A cross-store shopping and unified distribution system and method supporting dynamic business district configuration

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of electronic commerce, in particular to a cross-store selection and purchase and unified distribution system and method supporting dynamic business circle configuration, which comprises a user terminal, a merchant terminal, a rider terminal and a central dispatching server, a business circle is automatically generated through a multi-factor algorithm, and manual configuration of an activity temporary business circle is simultaneously supported; long-term low-efficiency stores are automatically removed by the system, the business circle merchant structure is continuously optimized, low-efficiency stores are prevented from occupying distribution resources, and promotion, daily multi-type operation scenarios are adapted; goods of multiple merchants in the same virtual business circle can be added to the same shopping cart for one-time payment, and the background automatically aggregates the goods into a single distribution task, so that multiple short-distance distribution is integrated into a single cycle of goods taking; the system reduces empty running of the rider, reduces platform performance cost, meanwhile, the user does not need to pay multiple distribution fees, and the consumption willingness is improved; parent order-suborder double-layer data binding is adopted, when a single merchant is out of stock or meal delivery is delayed, only the corresponding suborder is processed, and the rest of goods are normally distributed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of e-commerce technology, specifically to a cross-store shopping and unified delivery system and method that supports dynamic business district configuration. Background Technology

[0002] Existing instant retail e-commerce platforms often use fixed geofences and pre-defined administrative districts to divide delivery areas. The rules of these business districts are rigid and cannot be dynamically adjusted based on promotional activities, store operating status, or order volume. If a user purchases goods from multiple stores in the same area, the platform requires separate orders and separate settlements, resulting in multiple independent delivery orders. Riders need to make multiple trips to the same area to pick up goods, leading to empty runs and a significant increase in delivery costs.

[0003] Secondly, the existing group-buying delivery mechanism only plans the pickup order based on static distance and does not collect data on the merchant's inventory preparation progress. After arriving at the store according to the preset route, riders often encounter situations where the goods have not been picked up or the food has not been prepared, and they can only wait on the spot, which consumes a lot of delivery time. If they prioritize going to stores that are far away but have already prepared the goods, the existing system cannot automatically adjust the route, resulting in an inefficient "rider waiting for goods" mode, which leads to low rider efficiency.

[0004] Meanwhile, traditional business districts lack automated maintenance mechanisms, and stores with consistently low order volumes and overdue inventory continue to occupy the district's delivery resources, slowing down the fulfillment speed of the entire area. After multiple sub-orders are merged, there is a lack of hierarchical data management structure. When a store is out of stock or has a delay in food preparation, the system cannot handle the exception individually, which can easily lead to delays in the delivery of the entire order.

[0005] In summary, existing technologies suffer from drawbacks such as rigid business district configuration, fragmented cross-store transactions, significant losses due to delivery waiting times, and weak multi-order collaborative scheduling capabilities. Summary of the Invention

[0006] (a) Technical problems to be solved

[0007] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a cross-store shopping and unified delivery system and method that supports dynamic business district configuration.

[0008] (II) Technical Solution

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: a cross-store shopping and unified delivery system that supports dynamic business district configuration, including a user terminal, a merchant terminal, a rider terminal and a central dispatch server, wherein the central dispatch server has a built-in virtual business district dynamic configuration module, a cross-store shopping aggregation module, a parent order merging processing engine and a real-time status intelligent dispatch module;

[0010] The virtual business district dynamic configuration module is used to generate logical virtual business districts, bind business district geofences and merchant sets, configure automatic merchant removal rules, and support manual addition and removal of merchants within the business district.

[0011] The cross-store shopping aggregation module is used to identify products from multiple merchants within the same virtual business district and aggregate them into the same shopping cart for unified payment.

[0012] The parent order merging processing engine is used to generate a globally unique parent order, split the parent order into sub-orders corresponding to each merchant, establish a one-to-many mapping relationship between the parent order and multiple sub-orders, and bind all sub-orders to corresponding delivery tasks;

[0013] The real-time status intelligent scheduling module establishes long connections with the merchant terminal and the rider terminal respectively, receives the sub-order preparation status code uploaded by the merchant in real time, dynamically recalculates the rider's pickup route based on the preparation status and pushes it to the rider terminal.

