JP6101847B1 - Delivery company selection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a delivery company selection device. A delivery company selection device according to the present invention is connected to at least one package owner terminal and at least one delivery company terminal via a communication network, and from at least one package owner terminal to a delivery destination. A receiving unit that receives a package delivery request including a geographical identifier and a delivery address and a desired delivery time, a geographical identifier of at least one delivery destination that can be delivered by at least one delivery company, and a deliverable schedule An acquisition unit for acquiring delivery company information from a database storing delivery company information including information, and a geographical identifier of a delivery destination and a desired delivery time in a delivery request received from at least one package owner terminal; A comparison unit that compares the geographic identifier and schedule information included in the delivery company information, and the comparison result And a selection unit that selects at least one delivery company that delivers the package to the delivery destination. [Selection] FIG.

Description

The present invention also relates to the delivery company selection equipment.

  In daily life, a wide variety of deliveries are made by delivery companies. For example, a delivery service such as a courier service or a delivery service, a postal delivery performed at a predetermined time every day, a retail store where orders are repeated many times. Japan's domestic freight transportation relies largely on trucking and is an essential component for the economy and society. Efficiency of transportation is an important issue for companies, stakeholders directly involved in logistics, and general consumers, and the expectation of cost reduction in the delivery planning problem is extremely high.

  In addition, with the recent economic development, human life behavior has become diversified, and logistics activities that support people's diverse lives must be diversified. For example, there is a need for reform of the logistics system such as the penetration of e-commerce accompanying the spread of IT and the demand for advanced logistics services such as Just-in-Time transportation. Further, companies that perform delivery operations frequently increase small-lot delivery to meet these demands, and inefficient delivery operations are often performed.

  Here, when the package owner requests the delivery company for delivery, every time a delivery company that meets the delivery conditions desired by the package owner, such as time, package type, handling, and means of transportation, is delivered. Searching is an overwhelming burden on the package owner and is not a realistic solution. In particular, regarding a delivery request that requires the use of a direct delivery route that does not depend on a regular delivery route such as a spot flight or a charter flight, it is difficult to instantaneously and stably secure a carrier that satisfies the desired delivery conditions.

  On the other hand, from the delivery trader side, especially for freight vehicle carriers engaged in direct delivery services such as spot flights, there is an empty time without delivery work, so an efficient method of attracting customers that can reduce standby time Is desired.

  Therefore, the conditions of delivery companies such as delivery time, delivery area, deliverable weight, delivery capacity, feasible incidental service, etc. of multiple delivery companies are aggregated for each delivery time of the package owner, and the delivery company It is desirable to have a system that matches these conditions with the package owner's desired delivery conditions.

  For example, Patent Document 1 teaches an information processing system that executes a partner selection method.

  In the information processing system disclosed in Patent Document 1, a storage unit that stores a plurality of print partners that are orders for printing work of printed materials and information that measures the production capacity of the printed partner's printed materials in association with each other; Based on the information for measuring the production capacity, a print partner selection means for selecting one print partner capable of printing the printed matter within a predetermined delivery date, and ordering the printing work for the printed matter to the selected print partner via the network. The print partner selecting means is capable of printing a printed product within a predetermined delivery date based on information for measuring the production capacity of the print partner from among the plurality of print partners after the order is placed. Re-select alternative print partners.

JP 2013-196669 A

  However, the information processing system of Patent Document 1 is based on the conditions of delivery companies such as delivery time, delivery area, delivery weight, delivery capacity, feasible incidental services, etc. It is not possible to make a match between the conditions of the delivery company and the delivery request conditions of the package owner by counting at each desired time.

Accordingly , the present invention is a delivery company selection device connected to at least one package owner terminal and at least one delivery company terminal via a communication network,
A receiving unit that receives a delivery request for a package including a geographical identifier of a delivery destination, a desired delivery time, a package attribute, and contents of an incidental service from the at least one package owner terminal;
Geographic identifier of at least one delivery destination that can be delivered by the at least one delivery company, schedule information that can be delivered for each vehicle belonging to the delivery company, and at least one package that can be delivered by the at least one delivery company An acquisition unit for obtaining the delivery company information from a database storing delivery company information including attributes and contents of at least one supplementary service executable by the at least one delivery company when delivering the package ;
The delivery company information obtained from the database with the geographical identifier of the delivery destination in the delivery request received from the at least one package owner terminal, the desired delivery time, the package attribute in the delivery request, and the contents of the incidental service, respectively. A comparison unit for comparing the geographical identifier , the schedule information, the package attribute included in the delivery company information, and the incidental service included in
Based on the result of the comparison, it sees contains a selector for selecting at least one delivery company delivers the parcel to the delivery destination,
The at least one supplementary service that can be executed by the at least one delivery company included in the delivery company information at the time of delivery of the package includes information on the presence / absence of a hoist handling capability, a construction handling capability, and a network setting handling capability. the including, a delivery company selection device.

  According to the present invention, conditions of delivery companies such as delivery time, delivery area, delivery weight, delivery capacity, feasible incidental service, etc. of a plurality of delivery companies are aggregated for each delivery time of the package owner. Thus, it is possible to match the conditions of the delivery company and the desired delivery conditions of the package owner.

