Allocating shoppers for order fulfillment by an online concierge system accounting for variable numbers of shoppers across different time windows and varying capabilities for fulfilling orders
US12387154B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 12, 2023 |
| Grant date | Aug 12, 2025 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 6, 2043 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06Q10/0875
- WIPO fieldIT methods for management
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An online concierge system maintains a data store with discrete time intervals for fulfilling orders and information on shoppers categorized in a tree structure based on their characteristics. When an order is received from a user's client device, the system employs a machine learning model trained on historical data to estimate the number of available shoppers and their corresponding levels in the tree structure. The order is tagged based on the items it contains, and these tags are matched to the levels of capable shoppers. Shoppers are grouped and scored based on their levels, and a group with the minimum score and capability to fulfill the order is selected. A shopper from this group is then dispatched for order fulfillment, leading to a decrement in the estimated number of shoppers in the selected group. This approach optimizes the allocation of shoppers to orders, ensuring efficient and timely fulfillment.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.