[0014] The user terminal, the merchant terminal, and the rider terminal each interact bidirectionally with the central dispatch server's wireless network.

[0015] Preferably, the multi-factor algorithm input for generating the virtual business district by the virtual business district dynamic configuration module includes the store's geographical coordinates, the travel time of the area's road network, and the correlation degree of users' historical cross-store co-purchase transactions.

[0016] Preferably, the inventory status codes uploaded by the merchant terminal include: pending order, picking in progress, and inventory preparation completed; when the real-time status intelligent scheduling module detects the store's inventory preparation completion signal, it immediately triggers local path recalculation and adjusts the order in which riders pick up goods.

[0017] Preferably, the rider's terminal displays the real-time stocking progress of each store and dynamically updated pickup navigation routes, and has a "confirm and wait" interactive button; after the rider arrives at a store that has not stocked the goods and clicks the button, the system locks the current node and will no longer temporarily reschedule or change the route.

[0018] Preferably, the real-time status intelligent scheduling module initiates a separate processing procedure for out-of-stock or overdue stock preparation for a single sub-order, without affecting the delivery chain of other sub-orders.

[0019] This invention further provides a method for cross-store shopping and unified delivery that supports dynamic business district configuration, comprising the following steps:

[0020] Step 1, Virtual Business District Initialization and Dynamic Maintenance: Virtual business districts are generated based on multi-factor algorithms or manual operation, merchant operation data is checked regularly, inefficient merchants are automatically removed, and temporary business districts for events are supported;

[0021] Step 2, cross-store selection and order aggregation: When a user selects products from multiple merchants in the same virtual business district, the system aggregates them into a single shopping cart for unified payment, generates a parent order, and splits it into multiple sub-orders;

[0022] Step 3: The parent order is issued, and the server generates an initial static pickup route based on the merchant's coordinates and pushes it to the rider's terminal;

[0023] Step 4: Monitor the inventory preparation status of each sub-order in real time, and dynamically recalculate the rider's pickup route based on the store's inventory preparation completion signal.

[0024] Step 5: The rider scans the codes in segments to verify each sub-order, and after all the goods are picked up, they are delivered to the user's address for signature.

[0025] Preferably, in step four, if the nearby store is not stocked but the distant store is stocked, the system replans the route and guides the rider to the distant store that is stocked first, using the distance to offset the waiting time at the nearby store.

[0026] (III) Beneficial Effects

[0027] Compared with existing technologies, the present invention provides a cross-store shopping and unified delivery system and method that supports dynamic business district configuration, and has the following beneficial effects:

[0028] This cross-store shopping and unified delivery system and method supports dynamic business district configuration. It automatically generates business districts through a multi-factor algorithm and also supports manual configuration of temporary business districts for events. The system automatically removes long-term inefficient stores, continuously optimizes the merchant structure of business districts, avoids inefficient stores occupying delivery resources, and is suitable for various business scenarios such as promotions and daily operations.

[0029] Products from multiple merchants within the same virtual shopping district can be added to the same shopping cart and paid for in one go. The backend automatically aggregates them into a single delivery task, integrating multiple short-distance deliveries into a single cycle of pickup. This reduces riders' empty runs, lowers the platform's fulfillment costs, and at the same time, users do not need to pay multiple delivery fees, thus increasing their willingness to consume.

[0030] Abandoning static route planning that relies solely on distance, it uses real-time order fulfillment / picking completion signals from merchants as scheduling triggers, achieving "goods waiting for riders" rather than "riders waiting for goods"; this can reduce riders' waiting time at stores, significantly increase the number of orders delivered per rider per unit time, and solve the problem of slow inventory preparation at single stores dragging down the overall order timeliness;

[0031] A two-tiered data binding system between parent and child orders is adopted. When a merchant is out of stock or has a delayed food preparation, only the corresponding child order is processed, while the rest of the goods are delivered normally. The entire process monitors the status of each child order, reducing issues such as missed or incorrect pickups and difficulty in determining responsibility when picking up goods from multiple stores, thus improving delivery accuracy.

