ALLOCATION SYSTEM, ALLOCATION DEVICE AND ALLOCATION METHOD

Abstract

Aspects concern an allocation system (100), comprising a receiving unit (114) configured to receive a delivery order having a cash flow value of cash money and configured to determine cash on hand value of a plurality of delivery drivers (DD), respectively, a subset (132, 134, 136) generator unit (116), communicatively coupled with the receiving unit (114), configured to generate at least a subset (132, 134, 136) of the plurality of delivery drivers (DD) based on the cash flow value of the delivery order and the cash on hand value of each delivery driver (DD); and a transmitter unit (118) configured to transmit the delivery order only to the delivery drivers of the subset (132, 134, 136).

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. An allocation system comprising: a receiving unit configured to receive a delivery order having a cash flow value of cash money, and configured to determine a cash on hand value of each of a plurality of delivery drivers; a subset generator unit communicatively coupled with the receiving unit, and configured to generate at least a subset of the plurality of delivery drivers, based on the cash flow value of the delivery order and the cash on hand value of each of the plurality of delivery drivers; and a transmitter unit configured to transmit the delivery order only to the subset of the plurality of delivery drivers, wherein the receiving unit is further configured to: receive an acceptance of the delivery order from a delivery driver among the subset of the plurality of delivery drivers; obtain an initial cash on hand value of the delivery driver at a beginning of a current shift of the delivery driver; based on a predetermined time period of the current shift being elapsed, update the cash on hand value of the delivery driver to be the initial cash on hand value of the delivery driver plus the cash flow value of the delivery order; and based on the predetermined time period of the current shift being not elapsed, update the cash on hand value of the delivery driver to be the cash on hand value of the delivery driver plus the cash flow value of the delivery order.

16. The allocation system of claim 15, wherein the subset of the plurality of deliver drivers is generated such that each delivery driver among the subset of the plurality of delivery drivers comprises a cash on hand value larger than a cash-out value of the delivery order, and wherein the cash-out value is a value of cash money that is paid by the delivery driver for fulfilling the order.

17. The allocation system of claim 15, wherein, based on the cash flow value of the delivery order being positive or zero, the subset of the plurality of deliver drivers is generated such that each delivery driver among the subset of the plurality of delivery drivers comprises a cash on hand value below a predetermined lower cash on hand threshold value.

18. The allocation system of claim 15, wherein, based on the cash flow value of the delivery order being negative, the subset of the plurality of deliver drivers is generated such that each delivery driver among the subset of the plurality of delivery drivers comprises a cash on hand value above a predetermined upper cash on hand threshold value.

19. The allocation system of claim 15, wherein each of the plurality of delivery drivers comprises a mobile communication device configured to receive a plurality of delivery orders from the transmitter unit, and wherein the delivery order is received by a delivery service provider hosting at least the receiving unit and the transmitter unit.

20. An allocation device, comprising: one or more processors; and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising: determining a score value for each of a plurality of delivery drivers, based on a cash flow value of cash money of a delivery order and a cash on hand value of each of the plurality of delivery drivers; generating at least one subset of plurality of delivery drivers, wherein each delivery driver among the subset of the plurality of deliver drivers has the score value that is beyond a predetermined threshold value; transmitting the delivery order only to the subset of the plurality of delivery drivers; receiving an acceptance of the delivery order from a delivery driver among the subset of the plurality of delivery drivers; obtaining an initial cash on hand value of the delivery driver at a beginning of a current shift of the delivery driver; based on a predetermined time period of the current shift being elapsed, updating the cash on hand value of the delivery driver to be the initial cash on hand value of the delivery driver plus the cash flow value of the delivery order; and based on the predetermined time period of the current shift being not elapsed, updating the cash on hand value of the delivery driver to be the cash on hand value of the delivery driver plus the cash flow value of the delivery order.

21. The allocation device of claim 20, wherein the score value is determined based on the cash flow value of the delivery order being positive or zero and a cash on hand value below a predetermined lower cash on hand threshold value.

22. The allocation device of claim 20, wherein the score value is determined based on the cash flow value of the delivery order being negative and a cash on hand value above a predetermined upper cash on hand threshold value.

23. An allocation method comprising: receiving a delivery order having a cash flow value of cash money; determining a cash on hand value of each of a plurality of delivery drivers; generating at least a subset of the plurality of delivery drivers based on the cash flow value of the delivery order and the cash on hand value of each of the plurality of delivery drivers; transmitting the delivery order only to the subset of the plurality of delivery drivers; receiving an acceptance of the deliver order from a delivery driver among the subset of the plurality of delivery drivers; obtaining an initial cash on hand value of the delivery driver at a beginning of a current shift of the delivery driver; and based on a predetermined time period of the current shift being elapsed, updating the cash on hand value of the delivery driver to be the initial cash on hand value of the delivery driver plus the cash flow value of the delivery order; and based on the predetermined time period of the current shift being not elapsed, updating the cash on hand value of the delivery driver to be the cash on hand value of the delivery driver plus the cash flow value of the delivery order.

