Patent ID: 7848968

Claim:
A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform: receiving information about a set of returned rental items that a first set of customers have returned to a rental item provider after renting the items; predicting a subset of the returned rental items that the rental item provider will need to provide in the future to a set of second customers, wherein the predicting is based on information about orders for rental items but not based on outstanding orders for the subset of the returned rental items from the set of second customers; creating and storing a record in a computer of the subset of the returned rental items; causing the returned rental items, less the subset, to be returned to an inventory of rental items, and causing the subset of the returned rental items to be provided to an order shipment station that processes orders of the set of second customers without first returning the subset of the returned rental items to an inventory of rental items by generating and sending one or more commands to one or more sorting machines at a rental return station to move a number of rental items, equivalent to the predicted subset of the returned rental items, to one or more bins associated with the one or more sorting machines.