Patent ID: 7668727

Claim:
A method of optimizing loads to be delivered on a particular date to a particular destination in response to a plurality of requisitions for various items to be delivered from various vendors to various destinations, said method comprising: Determining a demand for one or more items that are needed at a particular destination during a time period; Identifying requisitions of the one or more items to be delivered to the particular destination from a vendor on a particular date corresponding to the time period; Consolidating, by a processor, the requisitions for the particular date to create one or more optimized loads and a partial load, said created loads being optimized for container capacity; Determining a horizon date subsequent to the particular date; Consolidating, by a processor, the partial load with at least one requisition for a date later than the particular date but not later than the horizon date to create an additional optimized load, thereby creating a delivery schedule of optimized loads for the particular date; and Displaying the delivery schedule of optimized loads on a display device, wherein an operator either confirms or edits the delivery schedule based on the displayed delivery schedule of optimized loads.