24. The allocation method of claim 23, wherein the cash flow value of the delivery order is defined by a cash-in value of cash money that is paid to the delivery driver for fulfilling the order and a cash-out value of cash money that is paid by the delivery driver for fulfilling the order.

25. The allocation method of claim 24, wherein the subset of the plurality of deliver drivers is generated such that each delivery driver among the subset of the plurality of delivery drivers comprises a cash on hand value larger than the cash-out value of the delivery order.

26. The allocation method of claim 23, wherein, based on the cash flow value of the delivery order being positive or zero, the subset of the plurality of deliver drivers is generated such that each delivery driver among the subset of the plurality of delivery drivers comprises a cash on hand value below a predetermined lower cash on hand threshold value.

27. The allocation method of claim 23, wherein, based on the cash flow value of the delivery order being negative, the subset of the plurality of deliver drivers is generated such that each delivery driver among the subset of the plurality of delivery drivers comprises a cash on hand value above a predetermined upper cash on hand threshold value.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The invention will be better understood with reference to the detailed description when considered in conjunction with the non-limiting examples and the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0033] FIG. 1 shows an architecture of an allocation system according to various embodiments according to various embodiments;

[0034] FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of an allocation method according to various embodiments;

[0035] FIG. 3 shows a process diagram of an allocation system according to various embodiments;

[0036] FIG. 4 shows a process diagram of an allocation system according to various embodiments; and

[0037] FIGS. 5A-C show a process diagrams of an allocation system according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustration, specific details and embodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and structural, and logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The various embodiments are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some embodiments can be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments.

[0039] Embodiments described in the context of one of the enclosure assemblies, vehicles, or methods are analogously valid for the other enclosure assemblies, vehicles, or methods. Similarly, embodiments described in the context of an enclosure assembly are analogously valid for a vehicle or a method, and vice-versa.

[0040] Features that are described in the context of an embodiment may correspondingly be applicable to the same or similar features in the other embodiments. Features that are described in the context of an embodiment may correspondingly be applicable to the other embodiments, even if not explicitly described in these other embodiments. Furthermore, additions and/or combinations and/or alternatives as described for a feature in the context of an embodiment may correspondingly be applicable to the same or similar feature in the other embodiments.

[0041] In the context of various embodiments, the articles “a”, “an” and “the” as used with regard to a feature or element include a reference to one or more of the features or elements.

[0042] As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0043] FIG. 1 shows an architecture of an allocation system according to various embodiments. A customer 110 orders a commodity, e.g. food, via a communication device, e.g. a smartphone or a computer. The order may include a delivery order 112, e.g. a delivery of the commodity from a first location, e.g. a restaurant providing the food, to a second location, e.g. a working place or home of the customer.

[0044] The delivery order 112 is provided directly or indirectly to a communication device, e.g. an allocation device 120, of a delivery service provider, e.g. a delivery service company.

[0045] The delivery service provider allocates the delivery order 122 to a delivery driver 132 (DD) of an eligible subset 132, 134, 136 of a plurality of delivery drivers DD. The delivery drivers DD may be employees, freelancers or subcontractors to the delivery service provider as example. The delivery driver 132 may receive the delivery order via an application on a (mobile) terminal communication device from the delivery service provider. Alternatively, a delivery driver 132 may accept or book the delivery order 122.

[0046] Then, the delivery driver 132 receives the ordered commodity from the first location and delivers the commodity to the second location and, this way, fulfills the delivery order 112.

[0047] In some cases, the delivery driver 132 buys the commodity at the first location and resells the commodity to the customer at the second location. This transaction process may require a sufficient cash on hand for the delivery driver 132 to be able to fulfill the delivery order 122. As example, in case the delivery driver 132 does not have a sufficient amount of cash on hand, the delivery driver 132 may not be able to receive the commodity at the first location and, thus, fails to fulfill the delivery order. Thus, it has to be ensured by the delivery service provider that the delivery order 112 is allocated to a delivery driver 132 having a sufficient cash on hand for the fulfilling the delivery order 122.