It is a figure which shows the network structure of the delivery plan optimization system according to embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the delivery plan server. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the database server 114. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of Web servers 110, 116, and 124. FIG. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the delivery company terminal 120 and the package owner terminal 128. It is a figure which shows the delivery company information stored in the delivery company attribute database. It is a figure which shows the schedule information of delivery company 104-i stored in the delivery company schedule table 304. FIG. It is a figure which shows the schedule information for every time slot | zone of each vehicle of delivery company 104-i. It is a figure which shows the package attribute stored in the package attribute database. It is a figure which shows the delivery request data stored in the delivery request data database 312. It is a figure which shows the breakdown of the incidental service which delivery company 104-i shown in delivery company information can perform. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of a process of the delivery plan optimization method according to this embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the delivery plan optimization process according to this embodiment.

  While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. However, the description herein of exemplary embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but is intended to be construed as limiting the invention as defined by the claims. Includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope.

(1) Overall Network Configuration FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a network configuration of a delivery plan optimization system according to this embodiment.

The delivery plan optimization system 100 communicates with a delivery plan center 102, a delivery company 104-i (i = 1,..., N _dis ), and a package owner 106-j (j = 1,..., N _pro ). Network 108. The delivery plan center 102 includes a Web server 110, a delivery plan server 112, and a database server 114. Each delivery company 104-i includes a Web server 116, a database server 118, a delivery company terminal 120, and an input / output (I / O) interface 122 connected to the delivery company terminal 120. Each package owner 106-j includes a Web server 124, a database server 126, a package owner terminal 128, and an input / output (I / O) interface 130 connected to the package owner terminal 128. The package owner terminal 128 is used by the package owner 106-j to send a package delivery request to the delivery planning center 102, and the delivery company terminal 120 is used by the delivery company 104-i in the database server 114 of the delivery planning center 102. Used to register own delivery company information. The delivery company index i and the package owner index j correspond to the delivery company id and the package owner id, respectively.

  The communication network 108 may be a circuit switched network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN) or a packet based network such as the Internet. The delivery company terminal 120 and the package owner terminal 128 are a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant, a text messaging device, a pager, a network interface card, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, and a personal digital assistant. (PDA) may be used. The carrier terminal 120 and the package owner terminal 128 communicate by exchanging information via an air interface (or wireless communication link) that includes several channels, such as a traffic channel, a signaling channel, a paging channel, etc. can do.

  The air interface channel is defined according to one or more wireless communication protocols used by the communication network 108. For example, an air interface channel operating according to code division multiple access (CDMA) is defined by an orthogonal code that modulates a radio signal used to transmit information over the air interface. The air interface channel may also be determined by the frequency of the carrier used to transmit information over the air interface. For example, in orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), one or more customer terminals 106-i may share multiple orthogonal frequencies or tones.

  The delivery planning center 102 may be, for example, a server room of a logistics company or an administrative organization. The Web server 110 receives an HTTP request from the Web browser of the delivery company terminal 120 and the package owner terminal 128 and returns the response. The delivery plan server 112 executes business logic in response to a processing request from the Web server 110 and makes a data reference or update request to the database server 114 if necessary. The database server 114 mainly manages data, performs data reference and update processing requests from the Web server 110, and returns the results. The delivery plan server 112 can be implemented by a computer such as a personal computer or a workstation, selects a delivery company 104-i that handles the delivery in response to the delivery request received from the package owner 106-j, and delivers the delivery company. The delivery route is optimized every 104-i.

  The delivery company 104-i may be, for example, a delivery center (depot) having a plurality of vehicles such as trucks and trailers. The Web server 116 receives an HTTP request from the terminal of the delivery plan center 102 or the Web browser of the package owner terminal 128 and returns a response. The database server 118 manages data, executes data reference and update processing requests from the Web server 116, and returns the results. The database server 118 displays a delivery request from the package owner 106-j, a delivery request history for each package owner 106-j, a delivery status for each delivery request, schedule information of vehicles belonging to the package owner 106-j, and the like. Storing.

  The package owner 106-j may be a production base such as a factory that supplies goods to a plurality of delivery destinations such as a store. The Web server 124 receives an HTTP request from the terminal of the delivery plan center 102 or the Web browser of the delivery company terminal 120 of the delivery company 104-i, and returns a response. The database server 126 manages data, executes data reference and update processing requests from the Web server 124, and returns the results. The database server 126 stores a delivery destination and delivery time for each package, a delivery status for each package, and the like.

  The I / O interfaces 122 and 130 may be a barcode scanner, a receipt printer, a journal printer, a cash drawer, a customer display, a touch panel, or the like.

  When a request is first received from the browser of the delivery company terminal 120 of the delivery company 104-i or the package owner terminal 128 of the package owner 106-j, the delivery plan server 112 identifies an identifier for uniquely identifying the browser. And the identifier is passed to the Web application on the Web server 110. Thereafter, the Web server 110 holds information about the Web browser in an external resource that can be shared with the delivery plan server 112 and is permanent, using the identifier as a key. The Web server 110 passes the identifier received from the delivery plan server 112 to the browser of the delivery company terminal 120 or the package owner terminal 128. For example, when cookie is used, an identifier can be set for the cookie in the delivery plan server 112 by passing the cookie as an argument when the Web server 110 and the delivery plan server 112 are called. When a request is made again from the browser of the delivery company terminal 120 or the package owner terminal 128, information can be acquired by referring to the external resource based on the identifier set in the delivery plan server 112.

(2) Delivery Plan Server FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the delivery plan server 112. As shown in FIG.

