JP7682766B2 - Logistics management device and method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a logistics management device and method, and is suitable for application to a logistics management system that manages the logistics of a distribution network that delivers from a collection and delivery base in a sender area to a collection and delivery base in a destination area via one or more relay points.

Conventionally, in this type of delivery network, when each package is accepted, the relay points through which each package will pass before being delivered to the collection and delivery base in the destination area are determined based on the combination of the collection and delivery base in the sender area and the collection and delivery base in the destination area.

At each relay point, packages delivered from collection and distribution centers or other relay points are sorted for arrival and departure, and there may be pre-set sorting patterns that determine how packages are to be sorted.

In addition, when a certain amount of cargo needs to be transported on a regular basis, a transportation schedule may be drawn up that specifies the number of transportation services between collection and distribution bases and relay bases or between each relay base, the arrival and departure times of transport vehicles at each collection and distribution base and each relay base, and the travel routes of the transportation services.

As a prior art for managing logistics in a distribution network, there is a technology that notifies a transport vehicle that is expected to wait when using loading and unloading facilities at a relay point of the time when the loading and unloading facilities will be available as the arrival time. For example, there is a technology described in Patent Document 1.

JP 2020-177268 A

If the volume of cargo flowing into the relay point was greater than was anticipated when the default sorting pattern was set, or if there were many sorting destinations and the sorting process took a long time, there was a risk that insufficient sorting capacity at the relay point would cause delays in inbound and outbound operations and cargo backlogs, reducing the delivery efficiency of the entire distribution network.

On the other hand, unnecessarily detailed sorting at each relay point is undesirable because it may reduce the loading rate. Since the sorted luggage is loaded onto the same equipment (e.g., a basket cart or a pallet), the more detailed the sorting, the more equipment is required even if the number of luggage is the same. Since there is an upper limit to the number of equipment that can be loaded onto a transport vehicle, finer sorting reduces the number of luggage that can be loaded onto a transport vehicle.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above points, and aims to propose a logistics management device and method that can prevent a decline in the delivery efficiency of the entire delivery network.

In order to solve such problems, in the present invention, a logistics management device that manages logistics in a logistics network in which parcels are delivered from a collection and delivery base to a destination collection and delivery base via one or more relay bases is provided, which includes a storage device that stores a program, and a processor that executes processing based on the program by executing the program stored in the storage device, and the processor performs a delivery status prediction process in which the processor predicts the delivery status of each of the parcels after a predetermined time based on the program stored in the storage device, and identifies the relay base where the sorting work of the parcels is delayed and has become a bottleneck in the logistics based on the prediction result, and a processing for predicting each of the relay bases identified by the delivery status prediction process . a sorting pattern optimization process that optimizes a necessary sorting pattern for the relay base so that a delay in the sorting work does not occur after the predetermined time at the relay base; and the delivery status prediction process includes an information acquisition step that acquires the arrival status of each of the packages at each of the relay bases, the work status of the sorting work of the packages, linking information linking each transport vehicle that delivers the package between the collection and delivery base and the relay base or between each of the relay bases and the package, and location information of the current location of each of the transport vehicles; each of the information acquired in the information acquisition step, previously given timetable information for each of the transport vehicles, the linking information, and a shipping destination previously determined for each of the relay bases. and a bottleneck relay point identification step of identifying a relay point at which a number of the parcels waiting to be sorted that exceeds a preset first threshold or a number of parcels to be sorted that exceeds a preset second threshold based on the delivery status of each of the parcels at the predetermined time after the delivery status predicted in the delivery status prediction step, the relay point being a bottleneck in logistics, and the sorting pattern optimization process is a step of optimizing a sorting pattern so that a delay in sorting work does not occur at the relay point identified in the delivery status prediction step after the predetermined time. The system includes a sorting pattern change candidate identification step for identifying candidate combinations of the relay base of the shipping origin to be changed and the relay base or collection and delivery base of the shipping destination as sorting pattern change candidates, a sorting pattern combination information generation step for generating all sorting pattern combinations that are consistent among the sorting pattern combinations that are combinations of the sorting patterns in each of the sorting pattern change candidates identified in the sorting pattern change candidate identification step, and an evaluation value calculation step for calculating an evaluation value for each sorting pattern combination after a predetermined time and selecting the sorting pattern combination with the best evaluation value as the optimal sorting pattern combination.

Also, in the present invention, there is provided a logistics management method executed in a logistics management device that manages logistics in a logistics network in which parcels are delivered from a collection and delivery base to a destination collection and delivery base via one or more relay bases, the logistics management device having a storage device that stores a program and a processor that executes processing based on the program by executing the program stored in the storage device, the processor respectively acquiring a current delivery status of each of the parcels, predicting a delivery status of each of the parcels after a predetermined time based on the acquired current delivery status of each of the parcels, and identifying the relay base where a sorting operation of the parcels is delayed and which is causing a bottleneck in logistics based on the prediction result. The method includes a first step and a second step in which the processor optimizes a sorting pattern required for each of the identified relay bases so that a delay in the sorting work does not occur after the predetermined time, and the first step includes an information acquisition step of acquiring the arrival status of each of the packages at each of the relay bases, the work status of the sorting work of the packages, linking information linking each transport vehicle that delivers the package between the collection and delivery base and the relay base or between each of the relay bases and the package, and location information of the current location of each of the transport vehicles, each of the information acquired in the information acquisition step, previously given timetable information for each of the transport vehicles, the linking information, and a shipping destination for each of the relay bases. and a bottleneck relay point identification step of identifying a relay point that becomes a bottleneck in logistics, based on the delivery status of each of the parcels after the predetermined time predicted in the delivery status prediction step, where the number of the parcels waiting to be sorted exceeds a preset first threshold, or the number of parcels to be sorted exceeds a preset second threshold, based on the delivery status of each of the parcels after the predetermined time predicted in the delivery status prediction step. The second step is to adjust a sorting pattern so as not to cause a delay in sorting work after the predetermined time at the relay point identified in the delivery status prediction step. The system includes a sorting pattern change candidate identification step for identifying candidate combinations of the relay base of the shipping origin for which the turn is to be changed and the relay base or collection and delivery base of the shipping destination as sorting pattern change candidates, a sorting pattern combination information generation step for generating all sorting pattern combinations that are consistent among the sorting pattern combinations that are combinations of the sorting patterns in each of the sorting pattern change candidates identified in the sorting pattern change candidate identification step, and an evaluation value calculation step for calculating an evaluation value for each sorting pattern combination after a predetermined time and selecting the sorting pattern combination with the best evaluation value as the optimal sorting pattern combination .

The logistics management device and method of the present invention can prevent logistics stagnation caused by delays in sorting packages at any relay point in the logistics network.

The present invention provides a logistics management device and method that can prevent a decline in delivery efficiency across the entire delivery network.

1 is a graph showing an example of the configuration of a logistics network. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a logistics management system according to first to third embodiments. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the physical configuration of the logistics management device. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a logical configuration of a logistics management device according to a first embodiment; 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a default sorting pattern information table. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a delivery status information table. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a delivery status forecast information table. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a baggage retention information table. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a sorting pattern change candidate information table. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a sorting pattern combination information table. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for a logistics management process. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for sorting pattern optimization processing according to the first embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing routine for a sorting pattern change candidate search process. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen configuration of a sorting pattern change content display screen. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a logical configuration of a logistics management device according to a second embodiment. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of an equipment completion forecast information table. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a luggage-flight allocation information table according to the second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for sorting pattern optimization processing according to the second embodiment. 13 is a flowchart showing the processing steps of baggage-flight allocation processing. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an example of a logical configuration of a logistics management device according to a third embodiment. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of a luggage-flight allocation information table according to the third embodiment.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

The embodiments described below are merely examples for explaining the present invention, and have been omitted or simplified as appropriate for clarity of explanation. The present invention can also be implemented in various other forms. Unless otherwise specified, each component may be singular or plural.

The position, size, shape, range, etc. of each component shown in the drawings may not represent the actual position, size, shape, range, etc., in order to facilitate understanding of the invention. Therefore, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the position, size, shape, range, etc. disclosed in the drawings.

As examples of various types of information, expressions such as "table," "list," and "queue" may be used, but the various types of information may be expressed in other data structures. For example, various types of information such as "XX table," "XX list," and "XX queue" may be expressed as "XX information." When explaining identification information, expressions such as "identification information," "identifier," "name," "ID," and "number" are used, but these are interchangeable.

When there are multiple components with the same or similar functions, they may be described using the same reference numerals with different subscripts. Also, when there is no need to distinguish between these multiple components, the subscripts may be omitted.

In the embodiments, there may be cases where a process performed by executing a program is described. Here, a computer executes a program using a processor (e.g., a CPU or a GPU), and performs the process defined by the program while using storage resources (e.g., memory) and interface devices (e.g., communication ports). Therefore, the processor may be the entity that executes the program and performs the process.

Similarly, the subject of processing performed by executing a program may be a controller, device, system, computer, or node having a processor. The subject of processing performed by executing a program may be a computing unit, and may include a dedicated circuit that performs specific processing. Here, a dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device).

The program may be installed on the computer from a program source. The program source may be, for example, a program distribution server or a computer-readable storage medium. When the program source is a program distribution server, the program distribution server may include a processor and a storage resource that stores the program to be distributed, and the processor of the program distribution server may distribute the program to be distributed to other computers. In addition, in the embodiment, two or more programs may be realized as one program, and one program may be realized as two or more programs.

