US Patent 10229385 Free location item and storage retrieval

Inventory is managed to minimize the footprint of storage spaces affected by variable production volumes and high inventory turnover. A warehouse includes a plurality of storage spaces for storage of items in the inventory. In response to receiving a request to store or retrieve a particular item, a recommended storage space in the warehouse can be determined for the particular item. The determination can be at least partially based on one or more user-defined facts, one or more user-defined rules, and a current state of the warehouse at the time the item location request is received. The user-defined facts can relate to an item, the inventory, the plurality of storage spaces, and/or the warehouse. The user-defined rules can be configured to dynamically assign storage spaces to the warehouse based at least partially on user-defined indications of how items will be consumed during a workflow performed within the warehouse.