  The delivery plan server 112 includes a CPU 202, a memory 204, a storage device 206, an input unit 208, an output unit 210, a transmission / reception interface (I / F) 212, a delivery company information acquisition unit 214, and a comparison unit 216. , A delivery company selection unit 218, a delivery company route optimization unit 220, a geographic identifier generation unit 222, and a map data generation unit 224. The storage device 206 may be a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, a flash memory, or the like that stores various data and programs. The CPU 202 implements various functions by reading the program stored in the storage device 206 into the memory 204 and executing it. The transmission / reception interface 212 is an interface for connecting to the communication network 108, and is an adapter for connecting to Ethernet (registered trademark), a modem for connecting to a public telephone line network, or the like. The input unit 208 may be a keyboard, mouse, trackball, touch panel, microphone, or the like that accepts data input. The output unit 210 may be a display, a printer, a speaker, or the like that outputs data.

  The transmission / reception I / F 212 receives the delivery company information indicating the attribute of the delivery company 104-i from the delivery company terminal 120, sends the delivery company information to the database server 114, and the database server 114 registers the delivery company information. . Further, the transmission / reception I / F 212 receives a delivery request for requesting delivery of the package from the package owner terminal 128. The transmission / reception I / F 212 sends the received delivery request to the database server 114 and the comparison unit 216. The delivery request includes at least a geographical identifier and a delivery address of the delivery destination and a desired delivery time. In addition to the above, the delivery request may include a delivery request id, a package owner id, a package attribute, contents of an incidental service, and the like.

  The delivery company information acquisition unit 214 refers to the delivery company attribute database 302 of the database server 114, and at least the geographical identifier of one or more delivery destinations to which the delivery company 104-i can deliver and the delivery schedule. Acquire delivery company information including information. The delivery company information acquisition unit 214 sends the delivery company information acquired from the delivery company attribute database 302 to the comparison unit 216. In addition to the above, the delivery company information may include the address of the delivery company (geographic identifier), the number of employees, the number of vehicles, the total weight capacity, the total volume capacity, deliverable package attributes, feasible incidental services, etc. good.

  The comparison unit 216 receives the geographical identifier of the delivery destination and the desired delivery time in the delivery request received from the package owner 106-j and the geographical identifier and delivery of the delivery destination included in the delivery company information acquired from the delivery company attribute database 302. The schedule information of the vehicle of the trader 104-i is respectively compared. More specifically, the comparison unit 216 includes the geographical identifier of the delivery destination included in the delivery request among the geographical identifiers of one or more delivery destinations that can be delivered by the delivery agent included in the delivery agent information. It is determined whether or not it is included. Further, the comparison unit 216 determines whether or not the desired delivery time of the package owner 106-j included in the delivery request is included in the deliverable time of the deliverable schedule information included in the delivery company information of the delivery company 104-i. It may be determined. Further, the comparison unit 216 determines whether or not the package attribute included in the delivery request is included in one or more package attributes that can be delivered by the delivery company included in the delivery company information of the delivery company 104-i. You may judge. Further, the comparison unit 216 executes the contents of the supplementary service desired by the package owner 106-j included in the delivery request when the delivery company included in the delivery company information of the delivery company 104-i delivers the package. It may be determined whether it is included in one or more possible supplementary services. The comparison unit 216 sends the comparison result to the delivery company selection unit 218.

  Based on the comparison result from the comparison unit 216, the delivery company selection unit 218 selects one or more delivery companies that deliver the package to the delivery destination as candidates. When selecting a delivery company corresponding to each delivery request, the delivery company selection unit 218 creates a delivery request sequence for each delivery company 104-i. The delivery company selection unit 218 sends the created delivery request sequence for each delivery company 104-i to the geographic identifier generation unit 222 and the delivery company route optimization unit 220.

The geographic identifier generation unit 222 receives the geographical identifier of the delivery company 104-i selected by the delivery company selection unit 218 and the sequence of the delivery destination geographic identifier included in the delivery request corresponding to the delivery company 104-i. Generate. As the geographical identifier, for example, a postal code can be used. The system according to the present embodiment may further use latitude and longitude information acquired from GPS (Global Positioning System) in addition to the zip code. The geographic identifier generation unit 222 uses the “delivery request id” k (k = 1,...) Of the delivery request corresponding to the delivery company 104-i from the delivery request sequence for each delivery company 104-i created by the delivery company selection unit 218. , N _or ) sequence. The geographic identifier generation unit 222 acquires latitude and longitude information from the GPS based on the address of the delivery company information acquired from the delivery company attribute database 302, and based on the latitude and longitude information and the zip code of the delivery company information. The geographical identifier of the delivery company 104-i is generated. Further, the geographic identifier generation unit 222 acquires latitude and longitude information from the GPS based on the delivery address of the delivery request acquired from the delivery request data database 312 according to the specified “delivery request id” k. From the latitude and longitude information and the postal code of the delivery request, a geographical identifier of the delivery destination for each delivery company 104-i is generated. The geographic identifier generation unit 222 sends the generated geographic identifier of the delivery company 104-i and the geographic identifier of the delivery destination for each delivery company 104-i to the map data generation unit 224 and the delivery company route optimization unit 220.

