Mobile Package Pickup Routing for Last-Mile Delivery Delays
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing package delivery systems face inefficiencies, such as long distances from delivery centers to receiving vehicles and time-consuming processes involving mobile receiving stations, which can lead to increased effort and time for both delivery companies and recipients.
Innovation Solution
A package delivery support system that includes a mobile unit managed by a central device, capable of acquiring delivery and pickup requests and instructing the mobile unit to move to specified locations, allowing for efficient loading and unloading of packages without the need for repeated visits to delivery destinations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a delivery company delivers a package to a receiving vehicle, then the package can be delivered to the recipient, but the distance from the delivery center to the receiving vehicle becomes long, reducing delivery efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The receiving vehicle is made mobile rather than stationary. The vehicle moves to pick up packages from the delivery center and then travels to the recipient's location, dynamically adapting its position to optimize the delivery process and reduce overall delivery time
Solution Approach 2:
The receiving vehicle acts as an intermediary between the delivery center and the recipient. It picks up packages at the delivery center and delivers them to recipients at their designated locations, serving as a mobile bridge that resolves the contradiction between delivery center distance and delivery completion
2Ease of operation
If an item is delivered to a mobile receiving station on public transportation, then the user can receive packages at convenient locations, but it takes time and effort for the user to go to the moving route of transportation
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows recipients to proactively call the mobile unit to their specified locations (such as their homes) for package pickup. This self-service approach eliminates the need for recipients to travel to the mobile receiving station, as the mobile unit comes to them instead
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of the user going to the mobile receiving station on public transportation, the system inverts the approach by having the mobile unit travel to the user's specified location. This reversal of roles resolves the contradiction by making package pickup convenient without requiring user travel
3Reliability
If the delivery company visits the recipient's home for package delivery, then the package can be delivered directly, but the delivery company wastes time and effort revisiting the delivery destination
Solution Approach 1:
The receiving vehicle dynamically moves between the delivery center and multiple recipient locations in an optimized sequence. This dynamic routing allows the delivery company to complete multiple deliveries in one trip, improving productivity while ensuring reliable package delivery completion
Solution Approach 2:
The receiving vehicle serves multiple functions: it acts as a package collection point at the delivery center, a mobile storage unit during transit, and a delivery vehicle at various recipient locations. This multi-functionality allows the delivery company to maximize efficiency by using a single vehicle for multiple delivery tasks
Data Source
AI summary
A package delivery support system includes a mobile unit prepared in an area, and a sales server configured to acquire an intention of a user to purchase a product and transmit inquiry information as to whether an address or residence of a delivery destination is in an area in which the mobile unit is available, a delivery server configured to manage information regarding a package, and a management device configured to manage the mobile unit. The management device acquires at least one of a delivery request to deliver a package loaded on the mobile unit and a pickup request to pick up a package with the mobile unit, and supplies the mobile unit with an instruction for causing the mobile unit to move to a location specified by the at least one of the delivery request and the pickup request.