Method and apparatus for providing shipping information

Abstract

A method for providing delivery information by an electronic device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes the steps of: confirming whether a first condition for consolidated delivery is met; if the first condition is met, confirming a first delivery request and a second delivery request to be assigned to a first delivery person among multiple delivery requests; and providing a page including information regarding the first delivery request and the second delivery request to a terminal of the first delivery person.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Embodiments herein relate to methods and apparatus for providing shipping information. [Background technology]

[0002] The widespread use of the internet has led to the expansion of the e-commerce market. In particular, with the spread of the infectious disease, the proportion of people visiting offline stores to purchase goods has decreased, while the proportion of people purchasing goods via e-commerce using computers or smartphones or ordering food through food delivery intermediary services has rapidly increased.

[0003] A delivery intermediation service may refer to a service that mediates transactions between customers who wish to purchase items (e.g., food, drinks, ingredients, merchandise, etc.) and sellers who wish to sell the items, and delivers the items from the seller's location to the customer's location via a delivery person once a transaction for the item has been completed. The delivery person runs a delivery intermediation service application installed on the delivery person's terminal, checks multiple orders requiring delivery between the seller and the customer through the application, selects one of the multiple orders, and confirms the seller's location and customer location corresponding to the order. Once an order to be delivered is selected, the delivery person travels to the seller's location to pick up the item, and travels from the seller's location to the customer's location to complete the delivery of the item, and may earn compensation (e.g., fees, points) associated with the delivery.

[0004] Meanwhile, delivery intermediation services typically assign one delivery person to deliver only one order in order to provide customers with prompt delivery. However, during adverse weather conditions, such as heavy rain or snow, or during heavy traffic congestion during the day or evening hours due to a high order volume, the supply of delivery persons is limited compared to the order volume, making it difficult to find a delivery person to handle each of the multiple orders. This can lead to increased delivery time due to delays in delivery person assignment, which can significantly impact the customer experience. Therefore, in such special circumstances, assigning two or more orders to one delivery person can be effective in terms of saving delivery time and costs. Furthermore, in this case, accurately delivering different items while traveling between two or more seller or customer locations requires special attention from the delivery person, which can lead to a high risk of customer dissatisfaction due to delivery person errors. Therefore, it is necessary to effectively provide information to delivery persons so that they can accurately recognize information about two or more orders and deliver them without errors.

[0005] Related prior art documents include Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2456359. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The embodiments of the present disclosure are proposed to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aim to effectively provide information about multiple delivery tasks by assigning multiple delivery tasks to delivery personnel in special situations where there is a shortage of delivery personnel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a method for providing delivery information by an electronic device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is characterized by including the steps of: confirming whether a first condition for consolidated delivery is met; if the first condition is met, confirming a first delivery request and a second delivery request to be assigned to a first delivery person among multiple delivery requests; and providing a page including information regarding the first delivery request and the second delivery request to a terminal of the first delivery person.

[0008] In one embodiment, the first condition includes at least one of an expected turnaround time related condition, a delivery availability level related condition, a weather related condition, an allocation delay time related condition, and an order quantity related condition.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the step of confirming the first delivery request and the second delivery request includes a step of confirming the first delivery request and the second delivery request that satisfy a second condition for the combined delivery based on information about the plurality of delivery requests, wherein the second condition includes at least one of a distance condition between the first delivery request and the second delivery request, a time condition between the first delivery request and the second delivery request, and a condition related to an expected delivery time reduction due to combining the first delivery request and the second delivery request.

[0010] In one embodiment, the distance condition between the first delivery request and the second delivery request includes at least one of: a distance between a first seller location associated with the first delivery request and a second seller location associated with the second delivery request is less than a first distance; and a distance between a first customer location associated with the first delivery request and a second customer location associated with the second delivery request is less than a second distance.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the method further includes a step of providing a message to the terminal of the first delivery person indicating that at least two delivery requests may be assigned to the first delivery person for the combined delivery if the first condition is met.

[0012] According to one embodiment, the page includes first route information for the first delivery person to sequentially reach the first seller associated with the first delivery request and the second seller associated with the second delivery request, and the first route information is determined to minimize the travel distance of the first delivery person to receive the items.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the order of the first seller and the second seller on the first route is determined by further taking into consideration the item preparation times of the first seller and the second seller.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the page further includes second route information for sequentially reaching a first customer associated with the first delivery request and a second customer associated with the second delivery request after the first delivery person has completed receiving the item.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the first route information includes markers indicating the locations of the first seller and the second seller, as well as identifiers of the first seller and the second seller.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the page includes: a first area including the first route information; and a second area including detailed information regarding one of the first delivery request and the second delivery request, and the detailed information included in the second area is changed to detailed information regarding another of the first delivery request and the second delivery request by a swipe input by the first delivery person corresponding to the second area.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the second area includes a first object and a second object corresponding to the first delivery request and the second delivery request, respectively, and the detailed information included in the second area is changed by a selection input by the first delivery person corresponding to one of the first object and the second object, and identifiers associated with the first delivery request and the second delivery request, respectively, are displayed on the first object and the second object.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the page includes a completion information submission object for the first delivery person to submit receipt completion or delivery completion information for one of the first delivery request and the second delivery request, and the completion information submission object is deactivated if the distance between the location of the first delivery person and the location associated with the receipt completion or delivery completion information exceeds a threshold.

[0019] According to one embodiment, the step of confirming the first delivery request and the second delivery request further includes a step of determining the first delivery person to be assigned to perform combined delivery for the first delivery request and the second delivery request, and the determination of the first delivery person is based on the delivery history of the first delivery person.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the page includes a cancellation object for the first delivery person to cancel the allocation for each of the first delivery request and the second delivery request, and when the first delivery person completes receipt of one of the first delivery request and the second delivery request, the cancellation object for the delivery request for which receipt has been completed is removed from the page.

[0021] According to one embodiment, the method for providing delivery information further includes receiving acceptance of the first delivery request and the second delivery request from the first delivery person, and cancellation of one of the first delivery request and the second delivery request by the first delivery person is enabled when the first delivery person is within a certain distance from a seller location associated with each of the first delivery request and the second delivery request.

[0022] A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a medium configured to store computer-readable instructions, which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of providing delivery information, including: determining whether a first condition for consolidated delivery is met; if the first condition is met, determining a first delivery request and a second delivery request to be assigned to a first delivery person among a plurality of delivery requests; and providing a page including information regarding the first delivery request and the second delivery request to a terminal of the first delivery person.

[0023] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, an electronic device for providing delivery information includes a memory for storing at least one command; and a processor for executing the at least one command to check whether a first condition for consolidated delivery is met, and if the first condition is met, to check a first delivery request and a second delivery request to be assigned to a first delivery person among a plurality of delivery requests, and to provide a page including information about the first delivery request and the second delivery request to a terminal of the first delivery person. [Effects of the Invention]

[0024] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when there is an insufficient supply of delivery personnel compared to delivery demand, one delivery personnel can be assigned to handle multiple delivery requests simultaneously, thereby increasing delivery efficiency, shortening delivery times, and improving customer experience.

[0025] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, by effectively providing consolidated information about each delivery to the delivery person's terminal, the delivery person can accurately recognize information about multiple deliveries and make deliveries without making mistakes.