[0032] By shielding users from the complex underlying logic of multi-merchant revenue sharing and multi-order splitting, it provides a one-stop shopping experience, lowers the barriers to cross-store shopping, effectively increases the sales of different categories of goods within the business district, and helps offline stores achieve digital operations. Attached Figure Description

[0033] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structural system of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0034] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0035] Please see Figure 1 A cross-store shopping and unified delivery system that supports dynamic business district configuration includes user terminals, merchant terminals, rider terminals and a central dispatch server. The central dispatch server has built-in virtual business district dynamic configuration module, cross-store shopping aggregation module, parent order merging processing engine and real-time status intelligent dispatch module.

[0036] The Virtual Business District Dynamic Configuration Module is used to build and maintain logical virtual business districts; it stores business district geofences and sets of associated merchants; it supports manually creating temporary business districts and automatically generating regular business districts based on a multi-factor algorithm; it has dynamic adjustment logic: if a merchant has no valid orders for N consecutive days or the average inventory preparation time exceeds a preset threshold, the merchant will be automatically softly removed from the business district activity pool; it supports the operations side to manually add / remove any merchant from a specified virtual business district. The multi-factor algorithm input for generating virtual business districts includes: store geographical coordinates, area road network travel time, and historical cross-store co-purchase transaction correlation.

[0037] Cross-store shopping aggregation module: Deployed at the user terminal and server interaction interface; identifies the virtual business district tag corresponding to the merchant to which the user's selected products belong; if multiple merchants belong to the same virtual business district, aggregate the products of different merchants into the same shopping cart and provide a unified checkout entry; after payment, sends an aggregation request to the parent order merging processing engine.

[0038] Parent order merging processing engine: Establishes a three-layer data mapping structure: a globally unique parent order Parent OrderID, multiple sub-order IDs that are associated one-to-one, and all sub-orders are bound to the same delivery task Delivery TaskID; After verifying that all aggregated products belong to the same virtual business district and the same delivery address, a parent order is generated and split into independent sub-orders for each merchant, and the parent order is pushed to the real-time status intelligent scheduling module;

[0039] Real-time intelligent scheduling module: Establishes long-term heartbeat channels with both merchant and rider terminals; Merchant terminals upload sub-order preparation status codes in real time, including: pending order, picking, and preparation completed; The scheduling module generates an initial static pickup route after receiving the parent order; Continuously monitors the status signals of each sub-order, and if a merchant reports "preparation complete," immediately triggers route recalculation, generates an updated pickup sequence, and pushes it to the rider terminal; The rider terminal displays the real-time preparation progress of each store, recommends the optimal pickup order, and supports route switching interaction buttons; When a single sub-order experiences stockouts or timeouts, an independent exception handling process is triggered without affecting the delivery links of other sub-orders;

[0040] The user terminal, the merchant terminal, and the rider terminal each interact bidirectionally with the central dispatch server's wireless network.

[0041] This invention further provides a method for cross-store shopping and unified delivery that supports dynamic business district configuration, comprising the following steps:

[0042] Step 1, Virtual Business District Initialization and Dynamic Maintenance: Virtual business districts are generated based on multi-factor algorithms or manual operation, geofences are defined and initial merchants are bound; the system periodically traverses the transaction and inventory data of merchants within the business district, and performs soft removal of inefficient merchants; it supports manually creating temporary business districts for activities and freely adding or removing merchants;

[0043] Step 2, Cross-store selection and order aggregation: When a user selects goods from multiple merchants within the same virtual business district, the cross-store selection aggregation module gathers them into the same shopping cart; after the user makes a unified payment, the parent order merging processing engine generates a parent order and splits it into multiple independent sub-orders according to the merchant, establishing a parent-sub-order mapping relationship;

[0044] Step 3: The central dispatch server pushes the complete parent order task to the rider's terminal and calculates the initial serial pickup route based on the geographical coordinates of each merchant.