  Based on the geographical identifier of the delivery company 104-i received from the geographical identifier generation unit 222 and the geographical identifier of the delivery destination for each delivery company 104-i, the map data generation unit 224 generates the delivery company 104-i and the delivery. The peripheral map data of the delivery destination for each trader 104-i is generated. The map data generation unit 224 sends the generated delivery company 104-i and the surrounding map data of the delivery destination for each delivery company 104-i to the delivery company route optimization unit 220.

  The delivery company route optimization unit 220 specifies the delivery destination for each delivery company 104-i from the delivery request sequence for each delivery company 104-i received from the delivery company selection unit 218. The delivery company route optimization unit 220 receives the geographical identifier of the delivery company 104-i received from the geographic identifier generation unit 222 and the geographical identifier of the delivery destination for each delivery company 104-i and the map data generation unit 224. Based on the surrounding map data of the delivery company 104-i and the surrounding map data of the delivery destination for each delivery company 104-i, at least the moving distance d (s, t) from the delivery destination s to the delivery destination t, the delivery destination The travel time T (s, t) from s to the delivery destination t is calculated. The delivery company route optimization unit 220 is based on at least the travel distance d (s, t) and the travel time T (s, t), and a delivery plan problem with a time window when a plurality of vehicles travel around the delivery destination ( Solve the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Window. The delivery company route optimization unit 220 optimizes the delivery route for each vehicle used for delivery of the package at the delivery company selected by the delivery company selection unit 218.

(3) Database server 114
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the database server 114.

  The database server 114 includes a delivery company attribute database 302, a delivery company schedule table 304, a delivery company vehicle schedule table 306, an optimized route data database 308, a package owner attribute database 310, and a delivery request data database 312. A package owner delivery request history data database 314, a package attribute database 316, and a map data database 318. Delivery company attribute database 302, delivery company schedule table 304, delivery company vehicle schedule table 306, and route optimization data database 308 form a delivery company information area indexed by “delivery company id” i, and the package owner. The attribute database 310, the delivery request data database 312 and the package owner delivery request history data database 314 form a package owner information area indexed by the “package owner id” j, and the package attribute database 316 and the map. Data database 318 forms package attributes and other information areas.

  The delivery company attribute database 302 stores delivery company information received from the delivery company terminal 120 in association with “delivery company id” i. Delivery company information includes delivery company address and geographic identifier, deliverable geographic identifier, number of employees, number of vehicles, total weight capacity, total volume capacity, deliverable package attributes, feasible incidental services, etc. .

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing delivery company information stored in the delivery company attribute database 302. The delivery company information is displayed on a display device with a touch panel in the form as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the above items are stored for each delivery company 104-i. For example, the delivery company 104-1 has an address of “Tokyo Chiyoda-ku Kasumigaseki ○-○-○” and a geographical identifier of “100-xxxx”. Further, 100-xxx 1, 100-xxx 2, etc. are stored as geographical identifiers that can be delivered. The number of employees is 1000 and the number of vehicles is 100. The total weight capacity is 200 [t], and the total volume capacity is 2000 “m ³ ”. The deliverable package attribute is a package specified by “package ID” o = 1 to 10,000. The delivery company 104-1 can execute an incidental service at the time of package delivery.

  Here, when the geographical identifier “100-xxxx” of the delivery company 104-1 shown in FIG. 6 is touched, a map around the delivery company 104-1 is displayed, and a deliverable geographic identifier is displayed. When “100-XXX1, 100-XXX2, etc.” is touched, a map of an area where the delivery company 104-1 can deliver is displayed. When the number of employees “1000” is touched, a list of employees is displayed, and when the number of vehicles “100” is touched, a breakdown of the vehicles is displayed.

When the symbol “◯” of an executable incidental service is touched, a breakdown of the executable incidental services as shown in FIG. 11 is displayed. For example, it is shown that the delivery company 104-1 can execute any one of “1” support for hoist ”,“ 2 ”support for construction”, and 3 “support for network setting”. "Responsible" only can be performed, delivery company 104-3 is shown to be able to perform only 1 "Hoist Handling", and delivery company 104-N _dis has 1 "Hoist Handling", It is shown that both 2 “work support” and 3 “network setting support” can be executed. 1 “Supporting hoist” means that, for example, when a grand piano with a large width is delivered, it is not possible to carry it from a narrow entrance to a delivery destination on a higher floor. This is an incidental service when a hoist is used when power transmission equipment is installed at the height of a power transmission tower. 2 “Construction support” is an incidental service when, for example, installing an air conditioner and an outdoor unit when delivering an air conditioner. 3 “Network setting support” is an incidental service for setting an in-house LAN when delivering a server and a plurality of personal computers, for example.

