Patent ID: 8249917

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for processing requests in a fulfillment network having plural fulfillment resources with which to fulfill the requests, the computer-implemented method comprising: under control of one or more computer systems configured with executable instructions, defining, via an outer loop, at least one set point target defining at least one load balancing target; and allocating requests, via a series of inner loops, to respective fulfillment resources in the fulfillment network, the series of inner loops to: receive the at least one set point target that defines the at least one load balancing target for at least one of the fulfillment resources; monitor existing assignments in the fulfillment network to determine a cost value for each of the fulfillment resources, the cost value based at least in part on an error value that represents a difference between the set point target and a volume of orders that have been assigned to a respective fulfillment resource; and assign each of the requests to one or more of the fulfillment resources based at least in part on the assignment information and said at least one set point target, wherein the inner loops that determine the error value, determine the cost value, and assign the orders operate independent from one another, and wherein the requests correspond to respective instructions by entities to perform one or more actions with respect to one or more items of merchandise, wherein the series of inner loops process individual merchandise orders while the outer loop processes aggregated merchandise orders representing an operation of the fulfillment network as a whole.