Systems, methods and computer-program products for automation of dispatch of shipment delivery order

摘要

Various embodiments of the present invention provide system, methods and computer-program products for dispatching of shipment delivery order with a pre-determined service window to a single delivery agent of a common carrier. In general, various embodiments of the invention involve minimizing the cost of delivery while satisfying service conditions by determining and comparing the costs of shipment delivery if it were performed by any of the delivery agents in the existing common carrier's fleet, taking into account various factors, such as current and future load and route of each delivery agent, type of vehicle of delivery agent, geographical location of delivery agent at the time of dispatch decision, predicted route of the delivery agent, predicted loading and unloading times for package shipment, and data obtained by statistical analysis of prior service data. Other embodiments of the invention involve calculating the optimal time for making an automated dispatch decision by the computer-program product. Yet other embodiments of the invention involve determination of optimal time for delivery agent to start delivery of a package shipment.

主权项

1. A method for dispatching of a shipment delivery order from a single point of origin to a single point of destination where the entire delivery including obtaining a shipment from the sender, carrying it to the destination, and handing it to the receiver is performed by a single agent, dispatching such order to the delivery agent of a common carrier whose fleet consists of at least two such agents who can deliver the order, the method comprising the steps of:
Step 1. Receiving the information about the delivery order from the customer of a common carrier and storing this information in computer memory Step 2. Receiving the information on the plurality of other delivery orders dispatched to each delivery agent of a common carrier which are not yet delivered at the time of receiving the order Step 3. Receiving the information on the current geographical location of each delivery agent of the common carrier Step 4. Storing in computer memory the information of available delivery routes within delivery area and geographical positions of those routes Step 5. Determining the future route and times of arrival at various waypoints on the route of each delivery agent by at least one computer processor Step 6. Selecting and storing in computer memory a subset of delivery agents that have the capability to satisfy order service window and other conditions associated with the order Step 7. Determining a plurality of costs that would be incurred by the common carrier and/or delivery agent if the delivery order were dispatched to each of the delivery agents by adding the costs incurred by any driving distance, loading and unloading time and expenses and any other additional expenses associated with order delivery Step 8. Selecting the delivery agent for an order dispatch with minimum costs incurred by delivering the shipment from the subset of those agents selected in Step 5.