[0048] The plurality of delivery drivers 132, 134, 136 (DD) may be stored in a database in a memory 126 of the delivery service providers. In various embodiments, an improved organization of the memory is disclosed allowing, among other advantages, an improved fulfillment rate of delivery orders 112 by providing a delivery order 122 only to a subset 132, 134, 136 of delivery drivers DD that are suitable or eligible for fulfilling the delivery order 122. This way, only a part of the memory 126 and database containing the plurality of delivery drivers DD is searched for a suitable delivery driver 132, 134, 136. Alternatively or in addition, only delivery drivers eligible for fulfilling the delivery order 122 are presented the delivery order 122 and, this way, the amount of data to be processed by a (mobile) terminal communication device of the delivery drivers is reduced. In other words, due to the memory organization according to various embodiments less memory needs to be addressed in a search for a suitable delivery driver 132, 134, 136 for the delivery service provider, less data need to be transmitted to the delivery drivers by the delivery service provider and less data need to be process by the delivery drivers.

[0049] In more detail, the allocation device 120 may be hosted by the delivery service provider. The allocation device 120 may include a receiving unit 114, a subset generation unit 116, a transmitter unit 118, on or more processors 124 and a memory 126.

[0050] The delivery drivers DD (132, 134, 136) may have a (mobile) terminal communication device configured to receive or book (also denoted as accept) delivery orders 122 provided by the transmitter unit 118 from the delivery service provider.

[0051] The receiving unit 114 may be configured to receive a delivery order 112 having a cash flow value of cash money and may be configured to determine a cash on hand value of a plurality of delivery drivers DD, respectively.

[0052] The subset generator unit 116 may be communicatively coupled with the receiving unit 114 and may be configured to generate at least one subset of the plurality of delivery drivers DD based on the cash flow value of the delivery order 112 and the cash on hand value of each delivery driver DD.

[0053] The transmitter unit 118 may be communicatively coupled with the receiving unit 114 and may be configured to transmit the delivery order 122 only to the delivery drivers 132, 134, 136 of the subset.

[0054] The cash flow value of the delivery order may be defined by a cash-in value of cash money paid to the delivery driver for fulfilling the order and a cash-out value of cash money paid by the delivery driver for fulfilling the order.

[0055] The subset generator unit 116 may be configured such that the delivery drivers 132, 134, 136 of the subset include a cash on hand value larger than the cash-out value of the delivery order 122. The cash flow value of the delivery order may be positive or zero and the subset generator unit 116 may be further configured such that the delivery drivers 132, 134, 136 of the subset include a cash on hand value below a predetermined lower cash on hand threshold value. The lower cash on hand threshold value may be based on an average value of the cash on hand values of the plurality of delivery drivers DD. Alternatively or in addition, the lower cash on hand threshold value may be based on a predetermined value correlated to a delivery area of the delivery order 112 and/or the delivery time of the delivery order 112.

[0056] Alternatively, the cash flow value of the delivery order may be negative and the subset generator unit 116 may be further configured such that the delivery drivers DD of the subset include a cash on hand value above a predetermined upper cash on hand threshold value. The upper cash on hand threshold value may be based on an average value of the cash on hand values of the plurality of delivery drivers DD. Alternatively or in addition, the upper cash on hand threshold value may be based on a predetermined value correlated to a delivery area of the delivery order and/or the delivery time of the delivery order.

[0057] In various embodiments, the subset generator unit 116 may be further configured to score the delivery drivers DD based on their respective cash on hand value regarding a designated or intended distribution of cash on hand by the delivery service provider among the plurality of delivery drivers DD.

[0058] Further, the allocation device 120 may include one or more processors 124; and memory 126 having instructions stored therein. The instructions, when executed by the one or more processors 124, cause the one or more processors 124 to perform acts including: determining a score value for each delivery driver DD of a plurality of delivery drivers DD. The score value may be related to a cash on hand value of the respective delivery driver. The score value may further be related to a cash flow value of cash money of one or more delivery orders received by the delivery service provider. The instructions may further cause a generating of at least one subset of delivery drivers DD, wherein each delivery driver of the subset has a score value that may be beyond a predetermined threshold value. Further, the instructions may cause a flagging of the delivery drivers DD of the subset in the memory 126, respectively. The delivery drivers of the plurality of delivery drivers DD not belonging to the subset are not flagged in the memory 126. Acceptance of a predetermined delivery order may be only eligible by a delivery driver of the subset.

[0059] In various embodiments, the score value may be based on a cash flow value of a delivery order, wherein the cash flow value may be defined by a cash-in value of cash money paid to the delivery driver DD for fulfilling the order and a cash-out value of cash money paid by the delivery driver for fulfilling the order.

[0060] Alternatively or in addition, the score value may be based on a relation of the cash on hand value being larger than a cash-out value of the delivery order, wherein the cash-out value may be cash money paid by the delivery driver DD for fulfilling the order.