The delivery company schedule table 304 stores the daily schedule of the delivery company 104-i in association with the “delivery company id” i, and the delivery company vehicle schedule table 306 stores the schedule of the vehicle of the delivery company 104-i. Each time zone is stored in association with “deliverer id” i. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing schedule information of the delivery company 104-i stored in the delivery company schedule table 304. The schedule information of the delivery company 104-i is displayed on a display device with a touch panel in the form as shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, a day when there is a vacancy in the schedule of the delivery company 104-i (delivery is possible) is indicated by a symbol “◯”, and there is no vacancy in the schedule of the delivery company 104-i (delivery is impossible). The day is indicated by the symbol “x”. When any one of the symbols “◯” of the schedule information in FIG. 7 is touched, schedule information for each time zone of each vehicle of the delivery company 104-i on that day is shown. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing schedule information for each time zone of each vehicle of the delivery company 104-i. In the schedule information of FIG. 8, each row indicates a vehicle, and each column indicates “maximum loading capacity”, time zone “6: 0 to 9:00”, and time zone “9:00 to 12”, respectively. 0:00 ”, the time zone“ 12: 0 to 15:00 ”, and the time zone“ 15: 0 to 18:00 ”. For example, the vehicle 1 has a maximum loading capacity of 4 [t], a time zone “6: 0 to 9:00”, a time zone “9: 0 to 12:00”, and a time zone “12: 0 to 15:00”. ”And the time zone“ 15: 0 to 18:00 ”, it is shown that delivery is possible. The vehicle 2 has a maximum load capacity of 4 [t] and the time zone“ 6: It is shown that delivery is possible at 00 to 9:00 ”and time zone“ 15:00 to 18:00 ”, and the vehicle 3 has a maximum loading capacity of 10 [t] and the time zone“ 12:00 ”. ˜15: 00 ”and time zone“ 15:00 to 18:00 ”, the vehicle N _veh has a maximum loading capacity of 20 [t] and the time zone“ 6:00 ”. ~ 9: 00 ", time zone" 9:00 to 12:00 ", time zone" 12: 0 to 15:00 ", and time zone" 15: 0 to 18: It is shown that delivery is possible in all time zones of 00 ”.

  The optimized route data database 316 stores the optimum delivery route calculated by the delivery vehicle route optimization unit 220 for each vehicle used for delivery of the package of the delivery company 104-i in association with the “delivery company id” i. doing.

  The package owner attribute database 310 includes the address and geographical identifier of the package owner 106-j, the number of employees, the package attributes specified in the delivery request, the delivery request history, the delivery destination and delivery time for each package, The delivery status and the like are stored in association with “package owner id” j.

The delivery request data database 312 includes “delivery request id” k (k = 1,..., N _or ), “package owner id” j (k) (1 ≦ j (k) ≦ N _pro ), delivery destination “Luggage owner id” includes geographical identifier, delivery address, desired delivery time, package attribute (“package ID”) o (k) (1 ≦ o (k) ≦ N _fre ), contents of incidental service, etc. stored in association with j. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing delivery request data stored in the delivery request data database 312. The delivery request data is displayed on a display device with a touch panel in the form as shown in FIG. For example, in the delivery request 1, the “package owner id” is j (1) (“delivery request id” k = 1), the geographical identifier of the delivery destination is 105-xxxx, The address is “Shinbashi in Minato-ku, Tokyo ○-○-○”, the desired delivery time is 9:00 to 12:00 on February 8, 2016, and the package attribute is o (1) (“delivery request id It is indicated that “k = 1) and the required incidental service is 2“ work support ”. “Package owner id” j (k) and package attribute (“package id”) o (k) may be designated as the same for delivery request 1 and delivery request k, respectively. Sometimes specified. The desired delivery time may be specified only on the day or may be specified up to the date and time.

  The package owner delivery request history data database 314 stores delivery request history data sent from the package owner terminal 128 to the delivery planning center 102 in association with the “package owner id” j for each package owner 106-j. doing.

The package attribute database 316 stores package attributes composed of a plurality of groups of package groups having common properties in association with “package id” o (o = 1,..., N _fre ). FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the package attributes stored in the package attribute database 316. The package attribute is displayed on a display device or the like with a touch panel in the form as shown in FIG. For example, the luggage 1 has a weight of 2.0 [t] and a size (dimension) of 1.5 [m] × 2.0 [m] × 1.0 [m], and freezing and refrigeration are unnecessary. It is shown that it is a fragile fragile object and the required incidental service is 2 “for construction”. The luggage 1 may be, for example, a vending machine. The luggage 2 has a weight of 0.05 [t], a size of 0.8 [m] × 0.3 [m] × 0.2 [m], does not require freezing and refrigeration, and is fragile. It is a broken object, and it is shown that the required incidental service is “3 network setting support”. The package 2 may be a client terminal or a server, for example. The baggage N _fre has a weight of 10.0 [t], a size of 4.0 [m] × 2.0 [m] × 2.0 [m], does not require freezing and refrigeration, and is broken It is easy to break, and it is shown that the required incidental services are 1 “for hoist” and 2 “for construction”.

  The map data database 318 stores three-dimensional map data around the point in association with the geographical identifier of each point.

(4) Web server, delivery company terminal, and package owner terminal FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the Web servers 110, 116, and 124.

  Each of the Web servers 110, 116, and 124 includes a CPU 402, a memory 404, a storage device 406, an input unit 408, a transmission / reception interface 410, and an output unit 412. The storage device 406 may be a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, a flash memory, or the like that stores various data and programs. The CPU 402 implements various functions by reading the program stored in the storage device 406 into the memory 404 and executing it. The transmission / reception interface 410 is an interface for connecting to the communication network 108, and is an adapter for connecting to Ethernet (registered trademark), a modem for connecting to a public telephone line network, or the like. The input unit 408 may be a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a touch panel, a microphone, or the like that receives data input. The output unit 412 may be a display, a printer, a speaker, or the like that outputs data.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the delivery company terminal 120 and the package owner terminal 128.

