Merged Store Time Slots for Pickup Demand Balancing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Retailers face challenges in managing online order pickup and delivery time slots, with highly utilized stores facing demand shortages and underutilized nearby stores experiencing resource wastage, leading to lost sales and customer dissatisfaction.
Innovation Solution
A system that automatically merges pickup and delivery time slots across nearby stores using a primary and secondary store determination based on order pickup type, optimizing time slot availability and demand distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If time slots are managed separately at each store, then store-specific availability is optimized, but overall system utilization decreases and lost sales increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges time slot availability from a primary store and secondary stores into a unified pool. When the primary store has no available time slots, the system automatically offers alternative time slots from nearby secondary stores, effectively combining resources to increase overall order fulfillment while managing complexity through automated algorithms.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple nearby stores are used for pickup options, then time slot availability increases, but demand distribution optimization becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service by automatically determining the primary store based on customer location and order type, then autonomously identifying secondary stores and their available time slots. The algorithm automatically matches customers with optimal pickup locations without requiring manual intervention, thereby increasing flexibility while managing complexity through automation.
3Loss of energy
If primary and secondary stores are integrated, then resource utilization improves, but system coordination complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring time slot availability at primary and secondary stores, then dynamically adjusting recommendations based on real-time data. This feedback loop enables efficient resource utilization by directing orders to stores with available capacity, reducing resource wastage while managing coordination complexity through data-driven decision-making.
Data Source
AI summary
A method being implemented via execution of computing instructions configured to run at one or more processors. The method can include determining a primary store and one or more secondary stores for pickup of an order of a user, which can include: performing a first lookup call to a first cache of one or more proximate access points based on the primary store; and when a list of the one or more proximate access points is not retrieved in the first lookup call: performing a second lookup call to a second cache of active access points; determining the one or more proximate access points from among the active access points; and storing the one or more proximate access points in the first cache to update the first cache. The method also can include transmitting, for display to the user, a list of available time slots based on availability of time slots at the primary store and the one or more secondary stores. Other embodiments are described.