[0045] Step four involves real-time monitoring of the inventory preparation status of each sub-order and dynamically recalculating the rider's pickup route based on the store's inventory preparation completion signal. Specifically, this includes the following detailed steps:

[0046] The S401 merchant terminal continuously uploads the inventory status of sub-orders to the scheduling module;

[0047] The S402 scheduling module compares the inventory preparation progress of each store in real time and uses three scheduling logics:

[0048] ①Multiple stores complete inventory preparation simultaneously: Prioritize pushing the nearest store as the next pickup node;

[0049] ② If the goods are not ready at the nearby store but are ready at the distant store: The system re-plans the route and guides the rider to the distant store where the goods are ready, using the distance to offset the waiting time at the nearby store;

[0050] ③ Arriving at the store but the goods are not ready: The rider's terminal displays the estimated waiting time and provides a "confirm waiting" interactive button to lock the current node and prevent the system from mis-scheduling;

[0051] Step 5: After the rider arrives at the store to pick up the goods, they scan the code to verify the corresponding sub-order, and the parent order is simultaneously updated to "partially completed" status. The system recalculates the navigation route based on the remaining unpicked sub-orders. After all sub-orders have been verified, the goods are delivered to the user's delivery address for signature verification.

[0052] The present invention further provides embodiments:

[0053] A unified multi-merchant delivery system driven by virtual business districts and inventory status includes a user mobile APP, order-receiving tablets for multiple stores, a rider delivery APP, and a cloud-based central dispatch server.

[0054] The server integrates a virtual business district dynamic configuration module, a cross-store shopping aggregation module, a parent order merging processing engine, and a real-time status intelligent scheduling module.

[0055] The virtual business district dynamic configuration module generates regular business districts based on the geographical coordinates of urban areas, road network travel time, and clustering of merchants who have placed orders in the user's history.

[0056] 618. During the lunch promotion, the operations staff will create a new "CBD Lunch Temporary Business District" in the backend and manually add fast food restaurants, beverage shops, and convenience stores.

[0057] The system calculates the order volume and average food preparation time of stores in the business district every day at midnight. Stores with an average of less than 5 orders per day for 7 consecutive days and a preparation time of more than 15 minutes are automatically removed from the active business district.

[0058] When users select fast food and drinks in the CBD lunch area, the cross-store selection aggregation module identifies two stores belonging to the same virtual business district and merges them into the same shopping cart.

[0059] Once a user completes a payment, the parent order merging processing engine generates a unique parent order ID, splits the order into two sub-orders (fast food restaurant and beverage shop), and sends them to the scheduling module using the same delivery task ID.

[0060] Both stores' tablets upload real-time inventory status updates; assuming the rider's initial route is first the fast food restaurant, then the beverage shop; 2 minutes after the rider departs, the beverage shop reports "Inventory complete," while the fast food restaurant still shows "Picking in progress"; the dispatch module immediately recalculates the route, the rider's app pops up a message "Beverage shop ready, prioritize going there to save 5 minutes of waiting" and updates the navigation; the rider picks up the beverage first, and when they arrive at the fast food restaurant, the goods are ready, without having to wait in place.

[0061] After picking up the goods from both restaurants, the rider delivers them to the user's office building, scans the QR code to verify each of the two sub-orders, and completes the entire order loop. If the fast food restaurant is temporarily out of stock, the system will only issue a refund and restocking notification for the fast food restaurant's sub-orders, and the normal delivery of beverages will not be affected.

[0062] When performing scheduling:

[0063] Users select apples and bottled beverages at a fruit store and a convenience store within the same virtual shopping district.

[0064] When T=0, the rider accepts the order, and the system generates an initial route based on the coordinates: Fruit store (500 meters) → Convenience store (800 meters).

[0065] T=2 On the way to the fruit store, the convenience store merchant clicks "Preparation complete" and uploads status code 2;

[0066] When the scheduling module detects that the fruit store is still picking orders at T=3, it triggers route recalculation, and the rider's app pushes a route switching prompt.

[0067] T=10 The rider arrives at the convenience store and completes pickup and verification; at this time, the fruit store has finished updating and restocking.

[0068] T=15 The rider goes to the fruit store to pick up the goods; after all sub-orders are verified, they are delivered to the user's address.

[0069] It should be noted that the stock preparation status trigger signal is not limited to manual clicks, but can be connected to smart weighing equipment, AI monitoring and recognition of packing actions, and the frequency of user order reminders as scheduling trigger conditions;

[0070] Virtual business districts can be renamed as dynamic delivery grids or temporary group-buying pools, and uniformly categorized as logical delivery areas.

[0071] In addition to unified payment upon order placement, settlement methods can also be adopted, with separate orders placed and the platform making unified advance payments based on credit after delivery.