(1) First embodiment (1-1) Example of the configuration of a logistics management system Fig. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a logistics network 1. This logistics network 1 is configured with collection and distribution bases 2 indicated by "A" to "I" in the figure, and relay bases 3 indicated by "1" to "9" in the figure. Parcels shipped from collection and distribution bases 2 indicated by "A" to "D" are delivered via the relay base 3 to any of collection and distribution bases 2 indicated by "E" to "I", and parcels shipped from collection and distribution bases 2 indicated by "E" to "I" are delivered via the relay base 3 to any of collection and distribution bases 2 indicated by "A" to "D".

Specifically, parcels shipped from collection and distribution bases 2 "A" through "C" are collected at relay base 3 "6" via relay base 3 "1" or "2" and relay base 3 "4" in that order, and parcels shipped from collection and distribution base 2 "D" are collected at relay base 3 "6" via relay bases 3 "3" and "5" in that order. These parcels collected at relay base 3 "6" are then delivered to collection and distribution bases 2 "E", "F", "G", "H" or "I" via relay bases 3 "7", "8" or "9".

Also, parcels shipped from collection and distribution base 2 "E" or "F" are collected at relay base 3 "6" via relay base 3 "7", parcels shipped from collection and distribution base 2 "G" are collected at relay base 3 "6" via relay base 3 "8", and parcels shipped from collection and distribution base 2 "H" or "I" are collected at relay base 3 "6" via relay base 3 "9". These parcels collected at relay base 3 "6" are then delivered to collection and distribution base 2 "A", "B" or "C" via relay base 3 "4" and relay base 3 "1" or "2" in sequence, and then delivered to collection and distribution base 2 "D" via relay base 3 "5" and relay base 3 "3" in sequence.

The delivery of luggage between the collection and distribution base 2 and the relay base 3, and between each relay base 3, is carried out by a transportation service consisting of a transport vehicle 13 (Figure 2) such as a truck. The number of transportation services between each collection and distribution base 2 and each relay base 3, the arrival and departure times of the transportation services at each collection and distribution base 2 and each relay base 3, and the travel routes of the transportation services are determined in advance as a transportation service schedule.

In addition, in the logistics network 1, a sorting pattern is set for each relay point 3 for each shipping destination of the parcel. For example, for relay point 3 "6", a sorting pattern for parcels whose shipping destination is relay point 3 "7", a sorting pattern for parcels whose shipping destination is relay point 3 "8", and a sorting pattern for parcels whose shipping destination is relay point 3 "9" are set. Therefore, it can be said that a sorting pattern is set for each combination of shipper and shipping destination.

Figure 2 shows an example of the configuration of a logistics management system 10 according to this embodiment. This logistics management system 10 is a system that manages logistics in a logistics network 1, and is configured with resource equipment 11 and a base management device 12 installed at each relay point 3, a transportation and delivery management device 14 that manages each transport vehicle 13, and a logistics management device 15 that controls the entire logistics management system 10.

The logistics management device 15 is connected to the base management device 12 installed at each relay base 3 and the transportation and delivery management device 14 installed at a center or the like via a network 16 such as the Internet or a dedicated line, and each base management device 12 is connected to the resource equipment 11 in the same relay base 3 via a wired or wireless network. The transportation and delivery management device 14 is also connected to each transport vehicle 13 via a wireless communication network such as a mobile phone line.

The resource equipment 11 is equipment used for loading and unloading operations at the relay base 3, and is composed of, for example, material handling equipment such as forklifts, basket carts, pallets, conveyors, transport robots and/or picking systems, logistics equipment such as digital sorting systems that support sorting operations, and worker terminals.

The base management device 12 is a computer device that has the function of collecting and managing the operating status of the resource devices 11 at each relay base 3 where the device is installed, and various information about each package. The base management device 12 manages package information, such as the package identifier (package ID), acceptance point (collection and delivery base where the package is accepted), and destination point (collection and delivery base where the package is to be delivered), obtained by reading the package label when the package arrives at or is shipped from the relay base 3 where the device is installed, by linking the information to the arrival time or shipping time. The base management device 12 also manages the transport vehicles 13 on which each shipped package is loaded, by linking the information to each package.

The transportation and delivery management device 14 holds information on the transportation schedule of each transport vehicle 13 given in advance (hereinafter, this will be referred to as transportation schedule information), and notifies the logistics management device 15 of the held transportation schedule information. The transportation and delivery management device 14 also transmits operation instructions to each transport vehicle 13 based on the held transportation schedule information, and periodically acquires the current location of each transport vehicle 13 to perform dynamic management of these transport vehicles 13.

The logistics management device 15 is a computer device that has the function of collecting necessary information from each base management device 12 and transportation and delivery management device 14 via the network 16 and managing logistics in the logistics network 1 based on the collected information. As shown in FIG. 3, the logistics management device 15 is composed of a general-purpose server device equipped with a processing device 20, a storage device 21, a communication device 22, an input device 23, and a display device 24.

The processing device 20 is a control unit that controls the operation of the entire logistics management device 15, and is composed of a processor 25, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a memory 26, such as a RAM (Random Access Memory), that is used as a working area for the processor 25. The storage device 21 is composed of a large-capacity, volatile storage device, for example, a hard disk device or SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various programs and various data that need to be stored for a long period of time.

The program stored in the storage device 21 is read from the storage device 21 to the memory 26 of the processing device 20 when the logistics management device 15 is started up or when necessary, and the processor 25 executes the program read to this memory 26, thereby performing various processes for the logistics management device 15 as a whole, as described below.

The communication device 22 is composed of, for example, a NIC (Network Interface Card), and performs protocol control when the logistics management device 15 communicates with the base management device 12 (Figure 2) and the transportation and delivery management device 14 (Figure 2) via the network 16 (Figure 2).

The input device 23 is composed of, for example, a keyboard and a mouse, and is used by the user to input various commands and information to the logistics management device 15. The display device 24 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (Electro-Luminescence) display, and is used to display various GUI (Graphical User Interface) screens and necessary information. Note that a touch panel that integrates the input device 23 and the display device 24 may also be used.

(1-2) Logistics Management Function According to the Present Embodiment Next, we will explain the logistics management function according to the present embodiment installed in the logistics management device 15. This logistics management function is a function that predicts the sorting status of luggage at each relay base after a predetermined time (for example, after 5 minutes) at a predetermined time period, and if there is a relay base 3 where a delay in the sorting work is predicted after the predetermined time due to a concentration of luggage, etc., changes the sorting patterns of the other relay bases 3 so that such a delay in the sorting work does not occur.

In the logistics network 1 (Figure 1) of this embodiment, as described above, the sorting patterns for packages at each relay point 3 are preset for each shipping destination (preset for each combination of shipper and shipping destination), and packages are sorted at each relay point 3 according to the set sorting patterns.

For example, in the logistics network 1 of Figure 1, at relay points 3 "4" and "5," when shipping parcels to relay point 3 "6," a sorting pattern is preset so that all parcels destined for collection and distribution bases 2 "E" through "I" are loaded onto the same equipment (e.g., a basket cart or pallet).

As a result, in the distribution network illustrated in FIG. 1, packages are concentrated at relay point "6," which tends to cause delays in sorting operations at relay point 3. As a result, relay point 3 "6" becomes a bottleneck, which tends to cause delays in distribution operations in logistics network 1.

In this logistics management system 10, when the logistics management device 15 sends out parcels from a relay point 3 "4" to a relay point 3 "6", for example, the sorting pattern at the relay point 3 "4" is changed so that parcels destined for collection and delivery bases 2 "E" or "F" are loaded on the same equipment, parcels destined for collection and delivery base 2 "G" are loaded on one equipment, and parcels destined for collection and delivery bases 2 "H" or "I" are loaded on the same equipment, or the sorting pattern at the relay point 3 "4" is changed so that parcels destined for collection and delivery bases 2 "E" to "G" are loaded on the same equipment, and parcels destined for collection and delivery bases 2 "H" or "I" are loaded on the same equipment. This makes it possible to omit or reduce the work of reloading parcels at the relay point 3 "6", and as a result, it is possible to prevent delays in delivery operations throughout the logistics network 1.

As a means for realizing the logistics management function of this embodiment, the logistics management device 15 is provided with a delivery status prediction unit 30 and a sorting pattern optimization unit 31, as shown in FIG. 4, and the storage device 21 stores a delivery schedule information table 32, a default sorting pattern information table 33, a delivery status information table 34, a delivery status prediction information table 35, a baggage hold information table 36, a sorting pattern change candidate information table 37, and a sorting pattern combination information table 38.

The delivery status prediction unit 30 is a functional unit having a function of predicting the delivery status of each package after a specified time, and is realized by the processor 25 of the processing device 20 described above in FIG. 3 executing a specified program (not shown) read from the storage device 21 to the memory 26. This delivery status prediction unit 30 is configured with a base work status acquisition unit 40, a transport vehicle position information acquisition unit 41, a delivery status prediction information generation unit 42, and a bottleneck relay base identification unit 43.

The base work status acquisition unit 40 is a functional unit that has the function of acquiring the current sorting work status at each relay base 3 from the base management device 12 (Figure 2) of that relay base 3. In addition, the transport vehicle position information acquisition unit 41 is a functional unit that has the function of acquiring the current position of each transport vehicle 13 from the transportation and delivery management device 14 (Figure 2). The base work status acquisition unit 40 and the transport vehicle position information acquisition unit 41 acquire the current sorting work status and the current position of each transport vehicle at a predetermined time interval, and store this acquired information in the delivery status information table 34.

