Abstract:
A grocery depot warehouse used to rapidly fulfill online orders while utilizing a minimal amount of warehouse space and optimizing the grocery gathering process. The aisles of the warehouse are narrow such that a one-way traffic flow is utilized in gathering the goods, which maximizes the use of floor space. Additionally, a narrow cart, approximately 24 inches in width, is used to gather the goods comprised of a tubular frame forming two tiers connected by supporting brackes, wherein the frame holds removable totes, and has two caster wheels and two central wheels. The removable totes can be used for delivery of the goods.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention relates generally to a grocery depot warehouse used to rapidly fulfill online orders while utilizing a minimal amount of warehouse space and optimizing the grocery gathering process. The aisles of the warehouse are narrow such that a one-way traffic flow is utilized in gathering the goods, which maximizes the use of floor space. Additionally, a narrow cart, approximately 24 inches in width, is used to gather the goods comprised of a tubular frame forming two tiers connected by supporting brackes, wherein the frame holds removable totes, has two caster wheels and two central wheels. The removable totes can then be used for delivery of the goods. The grocery depot warehouse is particularly suited for use by a buyer to fulfill orders for customers of an online grocery store, where the buyer receives the orders, procures the goods, and delivers the goods to the customer within approximately thirty minutes of the customer placing the online order.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Online grocery stores are accessible through the internet. Forecasts for online grocery sales in the United States range from $ 14  billion to $16 billion out of a $500 billion annual expenditure by 2005. The online grocery stores&#39; method of doing business is continually evolving as consumers demand fresher groceries and faster delivery.  
         [0003]     Online grocery shopping basically entails five steps for a consumer. First the consumer logs onto the online grocer&#39;s web page. Next, the consumer shops for various goods and places them in a virtual shopping cart. The consumers check out by designating the method of payment. The consumer then selects a delivery location and a delivery time.  
         [0004]     There are many positive aspects for companies that own online grocery businesses. It is convenient for the customer. In certain business models, there is no land to rent or buy for a regular brick and mortar location that customers will visit. The only land space needed is a warehouse, which is a much more economical structure than a supermarket. Additionally, an online grocery store is open twenty-four hours a day. There are also some negative aspects for companies that own online grocery businesses. The general aspect of online shopping for groceries is not conventional. The businesses often have slim profit margins and are labor intensive. The business can expect to have complications and problems with delivery. The start up costs of the business can be very expensive. There are also minimal amounts of repeat sales.  
         [0005]     There are many positive aspects for consumers that choose to shop at an online grocery. Shopping online saves on time. It also potentially saves the consumer money. It offers consumers a new approach to shopping. Many online stores offer the consumer a choice of delivery times and formats, so that delivery is convenient to the customer. The consumer does not have to wait in a check out line. There are also some negative aspects that a consumer may encounter when shopping online. For instance, the customer&#39;s order could be filled improperly or it could take a significant amount of time to place the order online. The delivery may not be timely or at the customer&#39;s direction. The consumer will not have the ability to pick the quality of the goods, which can be important when shopping for produce or meat. Some consumers may find that the payment options are inconvenient, for example, if an online store only accepts a credit card. There could also be a significant downside to shopping online with particular return policies and procedures. The consumer may also have to pay a significant sum for delivery of the goods.  
         [0006]     Online grocery shopping has evolved over the years. Some online stores have revised their approach to inventory warehousing, order fulfillment, route planning, and scheduling to meet its consumers&#39; demands. For smaller markets, some online grocery stores use affiliated stores as a warehouse and the e-grocer becomes the consumer. The shopper must pick the correct sizes, weights, degrees of freshness, and brands that the consumer would pick. This method does not assure product availability or quality and could easily defeat the purpose of online shopping. Accordingly, in larger markets, some online grocery stores use stand-alone distribution centers or warehouses. This assures the availability of the products. In such larger markets, the online grocery store can offer same day delivery within a short window of time, such as two hours.  
         [0007]     Online grocery stores have also improved customer service by tracking customers&#39; purchases to offer faster service or promote special sales. Online grocery stores have also begun to offer manufactured sponsor coupons and incentives tailored to individual customer&#39;s purchase behavior. The online stores also include a variety of tailored services such as: express shopping by typing in items separated by a comma the full item is automatically displayed; item comments about the quality or freshness of certain products; access to previous orders to short cut a shopping trip; sort features which are capable of sorting goods by price, nutritional content, calories, sugar content, salt content, etc.; personalized coupons tailored to the consumer; keyword search for specific products; payment options such as cash, check, credit card, debit card; delivery options and pick up options.  
