Baedal Minjok: "When an Order Comes In, AI Finds the Optimal Delivery Person"

The Nation's First Introduction of AI-Based Recommended Dispatch System

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Woowa Brothers, the operator of 'Baedal Minjok,' is introducing the first artificial intelligence (AI) dispatch system in a domestic delivery application. Woowa Brothers announced on the 13th that the 'AI Recommended Dispatch' system will be applied starting from the Songpa and Gangdong areas in Seoul on the 27th. This system automatically assigns the most suitable rider or connector by considering factors such as the delivery person's route and the characteristics of the ordered food.

Woowa Brothers and its logistics delivery subsidiary Woowa Cheongnyeon expect that the AI Recommended Dispatch will significantly enhance the safety and convenience of delivery workers' operations. This is because the algorithm automatically dispatches the 'most suitable next call from my current route.' Until now, delivery workers often could not take their eyes off their phones while driving. They had to press the 'accept' button first on the continuously appearing delivery calls in real time to secure the next job. In fact, among rider accident cases, lack of forward attention accounted for 12% of all accidents. With the introduction of AI Recommended Dispatch, delivery workers will be able to focus solely on driving, eliminating such safety issues.

Call processing efficiency will also be greatly improved. For example, if it is most suitable to handle two calls along the route, AI Recommended Dispatch identifies how to efficiently perform pickup and delivery and recommends the route. This will eliminate the problem of accepting calls but struggling to determine the route independently.

Kim Byung-woo, Head of Logistics Division at Woowa Cheongnyeon, said, "When a new delivery order comes in, AI instantly simulates the new order with the locations of nearby delivery workers and their current delivery tasks to select the most suitable rider or connector," adding, "Using AI Recommended Dispatch will increase the number of deliveries per individual, thereby increasing overall delivery income and reducing delivery execution stress."

This AI Recommended Dispatch was developed by about 10 developers at Woowa Brothers, starting in July 2018 and completed in one and a half years. Food delivery requires optimization considering that orders concentrate at specific times and the constantly changing locations of delivery workers, making the technology highly challenging. The AI performs 5 million to 50 million calculations per second to find and recommend the optimal route and the most suitable person. In this process, it factors in various variables such as differences in speed depending on the delivery worker's mode of transportation, cooking time of the ordered food, and the locations of pickup and delivery areas. Woowa Cheongnyeon plans to maintain the existing general dispatch mode while applying AI Recommended Dispatch. Delivery workers can freely choose and switch between the two modes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.