[0072] In this document, the term "embodiment" means that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The term "embodiment" appearing in various places throughout the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor does it specifically limit its independence or connection with other embodiments. In principle, in this application, as long as there are no technical contradictions or conflicts, the technical features mentioned in each embodiment can be combined in any way to form corresponding implementable technical solutions.

[0073] Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application pertains; the use of related terms herein is merely for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and is not intended to limit this application.

[0074] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention.

Claims

1. A cross-store shopping and unified delivery system supporting dynamic business district configuration, comprising user terminals, merchant terminals, rider terminals, and a central dispatch server, characterized in that, The central dispatch server has a built-in virtual business district dynamic configuration module, a cross-store shopping aggregation module, a parent order merging processing engine, and a real-time status intelligent dispatch module. The virtual business district dynamic configuration module is used to generate logical virtual business districts, bind business district geofences and merchant sets, configure automatic merchant removal rules, and support manual addition and removal of merchants within the business district. The cross-store shopping aggregation module is used to identify products from multiple merchants within the same virtual business district and aggregate them into the same shopping cart for unified payment. The parent order merging processing engine is used to generate a globally unique parent order, split the parent order into sub-orders corresponding to each merchant, establish a one-to-many mapping relationship between the parent order and multiple sub-orders, and bind all sub-orders to corresponding delivery tasks; The real-time status intelligent scheduling module establishes long connections with the merchant terminal and the rider terminal respectively, receives the sub-order preparation status code uploaded by the merchant in real time, dynamically recalculates the rider's pickup route based on the preparation status and pushes it to the rider terminal. The user terminal, the merchant terminal, and the rider terminal each interact bidirectionally with the central dispatch server's wireless network.

2. The cross-store shopping and unified delivery system supporting dynamic business district configuration according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inputs for the multi-factor algorithm of the virtual business district dynamic configuration module to generate the virtual business district include the geographical coordinates of the store, the travel time of the area's road network, and the correlation of users' historical cross-store co-purchase transactions.

3. A cross-store shopping and unified delivery system supporting dynamic business district configuration as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The inventory status codes uploaded by the merchant terminal include: pending order, picking in progress, and inventory preparation completed. When the real-time status intelligent scheduling module detects the signal that the store has completed inventory preparation, it immediately triggers a partial path recalculation and adjusts the order in which riders pick up their orders.

4. A cross-store shopping and unified delivery system supporting dynamic business district configuration as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The rider's terminal displays the real-time stocking progress of each store and dynamically updated pickup navigation routes, and has a "confirm and wait" interactive button. When the rider arrives at a store that has not stocked the goods and clicks the button, the system locks the current node and will no longer temporarily reschedule or change the route.

5. A cross-store shopping and unified delivery system supporting dynamic business district configuration according to claim 4, characterized in that, The real-time status intelligent scheduling module initiates a separate processing procedure for out-of-stock or overdue stock preparation for a single sub-order, without affecting the delivery chain of other sub-orders.

6. A method for cross-store shopping and unified delivery supporting dynamic business district configuration, comprising a cross-store shopping and unified delivery system supporting dynamic business district configuration as described in claim 5, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1, Virtual Business District Initialization and Dynamic Maintenance: Virtual business districts are generated based on multi-factor algorithms or manual operation, merchant operation data is checked regularly, inefficient merchants are automatically removed, and temporary business districts for events are supported; Step 2, cross-store selection and order aggregation: When a user selects products from multiple merchants in the same virtual business district, the system aggregates them into a single shopping cart for unified payment, generates a parent order, and splits it into multiple sub-orders; Step 3: The parent order is issued, and the server generates an initial static pickup route based on the merchant's coordinates and pushes it to the rider's terminal; Step 4: Monitor the inventory preparation status of each sub-order in real time, and dynamically recalculate the rider's pickup route based on the store's inventory preparation completion signal. Step 5: The rider scans the codes in segments to verify each sub-order, and after all the goods are picked up, they are delivered to the user's address for signature.

7. A method for cross-store shopping and unified delivery supporting dynamic business district configuration according to claim 6, characterized in that, In step four, if the nearby store is not stocked while the distant store is stocked, the system will replan the route and guide the rider to the distant store that is stocked first, using the distance to offset the waiting time at the nearby store.

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