Wal-mart Stores, Inc.

Walmart Apollo, LLC

Richard Ulrich

Nicholaus Adam Jones

Justin C Lewis

Matthew M Lowrie

Jingying Zhang

Bruce Walter Wilkinson

Jason Todd

Alvin Scott Taulbee

Tim Webb

Seon Ki Kim

Dong Xu

Juan P Gomez

Kunlei Lian

Jackie L Guan

Shuohao Wu

Steven E Thomas

Simon David Langford

Clifford Wayne Bolinger

Ryan Cox

Jackie Lei Guan

Described are methods and systems for estimating an optimal product pack size and on-shelf customer facing quantity of the products in view of shelf capacity limitations of the shelves at a given retail store/product distribution center, with the aim of maximizing the total net profit of the store/distribution center. The systems and methods obtain inventory-related, retail facility product storage capacity-related, and product storage/handling-related data from one or more databases and estimate the net profit of multiple variations of pack size and customer-facing quantity for each product. Then, these results are processed via various inventory optimization algorithms obtained from one or more databases to estimate the pack size and customer-facing quantity for each of the products to be stocked at the retail facility that would be estimated to result in maximum net profit for the retail facility within a given period of time.

Systems and methods of optimizing pack size and customer-facing quantity of retail products at retail facilities

This disclosure describes a graphics processing unit programmed to generate a sample path for the demand of the one or more products at a store based at least in part on data associated with a historical distribution of the variability of the demand of the one or more products. The graphics processing unit may generate a thread corresponding to a plurality scenarios. The graphics processing unit may execute the thread in parallel to determine one or more parameters for each of the plurality of scenarios for the one or more products. The graphics processing unit may select the one or more parameters generated from the execution of one of the sample paths to minimize the cost. The graphics processing unit may adjust an inventory management system to set an inventory management setting based at least in part on the selection of the one or more parameters.

Systems and methods for safety stock settings using a parallel processing computing architecture

In some embodiments, a method and apparatus involve: providing a plurality of products that are each associated with a respective radio frequency identification tag; using radio frequency identification technology to automatically identify specific products in a group of products collected by a shopper; and evaluating whether or not to obtain payment from the shopper based on the radio frequency identification of products in the group. Based on the result of the evaluation, either payment is obtained from the shopper on the basis of the radio frequency identification of products in the group, or else the products in the group are audited, and then payment is obtained on the basis of the products identified by the audit.

Method and apparatus for automated shopper checkout using radio frequency identification technology

In some embodiments, systems, apparatus and methods are provided herein useful to improve store management by reducing the instances that may cause lost sales or result in a customer assistance inquiry. The solutions disclosed herein allow users to start with sales frequency to identify potential alerts or anomalies and then optionally allows for further customization and/or prioritization regarding the potential anomalies in a way that will address specific needs or concerns of a particular system user and allows for the system to be tuned or changed over time as desired.

Method and apparatus for detecting and/or utilizing sales anomalies to improve store management

A method and apparatus involve: providing a plurality of products that are each associated with a respective radio frequency identification tag; using radio frequency identification technology to automatically identify specific products in a group of products collected by a shopper; and evaluating whether or not to obtain payment from the shopper based on the radio frequency identification of products in the group. Based on the result of the evaluation, either payment is obtained from the shopper on the basis of the radio frequency identification of products in the group, or else the products in the group are audited, and then payment is obtained on the basis of the products identified by the audit.

An interactive shopping system, apparatus and methods are provided for use at a brick-and-mortar merchant location. The interactive shopping system includes a basket for holding items selected by a shopper, and a unique identifier for the basket. An input device is associated with said basket to obtain information regarding specific items as they are placed in the basket. A point of sale system is associated with the input device to collect information obtained from the input device, associate that information with the unique identifier for the basket, and complete a purchase transaction for all items located in the basket at checkout.

Interactive customer shopping cart

Several embodiments provide methods and apparatus to improve communications between an RFID reader and one or more RFID tags. In one implementation, an apparatus comprises a first antenna configured to communicate with a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader; a second antenna separate from said first antenna, and configured to communicate with at least one RFID tag; and structure electrically coupling said first and second antennas.

Apparatus and method facilitating communication between components of a radio frequency identification system

A mobile sensor system and method for managing inventory of a store includes at least one radio frequency identification (RFID) scanner for receiving readings from RFID tags, at least one external sensors for detecting at least one external events other than RF signals from the RFID tags, and a processor configured to update an RFID database for storing the readings from the RFID tags, wherein the update is based on a correlation function of the readings from the RFID tags and the external events detected at the at least one external sensors.

System and method of enhanced RFID transport device sensor network

A method using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags for managing a promotional merchandise display at locational spots in a store includes providing a locational spot in the store with a locational RFID tag uniquely identifying the locational spot, providing the locational spot with the promotional merchandise display associated with merchandise RFID tags, wherein each of the merchandise RFID tags uniquely identifies one or more products in the promotional merchandise display, scanning for radio frequency signals from the locational RFID tag and the merchandise RFID tags at or near the locational spot, transmitting information obtained from the scanning to a server, analyzing the information at the server for a determination of whether the promotional merchandise display is in compliance with a promotional display plan; and if not, generating a notice to the store, the notice including information relating to the locational spot and the promotional merchandise display.

RFID promotional compliance

An RFID Point-of-Sale system for completing a sale transaction to a customer of a plurality of items associated with a plurality of unique RFID tags at a store includes an arrangement of a plurality of RFID tag scanners for detecting the plurality of unique RFID tags associated with the plurality of items, and a checkout platform including a transaction panel, wherein a list of the plurality of items is displayed on the transaction panel based on a matching of the detected plurality of unique RFID tags with information stored in an inventory database.

System, method, and apparatus of RFID point of sale

Systems, apparatuses and methods for deterring product theft and preventing the fraudulent return or exchange of products. Products are associated with a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tag. Tag readers located at store access points can detect the presence of the RFID tag and can be used to help determine a direction of travel of the RFID tag. When a product is determined to be leaving the store, the transaction history of the product can be accessed, as well as the supply chain history of the product, to confirm the product has been validly purchased and therefore authorized for removal from the store. When a product is determined to be entering a store, the supply chain history and transaction history of the product can be consulted to determine if the product can be validly exchanged or returned.

RFID theft prevention system

An apparatus and method for a multi-directional RFID reader system where multi-directional readers can be place on opposing sides of a hallway leading from a back storage area to a retail floor area. The readers can be operable to detect an RFID tag associated with a product as well as its direction of movement, for example whether the product is moving from a back store room to a retail store or the opposite movement is occurring.

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Bentonville, AR, United States of America

Richard Ulrich