[0061] Alternatively or in addition, the score value may be based on the cash flow value of a delivery order being positive or zero and a cash on hand value below a predetermined lower cash on hand threshold value. The lower cash on hand threshold value may be based on an average value of the cash on hand values of the plurality of delivery drivers DD. Alternatively or in addition, the lower cash on hand threshold value may be based on a predetermined value correlated to a delivery area of the delivery order and/or the delivery time of the delivery order.

[0062] Alternatively or in addition, the score value may be based on the cash flow value of a delivery order being negative and a cash on hand value above a predetermined upper cash on hand threshold value. The upper cash on hand threshold value may be based on an average value of the cash on hand values of the plurality of delivery drivers DD. Alternatively or in addition, the upper cash on hand threshold value may be based on a predetermined value correlated to a delivery area of the delivery order and/or the delivery time of the delivery order.

[0063] The score value may be based on cash on hand value regarding a designated distribution of cash on hand among the plurality of delivery drivers DD.

[0064] FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of an allocation method according to various embodiments. Illustratively, the allocation method 200 may include allocating a delivery order to a delivery driver of a plurality of delivery drivers DD based on a cash on hand value of the delivery drivers and on a cash flow value of cash money of the delivery order. In detail, the method 200 may include a receiving 210 of a delivery order having a cash flow value of cash money; a determining 220 of cash on hand value of a plurality of delivery drivers DD, respectively, a generating 230 of at least a subset of the plurality of delivery drivers based on the cash flow value of the delivery order and the cash on hand value of each delivery driver; and a transmitting 240 of the delivery order only to the delivery drivers of the subset 132, 134, 136 and/or a flagging 250 of the delivery drivers of the subset 132, 134, 136 in a memory 126, respectively.

[0065] FIG. 3 shows a process diagram of an allocation system according to various embodiments. Illustratively, FIG. 3 shows a process of updating the cash on hand value of a delivery driver DD of the plurality of delivery drivers after completion of a delivery order based on the cash flow of this order. In detail, the delivery driver DD completes booking 302, e.g. the delivery driver accepts an offered delivery order from the delivery service provider provided by an application onto a communication device. The booking may also be denoted as an acceptance of the delivery order. The acceptance or booking is submitted to a booking service (BS), e.g. a booking server or computer program product located or communicatively connected with the delivery service provider. BS is configured that, upon completion of the booking 302, BS sends 304 a query to a food-dax-capability (FDC).

[0066] FDC may be a server or computer program product located or communicatively connected with BS and associated to the delivery service provider. FDC may be configured to provide 308 an initial cash on hand value for the delivery driver DD, e.g. at the beginning of the current shift, to BS.

[0067] Further, BS is configured to send 306 the initial cash on hand value of the delivery driver received from FDC and a booking cash flow of the currently booked order to a feature bank (FB). FB may be a server or computer program product located or communicatively connected with BS and associated to the delivery service provider.

[0068] FB may be configured to combine the initial cash on hand of the delivery driver and the cash flow and a predetermined time period, e.g. a typical duration of a shift, to calculate a predicted, current cash on hand of the delivery driver. FB may be further configured to save 310 the determined current cash on hand of the driver DD in a database (DDB) stored in a memory of BS. The saved element may be the predicted cash on hand, e.g. after completion of the order, associated with one or more identifications (IDs) of the delivery driver DD. As example, the ID of a DD may include a vehicle ID and a driver ID.

[0069] Then, BS may be configured to send 312 the delivery driver DD a notification, e.g. an acknowledgment, that the booking of the delivery order is completed.

[0070] The vertical alignment of the arrows in FIG. 3 may represent a timeline.

[0071] FIG. 4 shows a process diagram of an allocation system according to various embodiments. Illustratively, FIG. 4 shows a process of sending predicted cash on hand information to a prioritizer (also denoted as calserver CS).

[0072] CS may be a server or computer program product located or communicatively connected with BS and associated to the delivery service provider. CS is configured to score the delivery drivers, as described in more detail below. In particular, BS sends 402 a query to FB and, in return, FB sends 404 DD predicted cash on hand information to BS based on the ID of DD.

[0073] If FB has no DD ID, FB is configured to send a query to BS to receive the initial cash on hand information from FDC 304, 308. However, this step may be optional in case FB already has the predicted cash on hand value of the DD.

[0074] For each DD of the plurality of delivery drivers, BS is configured to send 410 the predicted cash on hand information to calserver CS. Then, CS may be configured to send 412 the BS a notification, e.g. an acknowledgment, that the predicted cash on hand of DD is received, e.g. saved, by CS.

[0075] The vertical alignment of the arrows in FIG. 4 may represent a timeline.

[0076] FIGS. 5A-C show a process diagrams of an allocation system according to various embodiments. Illustratively, FIG. 5A-C show a combined process diagram of processes illustrated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4.