  The delivery company terminal 120 and the package owner terminal 128 each include a CPU 502, a memory 504, a storage device 506, an input unit 508, a transmission / reception interface (I / F) 510, and an output unit 512. The CPU 502 implements various functions by reading the program stored in the storage device 506 into the memory 504 and executing it. The memory 504 includes, for example, a random access memory (RAM) and / or a read only memory (ROM). The storage device 506 includes a tape drive, a floppy drive, a hard disk drive, or a compact disk drive. The input unit 508 receives data input, and includes, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a trackball, a touch panel, a microphone, and the like. The output unit 512 includes, for example, a display or a speaker that outputs data. The delivery company terminal 120 and the package owner terminal 128 connect the transmission / reception interface 510 to an external printer or the like, respectively, so that the delivery company information received from the delivery plan server 112, delivery company schedule, package attributes, and transmitted delivery Request data, executable incidental services, etc. can be printed out.

  The transmission / reception interface 510 accesses the Web server 110 via the communication network 108 and transmits an HTTP request to the Web server 110. Further, the transmission / reception interface 510 responds to the HTTP request from the Web server 110 by inputting “delivery merchant id”, “package owner id”, password, etc. input on the Web browser displayed on the output unit 510. Is sent to the Web server 110. Thereby, the login to the delivery plan server 112 by the delivery company or the package owner is completed.

(5) Outline of Processing FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an outline of processing of the delivery plan optimization method according to the present embodiment.

  The delivery company 104-i provides its own address and geographic identifier, deliverable geographic identifier, number of employees, number of vehicles, total weight capacity, total volume capacity, deliverable package attributes, feasible incidental services, etc. The delivery company information including it is registered in the delivery company attribute database 302.

  The delivery planning center 102 receives a delivery request for a package including a delivery destination geographical identifier, a delivery address, and a desired delivery time from one or more package owners 106-j. The delivery request may include a package attribute (package ID), contents of an incidental service, and the like in addition to the geographical identifier of the delivery destination, the delivery destination address, and the desired delivery time. The delivery plan center 102 acquires delivery agent information including the geographical identifier of at least one delivery destination that can be delivered by the delivery agent 104-i and the schedule information that can be delivered from the delivery agent attribute database 302.

  The delivery plan center 102 includes the geographic identifier of the delivery destination in the delivery request received from the one or more package owners 106-j and the desired delivery time and the delivery company information acquired from the delivery company attribute database 302. The identifier and the schedule information are respectively compared, and one or a plurality of delivery company candidates for delivering the package to the delivery destination are selected based on the comparison result (processing 1). The delivery planning center 102 optimizes the delivery route for each vehicle used for delivery of the package at one or more delivery companies selected above (Process 2).

(5) Delivery Plan Optimization Processing FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing delivery plan optimization processing according to this embodiment.

  Each delivery company 104-i transmits delivery company information from the delivery company terminal 120 to the delivery planning center 102 via the communication network 108. The carrier information includes the address and geographical identifier of the carrier 104-i, one or more geographical identifiers that the carrier 104-i can deliver, the number of employees, the number of vehicles, the total weight capacity, the total volume capacity. , Deliverable package attributes, executable incidental services, etc. The delivery plan server 112 of the delivery plan center 102 registers the received delivery company information in the delivery company attribute database 302 of the database server 114 (step S1304). Here, the total weight capacity and the total volume capacity vary depending on the weight and size of the package to be newly delivered by the delivery company 104-i, and the deliverable package attributes and executable supplementary services are as follows. The vehicle varies depending on what vehicles exist in the target day and time zone among the vehicles of the delivery company 104-i. The delivery plan server 112 refers to the package attribute of the delivery request assigned to the delivery company 104 and the contents of the supplementary service, and the total weight capacity and total volume capacity of the delivery company information, the deliverable package attribute, and the executable The supplementary service may be updated in real time, and the update may be registered in the delivery company attribute database 302.

The transmission / reception interface 212 of the delivery plan server 112 receives a package delivery request including at least the geographical identifier of the delivery destination, the delivery destination address, and the desired delivery time from the package owner terminal 128 of the package owner 106-j ( Step S1306). The delivery request may further include the package attribute and the contents of the incidental service. The delivery plan server 112 sets “delivery request id” to k = 1 (step S1308). The delivery plan server 112 sets counters [m (1),..., M (i),..., M (N _dis )] for each delivery company to [0 _,. The counter for each delivery company is used to specify the delivery request index m (i) for each delivery company 104-i and the total number N _or (i) of delivery requests for each delivery company 104-i. The delivery plan server 112 sets “delivery company id” to i = 1 (step S1312).

The delivery company information acquisition unit 214 of the delivery plan server 112 acquires the delivery company information of the delivery company 104-i from the delivery company attribute database 302 of the database server 114. The delivery company information acquisition unit 214 sends the acquired delivery company information to the comparison unit 216. The comparison unit 216 determines whether or not the geographical identifier included in the delivery request is included in one or more geographical identifiers that can be delivered by the delivery company 104-i of the acquired delivery company information (first order). 1) (step S1314). If the geographical identifier of the delivery request is not included in one or more geographical identifiers that can be delivered, the process proceeds to step S1326, and the delivery plan server 112 determines that “deliverer id” i is N _dis. It is determined whether it is smaller (step S1326). If the geographical identifier of the delivery request is included in one or more geographical identifiers that can be delivered, the process proceeds to step S1316.