[0026] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the electronic device can set conditions under which a delivery person's delivery assignment can be canceled, thereby preventing confusion caused by sudden cancellation of the delivery assignment and helping the delivery person to efficiently utilize their delivery time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0027] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a delivery information providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 1 is a sequence diagram illustrating information exchanges and corresponding operations of each node involved in a method for providing delivery information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates a page containing multiple shipping information according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4a] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing a delivery acceptance request for two or more combined delivery requests according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4b] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing a delivery acceptance request for two or more combined delivery requests according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5a] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing information regarding the receiving process associated with bulk shipping, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5b] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing information regarding the receiving process associated with bulk shipping, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5c] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing information regarding the receiving process associated with bulk shipping, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5d] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing information regarding the receiving process associated with bulk shipping, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5e] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing information regarding the receiving process associated with bulk shipping, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5f] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing information regarding the receiving process associated with bulk shipping, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5g] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing information regarding the receiving process associated with bulk shipping, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 5h] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing information regarding the receiving process associated with bulk shipping, according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6a] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing information about the shipping process related to bulk shipping in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6b] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing information about the shipping process related to bulk shipping in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6c] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing information about the shipping process related to bulk shipping in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6d] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing information about the shipping process related to bulk shipping in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6e] FIG. 10 illustrates a page containing information about the shipping process related to bulk shipping in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7a] FIG. 10 illustrates a page for explaining a process for canceling at least a portion of assigned delivery requests according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7b] FIG. 10 illustrates a page for explaining a process for canceling at least a portion of assigned delivery requests according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7c] FIG. 10 illustrates a page for explaining a process for canceling at least a portion of assigned delivery requests according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7d]FIG. 10 illustrates a page for explaining a process for canceling at least a portion of assigned delivery requests according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating distance conditions for consolidating multiple delivery requests according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating conditions under which one of the assigned delivery requests can be canceled according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 10] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method flow for an electronic device to provide shipping information according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 11] 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0029] In describing the embodiments, technical details that are well known in the technical field to which the present invention pertains and that are not directly related to the present invention will be omitted in order to more clearly convey the gist of the present invention without obscuring it.

[0030] For the same reason, in the accompanying drawings, some components are exaggerated, omitted, or illustrated schematically, and the size of each component does not entirely reflect the actual size. The same or corresponding components in each drawing are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0031] The advantages and features of the present invention, as well as methods for achieving them, will become clearer with reference to the following detailed description of the embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, and may be embodied in various different forms. The present embodiments are provided solely for the purpose of ensuring completeness of the disclosure and fully conveying the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. The present invention is defined solely by the scope of the claims. The same reference numerals refer to the same elements throughout the specification.

[0032] It will be understood that each block of the process flowchart and combinations of the flowcharts can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be loaded onto a processor in a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device, such that the instructions, executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device, create means for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s). These computer program instructions can also be stored in computer-usable or computer-readable memory that can direct the computer or other programmable data processing device to implement the functions in a particular way, such that the instructions stored in the computer-usable or computer-readable memory can produce an article of manufacture containing instruction means for performing the functions described in the flowchart block(s). The computer program instructions may be stored on a computer or other programmable data processing device such that a series of operational steps are performed on the computer or other programmable data processing device to create a computer-implemented process, and the instructions that run on the computer or other programmable data processing device may provide steps to perform the functions described in the flowchart block(s).

[0033] Also, each block may represent a module, segment, or portion of code that includes one or more executable instructions for performing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of order. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be performed substantially simultaneously, or the blocks may sometimes be performed in reverse order depending on the relevant functionality.

[0034] In this embodiment, the term "module" refers to a software or hardware component such as an FPGA or ASIC, and the "module" performs a certain function. However, the "module" is not limited to software or hardware. The "module" may be configured to reside on an addressable storage medium and to execute one or more processors. Thus, as an example, the "module" includes components such as software components, object-oriented software components, class components, and task components, as well as processes, functions, attributes, procedures, subroutines, program code segments, drivers, firmware, microcode, circuits, data, databases, data structures, tables, arrays, and variables. The functions provided by the components and "modules" may be combined into fewer components and "modules" or further separated into additional components and "modules." Furthermore, the components and "modules" may be embodied to execute one or more CPUs within a device or a security multimedia card.

[0035] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a delivery information providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 1, a delivery information providing system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a user terminal 110 and an electronic device 120.

[0037] In one embodiment, a user of an e-commerce or delivery intermediation service can use a user terminal 110 to communicate with a service server including an electronic device 120. The user terminal 110 has an application for providing the e-commerce or delivery intermediation service installed thereon, can connect to the electronic device 120 under the control of the application, and can use the e-commerce or delivery intermediation service based on information exchange with the electronic device 120. The e-commerce or food delivery application can include a buyer application, a seller application, a delivery person application, etc., depending on the user of the application. That is, the user terminal 110 can be used by various users, including customers who purchase items through the service, sellers who sell items through the service, and delivery people who deliver purchased items from sellers to customers. The user terminal 110 can be a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet PC, or a desktop PC. Any device on which the e-commerce or delivery intermediation service application can be installed and executed can be used as the user terminal 110.

[0038] In one embodiment, the electronic device 120 may communicate with the user terminal 110 and provide the user terminal 110 with information related to e-commerce or delivery intermediation services, and may be included in a server of a service that provides the e-commerce or delivery intermediation services. The electronic device 120 may provide item, store, or menu information as a database search result. The electronic device 120 may also provide information related to delivery of items purchased by a customer through the service to at least one of a customer, a seller, and a delivery person.

[0039] In one embodiment, the electronic device 120 checks whether a first condition for consolidated delivery is met, and if the first condition is met, it checks which of the multiple delivery requests should be assigned to a first delivery person, and provides a page containing information about the first and second delivery requests to the terminal of the first delivery person. A method for providing delivery information by the electronic device 120 will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 2.

[0040] 2 is a sequence diagram illustrating information exchanges and corresponding operations of each node involved in a method for providing delivery information according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The user terminal and electronic device shown in FIG. 2 may include the user terminal 110 and electronic device 120 shown in FIG. 1, respectively.

[0041] In step 210, the electronic device can verify whether the first condition for combined delivery is met. Delivery intermediary services typically assign one delivery person to deliver only one order in order to provide customers with faster delivery. However, in adverse weather conditions, such as heavy rain or snow, or during periods of heavy traffic congestion with a high volume of orders, such as during the daytime or evening hours, the supply of delivery persons may be low compared to the number of orders, making it difficult to find a delivery person to handle each of the multiple orders. In such special circumstances, the electronic device can assign two or more orders to one delivery person, thereby saving delivery time and costs. In this way, one delivery person delivering two or more orders may also be referred to as combined delivery or optimized delivery. A typical delivery in which one delivery person delivers one order may also be referred to as single delivery or general delivery.

[0042] In general situations, such as when weather conditions or traffic congestion are not severe, assigning only one order to a single delivery person may be advantageous in terms of expediting delivery. Therefore, in one embodiment, the electronic device may preset a first condition for combined deliveries, perform combined deliveries only if the first condition is met, and perform single deliveries if the first condition is not met. In one embodiment, the first condition may include at least one of a condition related to expected delivery time, a condition related to delivery availability, a weather-related condition, a condition related to allocation delay time, and a condition related to order quantity. In one embodiment, whether the first condition is met may be determined by delivery information included in the order information or may be determined independently of the order. For example, the delivery information may include the customer's order time, the address of the item seller, the ordered items, requests related to the items (e.g., "spicy level," "include disposable items"), the delivery request address, and requests related to the delivery (e.g., "expedited delivery," "call before arrival"), etc.