[0077] In general, BS 502 determines the current cash on hand value of a driver and submits the current cash on hand value 536 along with the cash-in and cash-out value 538 for the current delivery order booking to CS 510. Then, CS 510 may select 522 a most suitable driver as described below in more detail.

[0078] The current cash on hand value may be determined by BS 502 as follows:

[0079] As illustrated in FIG. 5A, each time the delivery driver DD updates 524 the current cash on hand setting via a user interface 520, FDC 512 may send 310 a request to FB 514 to update the predicted cash on hand record for that DD. In particular, FB 514 may check if a predetermined time period 515 has elapsed, e.g. more than 8 hours, since the last update 524. If DD has updated 524 the cash on hand setting during this period 515 (yes), the real cash on hand value 516 is the initial cash on hand value plus the cash flow of cash money of the previous delivery order(s). When the predetermined time period 515 has not elapsed yet (no), the cash on hand value 518 is the record saved by FB 514 plus the cash flow of cash money of the previous delivery order(s).

[0080] Further, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, during global batch clearing (GBC), in which the assignment of delivery drivers is done batch-by-batch for global optimization based on Kuhn-Munkres algorithm as describe below, BS is configured to check 304/402 if there is a record for that DD in FB 504. If there is a record for that DD in FB 504 (yes), it is checked if a predetermined time period 508 has elapsed, e.g. more than 8 hours, since the last update 524. If DD has updated 524 the cash on hand setting during this period 508 (yes), the real cash on hand value is requested from FB. However, this may be the same as requesting the initial cash on hand value 540 from FDC 506 by BS 502 itself. When the predetermined time period 508 has not elapsed yet (no), the cash on hand value saved by FB may be used 534 as current cash on hand 536 for the driver. The current cash on hand value 536 is submitted to CS 510 along with the cash-in and cash-out value 538 for the current booking.

[0081] Further, as illustrated in FIG. 5C, BS 502 may send a notification 310 to FB 514 to update the cash on hand value saved in FB 514. FB 514 may check if a predetermined time period 515 has elapsed, e.g. more than 8 hours, since the last update 524. If DD has updated 524 the cash on hand setting during this period 515 (yes), the real cash on hand value 516 is the initial cash on hand value plus the cash flow of cash money of the previous delivery order(s). When the predetermined time period 515 has not elapsed yet (no), the cash on hand value 518 is the record saved by FB plus the cash flow of cash money of the previous delivery order(s).

[0082] In the following, an allocation logic for delivery orders and a prioritization logic for prioritizing delivery drivers are described. The problem of allocating a delivery order to a delivery driver may be a general assignment problem, and may be solved, as example, by a Kuhn-Munkres algorithm.

[0083] Given a n×n cost matrix [c.sub.ij], to assign each row (delivery order) to a different column (delivery driver) in such a way that the sum of the selected costs is a minimum. As example:

[00001]$\underset{x}{\min }\underset{j}{\overset{n}{.Math.}}\underset{i}{\overset{n}{.Math.}}{c}_{\mathrm{ij}}{x}_{\mathrm{ij}}$$s.t.\underset{j}{\overset{n}{.Math.}}{x}_{\mathrm{ij}}=1,\mathrm{for}i=1,.Math.,n,$$\underset{i}{\overset{n}{.Math.}}{x}_{\mathrm{ij}}=1,\mathrm{for}j=1,.Math.,n,$$x_{\mathrm{ij}}\in \left\{0,1\right\}.$

[0084] Here, x.sub.ij=1, if the delivery order i is allocated to the delivery driver j, and x.sub.ij=0 otherwise. If the number of delivery orders o is not equal to the number of delivery drivers d, the cost matrix [c.sub.r1] may be extended to be a square matrix by adding large number into rows or columns.

[0085] Thus, let C be the o×d cost matrix, C can be computed as:

C=E−α.sub.wW.

[0086] Here, E is the estimated time of arrival (ETA) metrics (n×d)—between delivery driver and commodity supplier, e.g. a restaurant; α.sub.w may be a priority weight of a working capital feature, e.g. a priority weight for cash on hand value, and W a working capital priority matrix (cash on hand priority matrix) (o×d) which is described in more detail below.

[0087] Priorities scoring of the delivery drivers may be configured to prioritize delivery drivers based on the cash on hand sufficiency (score.sub.1) and/or to build up working capital by prioritizing cash-deficit orders into high-cash on hand delivery drivers, while prioritizing cash-surplus orders into low-cash on hand delivery drivers (score.sub.2). In various embodiments, depending on the cash on hand distribution intended by the delivery service provider, score.sub.1 and score.sub.2 may be adjustably weighted by a factor of β. Hence, priorities score w may be defined as:

[00002]$w=\left(\beta \right){\mathrm{score}}_1+\left(1-\beta \right){\mathrm{score}}_2$$\mathrm{with}$${\mathrm{score}}_1=\min \left(\frac{\mathrm{COH}}{{\mathrm{cash}}_{\mathrm{out}}},1\right)$$\mathrm{and}$${\mathrm{score}}_2=$

[0088] wherein is a normalized cash on hand value, and is a normalized cash flow value of cash money (cash.sub.in−cash.sub.out).

