priority of the fourth job 81 can be determined as the highest priority compared with the other manually created jobs 82 and 83. The priority of the fifth job 82 is determined as the second highest priority compared with the fourth job 81. The priority of the sixth job 83 is determined as the lowest priority compared with the other manually created jobs 81 and 82.

[0155] According to several embodiments disclosed herein, as shown in FIG8, the priority order of manually created jobs 81, 82, and 83, arranged according to the priority order determined based on the job creation time, can be higher than the priority order of automatically created jobs 84, 85, and 86. When the job queue is updated according to specified conditions, the priority order of manually created jobs 81, 82, and 83 can be fixed regardless of whether the priority order of automatically created jobs 84, 85, and 86 is updated.

[0156] For example, referring to Figure 8, the priority of the remaining jobs in the job queue, excluding manually created jobs 81, 82, and 83, namely automatically created jobs 84, 85, and 86, can be updated based on the demand of the SKU. The higher the demand of the SKU, the higher the priority, and they are arranged in the job queue.

[0157] The job queue configuration shown in Figure 8 is such that even if the job queue is updated, the priority order of manually created jobs 81, 82, and 83 is fixed to the priority order determined corresponding to the job creation time. However, the priority order of manually created jobs 81, 82, and 83 is not limited to a fixed order determined corresponding to the creation time and does not change when the job queue is updated.

[0158] As mentioned above, the priority order of manually created jobs 81, 82, and 83 can be updated based on SKU demand, storage status, and whether the jobs are manually created, and they can be arranged in the job queue according to the updated priority order.

[0159] According to several embodiments disclosed herein, a job queue can be used to manage the processing order of multiple jobs based on a priority order determined by specified conditions (job creation time, SKU requirements, storage status, whether the job was created manually, etc.), thereby enabling efficient job processing.

[0160] According to several embodiments disclosed herein, a first device 410 can be controlled to transport multiple SKUs of multiple jobs to a second device 420 according to the priority order of multiple jobs, and the second device 420 can be controlled to transport the multiple SKUs of multiple jobs transported by the first device 410 to the storage location mapped to each SKU according to the priority order of multiple jobs, thereby replenishing the SKUs of multiple jobs to the mapped storage locations according to the updated priority order of multiple jobs, so as to achieve efficient logistics transportation / storage.

[0161] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing device for performing several embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0162] As shown in FIG9, computing device 1 may include one or more processors 101, bus 103, communication interface 104, memory 102 for loading a computer program executed by processor 101, and storage device 105 for storing computer program 106. However, FIG9 only shows components relevant to the embodiments disclosed herein. Therefore, those skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains will understand that other common components may be included in addition to those shown in FIG9. In other words, computing device 1 may also include various components other than those shown in FIG9. Furthermore, in some cases, computing device 1 may be configured with some components shown in FIG9 omitted. Each component of computing device 1 will be described below.

[0163] Processor 101 can control the overall operation of various structures of computing device 1. Processor 101 may include at least one of a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor unit (MPU), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or any type of processor known in the art. Furthermore, processor 101 can perform calculations for at least one application or program to perform methods and / or operations according to embodiments of this disclosure. Computing device 1 may have one or more processors.

[0164] Furthermore, the system and / or computing device 1 according to the embodiments of this disclosure may also include a database, and the processor 101 may store data and / or information generated / output according to several embodiments of this disclosure in memory 102 and / or the database. The database storing data and / or information is not limited to the database within the system and / or computing device 1 according to this specification, but may include, for example, a database of an external server.

[0165] Memory 102 can store various data, commands, and / or information. Memory 102 can load computer programs 106 from storage device 105 to execute the methods and / or operations of the embodiments disclosed herein. Memory 102 can be implemented using volatile memory such as random access memory (RAM), but this disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0166] Furthermore, bus 103 can provide communication functions between components of computing device 1. Bus 103 can be implemented through various types of buses such as address bus, data bus, and control bus.

[0167] The communication interface 104 can support wired and wireless network communication of the computing device 1. Furthermore, the communication interface 104 can also support various communication methods other than network communication. Therefore, the communication interface 104 can include communication modules known in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0168] Storage device 105 can non-temporarily store one or more computer programs 106. Storage device 105 may include non-volatile memory such as read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, hard disk, removable disk, or any form of computer-readable recording medium known in the art to which this disclosure pertains.

[0169] Then, computer program 106 may include one or more instructions that, when loaded into memory 102, cause processor 101 to perform methods and / or operations according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In other words, processor 101 may perform methods / implementations / operations according to various embodiments of the present disclosure by executing one or more loaded instructions.

[0170] In this disclosure, a computer-readable (non-volatile) storage medium can store at least one instruction or computer program, and when the at least one instruction or computer program is executed by at least one processor, it can cause the at least one processor to perform methods and / or operations according to several embodiments of this disclosure.

[0171] For example, computer program 106 may include instructions to obtain a first job created for replenishing a first stock keeping unit (SKU) to a first storage location mapped to the first SKU, add the first job to a job queue, and update the job queue, which includes a plurality of jobs created sequentially and including the first job, based on the SKU requirements of the plurality of jobs.

[0172] Thus far, various embodiments of the present disclosure and the effects of these embodiments have been described with reference to Figures 1 to 9. The effects of the technical concept disclosed herein are not limited to the technical problems described above, and those skilled in the art will clearly understand from the description of this disclosure other effects not mentioned.

