Information processing device

Abstract

Manage deliveries by multiple delivery personnel to avoid delays in operations. [Solution] Based on the delivery route of the requested delivery person and the delivery routes of other delivery people, a substitute delivery person is determined to deliver a portion of the packages that the requested delivery person will deliver.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Technologies for managing delivery by a plurality of delivery persons have been developed (e.g., Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Literature

Patent Literature

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problem to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] During delivery, traffic congestion caused by traffic accidents or the like may occur, resulting in some delivery persons being unable to complete their deliveries by the end of their working hours. However, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not consider the occurrence of such work delays.

[0005] An example of the problem to be solved by the present invention is managing delivery by a plurality of delivery persons so as not to cause work delays.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a substitute delivery person determining unit that determines a substitute delivery person who alternatively delivers a part of the parcels to be delivered by a requesting delivery person, based on the delivery route of the requesting delivery person and the delivery routes of other delivery persons.

[0007] The invention according to claim 7 is an information processing method executed by a computer, comprising a substitute delivery person determining step of determining a substitute delivery person who alternatively delivers a part of the parcels to be delivered by a requesting delivery person, based on the delivery route of the requesting delivery person and the delivery routes of other delivery persons.

[0008] The invention described in claim 8 involves having a computer execute the information processing method described in claim 7.

[0009] The invention described in claim 9 stores the information processing program described in claim 8. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This figure shows an information processing device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This figure shows a control unit 110 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a diagram showing an example of a delivery management database. [Figure 4] This is a diagram showing an example of a delivery driver's planned location database. [Figure 5] This is a diagram showing an example of a delivery schedule database. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of processing operations performed by the information processing device 100 when a trigger event occurs. [Figure 7] This diagram illustrates the relationship between the delivery routes of the assigned delivery driver and those of other delivery drivers. [Figure 8] This figure shows an example of the processing operations performed in the control unit 110 when determining a substitute delivery person. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of the processing operations performed by the closest approach time calculation unit 118 when calculating the closest approach time for each delivery person other than the assigned delivery person. [Figure 10] This figure shows a confluence position determination unit 114 according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] This diagram explains how to determine the merging point. [Figure 12] This figure shows an example of the processing operation in the merging position determination unit 114. [Figure 13] This figure shows an example of the processing operation in the cargo delivery determination unit 115. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] An information processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention has a substitute delivery person determination unit that determines a substitute delivery person to deliver a portion of the packages to be delivered by the requested delivery person, based on the delivery route of the requested delivery person and the delivery routes of other delivery persons. In this way, in this embodiment, even if a predetermined event occurs, the substitute delivery person, the meeting point with the substitute delivery person, and the packages to be handed over to the substitute delivery person are determined. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if a delay in the requested delivery person's work is predicted, the requested delivery person can hand over a portion of the packages to be delivered to the substitute delivery person, thereby preventing delays in the requested delivery person's work. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to manage the deliveries of multiple delivery persons in a way that does not cause delays in work.

[0012] The substitute delivery person determination unit may also be configured to determine a substitute delivery person when a predetermined event is detected. This makes it possible to determine a substitute delivery person when a predetermined event occurs.

[0013] The aforementioned predetermined event may be a delay in the delivery person's work, and the requested delivery person may be a delivery person who is experiencing a delay in work or is expected to experience a delay in work. In this way, it becomes possible to determine a substitute delivery person when the requested delivery person is experiencing a delay in work or when a delay in work is expected to occur.

[0014] The aforementioned agent delivery person determination unit may also determine the delivery person who is closest to the requested delivery person as the agent delivery person in the delivery schedule after the predetermined event occurs. In this way, the agent delivery person determined will be the one who is closest to the requested delivery person. As a result, it becomes possible to shorten the distance that the requested delivery person has to travel to meet the agent delivery person, and it becomes possible to efficiently transfer the package from the requested delivery person to the agent delivery person.

[0015] Said information processing apparatus may further comprise a substitute delivery person candidate list creation unit that creates a substitute delivery person candidate list, which is a list of delivery persons capable of performing substitute delivery, and said substitute delivery person determination unit may be configured to determine said substitute delivery person from among the delivery persons included in said substitute delivery person candidate list. With this configuration, it becomes possible to determine a substitute delivery person from among delivery persons capable of performing substitute delivery.