[0089] Here, score.sub.1 ensures delivery driver with sufficient cash on hand will be prioritized. Its value may be capped at 1 in case the same priority score is intended among those delivery drivers with sufficient cash on hand.

[0090] Further, there may be a COH normalization rule in score.sub.2 calculation. In detail, score.sub.2 may be normalized to 0.01 if the predicted cash on hand value is higher than the 99.sup.th percentile of historical delivery order value (cash.sub.out). Further, score.sub.2 may be normalized to [0.01, 0.5] if the predicted cash on hand value is in between 90.sup.th and 99.sup.th percentile of historical delivery order value (cash.sub.out). Further, score.sub.2 may be normalized to [0.5, 1] if the predicted cash on hand value is lower than 90.sup.th percentile of historical delivery order value (cash.sub.out).

[0091] Further, there may be a delta normalization rule in score.sub.2 calculation. In detail, delta may be normalized to [0.01, 0.5] for cash-deficit orders (cash.sub.in<cash.sub.out) and delta may be normalized to [0.5, 1] for cash-surplus orders (cash.sub.in≥cash.sub.out).

ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE

[0092] In an illustrative example in the Indonesian market, there may be a first order (Order A) and a second order (Order B)

[0093] with Order A: cash.sub.in=30,000 IDR and cash.sub.out=20,000 IDR

[0094] and Order B: cash.sub.in=0 IDR and cash.sub.out=200,000 IDR.

[0095] As example for Order A, a delivery driver has to pay 20,000 IDR in cash money to a restaurant to buy food ordered by a customer and receives 30,000 DR in cash money from the ordering customer for reselling the food upon delivery. That is, Order A is a cash-surplus order having a cash flow of +10,000 IDR in cash on hand money.

[0096] As example for Order B, a delivery driver has to pay 200,000 IDR in cash money to a restaurant to buy food ordered by a customer but receives no cash money from the ordering customer for reselling the food upon delivery because the customer paid with electronic cash. That is, Order B is a cash-deficit order having a cash flow of −200,000 IDR in cash on hand money.

[0097] Let there be a first delivery driver (delivery driver 1) and a second delivery driver (delivery driver 2). Both delivery drivers may be candidates for Order A and Order B, e.g. both may have a similar fulfillment time for the delivery orders A, B. The first delivery driver may have 20,000 IDR as current cash on hand value and the second delivery driver may have 300,000 IDR as current cash on hand value.

[0098] In above described calculation, a lower cash bound (limit) is set to be 80,000 IDR for the delivery district and an upper cash bound (limit) is set to be 5,000,000 IDR for the same district. That is, a delivery driver is supposed to have between 80,000 IDR and 5,000,000 IDR as cash on hand at any time during a shift. Here, the first driver would be below the lower cash bound and the second delivery driver would be within the cash bound range.

[0099] In the illustrative example, building working capital may refer to build up capital for those drivers with a relatively low cash on hand (e.g. first driver). The upper cash bound value may be needed to avoid that a very high outlier cash on hand driver skews the normalization of a certain batch of delivery drivers.

[0100] The lower and upper cash bound may differ from the lower and upper cash on hand threshold. As example, the upper cash on hand threshold may be used to filter based on this threshold value, whereas the upper cash bound may only be used during score normalization and the lower cash on hand threshold may be is used to filter based on this threshold value, whereas the lower cash bound value is only used during score normalization.

[0101] The cash bound values may differ among delivery districts and/or time periods, e.g. within a day, week, month, season, year etc. As example, the lower and upper cash bound may be higher in times of high food delivery demand, e.g. lunch time, at the weekend or during holidays. In other words, the cash bound values may be based on a historical distribution of delivery order values in the delivery district.

[0102] In the illustrative example, the score.sub.1 and score.sub.2 weights are 0.5 and 0.5 respectively. Through the prioritization score calculation, score.sub.1 may be received as:

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Score.sub.1 Delivery driver 1 Delivery driver 2 Order A 1.0 1.0 Order B 0.1 1.0

[0103] and the score.sub.2 may be:

TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Score.sub.2 Delivery driver 1 Delivery driver 2 Order A 0.88 0.01 Order B 0.01 1.0

[0104] Thus, the priorities score w may be:

TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Delivery driver 1 Delivery driver 2 Order A 0.94 0.51 Order B 0.06 1.0

[0105] Thus, based on the priorities score w and if all other conditions are the same, Order A will be allocated to delivery driver 1 and Order B will be allocated to Delivery driver 2. As a result, the low cash on hand delivery driver (delivery driver 1) is allocated to a cash-surplus order while the high cash on hand delivery driver (delivery driver 2) is allocated to a cash-deficit order. Thus, by calculating the priorities score w it becomes apparent, that delivery driver 1 is not qualified for Order B and, hence, is not offered or cannot book this delivery order.

