Systems and methods for synchronized delivery

• US 10,387,822 B1
• Filed: 01/05/2016
• Issued: 08/20/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/07/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Inventors: Bolton, Chris, Brill, Steven D., Collins, Matthew, Creasy, Anthony, Dotterweich, Andrew, Guerrisi, Joseph, Kettleson, Daniel, Mullholland, Michael, Gillen, Robert J., Loppatto, Greg, Hernandez, John, Butler, Butch, Lord, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Epstein, Brian M
• Application Number:
  US14/988,527
• Time in Patent Office: 1,323 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0835 Relationships between shipper or supplier and carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08355 Routing methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0837 Return transactions

Abstract

Various embodiments provide systems and methods for facilitating synchronized delivery of shipments/items scheduled to be delivered to multiple serviceable points located nearby one another. Various embodiments identify nearby serviceable points based on a determination of distance between serviceable points and/or time required to travel between serviceable points. Accordingly, shipping data for a first shipment is initially received, and a determination is made whether a second shipment is available for synchronized delivery with the first shipment. To make such a determination, a previous distance is identified between a first serviceable point and a second serviceable point, a time elapsed is identified between the first serviceable point and the second serviceable point, and the distance and the time elapsed are compared with respective thresholds. Upon a determination that the distance and/or the time satisfies a respective threshold, the first serviceable point and the second serviceable point are identified as nearby.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, from a mobile computing device, a geocode sample associated with a first serviceable point, wherein the geocode sample is generated while the mobile computing device is located at the first serviceable point, the geocode sample including a plurality of longitude and latitude coordinates obtained from a GPS module;

generating, via one or more processors, a first serviceable point profile, wherein the first serviceable point profile comprises (a) an address corresponding to the first serviceable point and (b) a geocode corresponding to a first longitude and latitude coordinate of the first serviceable point based at least in part on the geocode sample generated while the mobile computing device was at the first serviceable point;

generating, via the one or more processors, nearby data indicating that additional serviceable points are nearby to the first serviceable point based at least in part on nearby criteria, wherein the nearby data comprises data links between serviceable point profiles corresponding to the additional serviceable points and the first serviceable point profile, and wherein the nearby criteria comprises a determination that the geocode sample generated is within (a) a configurable distance threshold from the first serviceable point and (b) a configurable travel time threshold from the first serviceable point;

receiving, over a computer network and from one or more online merchant servers via an Application Programming Interface (API), first electronic shipping data indicating that a first shipment is to be delivered to a destination serviceable point, the first electronic shipping data being entered within a first user interface associated with the one or more online merchant servers as part of a purchase transaction by a customer;

receiving, over the computer network, second electronic shipping data indicating that a second shipment is to be delivered to the first serviceable point;

responsive to receiving the second electronic shipping data indicating that the second shipment is to be delivered to the first serviceable point, determining whether the first shipment to be delivered to the destination serviceable point is available for synchronized delivery with the second shipment, by;

querying a database to access the first serviceable point profile corresponding to the first serviceable point;

identifying, via the one or more computing processors, nearby serviceable points that are within (a) the configurable distance from the first serviceable point and (b) the configurable travel time from the first serviceable point;

for each of the nearby serviceable points, identifying a corresponding address;

determining, via the one or more computing processors and based at least in part on the addresses for the nearby serviceable points, whether the first electronic shipping data indicates that the first shipment is to be delivered to one of the addresses corresponding to one of the nearby serviceable points;

generating and comparing forecasted data between the first shipment and the second shipment, the comparing forecasted data includes comparing one or more units of data from a group of units of data consisting of;

forecasted delivery date, service level, and density level classification;

responsive to determining that the first electronic shipping data indicates that the first shipment is to be delivered to one of the addresses corresponding to one of the nearby serviceable points and the comparing of the forecasted data, providing, via the one or more computing processors, an indication that the first shipment and the second shipment are available for synchronized delivery;