         [0008]     Even with all of the above features of online grocery shopping there is still a struggle for these online grocery stores to keep the cost of fulfillment and delivery below 18% of sales. Consumers of the online stores are demanding a faster more efficient and accurate fulfillment. However, most delivery services are not prepared to handle dry goods, refrigerated goods, frozen goods, and heated goods. Additionally, consumers are not prepared to pay more for delivery.  
         [0009]     One of the critical problems with the current online grocery delivery methods is the use of a grocery store to fulfill orders. This method is unreliable and extremely time consuming if a quick delivery is requested. Even when a warehouse is used by an online grocery store to fulfill orders, it is not set up for optimal efficiency for receipt of goods, storage of goods, and gathering of goods for customer&#39;s orders, while retaining a low operating cost. Moreover, such warehouses typically tend to be very large structures that are expensive to maintain, while only servicing a minimal amount of territory surrounding the location.  
         [0010]     Online purchasing clubs have been created that provide an online, interactive purchasing environment and includes consumer members, retailer members, and buyer members all located within a geographical member area. An example of such a club is www.30minutemall.com. Consumers purchase items online from retailers within the geographical area for delivery within approximately thirty minutes. Buyers receive the orders made by consumers, buy the products, deliver the products and collect payment for delivery and procurement services directly from the consumer. The purchasing club collects brokering fees and membership fees. The consumers benefit from the convenience of on-demand delivery of all products available within the geographic club area, usually in less time and always with less involvement than if the consumer were to procure the products him or herself.  
         [0011]     An online purchasing club, as described above, can be used to purchase groceries. However, it will be difficult for a buyer to procure and deliver groceries within approximately thirty minutes when shopping at a regular grocery store or a huge warehouse. Moreover, although a large warehouse will accommodate a larger geographical club area or territory, such an increase in territory will increase the delivery time to the outer areas of the territory. Accordingly, it is desirable to have a grocery depot warehouse that is designed for the rapid fulfillment of online orders that utilizes a minimal amount of warehouse space and optimizes the grocery gathering process for a buyer. It is also desirable to have a specially designed cart for navigating such an optimized depot warehouse and which assists a buyer or assembler in efficiently gathering groceries.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]     The present invention overcomes significant deficiencies in the art by providing a grocery depot warehouse and cart that are tailored to serving an online grocery store. The grocery depot warehouse is designed for optimal efficiency in a minimal amount of space for receipt of goods, storage of goods, and gathering of goods for fulfilling online orders. The grocery depot warehouse comprises a plurality of shelves for storing the goods, narrow aisles between the shelves approximately 30 inches wide, a one-way traffic flow in the aisles, and a cart for use in the narrow aisles that is approximately 24 inches wide with at least two totes for carrying the goods.  
         [0013]     The grocery depot warehouse of the invention is used by a buyer to rapidly fulfill a customer&#39;s orders taken by an online grocery store comprising a plurality of shelves for storing grocery goods to be delivered to online customers, narrow aisles between the shelves approximately 30 inches wide, a one way traffic flow in the aisles for optimal efficiency for an assembler in gathering the goods while maximizing use of floor space for shelves. The buyer or assembler uses a special cart to gather the goods comprised a tubular frame forming two tiers connected by supporting brackes, wherein the frame holds the totes, and has two caster wheels and two central wheels. The buyer uses the grocery depot warehouse to fulfill orders for customers of the online grocery by receiving the orders, picking up the preassembled order and delivering the goods to the customer within approximately thirty minutes of the customer placing the order online.  
         [0014]     Generally, the present invention describes a grocery depot warehouse for the rapid fulfillment of online orders that utilizes a minimal amount of warehouse space and optimizes the grocery gathering process for a buyer or assembler. The floor space of the warehouse is approximately 3,300 to 4,000 square feet. A plurality of shelves are arranged in the floor space such that the aisle between the shelves is approximately 30 inches wide. A narrow cart, about 24 inches in width, is used by the buyer or the assembler to gather goods. [ 0015 ] Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a grocery depot warehouse for optimal efficiency for receipt of goods, storage of goods, and gathering of goods for customer&#39;s online grocery orders, while retaining a low operating cost.  
         [0015]     Another object of the present invention is to provide a grocery depot warehouse that utilizes a minimal amount of floor space to store a significant volume of groceries for purchase by a buyer, wherein the buyer is purchasing groceries pursuant to an online customer&#39;s order and the buyer is delivering the groceries to the online customer in a relatively minimal amount of time. Another object of the present invention is to provide a cart specifically designed to be used in a small grocery depot warehouse and which also is designed to save time in gathering and delivery of online ordered groceries.  