[0173] In the foregoing, although all elements constituting the embodiments of this disclosure are described as combinations or combined operations, this disclosure is not necessarily limited to these embodiments. In other words, within the scope of the technical concept of this disclosure, all elements can be selectively combined into one or more for operation.

[0174] Although the various operations are shown in a specific order in the accompanying drawings, it should not be construed as meaning that the operations must be performed in the specific order shown or sequentially, or that all the shown operations must be performed to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multiplexing and parallel processing may also be advantageous. Moreover, it should be understood that the separation of the various components in the above embodiments should not be interpreted as a necessity; the described program components and systems can generally be integrated together as a single software product, or packaged into multiple software products.

[0175] The embodiments of this disclosure have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the technical concept of this disclosure can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the disclosure or essential features. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary and not limiting in all respects. The scope of protection of this disclosure should be interpreted by the appended claims, and all technical concepts within their equivalent scope should be understood to be included within the scope of this disclosure.

[0176] 100: User Equipment 200: Server 300: Database 400: Logistics Management Equipment 410: First Equipment 420: Second equipment S100, S200, S300, S310, S320, S330, S340, S350: Steps Homework: 31, 32, 33, 51, 52, 53, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86 1: Computing device 101: Processor 102: Memory 103: Busbar 104: Communication Interface 105: Storage device 106: Computer Programs

Claims

1. A job management method, executed through a computing system, comprising the following steps: obtaining a first job created for replenishing a first stock keeping unit (SKU) to a first storage location mapped to the first SKU; adding the first job to a job queue, the job queue comprising a plurality of jobs created sequentially, including the first job; and updating the job queue based on the needs of the SKUs of the plurality of jobs by updating the priority order of the plurality of jobs.

2. The job management method as described in Request 1, wherein, The steps to add the first job to the job queue include the following: determining the priority of the first job as the lowest priority among the remaining jobs excluding the first job.

3. The job management method as described in Request 1, wherein, The steps for updating the job queue based on the requirements of each of the multiple jobs' SKUs include the following steps: obtaining the requirements of each of the multiple jobs' SKUs; and updating the priority order of each of the multiple jobs to assign higher priority according to the order of higher requirements.

4. The job management method as described in Request 1, wherein, The steps for updating the job queue based on the needs of the individual SKUs of the multiple jobs include the following steps: monitoring whether the storage slots mapped to the individual SKUs of the multiple jobs are in an empty state; and updating the priority of the portion of the multiple jobs corresponding to the empty storage slots to a higher priority than the remaining jobs excluding that portion of the jobs.

5. The job management method as described in Request 1, wherein, The multiple jobs include jobs created manually based on user input and jobs created automatically. The steps to update the job queue based on the needs of the respective SKUs of the multiple jobs include the following steps: determining the priority of the manually created jobs to be higher than the priority of the automatically created jobs.

6. The job management method as described in Request 1, wherein, The steps for updating the job queue based on the needs of each of the multiple jobs' SKUs include the following steps: Among the multiple jobs, update the priority order of the remaining automatically created jobs, excluding the jobs manually created based on user input, wherein the priority order of the manually created jobs corresponds to the job creation order, and the priority order of the manually created jobs is higher than the priority order of the remaining jobs.

7. The job management method as described in Request 1, wherein, It also includes the following steps: controlling a first device to transport the SKUs of the plurality of jobs to a second device according to the priority of the plurality of jobs; and controlling the second device to transport the SKUs to the mapped storage locations according to the priority of the plurality of jobs respectively.

8. A job management system, comprising: At least one processor; and at least one memory, storing instructions that, when run by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a plurality of operations, the plurality of operations including: obtaining a first job created for replenishing a first stock keeping unit (SKU) to a first storage location mapped to the first SKU; adding the first job to a job queue, the job queue including a plurality of jobs created sequentially including the first job; and updating the job queue by updating the priority of the plurality of jobs based on the needs of the respective SKUs of the plurality of jobs.

9. The job management system as described in claim 8, wherein, The operation of updating the job queue based on the requirements of each SKU of the multiple jobs includes the following operations: obtaining the requirements of each SKU of the multiple jobs; and updating the priority order of the multiple jobs to assign higher priority according to the order of higher requirements.

10. The job management system as described in claim 8, wherein, The operation of updating the job queue based on the needs of the individual SKUs of the multiple jobs includes the following operations: monitoring whether the storage slots mapped to the individual SKUs of the multiple jobs are in an empty state; and updating the priority of the portion of the multiple jobs corresponding to the empty storage slots to a higher priority than the remaining jobs excluding that portion of the jobs.

11. The job management system as described in claim 8, wherein, The multiple jobs include jobs created manually based on user input and jobs created automatically. The operation of updating the job queue based on the needs of each SKU of the multiple jobs includes the following operation: determining the priority of the manually created jobs to be higher than the priority of the automatically created jobs.

12. The job management system as described in claim 8, wherein, The operation of updating the job queue based on the needs of each of the multiple jobs' SKUs includes the following operations: Among the multiple jobs, update the priority order of the remaining automatically created jobs, excluding the jobs manually created according to user input. The priority order of the manually created jobs corresponds to the job creation order, and the priority order of the manually created jobs is higher than the priority order of the remaining jobs.

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