based on the indication that the first shipment and the second shipment are available for synchronized delivery and that the first shipment meets incentive criteria, generating one or more incentives for the customer to complete the transaction; and

based at least on the generating of the one or more incentives, causing, via transmitting the one or more incentives via an indicator message over the computer network to the one or more online merchant servers, a second graphical user interface associated with the customer to display a plurality of selectable shipping cost options, wherein one or more values associated with the shipping cost options reflect the one or more incentives.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein (a) the configurable distance comprises a maximum distance between the first serviceable point and the second serviceable point and (b) the configurable travel time elapsed comprises a maximum travel time.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein (a) the configurable distance comprises a maximum distance between the first serviceable point and the second serviceable point and (b) the configurable travel time comprises a maximum delivery time between the first serviceable point and the second serviceable point.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more serviceable point profiles comprise a particular geographic descriptor.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining whether the first shipment is destined for an excluded serviceable point.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising electronically modifying electronic shipping data for the first shipment to modify a delivery service level for the first shipment.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing an incentive based on a tendered date for the synchronized delivery of the first shipment and the second shipment.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first shipment is being transported by a first carrier and the second shipment is being transported by a second carrier.

9. A system comprising:

one or more mobile computing devices configured to;

collect a plurality of geocodes each associated with one of a plurality of serviceable points by generating a geocode sample while the mobile computing device is at each of the plurality of serviceable points, the geocode sample including a plurality of longitude and latitude coordinates obtained from a GPS module;

one or more memory storage areas and one or more computer processors, wherein the one or more computer processors are configured to;

generate a first serviceable point profile, wherein the first serviceable point profile comprises (a) an address corresponding to the first serviceable point and (b) a geocode corresponding to a first longitude and latitude coordinate of the first serviceable point that was collected via the mobile computing device by generating a geocode sample while the mobile computing device was at the first serviceable point; and

generate nearby data indicating that additional serviceable points are nearby to the first serviceable point based at least in part on nearby criteria, wherein the nearby data comprises data links between serviceable point profiles corresponding to the additional serviceable points and the first serviceable point profile, and wherein the nearby criteria comprises a determination that the geocode sample generated is within (a) a configurable distance threshold from the first serviceable point and (b) a configurable travel time threshold from the first serviceable point;

receive, over a computer network and from one or more online merchant servers via an Application Programming Interface (API), first electronic shipping data indicating that a first shipment is to be delivered to a particular serviceable point, the first electronic shipping data being entered within a first user interface associated with the one or more online merchant servers as part of a purchase transaction by a customer;

receive, over the computer network, second electronic shipping data indicating that a second shipment is to be delivered to the first serviceable point;

responsive to receiving the second electronic shipping data indicating that the second shipment is to be delivered to the first serviceable point, determining whether the first shipment to be delivered to the particular serviceable point is available for synchronized delivery with the second shipment, by;

querying a database to access the first serviceable point profile corresponding to the first serviceable point;

identifying nearby serviceable points that are within (a) the configurable distance from the first serviceable point and (b) the configurable travel time from the first serviceable point;

for each of the nearby serviceable points identifying a corresponding address;

determining, based at least in part on the addresses for the nearby serviceable points whether the first electronic shipping data indicates that the first shipment is to be delivered to one of the addresses corresponding to one of the nearby serviceable points;

responsive to determining that the first electronic shipping data indicates that the first shipment is to be delivered to one of the addresses corresponding to one of the nearby serviceable points providing an indication that the first shipment and the second shipment are available for synchronized delivery;

based on the indication that the first shipment and the second shipment are available for synchronized delivery and that the first shipment meets incentive criteria, generating one or more incentives for the customer to complete the transaction; and

based at least on the generating of the one or more incentives, causing, via transmitting the one or more incentives via an indicator message over the computer network to the one or more online merchant servers, a second graphical user interface associated with the customer to display a plurality of selectable shipping cost options, wherein one or more values associated with the shipping cost options reflect the one or more incentives.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein (a) the configurable distance comprises a maximum distance between the first serviceable point and the second serviceable point and (b) the configurable travel time elapsed comprises a maximum travel time.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more serviceable point profiles comprise a particular geographic descriptor.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the system is further configured to determine whether the first shipment is destined for an excluded serviceable point.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the system is further configured to electronically modify electronic shipping data for the first shipment to modify a delivery service level for the first shipment.

