Patent ID: 8117095

Claim:
A system for automatically managing initial distribution and subsequent redistribution of perishable products to retail delivery outlets, said system comprising: a server arrangement that maintains delivery route information; plural portable handheld appliances that are at least intermittently connectable to communicate with said server arrangement, said server arrangement providing transmission of at least some of said delivery route information to said handheld appliances, said plural portable handheld appliances being structured to receive, store and display at least subsets of said delivery route information relating to particular delivery routes; image capturing devices associated with said plural at least intermittently connectable portable handheld appliances, said image capturing devices being configured to automatically capture product identification information associated with said delivered products, said server arrangement uploading captured information from said plural intermittently-connected portable handheld appliances and tallying quantities and types of products delivered on a per-outlet basis based at least in part on information collected using said image capture devices to permit determination of delivery activity based, at least in part, on said collected, tallied quantities and types of products delivered; said handheld appliances and server arrangement being further configured to cooperate to manage redistribution of previously properly-delivered products between said delivery outlets by collecting and reporting shuffle run information representing re-distribution of previously properly-delivered products between said outlets, wherein said shuffle run information comprises the number of units of a product properly delivered to one outlet and then subsequently moved from the one outlet to another outlet.