         [0016]     These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention may be better understood and appreciated from the following detailed description of the embodiments thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]      FIG. 1  is a grocery depot warehouse layout.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  is a grocery depot warehouse layout identifying the coding system to be used.  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  is a front view of a section of shelving.  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  is a front view of a cart.  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the upper level of the cart.  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  is a top view of the lower level of the cart.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0023]      FIG. 1  is a floor plan showing a sample layout for a grocery depot warehouse  1 , which is particularly suited to serving online grocery businesses. The depot warehouse  1  is designed for efficiency in rapidly fulfilling customers&#39; online orders. The depot warehouse  1  is also designed for efficiently receiving and storing a significant volume of product, in particular grocery products, in a minimal amount of space.  
         [0024]     The grocery depot warehouse  1  is a typical warehouse structure, which is modified to fit the needs of servicing online grocery orders. The warehouse  1  is designed to be compact and fit into a relatively small amount of space, such as approximately 4000 square feet. The use of a small space saves significantly on the warehouse  1  cost, thus reducing the overhead needed to run the depot warehouse  1  and providing greater returns for the online grocery industry. The warehouse  1  includes a checkout  2  area, a break area  3 , restrooms  4 , an electrical and phone panel  6 , a shipping and receiving area  7 , door  5  and several aisles  9 ,  11 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 , and  20  which are surrounded by shelves  10 ,  12 ,  13 ,  15 , and  19  and a cooler/freezer  19 .  
         [0025]     The grocery depot warehouse  1  may employ a staff that is responsible for receiving orders from an online grocery store and assembling the orders. The warehouse  1  staff may be responsible for delivering the groceries to the customer or the online grocery store may be responsible for independently hiring drivers. A variety of known arrangements with delivery services are possible. Optionally, the grocery depot warehouse  1  will designate certain staff as drivers. Alternatively, the online grocery is a purchasing club that includes buyers who are associated with the online grocery and visit the grocery depot warehouse  1  to fulfill online customer&#39;s orders and deliver orders. Such buyers are independent delivery personnel who receive the online orders, purchase the online orders at the grocery depot warehouse  1 , and deliver the goods to the customer. Under such an arrangement, the buyers are able to deliver the online ordered goods to the customers within approximately thirty minutes. Additionally, in such an arrangement, the grocery depot warehouse  1  can employ a staff wherein the staff member assembles the order and the buyer comes to the depot warehouse  1  to buy the assembled order and delivers it to the customer. For purposes of this application, the term buyer will be used to represent a person who fulfills orders through use of the grocery depot warehouse  1 , with the understanding that this person can be employed in any of the above-described arrangements. The term assembler will be used to represent a person who receives the online order and gathers the goods for the order in the grocery depot warehouse  1 . An assembler may be a buyer or a grocery depot warehouse  1  employee.  
         [0026]     In order to effectuate a desired thirty minute delivery, the depot warehouse  1  layout must be extremely efficient for a buyer or assembler. The warehouse  1  is designed such that there is a particular traffic flow up and down the aisles. This improves the efficiency of the warehouse  1  and allows the aisles to be narrower while the shelves can be larger. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the aisles  9 ,  11 ,  14  and  16  are approximately 30 inches wide. The use of such narrow aisles  9 ,  11 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  and  20  allow for additional shelving and in turn, a greater volume of groceries may be stored in a smaller amount of floor space in the warehouse  1 . The use of narrow aisles  9 ,  11 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  and  20  and a one-way traffic flow in the aisles  9 ,  11 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18  and  20  require a unique, appropriately adapted cart  25  to be used. The cart  30  is shown in  FIG. 3 .  
         [0027]     Referring again to  FIG. 1 , a buyer or assembler starts fulfilling orders at point  8 . With cart  30  a buyer or assembler heads down aisle  9  picking the appropriate groceries from one or more online customer orders from shelving  10  and shelving  12 . At the end of aisle  9 , the buyer or assembler turns the cart  30  and walks down aisle  11  picking the appropriate items from shelving  12  and shelving  13 . At the end of the aisle  11 , the buyer or assembler turns down aisle  14  and picks the designated groceries from shelving  13  and shelving  15 . At the end of aisle  14 , the buyer or assembler turns down aisle  16  and gathers the designated groceries from shelving  15  and  17 . At the end of aisle  16 , the buyer or assembler turns down aisle  18 . In aisle  18 , the buyer or assembler chooses groceries from shelving  17  and refrigerated or frozen groceries from cooler/freezer  19 . After the buyer or assembler passes down aisle  18 , the buyer or assembler can gather items from shelf  21 , which is on the outer wall of the warehouse  1 . The buyer or assembler then turns down aisle  20 . In aisle  20 , the buyer or assembler chooses the necessary refrigerated or frozen groceries from the cooler/freezer  19 . After the buyer or assembler exits aisle  20 , the buyer or assembler can gather items from shelf  22 . At this point all of the necessary groceries have been obtained and the buyer or assembler ends the grocery gathering as designated in spot  21 . The buyer or assembler then enters the check out area  2 .  
