Patent ID: 7664684

Claim:
A method comprising: storing an inventory management record, in a database, relating to a product in inventory, the inventory management record storing a pair of values representing total quantity of the product at a common time, the first value representing total product quantity according to a logistical unit of measure for inventory control, the second value representing total product quantity according to a valuation unit of measure, wherein the first and second values are related to each other according to a variable conversion factor between them; responsive to an order, received at a computer running a catch-weight management program, for a quantity of the product, the order identifying the quantity according to the valuation unit of measure: converting the identified order quantity to a second quantity in the logistical unit of measure based on an estimated conversion factor between the logistical unit of measure and the valuation unit of measure; verifying availability of the second quantity of the product from an inventory control database; receiving a measurement in the valuation unit of measure of an actual amount of the second quantity of the product selected to fill the order; determining whether any of the product remains after the actual amount of the second quantity is deducted from the inventory to fill the order, based on a difference between the first value and the second quantity, and updating the inventory management record to include a new pair of values, wherein if there is product remaining, the new first value reflecting the difference between the first value and the second quantity, the new second value reflecting a difference between the second value and the received measurement, and if there is no product remaining, both new values indicating there is no more product in inventory; computing a valuation of the actual amount of the second quantity based on the received measurement.