Information processor

Abstract

To prevent generation of a re-delivery.SOLUTION: An information processor has a route generation unit for creating a route for going around to a plurality of different deliver addresses on the basis of presence or absence of a delivery box at each delivery address.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing device. [Background technology]

[0002] When creating an optimal route for efficiently visiting multiple delivery destinations, there is a method for searching for a route that minimizes indicators such as the time required for the visit. For example, the method disclosed in Patent Document 1 searches for a route using a travel cost, which is an indicator that quantifies the distance to the destination, the required time, and the toll fee for the route. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-194430 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Even if the delivery is made along the optimal route, if the recipient is absent, redelivery will be required. If there is a delivery box at the delivery destination, it is possible to leave the parcel in the delivery box even if the recipient is absent, and redelivery will not be required. However, due to an increase in demand for home delivery, there are cases where a parcel from another delivery company is left in the delivery box when the parcel arrives at the delivery destination. In such a case, even if there is a delivery box at the delivery destination, it is not possible to leave the parcel in the delivery box, and redelivery will be required.

[0005] One example of a problem to be solved by the present invention is to prevent redelivery from occurring. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the invention described in claim 1 has a route creation unit that creates a route for visiting multiple delivery destinations based on whether or not each of the multiple delivery destinations has a delivery box.

[0007] The invention described in claim 9 is an information processing method executed by a computer, comprising a route creation step of creating a route for visiting a plurality of delivery destinations based on whether or not each of the plurality of delivery destinations has a delivery box.

[0008] The invention as recited in claim 11 causes the information processing method as recited in claim 10 to be executed by a computer.

[0009] The invention as recited in claim 12 stores the information processing program as recited in claim 11. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of route generation based on a movement index. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a processing operation in the information processing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an example of correction of a movement indicator and route creation based on the corrected movement indicator. [Diagram 5] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating an example of correction of a movement indicator and route creation based on the corrected movement indicator. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] An information processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention has a route creation unit that creates a route for visiting a plurality of delivery destinations based on the presence or absence of a delivery box at each of the plurality of delivery destinations. Therefore, in this embodiment, for example, it is possible to deliver to a delivery destination with a delivery box before a delivery destination without a delivery box. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to arrive at a delivery destination with a delivery box before a package from another delivery company is left in the delivery box, and it is possible to leave a package in the delivery box even if the delivery destination is absent. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent redelivery from occurring.

[0012] The route creation unit may create the route so as to give priority to delivery destinations with delivery boxes. In this way, it is possible to deliver to delivery destinations with delivery boxes before delivery destinations without delivery boxes. It is possible to arrive at a delivery destination with a delivery box before packages from other delivery companies are left in the delivery box, and it is possible to leave the package in the delivery box even if the delivery destination is absent.

[0013] The route creation unit may create the route so as not to visit delivery destinations that do not have a delivery box. In this way, it is possible to arrive at a delivery destination that has a delivery box before a package from another delivery company is left in the delivery box, and it is possible to leave the package in the delivery box even if the delivery destination is not at home.

[0014] The information processing device further includes a vacancy information acquisition unit that acquires vacancy information indicating whether the delivery box of each delivery destination where the delivery box is located is available or not, The route creation unit may create the route so as to give priority to delivery destinations with available delivery boxes. In this way, it becomes possible to give priority to delivery destinations with available delivery boxes among delivery destinations with delivery boxes, and it becomes possible to make effective use of the delivery boxes. As a result, it becomes possible to prevent redelivery from occurring.

[0015] The route creation unit may create the route so as not to visit delivery destinations that do not have a delivery box or that have no available delivery boxes. In this way, it becomes possible to deliver to delivery destinations that have delivery boxes and have available delivery boxes first, and it becomes possible to make effective use of the delivery boxes. As a result, it becomes possible to more effectively prevent redelivery from occurring.