[0016] Said delivery person capable of performing substitute delivery may be a delivery person for whom no work delay has occurred. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent a delivery person who has a work delay from being determined as a substitute delivery person.

[0017] Furthermore, an information processing method according to one embodiment of the present invention is an information processing method executed by a computer, comprising a substitute delivery person determination step of determining a substitute delivery person who will deliver instead a part of the packages to be delivered by a requesting delivery person, based on the delivery route of said requesting delivery person and the delivery routes of other delivery persons. As described above, in the present embodiment, even if a predetermined event occurs, the substitute delivery person, the meeting position with the substitute delivery person, and the packages to be handed over to the substitute delivery person are determined. Therefore, in the present embodiment, even if it is predicted that the requesting delivery person will have a work delay, the requesting delivery person can hand over a part of the packages to be delivered to the substitute delivery person, and it is possible to prevent work delay of the requesting delivery person. As a result, in the present embodiment, it is possible to manage the delivery of a plurality of delivery persons so that no work delay occurs.

[0018] Furthermore, an information processing program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes a computer to execute the above-described information processing method. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to manage the delivery of a plurality of delivery persons using a computer so that no work delay occurs.

[0019] Furthermore, the computer-readable storage medium according to one 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 independently in addition to being incorporated into a device, and version upgrades can be easily performed. [Examples]

[0020] <Information Processing Device 100> Figure 1 shows an information processing device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The information processing device 100 includes a control unit 110, a storage unit 120, and a communication unit 130. The control unit 110 is configured as a computer. The storage unit 120 is a storage device for storing information, such as a hard disk or memory. The communication unit 130 is a communication device for sending and receiving information with other devices.

[0021] The information processing device 100 stores delivery management information for managing deliveries by multiple delivery personnel in the storage unit 120, receives the delivery status of delivery personnel via the communication unit 130, and updates the delivery management information via the control unit 110 based on the received delivery status. In this embodiment, when a delivery person needs to have another delivery person deliver part of the packages they are supposed to deliver (a requesting delivery person), the control unit 110 determines a substitute delivery person to deliver part of the packages that the requesting delivery person is supposed to deliver, and determines the packages to be handed over from the requesting delivery person to the substitute delivery person, as well as the meeting point for the handover of the packages from the requesting delivery person to the substitute delivery person.

[0022] Figure 2 shows a control unit 110 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The control unit 110 includes a delivery status acquisition unit 111, a delivery management information update unit 112, a substitute delivery person determination unit 113, a confluence location determination unit 114, a delivery package determination unit 115, and a delivery information transmission processing unit 116.

[0023] The delivery status acquisition unit 111 acquires delivery status from multiple delivery personnel. The delivery status includes, for example, the current location of the delivery personnel and information about packages that have been delivered. The delivery status may also include the delivery route from the delivery personnel's current location. The delivery status acquisition unit 111 acquires the delivery personnel's delivery status by, for example, receiving the delivery personnel's delivery status from terminal devices used by the delivery personnel (for example, terminal devices carried by the delivery personnel or terminal devices installed in the vehicle).

[0024] The delivery management information update unit 112 updates the delivery management information stored in the storage unit 120 based on the delivery status acquired by the delivery status acquisition unit 111. The delivery management information is information for managing deliveries by multiple delivery personnel and includes, for example, a delivery management database, a delivery route database, and a delivery schedule database.

[0025] Figure 3 shows an example of a delivery management database. The delivery management database is a database for tracking the delivery schedule and status of each delivery person, and includes, for example, the end time of work, which is the time when the delivery person finishes work, the estimated time of delivery completion, which is the time when the delivery person is expected to finish deliveries, and the number of packages expected to be delayed among the packages that the delivery person is scheduled to deliver. In the example shown in Figure 3, the delivery management database includes the number of deliveries for the day, the number of completed deliveries, the estimated time of delivery completion, the end time of work (an example of an end time of work), and the number of packages expected to be delayed. In the example shown in Figure 3, the delivery management information update unit 112 updates the number of completed deliveries, the estimated time of delivery completion, and the number of packages expected to be delayed based on the acquired delivery status.

[0026] Figure 4 shows an example of a delivery person's planned location database. The delivery person's planned location database is the planned location of each delivery person, that is, the delivery route from the delivery person's current location. The delivery person's planned location database includes information (time, latitude, longitude) that shows the planned location of each delivery person at each time, for example, as shown in Figure 4. The delivery management information update unit 112 updates the delivery person's planned location database by, for example, recreating the delivery route based on information such as the delivery person's current location and remaining delivery destinations obtained from the delivery status of the delivery person. Figure 4 shows, for example, the delivery person's planned location database when the delivery status is obtained at 13:30.

[0027] Figure 5 shows an example of a delivery schedule database. The delivery schedule database contains information about packages that have not yet been delivered. The delivery schedule database includes, for example, a number to identify the package (package number), the estimated time of arrival at the destination (estimated arrival time), and information about the location of the destination (destination latitude, destination longitude), as shown in Figure 5. The delivery management information update unit 112 updates this delivery schedule database based on the acquired delivery status.

[0028] The substitute delivery person determination unit 113 determines a substitute delivery person when a predetermined event (trigger event) occurs.

[0029] A trigger event is, for example, a delay in a delivery driver's work. In this case, for example, the substitute delivery driver determination unit 113 detects a delivery driver who is experiencing a delay in work or a delivery driver who is expected to experience a delay in work, and designates this detected delivery driver as the requested delivery driver. In addition, it is preferable that the information processing device 100 has a work delay detection unit 117 that detects delays in a delivery driver's work. The work delay detection unit 111 detects delays in work based on, for example, delivery management information. It is preferable that the work delay detection unit 111 determines that a delay in work has occurred when, for example, there are packages that are experiencing delays in delivery, packages that are expected to experience delays in delivery, or when the delivery driver's scheduled delivery completion time is later than the end of work time.

[0030] Furthermore, the trigger event may also be a request from the original delivery person. In other words, for example, the substitute delivery person determination unit 113 may determine a substitute delivery person when it receives information indicating a request for substitute delivery from the terminal device used by the original delivery person. In this way, even if the original delivery person predicts on their own that a delay in work will occur, it becomes possible to hand over a portion of the packages to be delivered by the original delivery person to the substitute delivery person.

[0031] The merging position determination unit 114 determines a merging position for handing over the package from the requesting delivery person to the substitute delivery person determined by the substitute delivery person determination unit 111.

[0032] The package delivery determination unit 115 determines which packages to hand over from the requesting delivery person to the substitute delivery person determined by the substitute delivery person determination unit 111.

[0033] The delivery information transmission processing unit 116 transmits delivery information, including information about the requesting delivery person, the substitute delivery person, the meeting point, and the package to be delivered, to the requesting delivery person and the substitute delivery person. In other words, the delivery information transmission processing unit 116 transmits the delivery information via the communication unit 130 to the terminal device used by the requesting delivery person and the terminal device used by the substitute delivery person.

[0034] Thus, in this embodiment, even if a predetermined event occurs, the substitute delivery person, the meeting point with the substitute delivery person, and the packages to be handed over to the substitute delivery person are determined. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if a delay in the requested delivery person's work is predicted, the requested delivery person can hand over a portion of the packages to the substitute delivery person, thereby preventing delays in the requested delivery person's work. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to manage deliveries by multiple delivery persons in a way that does not cause delays.

[0035] Figure 6 shows an example of processing operations performed in the information processing device 100 when a trigger event occurs. The substitute delivery person determination unit 113 determines a substitute delivery person (step S601). The meeting position determination unit 114 determines a meeting position for handing over the package from the requesting delivery person to the substitute delivery person, and the package handover determination unit 115 determines the package to be handed over from the requesting delivery person to the substitute delivery person (step S602). The handover information transmission processing unit 116 transmits handover information, including information about the requesting delivery person, the substitute delivery person, the meeting position, and the package to be handed over, to the requesting delivery person and the substitute delivery person (step S603).

[0036] <Decision on substitute delivery person> The substitute delivery person determination unit 113 determines a substitute delivery person based on the delivery route of the requesting delivery person and the delivery routes of other delivery people. For example, in the delivery schedule after a trigger event occurs, the substitute delivery person determination unit 113 determines the delivery person who is closest to the requesting delivery person as the substitute delivery person.

[0037] In this case, the control unit 110 should have a closest approach time calculation unit 118 that calculates the closest approach time for each delivery person other than the requested delivery person in the delivery schedule after the trigger event occurs. The substitute delivery person determination unit 114 should then calculate the distance to the requested delivery person at the closest approach time for each delivery person other than the requested delivery person, and determine the delivery person with the shortest distance to the requested delivery person at the closest approach time as the substitute delivery person.

[0038] Figure 7 illustrates the relationship between the delivery routes of a requesting delivery person and other delivery people. The example shown in Figure 7 shows a case where there are two delivery people, delivery people A and B, who can deliver a portion of the requesting delivery person's package. The requesting delivery person and delivery person A are closest at time TA, at a distance of DA, and the requesting delivery person and delivery person B are closest at time TB, at a distance of DB. In the example shown in Figure 7, the distance DA between delivery person A and the requesting delivery person at the closest time TA is shorter than the distance DB between delivery person B and the requesting delivery person at the closest time TB, so delivery person A is selected as the substitute delivery person.

[0039] Thus, in this embodiment, the substitute delivery person is the delivery person who is closest to the original delivery person. Therefore, it is possible to shorten the distance that the original delivery person has to travel to meet the substitute delivery person, and to efficiently transfer the package from the original delivery person to the substitute delivery person.

[0040] Furthermore, the control unit 110 may also include a substitute delivery person candidate list creation unit 119 that creates a substitute delivery person candidate list, which is a list of delivery persons who can perform substitute deliveries, and the substitute delivery person determination unit 113 may determine a substitute delivery person from among the delivery persons included in the substitute delivery person candidate list. In this way, it becomes possible to determine a substitute delivery person from among the delivery persons who can perform substitute deliveries.

[0041] In this case, it is preferable to designate delivery drivers who are not experiencing work delays as drivers who can perform substitute deliveries. The substitute delivery driver candidate list creation unit 119 should, for example, designate delivery drivers who are not expected to experience delays in package delivery, or delivery drivers whose estimated delivery completion time is earlier than the end of their workday, as drivers who are not experiencing work delays. Furthermore, the substitute delivery driver candidate list creation unit 119 should, for example, create a substitute delivery driver candidate list each time the delivery management information is updated. By doing so, it becomes possible to prevent delivery drivers who are experiencing work delays from being selected as substitute delivery drivers.

[0042] Figure 8 shows an example of the processing operations performed in the control unit 110 when determining a substitute delivery person. The closest approach time calculation unit 118 calculates the closest approach time for each delivery person other than the requested delivery person in the delivery schedule after the trigger event occurs (step S801). The substitute delivery person determination unit 114 calculates the distance to the requested delivery person at the closest approach time for each delivery person other than the requested delivery person, and determines the delivery person with the shortest distance to the requested delivery person at the closest approach time as the substitute delivery person (step S802).

[0043] Figure 9 shows an example of the processing operations performed by the closest proximity time calculation unit 118 when calculating the closest proximity time for each delivery person other than the requested delivery person. The time T is set to the current time, and the initial value of the closest proximity time Tmin is set (step S901). Here, the initial value of the closest proximity distance Lmin is set as appropriate. The initial value of the closest proximity distance Lmin should be, for example, a value larger than the scale of the delivery area to be managed. The distance L between the requested delivery person and the substitute delivery person at time T is calculated (step S902). The distance L should be calculated by obtaining the positions of the requested delivery person and the substitute delivery person at time T from the delivery management information. In this case, the distance L may be the straight-line distance between the position of the requested delivery person and the position of the substitute delivery person, or it may be the distance along the optimal route connecting the position of the requested delivery person and the position of the substitute delivery person.

[0044] Next, it is checked whether the distance L is smaller than the closest approach distance Lmin (step S903). If the calculated distance L is smaller than the closest approach distance Lmin (step S903, YES), the closest approach time Tmin is set to time T, the closest approach distance Lmin is set to distance L (step S904), time T is advanced to T+ΔT (step S905). If the calculated distance L is greater than or equal to the closest approach distance Lmin (step S903, NO), time T is advanced to T+ΔT (step S905).

[0045] Next, check whether time T is greater than the scheduled delivery completion time (step S906). If time T is greater than the scheduled delivery completion time (step S906, YES), terminate the process. If time T is less than or equal to the scheduled delivery completion time (step S906, NO), return to step S902.