14. A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising:

an executable portion configured to receive a geocode sample generated by a mobile computing device, wherein the geocode sample is associated with a first serviceable point and wherein the geocode sample is generated while the mobile computing device is located at the first serviceable point;

an executable portion configured to generate a first serviceable point profile, wherein the first serviceable point profile comprises (a) an address corresponding to the first serviceable point and (b) a geocode corresponding to a first longitude and latitude coordinate of the first serviceable point based at least in part on the geocode sample generated while the mobile computing device was at the first serviceable point;

an executable portion configured to generate nearby data indicating that additional serviceable points are nearby to the first serviceable point based at least in part on nearby criteria, wherein the nearby data comprises data links between serviceable point profiles corresponding to the additional serviceable points and the first serviceable point profile, and wherein the nearby criteria comprises a determination that the geocode sample generated is within (a) a configurable distance threshold from the first serviceable point and (b) a configurable travel time threshold from the first serviceable point;

an executable portion configured to receive, over a computer network and from one or more online merchant servers via an Application Programming Interface (API), first electronic shipping data indicating that a first shipment is to be delivered to a destination serviceable point, the first electronic shipping data being entered within a first user interface associated with the one or more online merchant servers as part of a purchase transaction by a customer;

an executable portion configured to receive, over the computer network, second electronic shipping data indicating that a second shipment is to be delivered to the first serviceable point;

an executable portion configured to, responsive to receiving the second electronic shipping data indicating that the second shipment is to be delivered to the first serviceable point, determining whether the first shipment to be delivered to the destination serviceable point is available for synchronized delivery with the second shipment, by;

an executable portion configured to query a database to access the first serviceable point profile corresponding to the first serviceable point;

an executable portion configured to identify, nearby serviceable points corresponding to serviceable points that are within (a) the configurable distance from the first serviceable point and (b) the configurable travel time from the first serviceable point;

for each of the nearby serviceable points, an executable portion configured to identify a corresponding address;

an executable portion configured to determine, based at least in part on the addresses for the nearby serviceable point profiles, whether the first electronic shipping data indicates that the first shipment is to be delivered to one of the addresses corresponding to one of the nearby serviceable points;

an executable portion configured to, responsive to determining that the first electronic shipping data indicates that the first shipment is to be delivered to one of the addresses corresponding to one of the nearby serviceable points, providing provide an indication that the first shipment and the second shipment are available for synchronized delivery;

based on the indication that the first shipment and the second shipment are available for synchronized delivery and that the first shipment meets incentive criteria, generating one or more incentives for the customer to complete the transaction; and

based at least on the generating of the one or more incentives, causing, via transmitting the one or more incentives via an indicator message over the computer network to the one or more online merchant servers, a second graphical user interface associated with the customer to display a plurality of selectable shipping cost options, wherein one or more values associated with the shipping cost options reflect the one or more incentives.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein (a) the configurable distance comprises a maximum distance between the first serviceable point and the second serviceable point and (b) the configurable travel time elapsed comprises a maximum travel time.

16. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the one or more serviceable point profiles comprise a particular geographic descriptor.

17. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer-readable program code portions further comprise an executable portion configured to determine whether the first shipment is destined for an excluded serviceable point.

18. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer-readable program code portions further comprise an executable portion configured to electronically modify electronic shipping data for the first shipment to modify a delivery service level for the first shipment.