[0043] In one embodiment, the electronic device may check the estimated time required for completing delivery to a customer based on delivery information included in the order information and determine whether the confirmed estimated time reaches a set standard. If the electronic device determines that the estimated time has reached the set standard, i.e., if the estimated delivery time exceeds the set standard, the electronic device may determine that there is a shortage of delivery personnel compared to delivery demand and consider a combined delivery, in which multiple deliveries for multiple orders are assigned to one delivery personnel. The estimated time may be set based on information about past delivery times, taking into account a target area or time period. The target area may be determined based on at least one of the location of the orderer (i.e., customer) or the location of the seller (e.g., restaurant). The target area may be a division of the entire area where delivery services are provided by administrative district, or may be a division automatically created by the electronic device based on delivery characteristics such as seller distribution, delivery demand, and delivery distance. The target area may also be divided based on whether statistical characteristics related to deliveries within the target area are similar.

[0044] In one embodiment, the electronic device can check a target area based on the customer location or seller location related to the delivery information and can check whether the delivery acceptance level corresponding to the current time in the target area has reached a set standard. If the electronic device determines that the delivery acceptance level has reached the set standard, it can determine that a first condition for implementing consolidated delivery has been met. In this case, the standard related to the delivery acceptance level can be set taking into account the target area or time period based on information on past delivery acceptance levels.

[0045] In one embodiment, the electronic device can check the target area based on the customer location or the seller location associated with the delivery information, and can check the current weather in the target area. If the current weather in the target area meets a set criterion (e.g., rain or snow, or the temperature is extremely cold or hot beyond a certain range), the electronic device can determine that a first condition for implementing combined delivery is met.

[0046] In one embodiment, the electronic device may check an allocation delay time, which refers to the time from when a delivery person is requested to accept an allocation in response to a customer order to when the delivery person accepts the request. If the delivery person does not accept the request within a set reference time after the request to accept an allocation, the electronic device may determine that a first condition for implementing consolidated delivery is met. In this case, the reference time for allocation delay time may be set taking into account a target area or time period based on information about past allocation delay times.

[0047] In one embodiment, the electronic device may check a target area based on the customer location or seller location associated with the delivery information, and may check the order volume per certain time period for the target area. If the electronic device determines that the current order volume per hour for the target area has reached a set standard, the electronic device may determine that a first condition for implementing consolidated delivery has been met. In this case, the standard related to the order volume per hour may be set in consideration of the target area or time period based on information about past order volumes.

[0048] In one embodiment, the electronic device may determine whether the first condition is met based on the difference between the expected delivery time and the actual delivery time for deliveries completed within a specific time period. For example, if the average difference between the expected delivery time and the actual delivery time for a certain number of recent completed deliveries exceeds a reference time, the electronic device may determine that the actual delivery time is too long and that delivery personnel are not being supplied smoothly, and may determine that the first condition for consolidated deliveries is met.

[0049] In step 220, the electronic device may identify a first delivery request and a second delivery request among the plurality of delivery requests to be assigned to a first delivery person if a first condition is met.

[0050] In one embodiment, the electronic device may check multiple delivery requests, which may be included in order information regarding items purchased by a customer from a seller via a delivery intermediary service. The order information may be transmitted from the customer's user terminal to a server of the delivery intermediary service. The information regarding the delivery requests may include customer location information, seller location information, and item information. The electronic device's checking of the multiple delivery requests may occur before, after, or simultaneously with the determination of whether the first condition of step 210 is met.

[0051] In one embodiment, the electronic device can identify two or more delivery requests to assign to one delivery person among the multiple delivery requests. However, in the case of combined delivery, assigning any of the multiple delivery requests to one delivery person may negatively impact delivery efficiency. Therefore, the electronic device can identify two or more delivery requests that meet a second condition for combined delivery and assign the identified two or more delivery requests to one delivery person as a combined delivery. While this disclosure primarily discusses an embodiment in which two delivery requests, such as a first delivery request and a second delivery request, are combined as a combined delivery, one skilled in the art will understand that more than two delivery requests may be assigned to one delivery person as a combined delivery.

[0052] In one embodiment, the electronic device may identify first and second delivery requests that satisfy a second condition for combined delivery based on information about the plurality of delivery requests, where the second condition may include at least one of a distance condition between the first and second delivery requests, a time condition between the first and second delivery requests, and a condition related to an expected reduction in delivery time due to combining the first and second delivery requests.

[0053] In one embodiment, the electronic device may consider a distance condition between the first delivery request and the second delivery request as a second condition for consolidation. The electronic device may determine to consolidate the first delivery request and the second delivery request if the first delivery request and the second delivery request satisfy a predetermined distance condition, taking into account at least one of the location of the seller and the location of the customer associated with the first delivery request and at least one of the location of the seller and the location of the customer associated with the second delivery request. For example, the distance condition may include at least one of the following: the distance between the first seller location associated with the first delivery request and the second seller location associated with the second delivery request is less than a first distance; and the distance between the first customer location associated with the first delivery request and the second customer location associated with the second delivery request is less than a second distance. The distance condition for consolidating the two delivery requests will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 8.

[0054] In one embodiment, the electronic device may consider a time condition between the first delivery request and the second delivery request as a second condition for combining. In one embodiment, the time condition between the first delivery request and the second delivery request may include a difference between a first time when the order related to the first delivery request is placed and a second time when the order related to the second delivery request is placed being less than a certain time. Combining two delivery requests with a large difference in order time may result in excessively delayed delivery for the customer who placed the order first. Therefore, the electronic device may determine to combine delivery requests for two orders with a relatively small difference in order time.

[0055] In one embodiment, the distance condition and the time condition may be set based on the first condition considered in step 210. For example, if the electronic device determines to perform consolidated deliveries based on the delivery supply and demand level, and if the electronic device determines that the supply of delivery personnel is relatively smooth based on the confirmed delivery supply and demand level, the electronic device may set the distance condition and the time condition low to consider consolidated deliveries only for delivery requests generated within a narrow distance range and a short time range. On the other hand, if the electronic device determines that the supply of delivery personnel is extremely short based on the confirmed delivery supply and demand level, the electronic device may set the distance condition and the time condition high to consider consolidated deliveries for delivery requests generated within a relatively wide distance range and a relatively long time range. In this way, the electronic device can variably set the distance condition and the time condition in response to the current situation, thereby more efficiently responding to situations where delivery personnel are in short supply, thereby improving customer satisfaction. While the present embodiment has been described using the delivery supply and demand level as an example, it should be understood that the distance condition and the time condition may be variably set based on various conditions that can determine the degree of shortage of delivery personnel, including the expected delivery time or the allocation delay time. It should also be understood that the variably set distance and time conditions can be adaptively set taking into consideration whether delivering multiple delivery requests within a given range together is expected to improve the safety of the delivery person or shorten delivery time compared to delivering each delivery request individually.

[0056] In one embodiment, the distance requirement may also vary depending on the delivery vehicle of the delivery person. For example, if the delivery person delivers by car or motorcycle, the distance requirement may be set to a relatively wide distance range, and if the delivery person delivers by bicycle or on foot, the distance requirement may be set to a relatively narrow distance range.

[0057] In one embodiment, the time condition may be set based on an expected time for item preparation for multiple delivery requests. The expected time for item preparation may be set by the seller by checking delivery information related to the customer's delivery request and directly inputting the expected time for item preparation, or by the electronic device by arbitrarily setting the expected time based on delivery history.

[0058] In one embodiment, when the first delivery request and the second delivery request are from the same customer, the electronic device may set different consolidation conditions compared to when the first delivery request and the second delivery request are from different customers. For example, when the first delivery request and the second delivery request are from the same customer, even if the difference in order time between the first delivery request and the second delivery request is relatively long or the distance between the locations of the stores corresponding to the two delivery requests is relatively far, consolidating the two delivery requests may be efficient for both the delivery person and the customer. Therefore, in this case, the electronic device may set different distance and time conditions to achieve efficient consolidated delivery.

[0059] In one embodiment, the electronic device may consider a condition related to the expected reduction in delivery time by combining the first and second delivery requests as a second condition for combining. The electronic device calculates a first time by which the first and second delivery requests are expected to be completed to their respective customer locations when they are assigned to different delivery personnel, and a second time by which the first and second delivery requests are expected to be completed to their respective customer locations when they are assigned to the same delivery personnel. If the difference between the first and second times exceeds a reference time, the electronic device may combine the two delivery requests. In other words, if the difference between the first and second times does not exceed the reference time, the electronic device may determine that the effect of combining delivery is negligible and not attempt combined delivery.

[0060] In step 230, the electronic device may generate a page including information about the first delivery request and the second delivery request. When the first delivery request and the second delivery request to be collectively assigned to one delivery person are confirmed, the electronic device may generate a page to provide information about each of the first delivery request and the second delivery request and collectively information (e.g., a route for the collectively delivered item, a fee for the collectively delivered item) to the delivery person's terminal.

[0061] In step 240, the electronic device may provide a page containing information regarding the first delivery request and the second delivery request to the delivery person's terminal. The page may include at least one of page 300 of FIG. 3, page 400 of FIGS. 4a-4b, page 500 of FIGS. 5a-5h, page 600 of FIGS. 6a-6e, and page 700 of FIGS. 7a-7d.

[0062] The pages containing information regarding bulk delivery will be described in more detail below with reference to Figures 3, 4a-4b, 5a-5h, 6a-6e, and 7a-7d.

[0063] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a page containing multiple shipping information according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0064] Referring to FIG. 3 , a page 300 containing multiple delivery information items that may be displayed on a delivery person's terminal is shown. In one embodiment, page 300 may be the first page provided to a delivery person when the delivery person executes a delivery intermediation service application through a user's terminal and may be referred to as a home page or gateway page. Page 300 may include information on multiple delivery requests that delivery people in the vicinity of the delivery person's current location or a set location can accept. In the example shown in FIG. 3 , page 300 may include information on current delivery fees and order status information for the delivery person's surrounding area. The delivery person can select one of the areas displayed on page 300 and view information on delivery requests that delivery people in the selected area can accept. In one embodiment, the areas displayed on page 300 may be pre-divided according to administrative districts or divided into areas with similar delivery characteristics. Delivery fees may be determined based on the delivery demand and supply of delivery people in each area.

[0065] In one embodiment, the electronic device may provide a message to the first delivery person's terminal informing them that at least two delivery requests may be assigned to the first delivery person for combined delivery if a first condition for combined delivery is met. For example, the electronic device may display message 301 on page 300 informing them that two or more deliveries may be assigned to the delivery person through combined delivery (also referred to as optimized delivery). When the first delivery person clicks on message 301, the electronic device may provide page 310 containing general information about combined delivery. By displaying message 301, the electronic device may inform the delivery person that they may be assigned two or more deliveries at once, thereby reducing the possibility of a mishap in which, if assigned combined delivery, they mistakenly select only one delivery from two or more combined deliveries. Meanwhile, a message informing them that combined delivery is currently being implemented, such as message 301, may be provided not only on the gateway page but also via a page displayed on the delivery person's terminal while the delivery person is making an actual delivery.

[0066] In one embodiment, the electronic device may determine a first delivery person to assign the combined delivery for the first delivery request and the second delivery request, and the determination of the first delivery person may be based on at least one of the first delivery person's delivery history and transportation method. Because delivering different items to multiple customer locations via multiple seller locations can be somewhat difficult for inexperienced delivery people, the electronic device may request acceptance of the combined delivery from delivery people with a certain number of delivery trips or a certain period of time. Furthermore, because assigning combined deliveries to delivery people who travel on foot may be inefficient when multiple deliveries involve long travel distances, the electronic device may request acceptance of the combined delivery only from delivery people who travel by car or motorcycle. Meanwhile, as another example, in cases of heavy snowfall, severe traffic congestion, or difficulty parking at the pickup or delivery location, delivery people who travel on foot may be able to deliver faster than delivery people who travel by car or motorcycle. In such cases, the electronic device may request acceptance of the combined delivery only from delivery people who travel on foot.

[0067] 4a and 4b illustrate a page containing a delivery acceptance request for two or more combined delivery requests according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0068] 4a, a page 400 including consolidated information for two or more delivery requests is shown, which may be displayed on a delivery person's terminal. The delivery person can, for example, select one of the multiple delivery requests displayed on page 300 and access page 400 including detailed information about the selected consolidated delivery request. As another example, the delivery person can select a delivery request included in a delivery acceptance request message received from an electronic device and access page 400 including detailed information about the selected consolidated delivery request. The delivery person can decide whether to accept the delivery request based on the consolidated information for the two or more delivery requests, and can accept the delivery request via an input corresponding to area 440 to start the consolidated delivery.

[0069] In one embodiment, region 410 of page 400 may display recommended route information for a delivery person to make two or more combined deliveries. The route information may include the merchant locations and customer locations that the delivery person must reach to make the two or more deliveries from the delivery person's current location, and the optimal route to travel to the customer location via each merchant location.

[0070] In one embodiment, area 420 of page 400 may display information indicating that the delivery being requested to the delivery person is a combined delivery. For example, as shown in FIG. 4a, the electronic device may display a phrase such as "2 deliveries including Store A" in area 420 to highlight to the delivery person the fact that the delivery request displayed on page 400 is a combined delivery.

[0071] In one embodiment, area 430 of page 400 may display shipping fee information for combined shipping. In response to a delivery person's input corresponding to area 430, the electronic device may provide sub-page 450 containing more detailed fee information for combined shipping.

[0072] Referring to FIG. 4b, subpage 450 is shown containing information about combined shipping fees. In one embodiment, the combined shipping fee for a first delivery and a second delivery may be calculated as the sum of the shipping fees that would be received if the first delivery and the second delivery were made separately and an additional fee for combining the deliveries. The electronic device may calculate an additional fee for combining multiple deliveries to encourage delivery personnel to participate in combined deliveries in special situations where there is a shortage of delivery personnel.

[0073] 5a-5h illustrate pages containing information regarding the receiving process associated with bulk shipping according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0074] Referring to Figure 5a, a page 500 is shown that provides information regarding combined deliveries to a delivery person who accepted a delivery via page 400 of Figure 4a. In one embodiment, page 500 includes an area 510 that displays the delivery person's recommended route for the combined delivery and an area 520 that displays detailed information regarding the combined delivery. In one embodiment, the delivery person can abandon the combined delivery and cancel the combined delivery assignment via an input corresponding to area 550.

[0075] 5b, an area 510 of page 500 is shown displaying a delivery person's recommended route for a combined delivery. Area 510 may include marker 511 displaying the delivery person's current location, markers 512 and 513 displaying the seller locations where the delivery person will receive the items for the first and second deliveries, and markers 514 and 515 displaying the customer locations where the delivery person will hand over the received items for the completion of the first and second deliveries. Area 510 may also include a route for the delivery person to travel to each customer location via each seller location.

[0076] In one embodiment, page 500 includes first route information for a first delivery person to sequentially reach a first seller associated with the first delivery request and a second seller associated with the second delivery request, and the first route information may be determined to minimize a travel distance for the first delivery person to receive the items. In one embodiment, a delivery fee is determined according to the length of the delivery person's travel route, and the first route information may be determined to have a travel distance that minimizes the delivery fee.

[0077] In one embodiment, the delivery fee for the combined delivery may be determined based on the first route information, regardless of the actual route traveled by the delivery person. The delivery person may travel any route to make the pickup, regardless of the route displayed in area 510, and the delivery fee may be determined based on the predetermined first route information, regardless of the actual route traveled by the delivery person.

[0078] In one embodiment, the order of the first and second sellers on the first route may be determined by further considering the item preparation times of the first and second sellers. For example, if the location of the first seller is closer to the delivery person's current location than the location of the second seller, the electronic device may determine a route such that the delivery person travels to the first seller first, followed by the second seller, in order to minimize the delivery person's travel path. However, if there is still a lot of time remaining to prepare the first seller's items and the second seller's items have been prepared, it may be more efficient in terms of delivery time to first pass the location of the second seller and then travel to the location of the first seller. Therefore, in this case, the electronic device may determine a route such that the delivery person travels to the second seller first, followed by the first seller.

[0079] In one embodiment, the first route information may include markers displaying the locations of the first and second merchants as well as the identifiers of the first and second merchants. The electronic device may display markers for displaying the locations of multiple merchants on the map, such as markers 512 and 513, and the names of the merchants (e.g., Store A, Store B) on the map to clearly indicate which merchant each marker is for. This allows the delivery person to accurately distinguish between multiple stores of the same merchant based on the markers and store identifiers displayed on the map, even if the delivery person must pass through multiple stores.

[0080] Similarly, in one embodiment, page 500 may further include second route information for sequentially reaching the first customer associated with the first delivery request and the second customer associated with the second delivery request after the first delivery person has completed receiving the items. The second route information may include markers displaying the locations of the first and second customers as well as the identifiers of the first and second customers. The electronic device may display markers, such as markers 514 and 515, for displaying multiple customer locations on a map, along with the customer's identifier (e.g., customer of store A, customer of store B) on the map to clearly indicate which customer each marker is for. This allows the delivery person to accurately distinguish between multiple customers based on the markers and customer identifiers displayed on the map, even when there are multiple customers to whom the delivery person must deliver items, and to deliver items with different destinations to the correct destinations without making any mistakes.

[0081] In one embodiment, area 510 may include message 516 to highlight the combined delivery information to the delivery person, informing them that they must complete both pickups. By displaying message 516 in area 510, the electronic device can prevent the delivery person from forgetting that they are completing a combined delivery for two deliveries and making the mistake of only completing one of the two deliveries.

[0082] Referring to FIG. 5c, area 520 of page 500 is shown containing detailed information about the combined shipment. In one embodiment, area 520 may include text 521 highlighting the receiving responsibilities for the two shipments, a tip 522 displaying the identifiers for each of the two shipments, and an area 523 displaying detailed information about the merchant associated with the two shipments. Tip 522 may display any identifier, such as a code or a contracted order number, that can identify the two shipments. Area 523 may include the merchant's address information, a photo of the merchant's store, a phone number, hints for easily locating the store, and the like. In one embodiment, area 520 may include an object 524 for inputting information that the delivery person has arrived at the store displayed in area 523.

[0083] In one embodiment, page 500 may include a first area 510 including first route information and a second area 520 including detailed information about one of the first delivery request and the second delivery request. The detailed information included in second area 520 may be changed to detailed information about another of the first delivery request and the second delivery request by a swipe input by the first delivery person corresponding to second area 520. For example, when detailed information about a seller associated with the first delivery request (i.e., Store A) is displayed in detailed information display area 523 of second area 520, if the first delivery person swipes area 523 left or right, the detailed information displayed in area 523 may be changed to detailed information about a seller associated with the second delivery request (i.e., Store B).

[0084] However, allowing the detailed information displayed in the second area 520 to be changed simply by swiping may make it difficult for some elderly delivery personnel who are not accustomed to using user terminals such as smartphones to check detailed information related to multiple deliveries. These delivery personnel may not realize that swiping is possible in the second area 520, and may be unable to check detailed information related to the second delivery, which may cause difficulties in making combined deliveries. Therefore, to enable even elderly delivery personnel who are not accustomed to swiping to recognize multiple delivery requests and easily check detailed information related to the multiple deliveries, in one embodiment, the second area 520 may include a first object and a second object (e.g., a chip 522) corresponding to the first delivery request and the second delivery request, respectively. The detailed information included in the second area 520 may be changed in response to a selection input by the first delivery personnel corresponding to one of the first object and the second object, and identifiers associated with the first delivery request and the second delivery request may be displayed on the first object and the second object, respectively.

[0085] In one embodiment, the detailed information included in second area 520 may change in response to an input by the first delivery person corresponding to markers 512, 513, 514, and 515 included in first area 510. For example, the first delivery person may select marker 513 for Store B among the markers displayed in first area 510 to view detailed information about Store B, the seller related to the second delivery request, and detailed information about Store B may be displayed in second area 520 in response to the selection input. Similarly, the first delivery person may select marker 514 for a customer of Store A among the markers displayed in first area 510 to view detailed information about a customer of Store A, the customer related to the first delivery request, and detailed information about the customer who purchased an item from Store A may be displayed in second area 520 in response to the selection input.

[0086] In one embodiment, page 500 may include a completion information submission object (e.g., object 524) for the first delivery person to submit pickup completion or delivery completion information for one of the first and second delivery requests. The completion information submission object may be deactivated if the distance between the first delivery person's location and the location associated with the pickup completion or delivery completion information exceeds a threshold. For example, a button that allows the first delivery person to submit arrival completion or pickup completion information for Store A may be activated only when the first delivery person is near Store A (e.g., within 100 meters). This interface design may prevent the first delivery person from mistakenly submitting information that they have completed pickup at Store A when they have actually completed pickup at Store B. This may minimize the possibility that a first delivery person who combines multiple deliveries may mistakenly confuse multiple stores or multiple customers. In the example shown in FIG. 5c, object 524 for submitting store arrival information for Store A is deactivated, which may mean that the first delivery person has not yet arrived at Store A.

[0087] Referring to Figure 5d, an area 520 of page 500 is shown containing detailed information about combined shipping. If detailed information about the seller associated with the first delivery request is displayed in area 523 in Figure 5c, the delivery person can control the delivery person terminal so that detailed information about the store, which is the seller associated with the second delivery request, is displayed in area 523 by swiping corresponding to area 523, clicking tip 522 for the seller associated with the second delivery request, or clicking marker 513 displayed in area 510 in Figure 5b.

[0088] Referring to Figure 5e, region 520 of page 500 is shown containing detailed information about bulk deliveries. Unlike object 524 in Figure 5c, object 525 in Figure 5e is activated, which may indicate that the delivery person holding the terminal on which page 500 is displayed has arrived at Store A. The delivery person can click object 524 to communicate to the electronic device that they have arrived at the store.

