Patent ID: 8024064

Claim:
A method, comprising the steps of: scanning a product identifier from an inbound inventory into a computer system, where the inbound inventory is to be stocked in a materials handling facility; determining, in the computer system, at least one available inventory location in the materials handling facility that presents a lowest cost for storage of the inbound inventory by performing the steps of: identifying a plurality of available inventory locations for storage of the inbound inventory; calculating a cost associated with the storage of the inbound inventory in each one of the available inventory locations using a cost function wherein cost is calculated as a function of at least a stocking productivity associated with the inbound inventory in the respective available inventory locations; and identifying the at least one available inventory location as the available inventory location associated with a lowest calculated cost; stocking the inbound inventory in the at least one available inventory location contemporaneously with the determination of the at least one available inventory location in the computer system that presents the lowest cost for storage of the inbound inventory in the materials handling facility; and where a pool of the available inventory locations that may be used to store the inbound inventory in the materials handling facility changes over time.