[0106] Thus, by the classification of delivery driver 1 regarding Order B, delivery driver 1 may be saved in a part of the memory (along with other delivery drivers) containing delivery drivers not qualified or suitable for Order B and, hence, are not presented Order B. The delivery service provider may not submit Order B to the (mobile) terminal communication device of delivery driver 1. Thus, delivery driver 1 may not even know/see that there is an Order B. As example, delivery driver 1 may not be presented Order B in the application used for booking delivery orders via the (mobile) terminal communication device (see FIG. 1).

[0107] In addition, delivery driver 2 may be offered Order A and/or Order B by the delivery service provider. However, the delivery service provider may also offer only order B to delivery driver 2 (and not Order A) and only Order A to delivery driver 1 based on the memory organization based on above described calculations. This way, the allocation of delivery orders is faster and simplified for the delivery service provider, less data have to be transmitted by the delivery service provider and the (mobile) terminal communication devices of the delivery drivers have to process lee data.

EXAMPLES

[0108] In following, examples are described that illustrate various embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope.

[0109] Example 1 is an allocation system, including a receiving unit configured to receive a delivery order having a cash flow value of cash money and configured to determine cash on hand value of a plurality of delivery drivers, respectively, a subset generator unit, communicatively coupled with the receiving unit, configured to generate at least a subset of the plurality of delivery drivers based on the cash flow value of the delivery order and the cash on hand value of each delivery driver; and a transmitter unit configured to transmit the delivery order only to the delivery drivers of the subset.

[0110] In example 2, the allocation system of example 1 further includes, that the cash flow value of the delivery order is defined by a cash-in value of cash money paid to the delivery driver for fulfilling the order and a cash-out value of cash money paid by the delivery driver for fulfilling the order.

[0111] In example 3, the allocation system of example 1 or 2 further includes, that the subset generator unit is configured such that the delivery drivers of the subset include a cash on hand value larger than the cash-out value of the delivery order.

[0112] In example 4, the allocation system of any one of examples 1 to 3 further includes, that the cash flow value of the delivery order is positive or zero and the subset generator unit is further configured such that the delivery drivers of the subset include a cash on hand value below a predetermined lower cash on hand threshold value.

[0113] In example 5, the allocation system of example 4 further includes, that the lower cash on hand threshold value is based on an average value of the cash on hand values of the plurality of delivery drivers.

[0114] In example 6, the allocation system of examples 4 or 5 further includes, that the lower cash on hand threshold value is based on a predetermined value correlated to a delivery area of the delivery order and/or the delivery time of the delivery order.

[0115] In example 7, the allocation system of any one of examples 1 to 3 further includes, that the cash flow value of the delivery order is negative and the subset generator unit is further configured such that the delivery drivers of the subset include a cash on hand value above a predetermined upper cash on hand threshold value.

[0116] In example 8, the allocation system of example 7 further includes, that the upper cash on hand threshold value is based on an average value of the cash on hand values of the plurality of delivery drivers.

[0117] In example 9, the allocation system of example 7 or 8 further includes, that the upper cash on hand threshold value is based on a predetermined value correlated to a delivery area of the delivery order and/or the delivery time of the delivery order.

[0118] In example 10, the allocation system of any one of examples 1 to 9 further includes, that the cash on hand value has a data type of the group of: unsigned integer, unsigned short integer, unsigned long integer and float.

[0119] In example 11, the allocation system of any one of examples 1 to 10 further includes, that the subset generator unit is further configured to score the delivery drivers based on their respective cash on hand value regarding a designated distribution of cash on hand among the plurality of delivery drivers.

[0120] In example 12, the allocation system of any one of examples 1 to 11 further includes, that each of the plurality of delivery drivers includes a mobile communication device, wherein the mobile communication devices are configured to receive a plurality of delivery orders from the transmitter unit and that the delivery order is received by a delivery service provider hosting at least the receiving unit and the transmitter unit.