The delivery status prediction information generating unit 42 is a functional unit that predicts the work status of the sorting work at each relay point 3 after a predetermined time based on the above-mentioned various information stored in the delivery status information table 34 and the transportation schedule information of each transport vehicle 13 registered in advance in the transportation schedule information table 32 described later. The delivery status prediction information generating unit 42 stores the prediction results in the delivery status prediction information table 35.

The bottleneck relay point identification unit 43 is a functional unit that has the function of identifying a relay point 3 (hereinafter referred to as a bottleneck relay point) that is a bottleneck in the delivery operations in the logistics network 1 (Figure 1) based on the results of a prediction of the work status of the sorting work at each relay point 3 after a specified time stored in the delivery status prediction information table 35.

On the other hand, the sorting pattern optimization unit 31 is a functional unit that has a function of optimizing the sorting patterns of other relay points 3 so that a bottleneck relay point 3 does not occur after a specified time based on the delivery status after a specified time registered in the delivery status prediction information table 35, and is embodied by the processor 25 of the processing device 20 described above in FIG. 3 executing a program (not shown) read from the storage device 21 to the memory 26. This sorting pattern optimization unit 31 is configured with a sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44, a sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45, and an evaluation value calculation unit 46.

The sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 is a functional unit that has the function of identifying, for each bottleneck relay point 3 identified by the bottleneck relay point identification unit of the delivery status prediction unit 30, a section that is located before the bottleneck relay point 3 and has a large volume of parcels being delivered to the bottleneck relay point 3, as a sorting pattern change candidate.

The "section" here refers to the route portion connecting the relay point 3 (shipping origin) where the sorting pattern should be changed and the relay point 3 (shipping destination) to which packages are delivered from that relay point 3 to the destination collection and distribution base 2 via the bottleneck relay point 3. The sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 identifies all of the above-mentioned combinations of shipping origin and shipping destination as sorting pattern change candidates, and stores each identified sorting pattern change candidate in the sorting pattern change candidate information table 37.

The sorting pattern combination information generating unit 45 is a functional unit that has the function of generating all combinations of sorting patterns (hereinafter referred to as sorting pattern combinations) that can be set for each shipping source of each sorting pattern change candidate stored in the sorting pattern change candidate information table 37, and storing consistent sorting pattern combinations from among these generated sorting pattern combinations in the sorting pattern combination information table 38.

For example, it is assumed that the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 has identified two sorting pattern change candidates, "origin/destination combination 1" and "origin/destination combination 2," as such sorting pattern change candidates. It is also assumed that for the sorting pattern change candidate "origin/destination combination 1," "sorting pattern 1" and "sorting pattern 2" can be set as the origin sorting patterns, and for the sorting pattern change candidate "origin/destination combination 2," "sorting pattern 3" and "sorting pattern 4" can be set as the origin sorting patterns.

In this case, the sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45 generates four sorting pattern combinations: {sorting pattern 1, sorting pattern 3}, {sorting pattern 1, sorting pattern 4}, {sorting pattern 2, sorting pattern 3}, and {sorting pattern 2, sorting pattern 4}, and stores information on the consistent sorting pattern combinations among the four sorting pattern combinations generated in the sorting pattern combination information table 38.

Note that a "consistent sorting pattern" here refers to a sorting pattern in which parcels loaded onto the same equipment at the shipping source in the candidate sorting pattern change are not sorted at the subsequent relay point 3.

For example, in the example of Figure 1, at a relay point 3 "4", parcels destined for collection and delivery base 2 "E" are loaded onto the same equipment, parcels destined for collection and delivery bases 2 "F" or "G" are loaded onto the same equipment, and parcels destined for collection and delivery bases 2 "H" or "I" are loaded onto the same equipment, while at a relay point 3 "6", parcels destined for collection and delivery bases 2 "E", "F", or "G" are loaded onto the same equipment, and parcels destined for collection and delivery bases 2 "H" or "I" are reloaded onto the same equipment.

In this case, at relay point 3 "4", parcels destined for collection and delivery base 2 "E" that have been sorted from parcels destined for collection and delivery base 2 "F" or "G" are loaded onto the same equipment as parcels destined for collection and delivery base 2 "F" or "G" at relay point 3 "6". A sorting pattern combination in which parcels sorted at a previous relay point are loaded onto the same equipment again is considered to be inconsistent. Consistent sorting pattern combinations can be generated using any algorithm.

Furthermore, the evaluation value calculation unit 46 is a functional unit that has the function of calculating an evaluation value when each sorting pattern combination registered in the sorting pattern combination information table 38 is applied, and selecting the optimal sorting pattern combination after a predetermined time from among these sorting pattern combinations based on the calculated evaluation value. Details of the "evaluation value" and "number of baggage backlogs" will be described later.

The evaluation value calculation unit 46 displays the calculated optimal sorting pattern combination after a predetermined time on the display device 24 (Fig. 3), and notifies the base management device 12 (Fig. 2) of the relay base 3 where the sorting pattern should be changed of the changed sorting pattern. As a result, in accordance with this notification, the sorting pattern after a predetermined time by the worker or sorting machine at that relay base 3 is switched to the changed sorting pattern.

On the other hand, the transportation schedule information table 32 is a table that stores information on transportation schedules that have been notified in advance to the logistics management device 15 by the transportation and delivery management device 14 (Figure 2). The transportation schedule information table 32 stores information such as an identifier for each transportation service, an identifier (transport vehicle ID) of the transport vehicle 13 used for that transportation service, the delivery route of that transportation service (departure, arrival and stopover bases), and the arrival and departure times of the transportation service at each collection and delivery base and each relay base on the delivery route.

The default sorting pattern information table 33 is a table that stores sorting patterns for parcels set for each shipping destination for each relay base 3, and is created in advance and stored in the memory device 21 of the logistics management device 15. A "shipping destination" refers to a relay base 3 or collection and delivery base 2 that can be the delivery destination of a parcel shipped from the relay base 3 of the shipper, and corresponds to a relay base 3 or collection and delivery base 2 that is an adjacent node when each relay base 3 and each collection and delivery base 2 in the logistics network 1 is considered as a node. For example, in the case of the distribution network in Figure 1, if the relay base 3 "6" is the shipper, relay bases 3 "4", "5", "7", "8" or "9" can be the shipping destination.

As shown in FIG. 5, this default sorting pattern information table 33 is configured with a shipping origin column 33A, a shipping destination column 33B, and a sorting pattern column 33C. In the default sorting pattern information table 33, one row corresponds to a sorting pattern set for a combination of shipping origin and shipping destination.

Then, the shipping origin field 33A stores the relay base ID of the relay base 3 from which the package is shipped, and the shipping destination field 33B stores the collection and delivery base ID or relay base ID of the collection and delivery base 2 or relay base 3 to which the package is shipped. The sorting pattern field 33C stores a sorting pattern that is preset for the combination of the shipping origin and shipping destination.

Therefore, in the example of Figure 5, the default sorting pattern when shipping parcels from relay point 3 "1" to collection and distribution base 2 "A" is "[A]", and the default sorting pattern when shipping parcels from relay point 3 "1" to relay point 3 "4" is "[E,F,G,H,I]".

In FIG. 5, the notation "[○,△,□]" represents a sorting pattern in which all parcels destined for collection and delivery base 2 "○", "△", or "□" are loaded onto the same equipment. Therefore, "[A]" represents a sorting pattern in which parcels destined for collection and delivery base 2 "A" are loaded onto the same equipment, and "[E,F,G,H,I]" represents a sorting pattern in which all parcels destined for collection and delivery base 2 "E", "F", "G", "H", or "I" are loaded onto the same equipment. The same applies below.

The delivery status information table 34 is a table used to hold the work status of the sorting work at each relay base 3 acquired by the base work status acquisition unit 40 (Fig. 4) from the base management device 12 (Fig. 2) of that relay base 3, and the current position of each transport vehicle 13 (more precisely, the current position of each package loaded on these transport vehicles 13) acquired by the transport vehicle position information acquisition unit 41 from the transportation and delivery management device 14 (Fig. 2). As shown in Fig. 6, this delivery status information table 34 is configured with a package ID column 34A, a status column 34B, a current position column 34C, a place of acceptance column 34D, a time of acceptance column 34E, a destination column 34F, and a delivery route column 34G. In the delivery status information table 34, one row corresponds to one package to be delivered that is currently present within the logistics network 1.

The parcel ID column 34A stores the parcel ID assigned to the corresponding parcel, and the status column 34B stores the current status of the parcel. Such parcel statuses include "waiting for sorting", which means the parcel is waiting to be sorted at the collection and delivery base 2 or relay base 3, "waiting for shipment", which means the parcel has been sorted and is waiting to be shipped from the collection and delivery base 2 or relay base 3, and "being delivered", which means the parcel is being delivered by the transport vehicle 13 to the relay base 3 or collection and delivery base 2, which is the shipping destination.

The current location column 34C also stores the current location of the corresponding package. If the package's status is "in delivery", the current location of the transport vehicle 13 carrying the package is stored in the current location column 34C as the package's current location. In this case, the current location of the transport vehicle 13 is expressed in the format of "Section ○-△" if the transport vehicle 13 is heading from a collection and delivery base 2 or relay point 3 marked "○" to a relay point 3 or collection and delivery base 2 marked "△".

The receiving location field 34D stores the collection and delivery base ID of the collection and delivery base 2 where the parcel was received, and the receiving time field 34E stores the time when the parcel was received at the collection and delivery base 2. The destination field 34F stores the collection and delivery base ID of the collection and delivery base 2 to which the parcel is to be delivered, and the delivery route field 34G stores the delivery route of the parcel determined by the logistics management device 15. The delivery route may be calculated by the logistics management device 15 with reference to a pre-given master, or may be calculated using a known delivery route optimization technique.