The delivery company information acquisition unit 214 of the delivery plan server 112 acquires the vehicle schedule of the delivery company 104-i from the delivery company schedule table 304 and the delivery company vehicle schedule table 306 of the database server 114. The delivery company information acquisition unit 214 sends the acquired vehicle schedule to the comparison unit 216. The comparison unit 216 determines whether or not the desired delivery time included in the delivery request is included in the acquired vehicle schedule of the delivery company 104-i (that is, a delivery schedule) (second determination) ( Step S1316). If the desired delivery time included in the delivery request is not included in the deliverable schedule, the process advances to step S1326, and the delivery plan server 112 determines whether “delivery merchant id” i is smaller than N _dis . Is determined (step S1326). If the desired delivery time included in the delivery request is included in the deliverable schedule, the process advances to step S1318.

The comparison unit 216 of the delivery plan server 112 determines whether the package attribute included in the delivery request is included in the package attributes that can be delivered by the delivery company 104-i included in the delivery company information (third determination). (Step S1318). If the package attribute included in the delivery request is not included in the deliverable package attribute, the process proceeds to step S1326, and the delivery plan server 112 determines whether “delivery merchant id” i is smaller than N _dis . Is determined (step S1326). If the package attribute included in the delivery request is included in the deliverable package attribute, the process proceeds to step S1320.

The comparison unit 216 of the delivery plan server 112 determines whether or not the incidental service included in the distribution request is included in the incidental service that can be executed by the distributor 104-i of the distributor information (fourth determination) ( Step S1320). If the supplementary service included in the delivery request is not included in the executable supplementary service, the process advances to step S1326, and the delivery plan server 112 determines whether “delivery trader id” i is smaller than N _dis . Is determined (step S1326). If the incidental service included in the delivery request is included in the executable incidental service, the process proceeds to step S1322.

The delivery company selection unit 218 of the delivery plan server 112 determines that each of the first determination to the fourth determination is affirmative (the condition of the delivery request is consistent with the requirements of the delivery company information). Is selected as a candidate for delivering the package, and the value of {m (i) +1} is substituted into the value of the counter m (i) for each delivery company (m (i) ← m (i) +1), and the delivery company The value of m (i) is substituted into the total number N _or (i) of another delivery request (step S1322). Alternatively, the delivery company selector 218 determines that at least the results of the first determination and the second determination are positive (the geographical identifier of the delivery request and the desired delivery time are consistent with the requirements of the delivery company information). The delivery agent 104-i may be selected as a candidate for delivering the package.

The delivery company selection unit 218 stores a delivery request R ^(or) (i, m (i)) delivered by the delivery company 104-i for each selected delivery company 104-i (step S1324). The delivery plan server 112 determines whether “delivery company id” i is smaller than N _dis (step S1326). When “delivery company id” i is smaller than N _dis , the delivery plan server 112 performs the process of i ← i + 1 (meaning the process of substituting the value of i + 1 for i. The same applies hereinafter) (step S1328). The processing returns to step S1316. If “delivery company id” i is N _dis or more, the process proceeds to step S1330. Delivery schedule server 112 determines whether the "delivery request id" k is smaller than _{N or} (Step S1330). If “delivery request id” k is smaller than _Nor , the delivery plan server 112 performs the process k ← k + 1 (step S1332), and the process returns to step S1310. If “delivery request id” k is greater than _or equal to Nor, the process proceeds to step S1334. The delivery company selection unit 218 sends the delivery request R ^(or) (i, m (i)) for each selected delivery company 104-i to the geographic identifier generation unit 222.

In the present embodiment, a postal code may be used as the geographical identifier. The geographic identifier generation unit 222 performs a delivery request sequence for each delivery company 104-i.
And a geographical identifier vector sequence for each carrier 104-i
It is generated and stored in the database server 114 (step S1334). Here, r ^(geo) (i, m (i)) is a geographical identifier of the delivery destination of the m (i) -th delivery request delivered by the delivery company 104-i, and x ^(geo) (i, m (i)) is the longitude information of the delivery destination of the m (i) th delivery request delivered by the delivery company 104-i, and y ^(geo) (i, m (i)) is the delivery company 104- i is the latitude information of the delivery destination of the m (i) th delivery request delivered, and D ^(geo) (i, m (i)) is the m (i) th delivery delivered by the delivery company 104-i. The postal code of the request's delivery address.

That is, the geographical identifier generation unit 222 delivers the delivery request delivered by the delivery company 104-i from the delivery request R ^(or) (i, m (i)) for each delivery company 104-i created by the delivery company selection unit 218. The sequence of “delivery request id” k (k = 1,..., N _or ) is specified. The geographic identifier generation unit 222 acquires longitude and latitude information from the GPS based on the address of the delivery company information acquired from the delivery company attribute database 302, and based on the longitude and latitude information and the zip code of the delivery company information. The geographical identifier vector of the delivery company 104-i is generated. Further, the geographical identifier generation unit 222 acquires longitude and latitude information from the GPS based on the delivery address of the delivery request acquired from the delivery request data database 312 according to the specified “delivery request id” k. From the longitude and latitude information and the postal code of the delivery request, a geographical identifier vector sequence of a delivery destination for each delivery company 104-i is generated. The geographical identifier generation unit 222 generates the generated geographical identifier vector of the delivery company 104-i and the geographical identifier vector sequence of the delivery destination for each delivery company 104-i, the map data generation unit 224, and the delivery company route optimization unit 220. Send to.