[0046] <Determination of the merging point> Figure 10 shows a merging position determination unit 114 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The merging position determination unit 114 includes a route creation unit 1141 that creates a route connecting the location of the requesting delivery person and the location of the substitute delivery person, and a determination unit 1142 that determines a merging position where the requesting delivery person and the substitute delivery person meet on the route created by the route creation unit 1141, based on the time required to travel along the route.

[0047] In this case, the determination unit 1142 should determine an intermediate position as the meeting point, which is the position that the requested delivery person can reach in half the time it would take to travel from the requested delivery person's position to the substitute delivery person's position. By doing so, it becomes possible to transfer the package from the requested delivery person to the substitute delivery person as quickly as possible.

[0048] The route creation unit 1141 may create a route connecting the location of the requesting delivery person and the location of the substitute delivery person when the trigger event occurs, as shown in Figure 11(A), or it may create a route connecting the location of the requesting delivery person and the location of the substitute delivery person at the time when they are closest to each other after the trigger event occurs (the closest approach time calculated by the closest approach time calculation unit 118), as shown in Figure 11(B). Any method is acceptable for creating the route, as long as it can create the optimal route connecting the location of the requesting delivery person and the location of the substitute delivery person.

[0049] When the route creation unit 1141 creates a route connecting the location of the requesting delivery person and the location of the substitute delivery person when a trigger event occurs, the merging position determined by the merging position determination unit 114 lies on this route, as shown in Figure 11(A). Therefore, the requesting delivery person and the substitute delivery person can meet up as quickly as possible after the trigger event occurs.

[0050] On the other hand, when the route creation unit 1141 creates a route connecting the location of the requesting delivery person and the substitute delivery person at the time of closest approach, the merging position determined by the merging position determination unit 114 lies on this route, as shown in Figure 11(B). Therefore, even after a trigger event occurs, the requesting delivery person and the substitute delivery person can continue deliveries until the time of closest approach, and then merge after the time of closest approach. Thus, in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent business delays while performing efficient deliveries. In particular, when the substitute delivery person is determined based on the time of closest approach, it is preferable that the route creation unit 1141 creates a route connecting the location of the requesting delivery person and the substitute delivery person at the time of closest approach, so that the merging position is determined based on the time of closest approach.

[0051] There may be cases where an intermediate location is not suitable for the transfer of goods. Therefore, the determination unit 1142 may determine an intermediate location as a merging location if it satisfies the first condition and / or does not satisfy the second condition. In this case, the first condition is that it is a place suitable for the transfer of goods, and includes at least one of the following conditions: (1) it is a road with a width greater than or equal to a predetermined road width, and (2) it is a road with a parking lot. The second condition is that it is a place unsuitable for the transfer of goods, and includes at least one of the following conditions: (1) it is a road with a width less than or equal to the second road width, and (2) it is a road where parking and stopping are prohibited. In other words, if an intermediate location is a place suitable for the transfer of goods, the determination unit 1142 determines it as a merging location. Thus, by doing so, it becomes possible to designate only places suitable for the transfer of goods as merging locations.

[0052] In the route created by the route creation unit 1141, positions may be represented by nodes and links. In this case, the position of a merging point is represented by a link. By doing so, it becomes possible to designate only links corresponding to roads suitable for cargo transfer as merging points.

[0053] Furthermore, if the intermediate position does not satisfy the first condition, or if it satisfies the second condition, the determination unit 1142 determines the position closest to the candidate meeting point among the positions between the intermediate position and the requesting delivery person's position that satisfy the first condition and / or do not satisfy the second condition as the meeting point. In this way, it becomes possible to reduce the burden on the requesting delivery person and to hand over packages at a location suitable for package handover.

[0054] Figure 12 shows an example of the processing operation in the merging position determination unit 114. The route creation unit 1141 creates a route connecting the location of the requesting delivery person and the location of the substitute delivery person (step S1201). At this time, the location in the created route is represented by nodes and links. The determination unit 1142 calculates a time Tmiddle which is half the time required from the location of the requesting delivery person to the location of the substitute delivery person, and derives a link Lj which arrives at this time Tmiddle (step S1202).

[0055] Next, it is checked whether the path corresponding to link Lj satisfies the first condition (step S1203). If the path corresponding to link Lj satisfies the first condition (step S1203, YES) and does not satisfy the second condition (step S1204, YES), link Lj is determined as the merging point (step S1205) and the process ends. If the path corresponding to link Lj does not satisfy the first condition (step S1203, NO), or if the path corresponding to link Lj satisfies the second condition (step S1204, NO), the link on the side of the current location of the requesting delivery person among the two links connected to link Lj in the created route is designated as the new link Lj (step S1206), and the process returns to step S1203.

[0056] <Decision on the items to be delivered> The package delivery determination unit 115 determines, for example, which packages the requested delivery person will hand over to the substitute delivery person from among the packages the requested delivery person is scheduled to deliver, in order to resolve any delays in the requested delivery person's work.

[0057] At this time, the package delivery determination unit 115 repeatedly determines whether a delay in operations will occur when some of the packages scheduled to be delivered by the requested delivery person are excluded, increasing the number of packages to be excluded until no further delays occur. When no further delays occur, the excluded packages are determined to be handed over to the substitute delivery person. The determination of whether a delay in operations will occur when some of the packages scheduled to be delivered by the requested delivery person are excluded can be made, for example, by creating a route for the requested delivery person when some of the packages scheduled to be delivered are excluded, and then checking whether a delay in operations occurs when the requested delivery person delivers using this created route.

[0058] Thus, in this embodiment, the packages to be handed over to the substitute delivery person are determined in a way that eliminates delays in the work of the requested delivery person. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to eliminate delays in the work of the requested delivery person, and as a result, it is possible to manage deliveries by multiple delivery persons in a way that does not cause delays. Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is possible to eliminate delays in the work of the requested delivery person without excessively increasing the burden on the substitute delivery person.

[0059] If there is a merging point on the route connecting the location of the requesting delivery person and the location of the substitute delivery person when the trigger event occurs, the package handover determination unit 115 should determine which packages to hand over to the substitute delivery person from among the packages that the requesting delivery person is scheduled to deliver after the trigger event occurs. In other words, the package handover determination unit 115 should determine which packages to hand over based on a determination of whether or not a work delay would occur if the requesting delivery person excluded some of the packages that they are scheduled to deliver after the trigger event.

[0060] On the other hand, if there is a meeting point on the route connecting the positions of the requesting delivery person and the substitute delivery person at the time when they are closest to each other after a trigger event occurs (the closest approach time calculated by the closest approach time calculation unit 118), the package handover determination unit 115 should determine which packages to hand over from the packages that the requesting delivery person is scheduled to deliver after the closest approach time. In other words, the package handover determination unit 115 should determine which packages to hand over based on whether a delay in operations would occur if some of the packages that the requesting delivery person is scheduled to deliver after the closest approach time were excluded.

[0061] Figure 13 shows an example of the processing operation in the package delivery determination unit 115. P=1 (step S1301). A delivery route for the requesting delivery person is created when P packages are excluded, and the estimated delivery completion time and the number of packages with predicted delivery delays are calculated (step S1302). At this time, for example, P packages that the requesting delivery person will deliver after the closest approach time Tmin are excluded from the packages to be delivered by the requesting delivery person, starting with those that are scheduled to be delivered earliest.

[0062] If the estimated delivery completion time is earlier than the end of business hours (Step S1303, YES) and the number of predicted delivery delays is zero (Step S1304, YES), the excluded P packages are determined to be handed over from the original delivery person to the substitute delivery person (Step S1305), and the process ends. If the estimated delivery completion time is not earlier than the end of business hours (Step S1303, NO), or if the number of predicted delivery delays is not zero (Step S1304, NO), then P = P + 1 (Step S1306), and the process returns to Step S1302.

[0063] The present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments. Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific examples, various modifications and changes can be made to these examples without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 100 Information Processing Devices 110 Control Unit 111 Delivery Status Acquisition Unit 112 Delivery management information update department 113 Substitute Delivery Personnel Selection Department 114 Merging position determination section 1141 Route Creation Section 1142 Decision Section 115 Delivery and Receipt Department 116 Delivery Information Transmission Processing Unit 117 Business Delay Detection Unit 118 Closest approach time calculation unit 119 Substitute Delivery Personnel Candidate List Creation Department 120 Storage section 130 Communications Department

Claims

[Claim 1] An information processing device having a substitute delivery person determination unit that determines a substitute delivery person to deliver a portion of the packages to be delivered by the requested delivery person, based on the delivery route of the requested delivery person and the delivery routes of other delivery people.

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