Therefore, in the example of Figure 6, for example, a parcel with a parcel ID of "Parcel 1" was received at collection and distribution base 2 "A" at "13:40" with collection and distribution base 2 "E" as its destination, and is currently in the "waiting for shipment" state at that collection and distribution base 2, and is scheduled to be delivered to collection and distribution base 2 "E" via the delivery route "A → 1 → 4 → 6 → 7 → E".

The delivery status prediction information table 35 is a table used to hold information regarding the delivery status of each package after a specified time predicted by the delivery status prediction information generation unit 42 (Figure 4), and as shown in Figure 7, is configured with a package ID column 35A, a predicted status column 35B, a predicted location column 35C, a next base column 35D, a place of receipt column 35E, a time of receipt column 35F, a destination column 35G, and a delivery route column 35H. In the delivery status prediction information table 35, one row corresponds to one package.

The parcel ID column 35A, acceptance location column 35E, acceptance time column 35F, destination column 35G, and delivery route column 35H store information about the corresponding parcel that is similar to the information stored in the parcel ID column 34A, acceptance location column 34D, acceptance time column 34E, destination column 34F, and delivery route column 34G of the delivery status information table 34 (Figure 6).

The predicted state column 35B stores the predicted state of the corresponding parcel after a predetermined time, and the predicted location column 35C stores the predicted location of the parcel after a predetermined time. Furthermore, the next location column 35D stores the identifier (collection/delivery base ID or relay base ID) of the collection/delivery base 2 or relay base 3 that will be the next shipping destination of the parcel after the predicted predetermined time.

Therefore, in the example of Figure 7, the parcel with the parcel ID "Parcel 1" has a collection and distribution base "A" as its acceptance location, a collection and distribution time of "13:40", a destination of collection and distribution base 2 "E", a delivery route of "A → 1 → 4 → 6 → 7 → E", a predicted status after a specified time of "waiting for shipment", a location of "section 1-4", and a next shipping destination of relay base 3 with a relay base ID of "4".

The baggage retention information table 36 is a table used to hold the estimated baggage retention status at each shipping destination after a specified time at the shipping origin (bottleneck relay point 3) of each sorting pattern change candidate identified by the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44. As shown in FIG. 8, this baggage retention information table 36 is configured with a shipping origin column 36A, a shipping destination column 36B, and a baggage quantity waiting for sorting column 36C.

The source column 36A stores the relay point ID of the source (bottleneck relay point 3) of the pattern change candidate where luggage is estimated to be backed up after a specified time, and the destination column 36B stores the relay point ID or collection and delivery base ID of each relay point 3 and each collection and delivery base 2 that can be the shipping destination of luggage shipped from the source. The number of luggage waiting to be sorted column 36C stores the estimated number of luggage that should be shipped from the source (bottleneck relay point 3) to the corresponding shipping destination in the pattern change candidate and that are in a "waiting for sorting" state at the source after a specified time.

Therefore, in the example of Figure 8, the number of packages in the "waiting for sorting" state after a specified time, with the relay point (bottleneck relay point) 3 "6" as the shipping source and the relay points 3 "4", "5", "7", "8" or "9" as the shipping destination, is shown to be "10", "20", "100", "150" or "100", respectively.

The sorting pattern change candidate information table 37 is a table used to hold information on sorting pattern change candidates identified by the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44, and is configured with a shipping origin column 37A, a shipping destination column 37B, and a default sorting pattern column 37C, as shown in FIG. 9. In the sorting pattern change candidate information table 37, one row corresponds to one combination of shipping origin and shipping destination identified as a sorting pattern change candidate by the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44.

The source column 37A stores the relay point ID of the source relay point 3 among the combinations of source and destination identified as candidates for sorting pattern change, and the destination column 37B stores the relay point ID of the destination relay point 3 among such combinations. The destination here corresponds to the relay point 3 where the sorting pattern is changed in advance to prevent delays in sorting work at the bottleneck relay point 3. The default sorting pattern column 37C stores the sorting pattern currently set for the source for that combination of source and destination.

Therefore, in the example of Figure 9, in the case of a candidate sorting pattern change in which relay point 3 "4" is the shipping origin and relay point 3 "6" is the shipping destination, it is shown that the current (default) sorting pattern is to load parcels with destinations "E", "F", "G", "H" and "I" onto the same equipment.

The sorting pattern combination information table 38 is a table used to hold consistent sorting pattern combinations generated by the sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45. As shown in FIG. 10, this sorting pattern combination information table is configured with an ID column 38A, a shipper column 38B, a shipper type column 38C, a shipping destination column 38D, and a sorting pattern column 38E. The ID column 38A stores an identifier (sorting pattern combination ID) assigned to each sorting pattern combination.

The shipping origin column 38B, shipping origin type column 38C, shipping destination column 38D, and sorting pattern column 38E corresponding to one sorting pattern combination are divided into rows L1 each associated with a corresponding sorting pattern change candidate and rows L2 each associated with a relay base 38 that will be affected by a delay in the sorting work at the corresponding bottleneck relay base 3.

For row L1 associated with a sorting pattern change candidate, the shipper column 38B stores the relay base ID of the relay base 3 of the shipper in the sorting pattern change candidate, and the shipping destination column 38D stores the collection and delivery base ID or relay base ID of the collection and delivery base 2 or relay base 3 of the shipping destination in the sorting pattern change candidate. The shipper type column 38C stores information indicating that the corresponding shipper is a candidate for changing the sorting pattern ("change candidate base" in Figure 10). The sorting pattern column 38E stores the sorting pattern of the corresponding shipper in the corresponding sorting pattern combination.

For rows L2 associated with each relay point 3 that is affected by a delay in the sorting operation at the corresponding bottleneck relay point 3, the shipper column 38B stores the relay point ID of that bottleneck relay point 3, and the destination column 38D stores the relay point ID of the relay point 3 that is affected by a delay in the sorting operation at the bottleneck relay point 3. The shipper type column 38C stores information indicating that the shipper is a bottleneck relay point 3 ("Bottleneck relay point" in FIG. 10). The sorting pattern column 38E stores the sorting pattern of the corresponding shipper in the corresponding sorting pattern combination.

Therefore, in the example of Figure 10, the sorting pattern combination assigned a sorting pattern combination ID of "1" is shown to be a combination of sorting patterns in which the sorting pattern of the candidate sorting pattern where the shipper's origin is the relay base 3 "4" and the shipper's destination is the relay base 3 "6", the sorting pattern of the candidate sorting pattern where the shipper's origin is the relay base 3 "3" and the shipper's destination is the relay base 3 "5", and the sorting pattern of the candidate sorting pattern where the shipper's origin is the relay base 3 "5" and the shipper's destination is the relay base 3 "6" are all sorting patterns "[E,F,G,H,I]".

In the example of Figure 10, the sorting pattern combination assigned a sorting pattern combination ID of "2" is shown to be a combination of sorting patterns in which the sorting pattern of the candidate sorting pattern whose source is relay base 3 "4" and whose destination is relay base 3 "6", the sorting pattern of the candidate sorting pattern whose source is relay base 3 "3" and whose destination is relay base 3 "5", and the sorting pattern of the candidate sorting pattern whose source is relay base 3 "5" and whose destination is relay base 3 "6" are all sorting patterns "[E,F,H,I],[G]".

The sorting pattern "[E,F,H,I],[G]" means that all packages destined for collection and distribution base 2 "E", "F", "H" or "I" are loaded onto the same equipment, and packages destined for collection and distribution base 2 "G" are loaded onto a different equipment.

In this case, if the sorting pattern of only relay base 3 "3" is changed to "[E,F,H,I],[G]" and the sorting pattern of relay base 3 "5" is the default "[E,F,G,H,I]", then at relay base 3 "5", the packages sorted at relay base 3 "3" will be mixed again onto the same equipment, resulting in an inconsistent combination of sorting patterns. Therefore, if the sorting pattern of only relay base 3 "3" is changed to "[E,F,H,I],[G]", the sorting pattern at relay base 3 "5" must also be changed to "[E,F,H,I],[G]". By doing this, the sorting work of packages from relay base 3 "3" can be omitted at relay base 3 "5", and it becomes possible to handle the situation by only unloading and loading on an equipment basis.

Also, looking at the rows for the relay point 3 with the shipper "6", in both sorting pattern combinations with sorting pattern combination IDs "1" and "2", the sorting pattern for parcels shipped to relay point 3 "7" is "[E,F]", the sorting pattern for parcels shipped to relay point 3 "8" is "[G]", and the sorting pattern for parcels shipped to relay point 3 "9" is "[H,I]". However, in the sorting pattern combination with sorting pattern combination ID "2", parcels destined for collection and delivery base 2 "G" have been sorted in advance at relay point 3 "4" and relay point 3 "3". Therefore, in this case, the workload of sorting work at relay point 3 "6" is reduced by the workload of sorting work for parcels destined for collection and delivery base 2 "G".

(1-3) Various Processing Executed in Relation to the Logistics Management Function (1-3-1) Logistics Management Processing Next, the contents of various processing executed in the logistics management system 10 of this embodiment in relation to the logistics management function of this embodiment will be described.

