Fleet Control Server Optimizing Shipment Assignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle fleet management systems face challenges in efficiently assigning shipments between dedicated and common carrier fleets due to complex decision-making requirements, including real-time data integration, cost optimization, and asset utilization, which often leads to suboptimal distribution and increased costs.
Innovation Solution
A dedicated fleet control system that integrates real-time vehicle and driver status information with common carrier constraints to selectively assign shipments between dedicated and common carrier fleets, optimizing routes and distribution while minimizing overall costs, excluding fixed costs for dedicated fleets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual decision-making is used for shipment assignment, then operational flexibility is maintained, but assignment efficiency and cost optimization deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dedicated fleet control server as an intermediary between shippers and carriers. This server automatically receives shipment information, determines optimal assignments based on real-time fleet status and carrier constraints, and manages the entire assignment process. This intermediary system resolves the contradiction by handling complex optimization calculations automatically, improving assignment efficiency without requiring manual intervention while maintaining operational flexibility through configurable constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical decision-making processes with automated computational systems. The dedicated fleet control server uses algorithms to process real-time data from multiple sources (fleet status, carrier constraints, shipment requirements) and generates optimized assignments instantly. This substitution of human manual processes with automated computational mechanics resolves the contradiction by achieving both high efficiency and cost optimization through algorithmic processing while maintaining flexibility through programmable constraint management.
2Measurement precision
If real-time data integration is implemented, then assignment accuracy improves, but data processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dedicated fleet control server is designed as a universal platform that handles multiple functions: receiving real-time fleet status data, obtaining carrier constraints, processing shipment information, performing optimization calculations, and managing assignments. By consolidating these diverse data integration tasks into a single multi-functional system, the patent improves assignment accuracy through comprehensive real-time data processing while managing complexity through centralized architecture rather than multiple separate systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The dedicated fleet control server acts as an intermediary that standardizes data integration from multiple sources. It receives real-time data from fleet management systems, carrier systems, and shippers, normalizes this data through standardized interfaces, and processes it uniformly. This intermediary approach improves assignment accuracy by ensuring all relevant real-time data is integrated while managing complexity through standardized data handling protocols and centralized processing logic.
3Loss of energy
If automated fleet control is implemented, then operational costs are reduced, but system implementation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dedicated fleet control server serves as an intermediary that automates cost-reducing operations. It continuously monitors fleet utilization, identifies optimization opportunities, and automatically adjusts assignments to minimize operational costs including fuel consumption, vehicle idle time, and carrier selection. This intermediary automation achieves significant operational cost reductions while managing implementation complexity by consolidating control functions in a single centralized system that can be deployed incrementally.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service automation where the dedicated fleet control server autonomously performs optimization calculations, makes assignment decisions, and adjusts operations without continuous human intervention. The system automatically processes real-time data, evaluates multiple scenarios, and executes cost-reducing actions independently. This self-service capability reduces operational costs through continuous automated optimization while managing implementation complexity by creating a self-managing system that requires minimal ongoing human resources.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for control of a vehicle fleet system are provided. A disclosed vehicle fleet system includes a dedicated fleet control system for operating a dedicated carrier fleet having dedicated carrier vehicles. The dedicated fleet control system may be in communication with a common carrier control system of a common carrier fleet and may operate to assign various shipments among the dedicated carrier vehicles and the common carrier fleet. In particular, the dedicated fleet control system may selectively assign the one or more shipments to the dedicated fleet or the common carrier fleet based on dedicated carrier constraints and common carrier constraints. The constraints may be based on information received in part from an operator device communicatively coupled to the communication circuitry disposed in the respective vehicle, including an amount time that a driver has been operating the respective vehicle.