Abstract: Systems and methods for predictive drop shipping are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method may include maintaining inventory of an item that is offered for sale to customers via a webpage. A ratio may be calculated between a number of views of the webpage and a number of units of the item purchased over a first time period when a fast shipping or delivery option is available, and over a second time period when such option is not available. The method may identify the item as a candidate for drop shipping in response to the ratio being larger during the first time period than during the second time period. Upon receipt of an order, the received order may be fulfilled via drop shipping, in some cases, despite the inventory being sufficient to fulfill the order, and despite a cost of fulfillment via drop shipping being higher than fulfillment from inventory.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for analyzing package performance in a materials handling facility may include calculating an expected shipping cost for an item package and an actual shipping cost for the item package to determine excess shipping costs due to shipping item packages in the wrong container. The expected shipping cost may be the sum of the transportation cost and shipping materials cost when the item package is shipped in a recommended container. The actual shipping cost may be the sum of the transportation cost and shipping materials cost when the item is shipped in another container. The shipping materials costs may include the costs of the containers themselves and any non-item contents in the containers. A package performance analyzer may be configured to calculate excess shipping costs, generate various package performance reports according to received report parameters, and recommend corrective actions, including changing the available container types or providing training.

Abstract: Various embodiments of a system and method for stow management of similar items are described. Various embodiments may include a control system and/or an electronic stow component configured to determine whether a bin is eligible to stow a unit of a particular item. For instance, an agent tasked with stowing items as inventory in a materials handling facility may use such electronic stow component and/or the control system to determine whether a bin is eligible to stow a unit of a particular item. For instance, the electronic stow component may identify a bin to evaluate, identify a unit of a particular item, and determine whether the bin is eligible to store the unit of the particular item according to various methods and techniques for preventing the stowage of like items in nearby bins.

Abstract: Various systems, methods, and programs embodied in computer-readable mediums are provided for determining optimum sizes of packaging in a packaging suite employed in a materials handling facility. The packaging may be used, for example, in the shipping of items from the materials handling facility to various destinations. The sizes of the packaging in the packaging suite are determined based upon the shipping volumes associated with packages or shipments shipped from the materials handling facility.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments of a self healing andon system. One embodiment of the present disclosure includes a system comprising at least one server. The system further includes logic executed on the at least one server that retrieves a defect history associated with a vendor and at least one product from an inbound shipment from a memory. The at least one product is stocked in a materials handling facility, and the defect history is associated with a specified time period. The at least one server extracts at least one inventory defect from the defect history in a computer system and calculates an inventory defect rate. The at least one server imposes remedial measures if the inventory defect rate exceeds a specified threshold of the inventory defect rate.

Abstract: Systems and computer-implemented methods for predictive routing of item packages within a materials handling facility are disclosed. A predictive router may operate in conjunction with a container recommender, and both may be components of a facility management system. The predictive router may determine a routing destination for an item package dependent, at least in part, on the size and/or dimensions of a container that was recommended for handling the item package. The routing destination may be a shipping line customized for preparation of packed boxes of a particular size or in a particular size range for shipment. An optional scanner may attempt to determine the size of the actual container being used to ship the item package, and the predictive router may update the routing destination if the actual container does not match the recommended container. The predictive router may also consider special handling instructions when determining a routing destination.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method for automatically correcting item dimension values may facilitate operations of a materials handling facility. Such a method may include recommending a container for handling one or more items dependent on currently stored item dimension values and determining if any of the item values are inaccurate dependent on an actual container used to handle the one or more items. In some embodiments, the method may include calculating a volumetric utilization of an actual and a recommended container and comparing the two utilizations to determine if the recommended container was too large or too small. If the recommended container was too large or too small, the method may include flagging one or more of the items for measurement and/or correcting item dimensions for one or more of the items. Items may be flagged for measurement in response to a single mismatch between recommended and actual containers or multiple mismatches.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments of systems and methods for receiving shipment parcels at materials handling facilities. A parcel receiving system has an imaging tunnel through which shipment parcels received at a materials handling facility are passed. While a shipment parcel is passing through the imaging tunnel, a camera captures at least one image of the parcel. The parcel image is electronically analyzed to discover various tracking information and to detect various types of exceptions, such as damage to the parcel or defective tracking information. In addition, the captured image is stored in order to create a visual record of the parcel at the time of reception. This record may be used in a variety of ways, such as resolving or tracking exceptions or providing feedback to the vendor or shipment carrier. In addition, the parcel image may be viewed by a user to enable the user to detect and/or resolve an exception.

Abstract: Disclosed are various embodiments of systems and methods for receiving shipment parcels at materials handling facilities. A parcel receiving system has an imaging tunnel through which shipment parcels received at a materials handling facility are passed. While a shipment parcel is passing through the imaging tunnel, a camera captures at least one image of the parcel. The parcel image is electronically analyzed to discover various tracking information and to detect various types of exceptions, such as damage to the parcel or defective tracking information. In addition, the captured image is stored in order to create a visual record of the parcel at the time of reception. This record may be used in a variety of ways, such as resolving or tracking exceptions or providing feedback to the vendor or shipment carrier. In addition, the parcel image may be viewed by a user to enable the user to detect and/or resolve an exception.