Figure 11 shows the flow of a series of processes (hereinafter referred to as logistics management processes) executed in the logistics management system 10 in relation to the logistics management function of this embodiment described above. The logistics management system 10 executes the logistics management processes shown in Figure 11 periodically (e.g., at 5-minute intervals) to sequentially predict logistics after a predetermined time (e.g., 5 minutes), and when it predicts that a bottleneck relay point 3 will occur after the predetermined time, it changes the sorting pattern of the necessary relay point 3 among the previous relay points 3 so that delays in sorting work do not occur at that bottleneck relay point 3.

In practice, in the logistics management system 10, this logistics management process is started periodically, and first the base work status acquisition unit 40 (Fig. 4) of the delivery status prediction unit 30 (Fig. 4) acquires from the base management device 12 (Fig. 2) of each relay base 3 the inbound and outbound status of each package at the relay base 3 where it is installed, the work status of the sorting work, and linking information linking the package and the transport vehicle 13, and stores this acquired information in the delivery status information table 34 (Fig. 6) (S1).

The transport vehicle position information acquisition unit 41 (Figure 4) of the delivery status prediction unit 30 acquires the driving position of each transport vehicle 13 from the transportation and delivery management device 14 (Figure 2), and based on the acquired driving position of each transport vehicle 13 and the above-mentioned linking information, stores the current position of the transport vehicle 13 carrying the cargo currently being delivered by the transport vehicle 13 in the current position column 34C of the delivery status information table 34 (S2).

Then, the delivery status prediction information generation unit 42 (Fig. 4) of the delivery status prediction unit 30 predicts the delivery status, such as the condition and location of each package after a specified time, and the next base if the package is being delivered, based on each piece of information stored in the delivery status information table 34 and the schedule information of each transport vehicle 13 stored in the transportation schedule information table 32 (Fig. 4), and stores the prediction results in the delivery status prediction information table 35 (Fig. 7) (S3).

Next, the bottleneck relay point identification unit 43 (Figure 4) of the delivery status prediction unit 30 determines whether there is a relay point (bottleneck relay point) 3 where a delay in sorting work is occurring after the specified time based on the delivery status of each package after the specified time stored in the delivery status prediction information table 35 (S4).

In this embodiment, if there is a relay point 3 where the number of packages in the "waiting for sorting" state exceeds a preset first threshold value after a specified time, the bottleneck relay point identification unit 43 identifies the relay point 3 as a bottleneck relay point 3.

However, a relay point 3 for which the number of items to be sorted after a predetermined time exceeds a preset second threshold may be identified as a bottleneck relay point 3. Alternatively, a statistical model may be constructed in advance using past historical data, and the bottleneck relay point 3 may be identified by determining whether or not each relay point 3 is a bottleneck relay point 3 using the statistical model.

Then, if the bottleneck relay point identification unit 43 is unable to identify a bottleneck relay point 3 in step S4 (i.e., if it is predicted that a bottleneck relay point 3 will not exist after a specified time), this logistics management process ends.

In contrast, if the bottleneck relay point identification unit 43 is able to identify at least one bottleneck relay point 3 in step S4 (i.e., if it is predicted that at least one bottleneck relay point 3 will exist after the specified time), the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 (Fig. 4) of the sorting pattern optimization unit 31 (Fig. 4) selects one bottleneck relay point 3 that has not been processed from step S6 onwards (S5).

Next, in order to prevent delays in sorting operations at the bottleneck relay base 3 (hereinafter referred to as the selected bottleneck relay base) after a specified time, the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44, sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45 (Figure 4), and evaluation value calculation unit 46 (Figure 4) of the sorting pattern optimization unit 31 execute a sorting pattern optimization process to calculate the optimal sorting pattern at the relay base 3 for one or more required relay bases 3 from among those located before the selected bottleneck relay base 3 (S6).

Next, the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 of the sorting pattern optimization unit 31 determines whether or not the sorting pattern optimization process of step S6 has been completed for all bottleneck relay locations 3 identified in step S4 (S7).

If the determination in step S7 is negative, the process returns to step S5, and the processes in steps S5 to S7 are repeated while the bottleneck relay point 3 selected in step S5 is successively switched to another bottleneck relay point 3 that has not been processed in step S6.

Then, when the processing of step S6 has been completed for all bottleneck relay locations 3 and a positive result is obtained in step S7, the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 of the sorting pattern optimization unit 31 updates the default sorting pattern information table 33 (Figure 5) stored in the memory device 21 of the logistics management device 15 in accordance with the processing results of steps S4 to S7 (S8).

However, the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 may inquire of the user whether or not it is OK to update the default sorting pattern information table 33 before updating the default sorting pattern information table 33. The sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 may also transmit the contents of the updated default sorting pattern information table 33 to the base management device 12 of the corresponding relay base 3, and the base management device 12 may determine whether or not to accept the information of the updated default sorting pattern information table 33, and may reject the acceptance in some cases.

Then, the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 displays on the display device 24 (Fig. 3) a sorting pattern change content display screen 50 (described later with reference to Fig. 14) corresponding to the contents of the updated default sorting pattern information table 33, and notifies the updated sorting pattern to the base management device 12 of the relay base 3 where the sorting pattern has been updated (S9), after which the logistics management process ends.

(1-3-2) Sorting pattern optimization processing Figure 12 shows the specific processing contents of the sorting pattern optimization processing executed by the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44, sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45 and evaluation value calculation unit 46 of the sorting pattern optimization unit 31 in step S6 of the logistics management processing described above.

When the process proceeds to step S6 of the logistics management process, the sorting pattern optimization process shown in FIG. 12 is started, and first, the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 executes a sorting pattern change candidate search process to search for candidate combinations of origin and destination relay points 3 for which the sorting pattern should be changed (i.e., sorting pattern change candidates) (S10).

Next, the sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45 generates the sorting pattern combination information table 38 described above in FIG. 10 by referring to the sorting pattern change candidate information table 37 described above in FIG. 9 (S11).

により算出する。 Next, evaluation value calculation unit 46 selects one sorting pattern combination that has not been processed after step S13 from among the sorting pattern combinations registered in sorting pattern combination information table 38 generated in step S11 (S12), and calculates evaluation value V when the selected sorting pattern combination is used for logistics network 1 ( FIG. 1 ) using the following formula:

It is calculated as follows.

In equation (1), "α" is an arbitrary parameter, and "number of stranded luggage" represents the number of luggage pieces predicted to be in a "waiting for sorting" state at the relay base 3 after a specified time. The "number of stranded luggage" is an index that can be used to evaluate the work efficiency at the relay base 3, but other indexes may be used to evaluate the work efficiency at the relay base 3 (S13).

Furthermore, if the sorting pattern is changed, the shipment time of the luggage may change, which may result in waiting times for the transport vehicles 13 due to waiting their turn at the loading and unloading equipment. Therefore, the waiting times for the transport vehicles 13 may also be taken into consideration when calculating the evaluation value V.

Then, the evaluation value calculation unit 46 judges whether the evaluation value V calculated at that time in step S13 is the best (S14). Specifically, the evaluation value calculation unit 46 judges whether the value of the evaluation value V calculated at that time is the smallest among the evaluation values V calculated at step S13 since the start of the current sorting pattern optimization process.

If the evaluation value calculation unit 46 obtains a negative result in this judgment, it proceeds to step S16, but if it obtains a positive result, it updates the optimal solution for the evaluation value V to the evaluation value V calculated at that time (S15).

Then, the evaluation value calculation unit 46 determines whether or not the processes of steps S13 to S15 have been performed for all sorting pattern combinations registered in the sorting pattern combination information table generated in step S11 (S16).

If the evaluation value calculation unit 46 obtains a negative result in this determination, it returns to step S12, and thereafter repeats the processing of steps S12 to S16 while sequentially switching the sorting pattern combination selected in step S12 to a sorting pattern combination registered in the sorting pattern combination information table 38 and unprocessed from step S13 onwards. Through this repeated processing, the smallest evaluation value V among the evaluation values V of each sorting pattern combination registered in the sorting pattern combination information table 38 is extracted as the optimization value.

Then, when the evaluation value calculation unit 46 obtains a positive result in step S16 by completing the processing of steps S13 to S15 for all sorting pattern combinations registered in the sorting pattern combination information table 38, the series of processes ends, and the sorting pattern optimization process also ends.

(1-3-3) Sorting Pattern Change Candidate Search Process Meanwhile, Figure 13 shows the specific processing contents of the sorting pattern change candidate search process executed by the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 of the sorting pattern optimization unit 31 in step S10 of the sorting pattern optimization process described above with reference to Figure 12.

The sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 starts the sorting pattern change candidate search process shown in FIG. 13 in step S10 of the sorting pattern optimization process, and first generates the baggage hold information table 36 described above with reference to FIG. 8 (S20).

Next, the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 identifies shipping destinations that will be affected by delays in sorting work at the bottleneck relay point 3 (S21). In this embodiment, the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 identifies shipping destinations where the number of packages in the "waiting for sorting" state exceeds a preset threshold (hereinafter referred to as the sorting waiting threshold) as shipping destinations that will be affected by delays in sorting work at the bottleneck relay point 3. Here, in FIG. 1, "6" is the bottleneck relay point 3, and relay points 3 "7" to "9" are each identified as shipping destinations that will be affected by delays in sorting work at the bottleneck relay point 3.

In this embodiment, a baggage retention information table 36 is created, and shipping destinations affected by delays in sorting at the bottleneck relay point 3 are identified based on the number of bags in the "waiting for sorting" state for each shipping destination after a specified time, but other methods may be used to identify shipping destinations affected by delays in sorting at the bottleneck relay point 3. For example, a statistical model may be constructed in advance using past historical data, and this statistical model may be used to identify shipping destinations affected by delays in sorting at the bottleneck relay point 3.

Next, the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 extracts, as target routes, delivery routes that include a bottleneck relay point 3 and a shipping destination that will be affected by a delay in the sorting operation at the bottleneck relay point 3 identified in step S21 (S22). Therefore, for example, in the example of FIG. 1, if "6" is a bottleneck relay point and "8" is a shipping destination that will be affected by a delay in the sorting operation at the bottleneck relay point 3, four delivery routes are extracted as target routes: "A → 1 → 4 → 6 → 8 → G," "B → 2 → 4 → 6 → 8 → G," "C → 2 → 4 → 6 → 8 → G," and "D → 3 → 5 → 6 → 8 → G."

The sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 then selects one target route (the delivery route extracted in step S22) that has not been processed from step S24 onwards (S23), and selects one relay point 3 that has not been processed from step S25 onwards from each relay point 3 that is located before the bottleneck relay point 3 on the selected target route (S24).

Next, the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 calculates the shipping volume of parcels that will pass through the bottleneck relay point 3 among the parcels to be shipped within a specified time frame (e.g., within one hour) at the relay point 3 selected in step S24 (S25).

The sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 also determines whether the shipping volume calculated in step S25 is equal to or greater than a third threshold value set in advance (S26). If the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 obtains a negative result in the determination in step S26, it proceeds to step S28.

In response to this, if the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 obtains a positive result in the judgment of step S26, it determines the relay point 3 selected in step S24 as the origin, and the next relay point 3 from that origin on the target route selected in step S23 as the destination, and determines this combination of origin and destination as a candidate for changing the sorting pattern from that origin to that destination set for that origin (sorting pattern change candidate).The sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 then registers the combination of origin and destination determined in this way in the sorting pattern change candidate information table 37 (Figure 9) (S27).

Then, the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 judges (S28) whether or not the processing of steps S25 to S27 has been completed for all relay points 3 before the bottleneck relay point 3 selected in step S5 of the logistics management process (FIG. 11) for the target route selected in step S23. If the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 obtains a negative result in this judgment, it returns to step S24, and thereafter repeats the processing of steps S24 to S28 until it obtains a positive result in step S28.

Then, when the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 obtains a positive result in step S28 by completing the processing of steps S25 to S27 for all relay points 3 before the bottleneck relay point 3, it determines whether or not the processing of steps S24 to S28 has been completed for all delivery routes extracted in step S22 (S29).

If the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 obtains a negative result in this determination, it returns to step S23, and thereafter repeats the processing of steps S23 to S29 until it obtains a positive result in step S29.

Then, when the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 obtains a positive result in step S29 by completing the processing of steps S24 to S28 for all delivery routes extracted in step S22, it ends the sorting pattern change candidate search process and returns to the sorting pattern optimization process.

(1-4) Sorting Pattern Change Content Display Screen Figure 14 shows an example of the screen configuration of a sorting pattern change content display screen 50 that is displayed on the display device 24 (Figure 3) of the logistics management device 15 by the bottleneck relay point identification unit 43 of the sorting pattern optimization unit 31 in step S9 of the logistics management processing described above with reference to Figure 11. As shown in Figure 14, the sorting pattern change content display screen 50 is configured to include a relay point network display area 51 and a sorting pattern change details display area 52.

The relay point network display area 51 displays a schematic diagram 53 of the network between relay points 3 in the logistics network 1 for which the logistics management system 10 of this embodiment manages logistics (hereinafter, this will be referred to as the relay point network schematic diagram).

In this relay point network schematic diagram 53, each relay point 3 in the logistics network 1 is represented as a circle, and the relay point ID of the corresponding relay point 3 is displayed inside the circle. In addition, in this relay point network schematic diagram 53, the circles corresponding to two relay points 3 that can be the sender and destination of a package are connected by lines.

In the relay point network display area 51, a bubble 54 is displayed near each of the circles corresponding to the relay points 3 in the relay point network schematic diagram 53 whose sorting pattern has been changed by the logistics management process in FIG. 11, indicating that the sorting pattern of that relay point 3 has been changed (in FIG. 14, it says "Changed").

The sorting pattern change details display area 52 also displays, for each relay point 3 where the sorting pattern has been changed, the identification information of that relay point 3 (the relay point ID in FIG. 14), the sorting pattern before the change at that relay point 3, and the sorting pattern after the change at that relay point 3.

(1-5) Effects of this embodiment As described above, in the logistics management system 10 of this embodiment, the logistics management device 15 acquires the current delivery status of each package, predicts the delivery status of each package at a specified time based on the acquired current delivery status of each package, identifies all relay points 3 where package sorting work is being delayed and causing a bottleneck in logistics based on the prediction results, and optimizes the sorting pattern of the necessary relay points 3 so that delays in sorting work do not occur at each identified relay point 3 after the specified time.

Therefore, according to the logistics management system 10 of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent stagnation of logistics caused by delays in sorting luggage at any of the relay points 3 in the logistics network 1, and thus to improve the work efficiency at each relay point 3 while preventing a decrease in the delivery efficiency of the entire logistics network 1.

(2) Second embodiment Figure 15, in which the same reference numerals are used to denote parts corresponding to those in Figure 4, shows the logical configuration of a logistics management device 60 according to a second embodiment, which is applied to the logistics management system 10 described above with reference to Figure 2 in place of the logistics management device 15 of the first embodiment. The physical configuration of the logistics management device 60 of this embodiment is similar to the physical configuration of the logistics management device 15 of the first embodiment described above with reference to Figure 3, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

The logistics management device 60 of this embodiment differs from the logistics management device 15 of the first embodiment in that when the evaluation value calculation unit 62 selects the optimal sorting pattern combination from among the sorting pattern combinations generated by the sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45, the loading rate of the cargo of the transport vehicle 13 is taken into consideration, but is otherwise configured in the same way as the logistics management device 15 of the first embodiment.

To this end, in the case of the logistics management device 60 of this embodiment, in addition to the sorting pattern change candidate identification unit 44 and the sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45, the sorting pattern optimization unit 61 is provided with an equipment completion prediction information generation unit 63 and a parcel-flight allocation information generation unit 64, as well as the evaluation value calculation unit 62 of this embodiment, and in addition to the transportation flight schedule information table 32, the default sorting pattern information table 33, the delivery status information table 34, the delivery status prediction information table 35, the parcel holdup information table 36, the sorting pattern change candidate information table 37, and the sorting pattern combination information table 38, the storage device 21 stores an equipment completion prediction information table 65 and a parcel-flight allocation information table 66.

The equipment completion prediction information generating unit 63 is a functional unit that has the function of predicting the origin, shipping destination, and final destination (delivery base 2) of the luggage to be loaded onto each piece of equipment that will be completed when the luggage is sorted according to each sorting pattern combination generated by the sorting pattern combination information generating unit 45. The equipment completion prediction information generating unit 63 stores the prediction results for each piece of equipment in the equipment completion prediction information table 65 as equipment completion prediction information.

The luggage-flight allocation information generating unit 64 is a functional unit that has the function of generating luggage-flight allocation information that links, for each piece of equipment, the transport vehicle 13 that delivers the equipment, based on the transportation flight schedule information table 32 and the equipment completion forecast information table 65. Any algorithm can be used as a method for linking the equipment with the transport vehicle 13 that delivers the equipment. The luggage-flight allocation information generating unit 64 stores the generated luggage-flight allocation information for each piece of equipment in the luggage-flight allocation information table 66.

The evaluation value calculation unit 62 in this embodiment then selects an optimal sorting pattern combination from among the sorting pattern combinations generated by the sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45 based on the baggage-flight allocation information stored in this baggage-flight allocation information table 66, while taking into account the loading rate of the transport vehicle 13 as described below.

On the other hand, the equipment completion forecast information table 65 is a table used to hold equipment completion forecast information for each piece of equipment generated by the equipment completion forecast information generation unit 63, and as shown in FIG. 16, is configured with an equipment ID column 65A, a shipper column 65B, a shipping destination column 65C, and a final destination column 65D. In the equipment completion forecast information table 65, one row corresponds to the equipment completion forecast information for one piece of equipment.

The equipment ID column 65A stores the identifier (equipment ID) of the corresponding equipment. The shipper column 65B and destination column 65C store the relay point ID or collection and delivery point ID of the shipper or destination base (relay point 3 or collection and delivery point 2) of the equipment, respectively, and the final destination column 65D stores the collection and delivery point ID of the final destination of the cargo loaded on the equipment.

Therefore, in the example of Figure 16, for example, a piece of equipment with an equipment ID of "1" is shipped from a relay point 3 called "1" and shipped to a collection and distribution base 2 called "A", and the final destination of the cargo loaded on that piece of equipment is collection and distribution base 2 called "A".

The baggage-flight allocation information table 66 is a table used to hold baggage-flight allocation information for each piece of equipment generated by the baggage-flight allocation information generation unit 64, and as shown in FIG. 17, is configured with an equipment ID column 66A, a shipper column 66B, a shipping destination column 66C, a final destination column 66D, and a transport vehicle ID column 66E. In the baggage-flight allocation information table 66, one row corresponds to one piece of equipment.

The equipment ID column 66A, shipper column 66B, shipping destination column 66C, and final destination column 66D store the same information as the equipment ID column 65A, shipper column 65B, shipping destination column 65C, and final destination column 65D of the corresponding row in the equipment completion forecast information table 65. The transport vehicle ID column 66E stores the transport vehicle ID of the transport vehicle 13 that delivers the equipment in the section from the shipper to the shipping destination (the transport vehicle 13 assigned to that equipment in that section).

Therefore, in the example of Figure 17, for example, equipment with an equipment ID of "1" has a shipping origin at a relay point 3 called "1" and a shipping destination at a collection and delivery base 2 called "A", is delivered from the shipping origin to the shipping destination by a transport vehicle 13 called "1", and the final destination of the cargo loaded onto that equipment is the collection and delivery base 2 called "A".

Figure 18 shows the processing contents of the sorting pattern optimization process of this embodiment, which is executed by the sorting pattern optimization unit 61 of the logistics management device 60 of this embodiment, instead of the sorting pattern optimization process of the first embodiment described above with reference to Figure 12.

In FIG. 18, the processing contents of each process of step S30 and step S31 are the same as those of step S10 and step S11 in FIG. 12, so a description thereof will be omitted here. After that, the evaluation value calculation unit 62 selects one sorting pattern combination that has not been processed after step S33 from among the sorting pattern combinations registered in the sorting pattern combination information table 38 generated in step S31 (S32).

Then, the equipment completion prediction information generation unit 63 and the baggage-flight allocation information generation unit 64 of the sorting pattern optimization unit 61 work together to execute a baggage-flight allocation process (S33) that creates a baggage-flight allocation information table 66 (Figure 17) when each baggage is allocated to a transport vehicle 13 according to the sorting pattern combination selected in step S32.

Specifically, according to the processing procedure shown in FIG. 19, the equipment completion forecast information generating unit 63 creates an equipment completion forecast information table 65 (FIG. 16) for when sorting is performed according to the sorting pattern combination selected in step S32 (S40), and then the parcel-flight allocation information generating unit 64 creates a parcel-flight allocation information table 66 based on this equipment completion forecast information table 65 and the transportation flight schedule information table 32 (S41).

により算出する（Ｓ３４）。 Next, the evaluation value calculation unit 62 calculates an evaluation value V when the sorting pattern combination selected in step S32 is applied, using the following formula:

(S34).

In equation (2), α and β are arbitrary parameters, and β is set to be greater than α. In equation (2), the "predicted loading rate for each section" is the loading rate between each relay point 3 or each collection and delivery base 2 of the transport vehicle 13 after a specified time, calculated based on the baggage-flight allocation information stored in the baggage-flight allocation information table 66.

Then, the evaluation value calculation unit 62 judges whether the evaluation value V calculated at that time in step S34 is the best (S35). Specifically, the evaluation value calculation unit 62 judges whether the value of the evaluation value V calculated at that time is the smallest among the evaluation values V calculated at step S34 since the start of the current sorting pattern optimization process.

If the evaluation value calculation unit 62 obtains a negative result in this judgment, it proceeds to step S37, but if it obtains a positive result, it updates the optimal solution for the evaluation value V to the evaluation value V calculated at that time (S36).

Next, the evaluation value calculation unit 62 determines whether or not the processing of steps S33 to S36 has been performed for all sorting pattern combinations registered in the sorting pattern combination information table 38 generated in step S31 (S37).

If the evaluation value calculation unit 62 obtains a negative result in this determination, it returns to step S32, and thereafter repeats the processing of steps S32 to S37 while sequentially switching the sorting pattern combination selected in step S32 to a sorting pattern combination registered in the sorting pattern combination information table 38 and unprocessed sorting pattern combinations from step S33 onwards. Through this repeated processing, the smallest evaluation value V among the evaluation values V of each sorting pattern combination registered in the sorting pattern combination information table 38 is extracted as the optimized value.

Then, when the evaluation value calculation unit 62 has completed the processing of steps S33 to S36 for all sorting pattern combinations registered in the sorting pattern combination information table 38 and has obtained a positive result in step S37, it ends the series of processing, and accordingly ends the sorting pattern optimization processing.

As described above, in this embodiment, the evaluation value calculation unit 62 of the logistics management device 60 takes into consideration the loading rate of the transport vehicle 13 when selecting an optimal sorting pattern combination from among the sorting pattern combinations generated by the sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45. Therefore, according to the logistics management system of this embodiment, a sorting pattern combination with high delivery efficiency can be selected, and logistics stagnation caused by delays in sorting work of luggage at any of the relay points 3 in the logistics network 1 can be prevented. This makes it possible to further improve delivery efficiency in the logistics network 1 while improving work efficiency at each relay point 3.

(3) Third embodiment Figure 20, in which the same reference numerals are assigned to parts corresponding to those in Figure 15, shows the logical configuration of a logistics management device 70 according to a third embodiment, which is applied to the logistics management system 10 described above with reference to Figure 2 in place of the logistics management device 15 of the first embodiment. The physical configuration of the logistics management device 70 of this embodiment is similar to the physical configuration of the logistics management device 15 of the first embodiment described above with reference to Figure 3, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted here.

The logistics management device 70 of this embodiment differs from the logistics management device 60 of the second embodiment in that, when selecting an optimal sorting pattern combination from among the sorting pattern combinations generated by the sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45, the optimal sorting pattern combination is selected taking into consideration not only the loading rate of the transport vehicle 13 but also the use of direct delivery, if available; otherwise, it is configured similarly to the logistics management device 60 of the second embodiment.

To achieve this, the sorting pattern optimization unit 71 of the logistics management device 70 of this embodiment is provided with a direct flight setting unit 73 that updates the freight schedule stored in the freight schedule information table 32 and sets the necessary direct flights.

The evaluation value calculation unit 72 of the sorting pattern optimization unit 71 is a functional unit that has the function of selecting an optimal sorting pattern combination from among the sorting pattern combinations generated by the sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45, based on the baggage-flight allocation information stored in the baggage-flight allocation information table 66, while taking into consideration the loading rate of the transport vehicle 13 and the use of direct flights, as described below.

Figure 21 shows the processing procedure for the baggage-flight allocation process of this embodiment, which is executed in step S33 of the sorting pattern optimization process described above in Figure 18, instead of the baggage-flight allocation process described above in Figure 19. This baggage-flight allocation process is started when processing proceeds to step S33 of the sorting pattern optimization process in Figure 18, and first the equipment completion prediction information generation unit 63 creates an equipment completion prediction information table 65 (Figure 16) for when sorting is performed according to each sorting pattern combination generated by the sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45 (S50).

Then, the direct delivery setting unit 73 selects one of the pieces of equipment registered in the equipment completion forecast information table 65 created by the equipment completion forecast information generating unit 63 in step S50 that has not been processed after step S52 (S51), and determines whether the final destinations (delivery destinations) of all the packages to be loaded onto the selected equipment (hereinafter referred to as selected equipment) are the same (S52). This determination is made based on whether there is only one final destination (delivery collection and distribution base 2) stored in the final destination column 65D (Figure 16) of the row corresponding to the selected equipment in the equipment completion forecast information table 65.

If the direct delivery setting unit 73 obtains a negative result in this determination, it proceeds to step S55. If the direct delivery setting unit 73 obtains a positive result, it refers to the transportation schedule information table 32 to determine whether or not there is a direct delivery from the collection and delivery base 2 or relay base 3 of the shipment origin to the destination of the package loaded on the selected equipment (S53).

If the direct delivery setting unit 73 obtains a positive result in this determination, it proceeds to step S55, but if it obtains a negative result, it updates the transportation schedule information table 32 to set a direct delivery from the collection and delivery base 2 or relay base 3 of the shipment origin to the destination of the package loaded on the selected equipment (S54).

At this time, the direct delivery setting unit 73 may inquire of the transportation and delivery management device 14 (FIG. 2) whether a direct delivery service is available from the collection and delivery base 2 or relay base 3 of the shipper to the collection and delivery base 2 of the destination of the package. In addition, the direct delivery setting unit 73 may receive a response from the transportation and delivery management device 14 and decide whether to set a direct delivery service.

Then, the direct delivery setting unit 73 judges whether or not the processing of steps S52 to S54 has been completed for all equipment registered in the equipment completion forecast information table 65 (S55). If the direct delivery setting unit 73 obtains a negative result in this judgment, it returns to step S52, and thereafter repeats the processing of steps S52 to S55 until it obtains a positive result in step S55.

When the processing of steps S52 to S54 has been completed for all equipment registered in the equipment completion forecast information table 65, resulting in a positive result being obtained in step S55, the baggage-flight allocation information generating unit 64 creates a baggage-flight allocation information table 66 based on the equipment completion forecast information table 65 and the transportation flight schedule information table 32 (S56). This ends the baggage-flight allocation process.

As described above, according to the logistics management system of this embodiment, when selecting an optimal sorting pattern combination from among the sorting pattern combinations generated by the sorting pattern combination information generation unit 45, the optimal sorting pattern combination is selected taking into consideration not only the loading rate of the transport vehicle 13, but also the use of direct delivery, if available. Therefore, according to the logistics management system of this embodiment, it is possible to further improve the delivery efficiency in the logistics network 1 while improving the work efficiency at each relay point 3.

(4) Other embodiments In the first to third embodiments described above, the logistics management device is described as being configured as a single computer device, but the present invention is not limited to this. The logistics management device may be configured as a plurality of computer devices that constitute a distributed computing system, and the functions of the logistics management device may be distributed and installed on these plurality of computer devices.

In the above first to third embodiments, the present invention has been described as being applied to a logistics network 1 as shown in FIG. 1, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be widely applied to various other types of distribution networks.

Furthermore, in the first to third embodiments described above, various information such as delivery schedule information, default sorting pattern information, and delivery status information are structured as tables, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various other structures can be widely applied as information structures.