[0016] The information processing device includes a movement index calculation unit that calculates a movement index for each of the plurality of delivery destinations, which is related to the ease of movement from a movement starting point including delivery destinations other than the delivery destination and a starting point to the delivery destination, a customer information acquisition unit that acquires customer information including information about customers with delivery boxes, a first extraction unit that extracts delivery destinations with delivery boxes from the plurality of delivery destinations, and a movement index correction unit that corrects the movement index calculated by the movement index calculation unit for the delivery destinations extracted by the first extraction unit, and the route creation unit creates the route based on the movement index, and when creating the route based on the movement index, the movement index corrected by the movement index correction unit is used for the delivery destinations extracted by the first extraction unit. In this way, the delivery destinations with delivery boxes are delivery destinations that are easy to move to from the starting point and other delivery destinations, and a route is created that gives priority to delivery destinations with delivery boxes over delivery destinations without delivery boxes. As a result, it is possible to deliver to delivery destinations with delivery boxes before delivery destinations without delivery boxes.

[0017] The movement index is an index indicating that the smaller the value, the easier the movement, and the movement index correction unit may correct the movement index by multiplying the movement index by a correction coefficient having a value less than 1. In this way, a delivery destination with a delivery box becomes a delivery destination that is easy to move to from the starting point or other delivery destinations, and a route is created that gives priority to delivery destinations with delivery boxes over delivery destinations without delivery boxes. As a result, it becomes possible to deliver to delivery destinations with delivery boxes before delivery destinations without delivery boxes.

[0018] The information processing device further includes a vacancy information acquisition unit that acquires vacancy information indicating whether the delivery box of the delivery destination is available for each of the delivery destinations having the delivery box, and a second extraction unit that extracts delivery destinations with no delivery box available from the delivery destinations extracted by the first extraction unit, and the route creation unit may use the movement index calculated by the movement index calculation unit for the delivery destinations extracted by the second extraction unit even if the delivery destinations are extracted by the first extraction unit when creating a route based on the movement index. In this way, it is possible to give priority to delivery destinations with available delivery boxes among the delivery destinations having delivery boxes, and it is possible to effectively use the delivery boxes. As a result, it is possible to further prevent redelivery from occurring.

[0019] The information processing device further includes an at-home rate acquisition unit that acquires the at-home rate of the delivery destination extracted by the first extraction unit, and the movement index correction unit corrects the movement index calculated by the movement index calculation unit based on the at-home rate for the delivery destination extracted by the first extraction unit. In this way, it becomes possible to prioritize delivery to delivery destinations with a low at-home rate over delivery destinations with a high at-home rate among delivery destinations with delivery boxes, and it becomes possible to make effective use of the delivery boxes. As a result, it becomes possible to more effectively prevent the occurrence of redelivery.

[0020] Moreover, an information processing method according to one embodiment of the present invention is an information processing method executed by a computer, and includes a route creation step of creating a route for visiting a plurality of delivery destinations based on the presence or absence of a delivery box at each of the plurality of delivery destinations. Therefore, in this embodiment, for example, it is possible to deliver to a delivery destination with a delivery box before a delivery destination without a delivery box. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to arrive at a delivery destination with a delivery box before a package from another delivery company is left in the delivery box, and it is possible to leave a package in the delivery box even if the delivery destination is absent. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent redelivery from occurring.

[0021] Moreover, an information processing program according to an embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to execute the above-mentioned information processing method. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent redelivery from occurring by using a computer.

[0022] Moreover, a computer-readable storage medium according to an embodiment of the present invention stores the above-mentioned information processing program. Therefore, in this embodiment, the above-mentioned information processing program can be distributed as a standalone program in addition to being incorporated into a device, and version upgrades can be easily performed. EXAMPLES

[0023] <Information processing device 100> 1 is a diagram showing an information processing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The information processing device 100 is configured by a computer having a CPU and the like, and has a delivery destination information acquisition unit 110, a customer information acquisition unit 120, a first extraction unit 130, a movement index calculation unit 140, and a route creation unit 150.

[0024] The delivery destination information acquisition unit 110 acquires delivery destination information. The delivery destination information is information about the delivery destination to be visited, and includes information that identifies the customer of the delivery destination (for example, name, customer ID, etc.) and information about the address of the delivery destination. The delivery destination information acquisition unit 110 acquires the delivery destination information by receiving it from an external device such as a delivery person's terminal, for example.

[0025] The customer information acquisition unit 120 acquires customer information. The customer information is information about the delivery company's customers, and includes information for identifying the customer (e.g., name, customer ID, etc.), the customer's address, and information on whether or not each customer's home has a delivery box. For example, the information processing device 100 has a storage device that stores the customer information, and the customer information acquisition unit 120 acquires the customer information from this storage device.

[0026] The first extraction unit 130 extracts a delivery destination having a delivery box from among the multiple delivery destinations to which the delivery service is to be routed. The first extraction unit 130 extracts a delivery destination having a delivery box from among the multiple delivery destinations by, for example, checking whether or not each of the multiple delivery destinations included in the delivery destination information has a delivery box based on customer information.

[0027] The movement index calculation unit 140 calculates a movement index relating to the ease of movement from a movement start point to each of a plurality of delivery destinations for each of the plurality of delivery destinations. The movement start point includes delivery destinations other than the delivery destination and the starting point. In other words, the movement index calculation unit 140 calculates a movement index from the starting point to each of the plurality of delivery destinations and a movement index from other delivery destinations to each of the plurality of delivery destinations. The movement index calculation unit 140 may also calculate a movement index from each of the plurality of delivery destinations to the starting point. The movement index is, for example, an index of a movement distance or a movement time. The movement index may also be a combination of indexes such as a movement distance or a movement time.

[0028] For example, Figure 2(A) is a diagram showing the travel distance to each of delivery destinations A to E. In Figure 2, the travel distance from the delivery center, which is the starting point, to each of delivery destinations A to E is 500m, 750m, 700m, 800m, and 750m. In addition, the travel distance from delivery destination A to other delivery destinations B to E is 250m, 260m, 510m, and 400m, and the travel distance from each of delivery destinations A to E to the delivery center is 500m, 750m, 700m, 800m, and 760m.

[0029] The route creation unit 150 creates a route for visiting multiple delivery destinations based on the movement index calculated by the movement index calculation unit 140. For example, the route created by the route creation unit 150 is transmitted to another device such as a mobile terminal of a delivery person. This enables the delivery person to visit the delivery destinations along the optimal route.

[0030] When the movement index is an index indicating that the smaller the value, the easier the movement, such as the movement distance or the movement time, the route creation unit 140 creates a route to visit the delivery destinations so that the sum of the movement indexes when visiting the delivery destinations is minimized. Also, when the movement index is an index indicating that the larger the value, the easier the movement, the route creation unit 140 creates a route to visit the delivery destinations so that the sum of the movement indexes when visiting the delivery destinations is maximized.

[0031] For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2(A), the route creation unit 140 creates a route (distribution center-delivery destination A-delivery destination B-delivery destination C-delivery destination D-delivery destination E-distribution center) that minimizes the sum of travel distances when visiting the delivery destinations, as shown in FIG. 2(B).

[0032] However, when traveling along such a route, delivery to destination D is only reached after deliveries to destinations A, B, and C have been made. Therefore, even if destination D has a parcel box, when delivery to destination D is not available, the parcel box may be filled with packages from other delivery companies by the time delivery arrives, and redelivery may be required.

[0033] Therefore, in this embodiment, the route creation unit 150 creates multiple routes based on whether or not there is a delivery box at each of multiple delivery destinations.

[0034] For example, the route creation unit 150 creates a route so as to give priority to the delivery destination extracted by the first extraction unit 130 (i.e., a delivery destination with a delivery box). At this time, the route creation unit 150 may create a route so as not to visit delivery destinations without a delivery box. In this way, it becomes possible to deliver to a delivery destination with a delivery box before a delivery destination without a delivery box. For this reason, it becomes possible to arrive at a delivery destination with a delivery box before a package from another delivery company is left in the delivery box, and it becomes possible to leave the package in the delivery box even if the delivery destination is absent. As a result, in this embodiment, it becomes possible to prevent redelivery from occurring.

[0035] 3 is a diagram showing an example of a processing operation in the information processing device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The delivery destination information acquisition unit 110 acquires delivery destination information, and the customer information acquisition unit 120 acquires customer information (step S301). The first extraction unit 130 extracts delivery destinations with delivery boxes from among the multiple delivery destinations to be visited, and the movement index calculation unit 140 calculates a movement index to each of the multiple delivery destinations to be visited for each movement start point (step S302). The route creation unit 150 creates a route for visiting the multiple delivery destinations based on the movement index and the presence or absence of a delivery box (step S303).

[0036] <Movement index correction> The information processing device 100 may further include a movement index correction unit 160 that corrects the movement index to the delivery destination calculated by the movement index calculation unit 140 for the delivery destination extracted by the first extraction unit 130. When creating a route based on the movement index, the route creation unit 150 may use the movement index corrected by the movement index correction unit 160 for the delivery destination extracted by the first extraction unit (i.e., a delivery destination with a delivery box) as the movement index to the delivery destination.

[0037] When the movement index is an index indicating that the smaller the value, the easier the movement, such as the movement distance or the movement time, the movement index calculation unit 160 may correct the movement index so that the value becomes smaller for a delivery destination with a delivery box. At this time, the movement index calculation unit 160 may correct the movement index, for example, by multiplying the movement index calculated by the movement index calculation unit 140 by a correction coefficient with a value less than 1. Also, when the movement index is an index indicating that the larger the value, the easier the movement, the movement index calculation unit 160 may correct the movement index so that the value becomes larger for a delivery destination with a delivery box. At this time, the movement index calculation unit 160 may correct the movement index, for example, by multiplying the movement index calculated by the movement index calculation unit 140 by a correction coefficient with a value greater than 1.

[0038] In this way, delivery destinations with delivery boxes are easy to travel to from the starting point or other delivery destinations, and a route is created that prioritizes delivery destinations with delivery boxes over those without. As a result, it becomes possible to deliver to delivery destinations with delivery boxes before delivery destinations without delivery boxes.

[0039] For example, in the example shown in FIG. 2(A), if there are delivery boxes at delivery destinations B and D, the travel distance (travel index) to delivery destination B and the travel distance (travel index) to delivery destination D are corrected as shown in FIG. 4(A). In FIG. 4(A), the travel distances to delivery destinations B and D are multiplied by a correction coefficient of 0.2, and the travel distances to delivery destination B are corrected from 750 m, 250 m, 200 m, 480 m, and 600 m, respectively, to 150 m, 50 m, 40 m, 96 m, and 120 m, and the travel distances to delivery destination D are corrected from 800 m, 510 m, 480 m, 190 m, and 210 m, respectively, to 160 m, 102 m, 96 m, 38 m, and 42 m. Therefore, when this corrected travel distance is used, the route that minimizes the sum of travel distances when visiting the delivery destinations is delivery center-delivery destination B-delivery destination D-delivery destination C-delivery destination A-delivery destination E-delivery center, as shown in Figure 4(B), and delivery destinations B and D that have delivery boxes are given priority for delivery. Note that, although the example shown in Figure 4 uses travel distance as the travel index, it is also possible to correct the travel index and create a route for other types of travel index (for example, travel time) in the same way.

[0040] The information processing device 100 may have an at-home rate acquisition unit 170 that acquires the at-home rate of the delivery destination extracted by the first extraction unit 130. The movement index correction unit 160 may then correct the movement index based on this at-home rate. By doing so, it becomes possible to prioritize delivery to delivery destinations with a low at-home rate over delivery destinations with a high at-home rate among delivery destinations with delivery boxes, and it becomes possible to make effective use of the delivery boxes. As a result, it becomes possible to more effectively prevent the occurrence of redelivery.

[0041] In this case, the information processing device 100 may, for example, accumulate information on whether or not each customer with a delivery box was at home at the time of delivery, and may have a means for acquiring the at-home rate for each customer with a delivery box. Also, if the movement index is an index indicating that the smaller (larger) the value is, the easier it is to move, the movement index correction unit 160 may set the correction coefficient to be smaller (larger) for delivery destinations with a low at-home rate.

[0042] The information processing device 100 may have a means for collecting information on whether or not a parcel could be left in the delivery box when the customer was absent for each customer with a delivery box, and for learning whether or not the delivery box is likely to fill up for each customer with a delivery box. If the movement index is an index indicating that the smaller (larger) the value is, the easier it is to move, the movement index correction unit 160 may set the correction coefficient smaller (larger) than normal for delivery destinations where the delivery box is likely to fill up. By doing so, it becomes possible to give priority to delivery destinations where the delivery box is likely to fill up among delivery destinations with delivery boxes, and it becomes possible to make effective use of the delivery boxes. As a result, it becomes possible to prevent redelivery from occurring.

