Patent ID: 8731707

Claim:
A fulfillment system, for moving inventory items to at least one unloading station in response to a fulfillment order, the system comprising: an input device for entering identification information about a plurality of the inventory items; a plurality of holders, each holder dimensioned for receipt and holding of one of the inventory items, wherein each holder is a clamp; at least one storage area configured to store at least one of the plurality of holders; at least one loading station configured for placing each of the inventory items into one of said holders; a controller configured for creating and storing a first association between each of the entered identification information and each of the holders in which each of the inventory items is placed; a selector and transporter, responsive to said fulfillment order and the first association, configured to select at least one of the holders holding the inventory items which correspond to the fulfillment order, and configured to transport the at least one of the holders from the at least one storage area to the at least one unloading station; and a machine readable identifying means; wherein the identifying means includes holder information which, in combination with the entered identification information on the inventory item, enables selection of the inventory item, and wherein the first association uniquely associates each of the entered identification information with a unique identifier of each of the clamps.