[0089] Referring to FIG. 5f, area 520 of page 500 is shown, containing detailed information about the bulk delivery. Compared to area 523 in FIG. 5c, area 523 in FIG. 5f is expanded to include detailed information (e.g., menu, order amount, and order requests) about the items to be picked up from Store A, the seller associated with the first delivery request (i.e., the food ordered by the first customer). The delivery person can confirm the identifier for the first delivery request and the items to be picked up from Store A and pick up all items for the first delivery request at Store A. Once the pickup is complete, the delivery person can click object 525 to provide information to the electronic device that the pickup is complete. Meanwhile, if the delivery person finds that the store is slower than expected to prepare the items, resulting in a long wait time, the delivery person can cancel the allocation of the delivery request to the corresponding store and make only the remaining delivery requests through an input corresponding to object 526. The process of canceling a delivery allocation will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 7a to 7d and 9.

[0090] Referring to FIG. 5g, area 510 of page 500 displaying a delivery person's recommended route for a combined delivery is shown. Page 500 of FIG. 5g may be a page displayed to a delivery person when the delivery person clicks object 525 on page 500 of FIG. 5f to submit pickup completion information for store A. Unlike the route information displayed in area 510 of FIG. 5b, it can be seen that the marker for store A has disappeared from the route information because pickup for store A has been completed, while the marker for store B, where pickup has not yet been completed, remains. Meanwhile, in one embodiment, the electronic device may provide a guidance message, such as message 530, to complete pickup for the next order, thereby reminding a delivery person making a combined delivery including multiple deliveries to continue pickup for the next delivery after pickup for the first delivery.

[0091] Referring to Figure 5h, an area 520 of page 500 is shown containing detailed information about the bulk delivery. Because the delivery to Store A has been completed, a mark indicating completion of delivery (a "V" mark) can be seen on chip 522 displaying the identifier for the first delivery request.

[0092] 6a-6e illustrate pages containing information regarding the shipping process associated with bulk shipping according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0093] Referring to FIG. 6a, page 600 is shown providing delivery information related to combined deliveries to a delivery person who has completed pickups related to the combined delivery. Page 600 may include an area 610 displaying the delivery person's recommended route for the combined delivery. Because pickups of items from Store A and Store B related to the first and second delivery requests, respectively, have been completed, it can be seen that the first route information displayed in area 510 of FIG. 5b is displayed in area 610 of FIG. 6a with the seller marker removed. Meanwhile, it is possible to consider a case where, unlike the first route shown in FIG. 5b, the delivery person first visits Store B to pickup due to an issue with food preparation time, and then visits Store A to complete pickup. In this case, the electronic device may calculate an optimal route for traveling from Store A to the locations of the first and second customers, different from the second route shown in area 610, and display the calculated route on page 600.

[0094] Referring to FIG. 6b, an area 620 of page 600 containing detailed information about a combined delivery is shown. In one embodiment, area 620 may include text 621 highlighting the delivery assignments for the two deliveries, a chip 622 displaying the identifiers of each of the two deliveries, and an area 623 displaying detailed information about the customer associated with the two deliveries. Chip 622 may display any identifier, such as a code, that can identify the two deliveries. Area 623 may include customer address information, a photo of the customer's location, the customer's phone number, hints for easily locating the customer's address, delivery requests, information about the ordered menu, and price information. In one embodiment, area 620 may include an object 624 for inputting information that the delivery person has reached the customer displayed in area 623 and completed delivery of the items. When the delivery person submits the item delivery completion information via an input corresponding to object 624, a message 640 shown in FIG. 6c may be displayed.

[0095] 6c, a message 640 is shown prompting the delivery person to reconfirm the identifier for the first delivery request and the customer address information associated with the first delivery request. If the delivery person submits information indicating that the item has been delivered via an input corresponding to object 624 in FIG. 6b, message 640 prompts the delivery person to reconfirm whether the item associated with the first delivery request has been accurately delivered to the customer location associated with the first delivery request.

[0096] Referring to FIG. 6d, an area 610 of page 600 displaying a delivery person's recommended route for a combined delivery is shown. Because the delivery person entered information in FIG. 6c that they have completed delivery for the first delivery request, it can be seen in area 610 of FIG. 6d that the marker indicating the first customer associated with the first delivery request has been removed, and only the marker indicating the second customer associated with the second delivery request, which is the delivery person's next destination, remains. Meanwhile, in one embodiment, the electronic device may provide a guidance message, such as message 630, to complete delivery for the next order, thereby reminding a delivery person making a combined delivery that includes multiple deliveries to continue delivering items for the next delivery after completing delivery of the items for the first delivery.

[0097] Referring to FIG. 6e, an area 620 of page 600 is shown containing detailed information about the bulk delivery. Because the delivery to the first customer has been completed, a mark indicating completion of receipt (a "V" mark) can be seen added to chip 622 displaying the identifier for the first delivery request. Additionally, area 620 may further include object 624 for submitting delivery completion information for a second customer (i.e., a customer of Store B) associated with the second delivery request. The inactivation of object 624 may indicate that the delivery person has not yet arrived near the second customer's location.

[0098] 7a-7d are diagrams illustrating pages for explaining a process for canceling at least a portion of assigned shipping requests according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0099] 7a, a page 700 for providing information regarding combined deliveries is shown. A delivery person can cancel the allocation for the entire combined delivery via an input corresponding to object 701 on page 700, or can cancel the allocation for only a portion of the combined delivery via an input corresponding to object 702 on page 700, while continuing to deliver the remaining deliveries. That is, upon receiving the input corresponding to object 702, the electronic device can cancel only the allocation for the first delivery request, which is a delivery request for store A, and allow the remaining second delivery request to be assigned to the first delivery person as is, so that the first delivery person can make a single delivery.

[0100] In one embodiment, page 700 includes a cancellation object 702 for the first delivery person to cancel the allocation of each of the first and second delivery requests. When the first delivery person completes receiving one of the first and second delivery requests, the cancellation object 702 for the completed delivery request may be removed from page 700. The electronic device may be configured to prevent the delivery person from canceling a delivery request previously assigned to the delivery person if the delivery person visits the store and completes receiving the item. However, if the delivery person visits the store but has not yet received the item due to the seller's delayed preparation, the delivery person may cancel the allocation of the delivery request for the item and move on to make another delivery. In this way, by setting conditions under which the delivery person's delivery allocation can be canceled, the electronic device can prevent confusion caused by sudden cancellation of delivery allocations and help delivery people efficiently utilize their delivery time.

[0101] 7b shows subpage 730, which is provided when a delivery person requests cancellation of part of a combined delivery via an input corresponding to object 702 in FIG. 7a. The delivery person can confirm information via subpage 730 that if part of the combined delivery assigned to the delivery person is canceled, the delivery completion rate will decrease, the delivery will be converted to a single delivery, and the delivery fee will be reduced, and can select object 731.

[0102] Referring to Figure 7c, a sub-page 740 for selecting a reason for cancelling an assignment is shown, which is provided in response to a delivery person's input corresponding to object 731 in Figure 7b. Sub-page 740 may include a list of multiple reasons for cancelling an assignment, and the delivery person may select at least one of the reasons for cancelling an assignment displayed in the list and transmit it to the electronic device.