The present invention can be applied to a logistics management device that manages logistics in a logistics network in which packages are delivered from a collection and delivery base to a destination collection and delivery base via one or more relay points.

1...Logistics network, 2...Collection and delivery base, 3...Relay base, 10...Logistics management system, 11...Resource equipment, 12...Base management device, 13...Transport vehicle, 14...Transportation and delivery management device, 15, 60, 70...Logistics management device, 20...Processing device, 24...Display device, 30...Delivery status prediction unit, 31, 61, 71...Sorting pattern optimization unit, 32...Transportation schedule information table, 33...Default sorting pattern information table, 34...Delivery status information table, 35...Delivery status prediction information table, 36...Luggage retention information table, 37...Sorting pattern Change candidate information table, 38...sorting pattern combination information table, 40...base work status acquisition unit, 41...transport vehicle position information acquisition unit, 42...delivery status prediction information generation unit, 43...bottleneck relay base identification unit, 44...sorting pattern change candidate identification unit, 45...sorting pattern combination information generation unit, 46, 62, 72...evaluation value calculation unit, 50...sorting pattern change content display screen, 63...equipment completion prediction information generation unit, 64...baggage-flight allocation information generation unit, 65...equipment completion prediction information table, 66...baggage-flight allocation information table, 73...direct delivery flight setting unit.

Claims (10)

A logistics management device that manages logistics in a logistics network in which packages are delivered from a collection and delivery base to a destination collection and delivery base via one or more relay bases,
A storage device for storing a program;
a processor that executes a program stored in the storage device to execute processing based on the program;
The processor, based on the program stored in the storage device,
A delivery status prediction process for predicting the delivery status of each of the packages after a predetermined time and identifying the relay point where the sorting work of the packages is delayed and is causing a bottleneck in logistics based on the prediction result;
and executing a sorting pattern optimization process for optimizing a sorting pattern required for each of the relay bases identified by the delivery status prediction process so that a delay in the sorting work does not occur after the predetermined time.
The delivery status prediction process includes:
an information acquisition step of acquiring information on the arrival status of each of the packages at each of the relay bases, the status of sorting work of the packages, linking information linking each transport vehicle that delivers the packages between the collection and delivery base and the relay base or between each of the relay bases and the packages, and location information on the current location of each of the transport vehicles;
a delivery status prediction step of predicting a delivery status of each of the packages after a predetermined time based on each piece of information acquired in the information acquisition step, predetermined timetable information of each of the transport vehicles, the linking information, and information on a sorting pattern of the packages that is predetermined for each shipping destination for each of the relay bases;
a bottleneck relay point identification step of identifying the relay point where the number of the parcels waiting to be sorted exceeds a preset first threshold or the number of parcels to be sorted exceeds a preset second threshold based on the delivery status of each of the parcels after the predetermined time period predicted in the delivery status prediction step, the relay point being a bottleneck in logistics;
The sorting pattern optimization process includes:
a sorting pattern change candidate specification step for specifying a candidate combination of the relay base of the shipping origin and the relay base or the collection and delivery base of the shipping destination as a sorting pattern change candidate, the sorting pattern of which is changed so that a delay in the sorting work does not occur after the predetermined time at the relay base specified in the delivery status prediction step;
a sorting pattern combination information generating step of generating all sorting pattern combinations that are consistent among the sorting pattern combinations that are combinations of the sorting patterns in each of the sorting pattern change candidates identified in the sorting pattern change candidate identifying step;
and an evaluation value calculation step of calculating an evaluation value for each sorting pattern combination after a predetermined time period and selecting the sorting pattern combination with the best evaluation value as an optimal sorting pattern combination. In the evaluation value calculation step, the processor
2. The logistics management device according to claim 1, wherein the sorting pattern combination with the smallest total number of packages remaining at each of the relay points is selected as an optimal sorting pattern combination. The evaluation value calculation step of the sorting pattern optimization process includes:
an equipment completion prediction information generation step of predicting, for each piece of equipment that will be completed when the luggage is sorted according to each of the sorting pattern combinations generated in the sorting pattern combination information generation step, a shipper, a shipper destination, and a destination of the luggage to be loaded onto the piece of equipment;
a baggage-flight assignment information generating step for linking the equipment and the transport vehicle for each of the equipment based on the prediction result of the equipment completion prediction information generating step and timetable information of each of the transport vehicles,
In the evaluation value calculation step, the processor
The logistics management device according to claim 2, characterized in that the optimal sorting pattern combination is selected based on the relationship between the equipment and the transport vehicle linked in the luggage-flight allocation information generation step, taking into consideration not only the total number of luggage held at each relay point but also the loading rate of the luggage on the transport vehicle. The sorting pattern optimization step includes:
The method further includes a direct delivery setting step of updating the timetable information to set a direct delivery flight from a shipper of the equipment to a destination of the cargo loaded on the equipment, the direct delivery flight being completed when the cargo is sorted according to each of the sorting pattern combinations predicted in the equipment completion prediction information generation step, if no direct delivery flight has been set,
In the evaluation value calculation step, the processor
The logistics management device according to claim 3, characterized in that an optimal sorting pattern combination is selected based on the relationship between the equipment and the transport vehicle linked in the luggage-flight allocation information generation step, taking into account the total number of luggage held at each relay point, the loading rate of the luggage on the transport vehicle, and the use of direct flights. In the evaluation value calculation step, the processor
2. The physical distribution management device according to claim 1, further comprising: a display unit that displays the selected optimal sorting pattern combination. A logistics management method executed in a logistics management device that manages logistics in a logistics network in which packages are delivered from a collection and delivery base to a destination collection and delivery base via one or more relay bases, comprising:
The logistics management device includes:
A storage device for storing a program;
a processor that executes a program stored in the storage device to execute processing based on the program;
a first step in which the processor acquires a current delivery status of each of the packages, predicts a delivery status of each of the packages after a predetermined time based on the acquired current delivery status of each of the packages, and identifies the relay point where a sorting operation of the packages is delayed and becomes a bottleneck in logistics based on the prediction result;
and a second step of optimizing the sorting pattern of the necessary relay points so that a delay in the sorting operation does not occur after the predetermined time at each of the identified relay points,
The first step includes:
an information acquisition step of acquiring information on the arrival status of each of the packages at each of the relay bases, the status of sorting work of the packages, linking information linking each transport vehicle that delivers the packages between the collection and delivery base and the relay base or between each of the relay bases and the packages, and location information on the current location of each of the transport vehicles;
a delivery status prediction step of predicting a delivery status of each of the packages after a predetermined time based on each piece of information acquired in the information acquisition step, predetermined timetable information of each of the transport vehicles, the linking information, and information on a sorting pattern of the packages that is predetermined for each shipping destination for each of the relay bases;
a bottleneck relay point identification step of identifying the relay point where the number of the parcels waiting to be sorted exceeds a preset first threshold or the number of parcels to be sorted exceeds a preset second threshold based on the delivery status of each of the parcels after the predetermined time period predicted in the delivery status prediction step, the relay point being a bottleneck in logistics;
The second step includes:
a sorting pattern change candidate specification step for specifying a candidate combination of the relay base of the shipping origin and the relay base or the collection and delivery base of the shipping destination as a sorting pattern change candidate, the sorting pattern of which is changed so that a delay in the sorting work does not occur after the predetermined time at the relay base specified in the delivery status prediction step;
a sorting pattern combination information generating step of generating all sorting pattern combinations that are consistent among the sorting pattern combinations that are combinations of the sorting patterns in each of the sorting pattern change candidates identified in the sorting pattern change candidate identifying step;
a step of calculating an evaluation value for each sorting pattern combination after a predetermined time period and selecting the sorting pattern combination with the best evaluation value as an optimal sorting pattern combination. In the evaluation value calculation step, the processor
The logistics management method according to claim 6, further comprising the step of selecting the sorting pattern combination that results in the smallest total number of packages remaining at each of the relay points as an optimal sorting pattern combination. The evaluation value calculation step of the second step includes:
an equipment completion prediction information generating step of predicting, for each piece of equipment that will be completed when the luggage is sorted according to each of the generated sorting pattern combinations, a shipper, a shipper destination, and a destination of the luggage to be loaded onto the piece of equipment;
a baggage-flight assignment information generating step for linking the equipment and the transport vehicle for each of the equipment based on the prediction result of the equipment completion prediction information generating step and timetable information of each of the transport vehicles,
In the evaluation value calculation step, the processor
The logistics management method according to claim 7, characterized in that an optimal sorting pattern combination is selected taking into consideration the loading rate of the luggage on the transport vehicle in addition to the total number of luggage held at each relay point, based on the relationship between the equipment and the transport vehicle linked in the luggage-flight allocation information generation step. The second step includes:
a direct delivery setting step of updating the timetable information to set a direct delivery flight from a shipper of the equipment to a destination of the cargo loaded on the equipment, the direct delivery flight being completed when the cargo is sorted according to each of the sorting pattern combinations predicted in the equipment completion prediction information generation step, if no direct delivery flight has been set;
In the evaluation value calculation step, the processor
The logistics management method according to claim 8, characterized in that an optimal sorting pattern combination is selected based on the relationship between the equipment and the transport vehicle linked in the luggage-flight allocation information generation step, taking into consideration the total number of luggage held at each relay point, the loading rate of the luggage on the transport vehicle, and the use of direct flights. In the evaluation value calculation step, the processor
The physical distribution management method according to claim 6, further comprising displaying the selected optimum sorting pattern combination.

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