         [0028]     In the preferred embodiment of the invention and as shown in  FIG. 1 , the grocery depot warehouse  1  is approximately 75 feet by 45 feet or around 3500 to 4000 square feet. This is a fairly small warehouse and therefore it is critical that the layout be compact and efficient in order to store a large volume of groceries. In such a space, the shelving  10  is designed to be 18 inches deep by 60 feet long. Shelving  12  is designed to be 42 inches deep and 52 feet long. Shelving  13  is designed to be 48 inches deep and 52 feet long. Shelves  15  and  17  are designed to be 48 inches deep and 48 feet long. The cooler/freezer  19  is designed to be 57.6 inches deep and 60 feet long. Shelves  21  and  22  are 18 inches deep and 12 feet long. Aisles  9 ,  11 ,  14 , and  16  are designed to be 30 inches wide. Aisles  18  and  20  are designed to be 32 inches wide.  
         [0029]     Additional necessary areas take up minimal space in the grocery depot warehouse  1 . The shipping and receiving area  7  is in the rear of the warehouse  1  and is approximately 10 feet by 12 feet. The arrangement of the shelving units allow for access from the shipping and receiving area  7  to all shelves. The check out area  2 , the break area  3  and the bathrooms  4  use space in the front of the warehouse  1 . The check out area  2  is approximately 10 feet by 8 feet of floor space. The break room  3  is approximately 8 feet by 8 feet. The bathrooms are 5 feet by 10.9 feet.  
         [0030]     For additional efficiency in assisting a buyer or assembler to gather groceries, the depot warehouse  1  aisles utilize a coding system, as shown in  FIG. 2 . The coding system is used to rapidly identify the location of a particular good. The code includes  4  indicators, including two numbers and two letters in the format of “1N-4B”. Each particular number or letter can be expanded to double digits or double letters depending upon the size of the grocery depot warehouse  1 . The first number represents the aisle  9 ,  11 , and  14  number. The second letter of the code represents the aisle shelf section  25 . The third number represents the actual shelf  26 . The fourth letter represents the position of the product on the particular shelf  26 .  FIG. 2  shows a portion of the depot warehouse  1  floor plan. Shown are aisles  9 ,  11  and  14 . The pattern of coding shown is continued through out the floor plan for ease of stocking the shelves  26  and gathering the goods.  
         [0031]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the shelving  26  in each aisle  9 ,  11  and  14  is divided into vertical sections  25  and each section  25  is identified by a letter of the alphabet. When the end of the alphabet is reached, an additional letter is added to the code, such that the code reads “ZA”. The combination of letters can be varied, so long as the letters are unique identifiers of the location of the section  25  in the aisle. The alphabet continues around the end of the aisle in serpentine fashion. At the beginning of the first section  25  of the second aisle  11 , the alphabet is begun again starting from the letter “A”. In the second aisle the number system will begin with “2” denoting the second aisle  11 . The aisle  9 ,  11  and  14  is the first number of the code.  
         [0032]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the sections  25  of the shelves  26  are further identified by the numbering of the individual shelves  26 . The shelf  26  number identifies on which particular shelf  26  a product may be found. The section of shelving  25  shown in  FIG. 3  has six shelves  26 , which are identified by a number beginning from the bottom shelf  26  with number “1” and continuing to the top shelf  26 , which is numbered “6”. This numbering system can be used for as many shelves  26  included in each section  25 . The shelf  26  number is the third number in the code. Each particular shelf  26  is also sub-divided to indicate where on the shelf  26  a particular good may be located. As shown in  FIG. 3 , shelf  26 , which is designated as “4” for coding purposes, shows two areas of the shelf  26 . The shelf  26  coded as “ 4 ” has a left portion of the shelf  26  labeled as “A”  27  and a right portion of the shelf  26  labeled as “B”  28 . This serves to further identify the location of a particular good. The particular position of the product on the shelf  26  is the fourth indicator in the code. The shelves  26  can be broken down into as many sections as needed and would directly depend upon the size of the particular goods being stored on the shelf  26 .  