[0121] Example 13 is an allocation device, including one or more processors; and memory having instructions stored therein, the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform acts including: determining a score value for each delivery driver of a plurality of delivery drivers, wherein the score value is related to a cash on hand value of the respective delivery driver; generate at least one subset of delivery drivers, wherein each delivery driver of the subset has a score value that is beyond a predetermined threshold value; and flag the delivery drivers of the subset in the memory, respectively

[0122] In example 14, the allocation device of example 13 further includes, that the delivery drivers of the plurality of delivery drivers not belonging to the subset are not flagged in the memory and acceptance of a predetermined delivery order is only eligible by a delivery driver of the subset.

[0123] In example 15, the allocation device of any one of examples 13 or 14 further includes, that the score value is based on a cash flow value of a delivery order, wherein the cash flow value is defined by a cash-in value of cash money paid to the delivery driver for fulfilling the order and a cash-out value of cash money paid by the delivery driver for fulfilling the order.

[0124] In example 16, the allocation device of any one of examples 13 to 15 further includes, that the score value is based on a relation of the cash on hand value being larger than a cash-out value of the delivery order, wherein the cash-out value is cash money paid by the delivery driver for fulfilling the order.

[0125] In example 17, the allocation device of any one of examples 13 to 16 further includes, that the score value is based on the cash flow value of a delivery order being positive or zero and a cash on hand value below a predetermined lower cash on hand threshold value.

[0126] In example 18, the allocation device of example 17 further includes, that the lower cash on hand threshold value is based on an average value of the cash on hand values of the plurality of delivery drivers.

[0127] In example 19, the allocation device of example 17 or 18 further includes, that the lower cash on hand threshold value is based on a predetermined value correlated to a delivery area of the delivery order and/or the delivery time of the delivery order.

[0128] In example 20, the allocation device of any one of examples 13 to 16 further includes, that the score value is based on the cash flow value of a delivery order being negative and a cash on hand value above a predetermined upper cash on hand threshold value.

[0129] In example 21, the allocation device of examples 20 further includes, that the upper cash on hand threshold value is based on an average value of the cash on hand values of the plurality of delivery drivers.

[0130] In example 22, the allocation device of example 20 or 21 further includes, that the upper cash on hand threshold value is based on a predetermined value correlated to a delivery area of the delivery order and/or the delivery time of the delivery order.

[0131] In example 23, the allocation device of any one of examples 13 to 22 further includes, that the cash on hand value has a data type of the group of: unsigned integer, unsigned short integer, unsigned long integer and float.

[0132] In example 24, the allocation device of any one of examples 13 to 23 further includes, that the score value is based on cash on hand value regarding a designated distribution of cash on hand among the plurality of delivery drivers.

[0133] Example 25 is an allocation method including receive a delivery order having a cash flow value of cash money; determine cash on hand value of a plurality of delivery drivers, respectively, generate at least a subset of the plurality of delivery drivers based on the cash flow value of the delivery order and the cash on hand value of each delivery driver; and transmit the delivery order only to the delivery drivers of the subset and/or flag the delivery drivers of the subset in a memory, respectively.

[0134] In example 26, the method of example 25 further includes, that the cash flow value of the delivery order is defined by a cash-in value of cash money paid to the delivery driver for fulfilling the order and a cash-out value of cash money paid by the delivery driver for fulfilling the order.

[0135] In example 27, the method of example 25 or 26 further includes, that the delivery driver receiving the delivery order includes a cash on hand value larger than the cash-out value of the delivery order wherein the cash-out value is cash money paid by the delivery driver for fulfilling the order.

[0136] In example 28, the method of any one of examples 25 to 27 further includes, that the cash flow value of the delivery order is positive or zero and the subset generator unit is further configured such that the delivery driver receiving the delivery order includes a cash on hand value below a predetermined lower cash on hand threshold value.

[0137] In example 29, the method of example 28 further includes, that the lower cash on hand threshold value is based on an average value of the cash on hand values of the plurality of delivery drivers.

[0138] In example 30, the method of examples 28 or 29 further includes, that the lower cash on hand threshold value is based on a predetermined value correlated to a delivery area of the delivery order and/or the delivery time of the delivery order.

[0139] In example 31, the method of any one of examples 25 to 27 further includes, that the cash flow value of the delivery order is negative and the delivery driver receiving the delivery order includes a cash on hand value above a predetermined upper cash on hand threshold value.

[0140] In example 32, the method of example 31 further includes, that the upper cash on hand threshold value is based on an average value of the cash on hand values of the plurality of delivery drivers.

[0141] In example 33, the method of example 31 or 32 further includes, that the upper cash on hand threshold value is based on a predetermined value correlated to a delivery area of the delivery order and/or the delivery time of the delivery order.

[0142] In example 34, the method of any one of examples 25 to 33 further includes, that the cash on hand value has a data type of the group of: unsigned integer, unsigned short integer, unsigned long integer and float.

[0143] While the disclosure has been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced.