Providing replacement tangible resource to a device

Abstract

Example implementations relate to tangible resources. For example, a method includes receiving, at a computer, a cumulative consumption value of a tangible resource from a device that consumes the tangible resource. The method also includes calculating a plurality of variable values by way of the cumulative consumption value, a statistically derived depletion quantity of the tangible resource, and an estimated time to ship a supply of replacement tangible resource to the device to form calculated variable values such that the calculating is performed at least in part by the computer. The method further includes causing the supply of replacement tangible resource to be shipped to the device in accordance with the calculating.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method performed using a computer, the method comprising:
 receiving, at the computer, a cumulative consumption value of a tangible resource from a device that consumes the tangible resource;   calculating a plurality of variable values by way of the cumulative consumption value, a statistically derived depletion quantity of the tangible resource, and an estimated time to ship a supply of replacement tangible resource to the device to form calculated variable values such that the calculating is performed at least in part by the computer; and   causing the supply of replacement tangible resource to be shipped to the device in accordance with the calculating.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein one of the variable values includes a job buffer value that is calculated based on a client subscription quantity, a first consumption rate, and a second consumption rate. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein one of the variable values includes a quantity of the tangible resource that is to be consumed by the device between a replacement shipment trigger and a delivery of the supply of replacement tangible resource at a customer location, and wherein the quantity of the tangible resource is calculated based on a first statistically derived depletion quantity of the tangible resource, a constant in the range of −1 to 1, a second statistically derived depletion quantity of the tangible resource that is greater than the first statistically derived depletion quantity, a job buffer value of the tangible resource, and an estimated weight of the tangible resource. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein one of the variable values includes an estimated consumption value of the tangible resource at a time of arrival of the supply of replacement tangible resource at a client based on consistent consumption, wherein the estimated consumption value is calculated based on a difference between a first statistically derived depletion quantity of the tangible resource and an estimated weight of the tangible resource. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the device and the computer are coupled to communicate with each other by way of a computer network. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving, at the computer, status information from the device;   determining if the status information includes a specific request for the supply of replacement tangible resource; and   causing the supply of replacement tangible resource to be shipped to the device in accordance with the determining.   
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the causing the supply of replacement tangible resource to be shipped to the device includes transmitting an instruction from the computer to a supplier entity. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising communicating a credential packet from the computer to the device, the credential packet including at least one of the calculated variable values. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein the credential packet indicates whether a shipment of the supply of replacement tangible resource to the device has been triggered. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein one of the variable values includes a fulfillment trigger (FT) value corresponding to a cumulative consumption of the tangible resource that triggers a shipment of the supply of replacement tangible resource to the device, the credential packet including the FT value. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein one of the variable values includes a request supply fulfillment (RSF) value corresponding to a cumulative consumption of the tangible resource that triggers the device to transmit a request for the supply of replacement tangible resource to the computer, the credential packet including the RSF value. 
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein one of the variable values includes a trigger expected (TE) value corresponding to a cumulative consumption of the tangible resource that triggers the device to indicate to a user that a shipment of the supply of replacement tangible resource is recommended, the credential packet including the TE value. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 8 , wherein one of the variable values includes a fulfillment at home (FAH) value corresponding to an estimated cumulative consumption of the tangible resource at a time of delivery of a shipment of the supply of replacement tangible resource to the device, the credential packet including the FAH value. 
     
     
         14 . A tangible storage medium including a machine-readable program code, the program code to cause a computer to:
 receive, from a device, a cumulative consumption value for a tangible resource corresponding to a supply of the tangible resource at the device;   calculate a plurality of variable values by way of the cumulative consumption value for the tangible resource, a statistically derived depletion quantity for the tangible resource, and an estimated time to ship a supply of replacement tangible resource to the device to form calculated variable values; and   cause the supply of replacement tangible resource to be shipped to the device in accordance with the calculating, wherein causing the supply of replacement tangible resource to be shipped includes transmitting an instruction from the computer to a supplier entity.   
     
     
         15 . The tangible storage media according to  claim 14 , the program code to further cause the computer to communicate a credential packet to the device, the credential packet including the calculated variable values.