         [0033]     In order to efficiently navigate such a compact floor plan, special carts  30  are used. As shown in  FIGS. 4, 5  and  6 , the cart  30  is narrow and capable of being operated from either direction. Accordingly, when one end of the cart  30  is full, the cart  30  can be turned around and the other end can be filled. The cart  30  includes at least two levels for storing gathered goods. The goods are stored in plastic totes  31  on the cart  30 . The plastic totes  31  can be removed from the cart  30 , closed and used as a convenient method of delivering the online order. The plastic tote  31  prevents items from being damaged during the delivery process. The cart  30  is designed to be approximately 40 inches in height, 44 inches in length and 24 inches in width. These measurements can be varied while retaining the benefit of the design of the cart  30  and its efficiency in such a grocery depot warehouse  1 . The plastic totes  31  are held in the cart  30  by a frame. The frame of the cart  30  is made up of supporting brackets  32  which are fixed to a bottom horizontal frame  35  and horizontal upper frame  33 . Supporting brackets  32  are approximately 24.5 inches in height. The cart  30  may be constructed of aluminum, thin wall steel tubing or other appropriate materials.  
         [0034]     As shown in  FIG. 4, 5  and  6 , two plastic totes  31 , 13 inches in height and 17 inches in width, fit into the space on either side of the central supporting brackets  32 . The plastic totes  31  are held stationary and in place by the bottom horizontal frame  35 . There is a clearance of approximately 11.5 inches between the upper shelf and the top of the plastic totes  31  on the bottom level of the cart  30 . Additional storage is provided by two more plastic totes  31  on the top level of the cart  30 . Also provided on the top level of the cart  30  is room for a bag dispenser  38 . The top level of the cart  30  is designed so that the plastic totes  31  slide from one end to the other a fixed distance allowing the bag dispenser  38  to be placed on either end of the cart  30 . The handles  34  on either end of the cart  30  not only serve as a method of pushing the cart  30 , but also hold the plastic totes  31  on the cart  30  and prevent them from falling from the cart  30 .  
         [0035]      FIGS. 5 and 6  are top views of the cart  30 ,  FIG. 5  being the top view of the upper level of the cart  30  and  FIG. 6  being the top view of the lower level of the cart  30 . Shown in  FIG. 5  are horizontal bar members  40  upon which the bottom of the plastic totes  31  are placed. There are two metal shelves  39  on either side of the upper level of the cart  30  which provide additional support for the plastic totes  31 . The metal shelves  39  are approximately 10 inches in width, with a length that extends the entire width of the cart  30 , which is approximately 21 inches in the preferred embodiment.  
         [0036]     Shown in  FIG. 6  is the bottom level of the cart  30  without the bottom metal shelf in place. The bottom metal shelf is similar to the metal shelves  39  found in the upper level of the cart  30 . The lower level of the cart  30  includes two wheel bar members  41 , which extend the width of the cart  30  and attach to the bottom horizontal frame  35  relatively close to the ends of the cart  30 . Attached to the wheel bar members  41  are caster wheels  37 . The caster wheels  37  are centrally located on the wheel bar members  41 . Central wheels  36  are fixed onto an axis  42 . The central wheels  36  are inset in wheel wheels created in the bottom horizontal frame  35  along the side of the cart  30 . The central wheels  36  are approximately 8 inches in diameter. The carts  30  large central wheels  36  and caster wheels  37  reduces the turning radius of the cart and allows for more efficient use in the depot warehouse&#39;s  1  compact space.  
         [0037]      81  The cart  30  is ideally useful in the grocery depot warehouse  1 , as it can assist the buyer or assembler with navigating the narrow aisles when providing ample storage for goods. The plastic totes  31  can be useful in separating several small orders and for gathering large orders. In the preferred embodiment, while the orders are being gathered from the shelves  26 , the products are being entered into an accounting/checking device and bagged. The layout of the grocery depot warehouse  1  in combination with the unique cart  30  that enables groceries to be gathered, checked and bagged, saves an enormous amount of time in the process. This is critical when the goal is to achieve a minimal delivery time, such as thirty minutes.  
         [0038]     The cart  30  is easily disassembled for shipping and storage. In such a disassembled state, cart  30  can be stored and/or shipped while taking up minimal space. Therefore, the cart  30  is an essential element of the grocery depot warehouse  1 , due to its narrow construction and ability to be compactly stored when disassembled.  
         [0039]     Accordingly, it will be understood that the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed by way of example and that other modifications and alterations may occur to those skilled in the art.