[0103] Referring to FIG. 7d, if a delivery person cancels the allocation of some of the combined deliveries, an area 710 is shown displaying the delivery person's recommended route for a single delivery. Canceling the delivery person's allocation of some of the combined deliveries may convert the combined deliveries to a single delivery. In one embodiment, page 700 may further include text 720 emphasizing that the deliveries assigned to the delivery person are single deliveries. In one embodiment, page 700 may further include message 750 indicating a change in delivery fee due to the conversion to a single delivery.

[0104] On the other hand, the conditions under which at least some of the combined deliveries can be canceled will be explained in detail with reference to FIG.

[0105] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating distance conditions for combining multiple delivery requests according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0106] Referring to FIG. 8, distance conditions 800 are shown that are taken into consideration when allocating Delivery 1, which is associated with Seller 1 and Customer 1, and Delivery 2, which is associated with Seller 2 and Customer 2, to a single delivery person (Delivery Person 1 or Delivery Person 2).

[0107] In one embodiment, the electronic device may divide the entire area where delivery intermediation services are provided into multiple zones. The multiple zones may correspond to administrative districts or may be automatically divided by the electronic device based on delivery characteristics such as seller distribution, delivery demand, and delivery distance. The multiple zones may be divided based on whether the statistical characteristics related to delivery in each zone are similar. In one embodiment, each of the multiple zones may be in the form of a hexagon, as shown in FIG. 8, and the size of each hexagon may be the same or different. Depending on the delivery characteristics of the zone, one zone may be divided into smaller zones, or multiple zones may be combined into one larger zone.

[0108] In one embodiment, the electronic device checks the areas where Seller 1, Seller 2, Customer 1, and Customer 2 are located, and can consider combining Delivery 1 and Delivery 2 if Seller 1 and Seller 2 are located in the same area or Customer 1 and Customer 2 are located in the same area. In one embodiment, the electronic device can consider combining Delivery 1 and Delivery 2 if Seller 1 and Seller 2 are located in the same area and Customer 1 and Customer 2 are located in the same area. In this way, by checking whether the distance condition for combining Delivery 1 and Delivery 2 is met based on the pre-divided areas, the electronic device can improve calculation efficiency because it does not need to calculate and compare the distance between the locations of the customer and seller associated with Delivery 1 and Delivery 2, respectively.

[0109] In one embodiment, the electronic device may determine that the distance condition for consolidation is met if the distance between the locations of Seller 1 and Seller 2 is within a certain distance (e.g., 300 meters) even if Seller 1 and Seller 2 are located in different areas. Similarly, the electronic device may determine that the distance condition for consolidation is met if the distance between the locations of Customer 1 and Customer 2 (e.g., P2 and D4 in FIG. 8) is within a certain distance even if Customer 1 and Customer 2 are located in different areas. The certain distance may be set to a distance of less than five minutes by car, a distance that does not significantly affect the expected delivery completion time provided to the customer. When determining whether the distance condition for consolidating multiple deliveries is met, if it is based only on pre-divided areas, unreasonable consolidation may occur for sellers or customers near the boundaries of each area. To prevent this, the electronic device may additionally consider the actual distance between the sellers or customers to improve the effectiveness of delivery consolidation.

[0110] On the other hand, if it is decided to combine delivery 1 and delivery 2, a problem may arise as to which delivery person, delivery person 1 or delivery person 2, to assign the combined delivery.

[0111] In one embodiment, the electronic device can assign the combined delivery to the delivery person closest to either seller 1 or seller 2 based on the distance to the delivery person. For example, in FIG. 8, the combined delivery of delivery 1 and delivery 2 can be assigned to delivery person 1 because distance P1 between delivery person 1 and seller 1 is the shortest. The electronic device can then determine and provide a route to delivery person 1 so that delivery person 1 travels to seller 1 and seller 2 in order of proximity to pick up the items, and travels to customer 1 and customer 2 in order of proximity to seller 2 to deliver the items (i.e., in the order P1, P2, D3, D4).

[0112] In one embodiment, the electronic device can compare the expected route length (i.e., the sum of the lengths of P1, P2, D3, and D4, shown by the thin lines in FIG. 8 ) when delivery person 1 makes a combined delivery with the expected route length (i.e., the sum of the lengths of P3, P2, D1, and D4, shown by the thick lines in FIG. 8 ) when delivery person 2 makes a combined delivery, and assign the combined delivery to the delivery person with the shorter expected route.

[0113] In one embodiment, the electronic device can assign the combined deliveries of Delivery 1 and Delivery 2 to a delivery person located in the same area as Seller 1 and Seller 2.

[0114] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating conditions under which one of the assigned delivery requests can be canceled according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0115] Referring to FIG. 9, a schematic diagram 900 is shown to illustrate when a customer, a seller, and a delivery person can cancel one of Delivery 1 and Delivery 2 when Delivery 1 associated with Seller 1 and Customer 1 and Delivery 2 associated with Seller 2 and Customer 2 are in progress together.

[0116] In one embodiment, the electronic device can set the time when cancellation of one of the consolidated deliveries is permitted before the delivery person receives the item related to the delivery to be canceled. As shown in FIG. 9, when the delivery person arrives at the location of Seller 1 and receives the item prepared by Seller 1, Customer 1, Seller 1, and the delivery person cannot cancel Delivery 1 or the order related to Delivery 1. However, Customer 2, Seller 2, and the delivery person can cancel Delivery 2 or the order related to Delivery 2 at any time before the delivery person moves to the location of the next Seller 2 and receives the item prepared by Seller 2. In this way, by collectively setting the cancellation time for the customer, seller, and delivery person to be permitted before receiving the corresponding item, confusion caused by a sudden cancellation of a delivery person's assignment can be prevented and consolidated deliveries including canceled deliveries can be efficiently managed.

[0117] In one embodiment, the electronic device may receive the first delivery person's acceptance of the first delivery request and the second delivery request, and may be configured to allow the first delivery person to cancel one of the first and second delivery requests when the first delivery person is within a certain distance from the location of the seller associated with each of the first and second delivery requests. In this case, once the first delivery person first accepts the combined delivery of the first and second deliveries, the first delivery person may cancel the allocation for each of the first and second deliveries only after arriving near the location of the seller associated with the first delivery or the location of the seller associated with the second delivery. In this way, the electronic device may limit the delivery person's cancellation of the allocation to special cases (e.g., when the delivery person arrives at the store but the item is late in being prepared, causing a very long wait time), thereby preventing the delivery person's cancellation from lengthening the waiting time for receiving the item or the customer's wait time for delivery.

[0118] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for providing delivery information by an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The entity performing each step of the flowchart 1000 illustrated in FIG. 10 may include the electronic device 120 illustrated in FIG. 1 or the electronic device illustrated in FIG. 2, and descriptions that overlap with those described above may be omitted below.

[0119] In S1010, the electronic device can verify whether a first condition for bulk delivery is met.

[0120] In S1020, if a first condition is met, the electronic device may confirm a first delivery request and a second delivery request to be assigned to a first delivery person among the plurality of delivery requests.

[0121] At S1030, the electronic device may provide a page to the terminal of the first delivery person that includes information regarding the first delivery request and the second delivery request.

[0122] FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically illustrating each component of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0123] 11, an electronic device 1100 may include a processor 1110 and a memory 1120, and may perform a method for providing delivery information. Only components related to this embodiment are shown in the electronic device 1100 illustrated in FIG. 11. Therefore, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the electronic device 1100 may further include other general-purpose components in addition to the components illustrated in FIG. 11.