The delivery company route optimization unit 220 receives the geographic identifier vector of the delivery company 104-i received from the geographic identifier generation unit 222 and the geographic identifier vector sequence of the delivery destination for each delivery company 104-i and the map data generation unit 224. , From the delivery destination s (s = 1,..., N _cu ) to the delivery destination t (t = 1,..., N _cu ), a travel distance d (s, t), a travel time T (s, t) from the delivery destination s to the delivery destination t, and the like. Here, N _cu is the total number of nodes (the delivery company 104-i itself and the delivery destination) in the delivery area of the delivery company 104-i, and 1 is the delivery company 104-i. The delivery company route optimization unit 220 solves the delivery plan problem with a time window when a plurality of vehicles travel around the delivery destination based on at least the travel distance d (s, t) and the travel time T (s, t). solve.

Variables for optimization processing are given as follows. That is, “delivery trader id” is i (i = 1,..., N _dis ), “package owner id” is j (j = 1,..., N _pro ), and “delivery request id” is k (k = 1). ,..., N _or ), “vehicle id” is n (n = 1,..., N _veh ), “package id” is o (o = 1,..., N _fre ), and the delivery company is C (i, 1 ), And the destination is defined as C (i, u) (u = 1 _,. Further, the start time of the visitable time zone to the delivery destination s is b (s), the end time of the visitable time zone to the delivery destination s is e (s), and the service time at the delivery destination s is v (s). , The weight of the package to the delivery destination s is M (s), the maximum load capacity of the delivery vehicle n is L (n), the maximum operation time of the delivery vehicle n is p (n), and the operation time of the delivery vehicle n is z ( n) The arrival time at the delivery destination s is a (s), and the waiting time at the delivery destination s is w (s). Where δ (s, t, n) is
It is defined as Among the above variables, the arrival times a (s) and δ (s, t, n) are variables determined in the course of route optimization.

The delivery company route optimization unit 220 selects, as an objective function, the difference between the total travel distance of the delivery company 104-i's vehicles and the travel time between the vehicles, and executes vehicle scheduling that minimizes the two objective functions. . Therefore, the objective function f (i, s, t, n) representing the total travel distance and the objective function g (i, n) representing the variation in travel time between the vehicles are:
It becomes. (4) adds all the vehicles n that have the largest difference in operating time between the vehicle n and the vehicle q when all possible combinations of the vehicle q are considered for a specific vehicle n. It is a thing.

The optimization criteria executed by the delivery company route optimization unit 220 are:
It becomes.

The constraint conditions for the optimization process performed by the delivery company route optimization unit 220 are:
It becomes.

In the above, (7) is a restriction for assigning a delivery route so that the upper limit of the number of vehicles is N _veh so that the number is not exceeded, and (8) is a vehicle that delivered the package to the delivery destination Is a constraint condition for satisfying that the vehicle does not remain at its delivery destination, (9) is a constraint condition regarding the maximum load capacity of the vehicle n, and (10) is a constraint condition regarding the maximum operation time of the vehicle n. It is.

  Each step of the above method according to the present invention may be performed by an operator terminal (not shown) having a CPU and a memory. In an embodiment of the present invention, the software program used to execute the above method may be stored in a program storage device such as a digital data storage medium, and these program storage devices Are machine-readable or computer-readable, and these computers or machines encode program instructions as machine-executable programs or computer-executable programs, and the encoded program instructions are the method of the present invention. Some or all of these steps are executed. The program storage device can be, for example, a digital storage, a magnetic storage medium such as a magnetic disk and magnetic tape, a hard drive, or an optically readable digital data storage medium.

  The present invention may be software and / or a combination of software and hardware, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), It may be implemented using a general purpose computer, or any other hardware equivalent.

  The above description merely provides a disclosure of specific embodiments of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to only the above embodiments. Accordingly, it is recognized that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but rather, those skilled in the art can devise alternative embodiments that fall within the scope of the present invention.

100: Delivery plan optimization system 102: Delivery plan center 104: Delivery company 106: Package owner 108: Communication network 110: Web server 112: Delivery plan server 114: Database server

Claims (1)

A carrier selection device connected to at least one package owner terminal and at least one carrier terminal via a communication network,
A receiving unit that receives a delivery request for a package including a geographical identifier of a delivery destination, a desired delivery time, a package attribute, and contents of an incidental service from the at least one package owner terminal;
Geographic identifier of at least one delivery destination that can be delivered by the at least one delivery company, schedule information that can be delivered for each vehicle belonging to the delivery company, and at least one package that can be delivered by the at least one delivery company An acquisition unit for obtaining the delivery company information from a database storing delivery company information including attributes and contents of at least one supplementary service executable by the at least one delivery company when delivering the package;
The delivery company information obtained from the database with the geographical identifier of the delivery destination in the delivery request received from the at least one package owner terminal, the desired delivery time, the package attribute in the delivery request, and the contents of the incidental service, respectively. A comparison unit for comparing the geographical identifier, the schedule information, the package attribute included in the delivery company information, and the incidental service included in
Based on the result of the comparison, it sees contains a selector for selecting at least one delivery company delivers the parcel to the delivery destination,
The at least one supplementary service that can be executed by the at least one delivery company included in the delivery company information at the time of delivery of the package includes information on the presence / absence of a hoist handling capability, a construction handling capability, and a network setting handling capability. the including, delivery trader selection device.