Patent ID: 7139637

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of fulfilling a customer order in a distribution center having a plurality of pods for storing a plurality of items, the method comprising: receiving, by a computer, a customer order designating items and quantities; identifying, by the computer analyzing the customer order, a first pod among the plurality of the pods which has the highest number of items designated by the customer order; identifying, by the computer, all of the items designated by the customer order that are in the first pod; for the items remaining in the customer order after subtracting those identified as being in the first pod, if there are such items, identifying, by the computer analyzing the customer order, a second pod among the plurality of the pods which has the highest number of the items remaining in the customer order; and identifying, by the computer, all of the items remaining in the customer order that are in the second pod, wherein to fulfill a next customer order, a pod different from the first and the second pods can be identified; wherein the method further comprises retrieving at least one item identified from one of the pods depending on the time the item arrived in the distribution center, wherein the distribution center has a plurality of ambiences, each of which having its own collection of pods; wherein the customer order is divided into at least a first group of items stocked in a first ambient and a second group of items stocked in a second ambient; and wherein the first pod and the second pod are in the first ambient.