[0124] The processor 1110 controls the overall functions for providing delivery information in the electronic device 1100. For example, the processor 1110 controls the overall electronic device 1100 by executing programs stored in the memory 1120 in the electronic device 1100. The processor 1110 may be embodied as a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an application processor (AP), etc. provided in the electronic device 1100, but is not limited to these.

[0125] The memory 1120 is hardware that stores various data processed within the electronic device 1100, and can store data that has been processed by the electronic device 1100 and data to be processed. The memory 1120 can also store applications, drivers, etc. that are run by the electronic device 1100. The memory 1120 can include random access memory (RAM) such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or static random access memory (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), CD-ROM, Blu-ray or other optical disk storage, hard disk drive (HDD), solid state drive (SSD), or flash memory.

[0126] Meanwhile, the present specification and drawings disclose preferred embodiments of the present invention, and although specific terms are used, these are used in a general sense merely to easily explain the technical content of the present invention and to aid in understanding the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It is obvious to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that other modifications based on the technical concept of the present invention can be implemented in addition to the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0127] The electronic device or terminal according to the above-described embodiments may include a processor, memory for storing and executing program data, permanent storage such as a disk drive, a communication port for communicating with external devices, and user interface devices such as a touch panel, keys, icons, etc. Methods embodied in software modules or algorithms may be stored on a computer-readable recording medium as computer-readable code or program instructions executable on the processor. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic storage media (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), floppy disks, hard disks, etc.) and optically readable media (e.g., CD-ROMs, DVDs, etc.). The computer-readable recording media may be distributed across computer systems connected via a network, allowing the computer-readable code to be stored and executed in a distributed manner. The medium may be computer-readable, stored in memory, and executed by a processor.

[0128] The present embodiments may be illustrated with functional blocks and various processing steps. These functional blocks may be embodied in any number of hardware and / or software components that perform specific functions. For example, the embodiments may employ direct circuitry, such as memory, processing, logic, look-up tables, and the like, that can perform various functions under the control of one or more microprocessors or other controllers. Just as components may be implemented in software programming or software elements, the present embodiments include various algorithms embodied in a combination of data structures, processes, routines, or other programming components, and may be embodied in programming or scripting languages ​​such as C, C++, Java, Assembler, Python, and the like. Functional aspects may be embodied in algorithms executed by one or more processors. The present embodiments may also employ conventional techniques for electronic configuration, signal processing, and / or data processing. Terms such as "mechanism," "element," "means," and "component" may be used broadly and are not limited to mechanical or physical components. The term may include the meaning of a series of software routines in conjunction with a processor or the like.

[0129] The above-described embodiments are by way of example only, and other embodiments may be implemented within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. 1. A method for an electronic device to provide shipping information, comprising: determining whether a first condition for combined delivery is met; If the first condition is satisfied, confirming a first delivery request and a second delivery request to be assigned to a first delivery person among the plurality of delivery requests; and providing a page including information regarding the first delivery request and the second delivery request to the terminal of the first delivery person.

2. 2. The method of providing delivery information of claim 1, wherein the first condition includes at least one of an expected turnaround time-related condition, a delivery availability level-related condition, a weather-related condition, an allocation delay time-related condition, and an order quantity-related condition.

3. The step of confirming the first delivery request and the second delivery request includes: and confirming the first delivery request and the second delivery request that satisfy a second condition for the combined delivery based on information about the plurality of delivery requests; 2. The method for providing delivery information according to claim 1, wherein the second condition includes at least one of a distance condition between the first delivery request and the second delivery request, a time condition between the first delivery request and the second delivery request, and a condition related to an expected shortened delivery time due to combining the first delivery request and the second delivery request.

4. The distance condition between the first delivery request and the second delivery request is: a distance between a first seller location associated with the first delivery request and a second seller location associated with the second delivery request is less than a first distance; the distance between the first customer location associated with the first delivery request and the second customer location associated with the second delivery request is less than a second distance; 4. The method of claim 3, comprising at least one of:

5. 2. The method for providing delivery information according to claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a message to the terminal of the first delivery person indicating that at least two delivery requests may be assigned to the first delivery person for the combined delivery if the first condition is met.

6. the page includes first route information for the first delivery person to sequentially reach a first seller associated with the first delivery request and a second seller associated with the second delivery request; The method for providing delivery information according to claim 1 , wherein the first route information is determined so as to minimize a travel distance for the first delivery person to receive the item.

7. 7. The method of providing delivery information of claim 6, wherein the order of the first and second sellers on the first route is determined by further considering item preparation times of the first and second sellers.

8. 7. The method for providing delivery information of claim 6, wherein the page further includes second route information for sequentially reaching a first customer associated with the first delivery request and a second customer associated with the second delivery request after the first delivery person has completed receiving the item.

9. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first route information includes markers displaying identifiers of the first and second merchants along with locations of the first and second merchants.

10. The page: a first area including the first route information; a second area including detailed information about one of the first delivery request and the second delivery request; 7. The method for providing delivery information according to claim 6, wherein the detailed information included in the second area is changed to detailed information regarding another of the first delivery request and the second delivery request by a swipe input by the first delivery person corresponding to the second area.

11. the second area includes a first object and a second object corresponding to the first delivery request and the second delivery request, respectively; the detailed information included in the second area is changed in response to a selection input by the first delivery person corresponding to one of the first object and the second object; The method of claim 10 , wherein an identifier associated with the first delivery request and the second delivery request is displayed on the first object and the second object, respectively.

12. The page includes a completion information submission object for the first delivery person to submit receipt completion or delivery completion information of one of the first delivery request and the second delivery request, 2. The method of providing delivery information of claim 1, wherein the completion information submission object is deactivated if the distance between the location of the first delivery person and the location associated with the pickup completion or delivery completion information exceeds a threshold.

13. The step of confirming the first delivery request and the second delivery request includes: The method further includes determining the first delivery person to whom the first delivery request and the second delivery request are to be combined for delivery; The method for providing delivery information according to claim 1 , wherein the determination of the first delivery person is based on the delivery history of the first delivery person.

14. The page includes a cancel object for the first delivery person to cancel the allocation of each of the first delivery request and the second delivery request; 2. The method of providing delivery information according to claim 1, wherein when the first delivery person completes receipt of one of the first delivery request and the second delivery request, the cancellation object for the delivery request for which receipt has been completed is removed from the page.

15. further comprising receiving an acceptance by the first delivery person of the first delivery request and the second delivery request; 2. The method of providing delivery information according to claim 1, wherein cancellation of the first delivery person for one of the first delivery request and the second delivery request is set to be possible when the first delivery person is within a certain distance from a seller location associated with each of the first delivery request and the second delivery request.

16. 1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, comprising: a medium configured to store computer-readable instructions; The computer readable instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to: determining whether a first condition for combined delivery is met; If the first condition is satisfied, confirming a first delivery request and a second delivery request to be assigned to a first delivery person among the plurality of delivery requests; and providing a page including information regarding the first delivery request and the second delivery request to the terminal of the first delivery person.

17. 1. An electronic device for providing shipping information, comprising: a memory for storing at least one instruction word; and a processor that executes the at least one command to check whether a first condition for consolidated delivery is met, and if the first condition is met, identifies a first delivery request and a second delivery request to be assigned to a first delivery person among a plurality of delivery requests, and provides a page including information about the first delivery request and the second delivery request to a terminal of the first delivery person.

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