[0043] <Information on available parcel boxes> The information processing device 100 may have a vacancy information acquisition unit 180 that acquires vacancy information indicating whether the delivery box of each delivery destination with a delivery box is available or not, and a second extraction unit 190 that extracts delivery destinations with no delivery box from the delivery destinations extracted by the first extraction unit (i.e., delivery destinations with a delivery box). The route creation unit 140 may create a route, for example, so as to give priority to delivery destinations with a delivery box. At this time, it is preferable that the route creation unit 140 creates a route so as not to visit delivery destinations without a delivery box and delivery destinations with no delivery box. In this way, it becomes possible to give priority to delivery destinations with a delivery box available among delivery destinations with a delivery box, and it becomes possible to effectively use the delivery box. As a result, it becomes possible to prevent redelivery from occurring.

[0044] In addition, when the route creation unit 150 uses the movement index corrected by the movement index correction unit 160 for the delivery destination extracted by the first extraction unit (i.e., the delivery destination with a delivery box), the route creation unit 150 may use the movement index calculated by the movement index calculation unit 140 for the delivery destination extracted by the second extraction unit 190, even if the delivery destination is extracted by the first extraction unit 130, when creating a route based on the movement index. In other words, the route creation unit 150 may use the movement index before correction for the delivery destination where the delivery box is not available. By doing so, it becomes possible to give priority to delivery to delivery destinations with available delivery boxes among the delivery destinations with delivery boxes, and it becomes possible to effectively use the delivery boxes. As a result, it becomes possible to prevent the occurrence of redelivery more effectively.

[0045] For example, in the example of FIG. 2(A), even if the movement index for destinations B and D, which have delivery boxes, is corrected as shown in FIG. 4(A), if information is acquired that the delivery box at destination D is full at the time of delivery to destination B, a route from destination B onwards is created for destination D using the movement index before correction, as shown in FIG. 5(A). In this case, when destination B is set as the starting point of movement, the movement index to destination C is the smallest, so a route moving from destination B to destination C (distribution center-destination B-destination C-destination D-destination E-destination A-distribution center) is created, as shown in FIG. 5(B).

[0046] The information processing device 100 may have a means for collecting, for each delivery destination having a delivery box, the time period when the delivery box of the delivery destination is available, learning the time period when the delivery box of the delivery destination is available, and acquiring the possibility that the delivery box is not available in each time period. The route creation unit 150 may use the movement index calculated by the movement index calculation unit 140 for a delivery destination that is likely to have a delivery box not available at the scheduled delivery time, even if the delivery destination is extracted by the first extraction unit 130. In this case, the information processing device 100 may have a means for collecting, for each delivery destination having a delivery box, the time period when the delivery box of the delivery destination is available for each day of the week, learning the time period when the delivery box of the delivery destination is available for each day of the week, and acquiring the possibility that the delivery box is not available for each day of the week and each time period.

[0047] Even if a delivery box is available, if the size of the available delivery box is smaller than the size of the package, the package cannot be left in the delivery box. Therefore, it is preferable that the information processing device 100 has a means for acquiring the size of the package to be delivered to the delivery destination where the delivery box is located, and that the vacancy information acquisition unit 180 acquires the size of the vacant delivery box for each delivery destination where the delivery box is located. Then, the route creation unit 150 may create a route based on the size of the package and the size of the vacant delivery box.

[0048] The present invention has been described above in terms of preferred embodiments thereof. Although the present invention has been described herein with reference to specific examples, various modifications and variations can be made to these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 100 Information processing device 110 Delivery destination information acquisition department 120 Customer Information Acquisition Department 130 First Extraction Section 140 Movement index calculation section 150 Route Creation Department 160 Moving index correction section 170 Home Rate Acquisition Department 180 Sky information acquisition section 190 Second Extraction Section

Claims

[Claim 1] An information processing device comprising: a route creation unit that creates a route for visiting a plurality of delivery destinations based on whether or not each of the plurality of delivery destinations has a delivery box.

Images