Driver's trump card?

Find the best route instantly with the latest app!

March 8, 17:02

We live in a convenient era where ordered products are delivered at the desired time, but the shortage of drivers has become an issue in the logistics industry that supports these services.

How efficiently can the specified goods be transported in a limited amount of time?

I heard that there is an app that drivers who are pressed for time every day rely on, so I started interviewing.

(Nagoya Broadcasting Station Reporter Yoshi Tamada)

It looks like an ordinary car navigation system, but...

A company in Nagoya City that has introduced this app for the past three years.

We deliver ingredients for dinner to homes.

In recent years, the number of orders from the Internet has increased, which means that there is a continuing shortage of delivery drivers.



On busy days, one person may visit as many as 80 restaurants.

This app is what such busy drivers rely on.



When I was shown the driver's seat of a new driver who said that it was the third day of delivery by himself, at first glance, the screen looked like an ordinary car navigation system or a map application.

However, the driver said, "It's like a secret weapon," and he seems to have a lot of trust.



What kind of functions does the app have?

Instant delivery plan for the day!

The app was developed by a venture company headquartered in Nagoya.



The president, Ken Matsushita, is 30 years old.

At Nagoya University, he worked on research on algorithms using AI (artificial intelligence) and started a business while still in school.



The trigger was learning that labor shortages and work style reforms were becoming issues in the logistics industry.

He thought that AI algorithms, which can perform complex calculations instantaneously, could be useful in solving problems in the logistics industry.

President Matsushita


: “I never stopped believing that there must be areas in which computers are good at, even in logistics. There are probably areas where “intuition, tricks, and experience” will remain, and areas where it would be better to leave it to computers. I thought it was definitely there and there was a possibility here.”

This company has developed an app called "Last Mile" to streamline the delivery of the last leg to the delivery destination.



The first thing the person who creates the delivery route does is register the delivery destination for that day.

In addition to the address of the delivery destination, which package is to be delivered at what time, the number of packages, etc. are summarized in Excel data and imported into the app.



Then, when you set the departure and return locations and rest times for each driver and start calculating, AI automatically derives the most efficient route from countless combinations.

This is the completed route.

Routes are color-coded for each driver and the order of delivery is also shown.

In the simulation when I visited for coverage, a plan to divide and carry 50 packages by 4 drivers was completed in just 1 minute from the start of calculation.



According to the company, there are many cases where it takes a lot of time to make a delivery plan in advance, which is a burden on the business, among those who do delivery work.



A transportation company that introduced the app used to spend two hours each day creating a delivery route while looking at a map, but the time has been greatly reduced.

Don't let your plans slip!

In addition, it is also characterized by being able to accurately predict the time it will take for delivery.



In the field of delivery, there are many things that do not proceed as planned in advance.



For example, it took me a long time to reach my destination due to traffic jams.

However, in this app, the time it takes to move or deliver is displayed in seconds.

Moreover, it is said that it does not deviate greatly.



How are you doing?



Of course, it takes into account traffic congestion predictions, which are also found in car navigation systems, but the required time for delivery to apartment complexes is adjusted according to the number of parcels.



In addition, there is also a function that responds to the worries unique to the "last one mile" delivery driver running in the city.

For example, have you ever experienced something like this?



When you enter your destination into the car navigation system, the pin will stick to the center of the site.

For this reason, the guidance ended at the "destination area" far from the entrance of the parking lot, and it took extra time to go around the entrance.



Or, I drove according to the car navigation system, and when I arrived at my destination, I was at the "back entrance" or "carry-in entrance".



For drivers who deliver to dozens of places a day, preventing such time loss is a matter of life and death.

With this app, you can register your destination not only by street address, but also by latitude and longitude.



A major logistics company that has introduced the app has reported that ``at the stage of completing dozens of deliveries over a full day, the difference from the previous plan was within a few minutes.''



These commitments reflect the opinions that the company's engineers themselves obtained through interviews at the site.



At the beginning of development, it was difficult to get logistics companies to accept it because it was ``not practical'', so he says that he has been working repeatedly to incorporate the voices of the field into AI.

Delivery × Will it spread to the AI ​​industry?

The food delivery service company introduced at the beginning.

As a result of introducing the app and reviewing the route that has been handed down from generation to generation within the company, the delivery time per day has been shortened by up to 30 minutes.

Furthermore, since new drivers need to memorize the route, it used to take two weeks for training, but there were cases where the period was shortened to three days by using the app.



The sales manager of this company said, "I think the most effective thing is how much time you can squeeze out. We want to use it to deliver to each house quickly without fail."



So far, about 160 companies have introduced this app.



Mr. Matsushita, the president of the company, expects further growth in demand and wants to improve the practicality of truck drivers, as there is a shortage of truck drivers and the need to improve the working environment.

President Matsushita


: I don't think there is a company in Japan or the world that is really maniacal and thinks only about the last mile delivery every day, thinking about how to improve the algorithm and how to make it acceptable to the field. We want to become a company that will represent the world from Nagoya and support the next Japanese economy.”

During the interview, it was impressive to see President Matsushita, who believes in the possibilities of computers, repeatedly talk about the importance of "on-site capabilities."



How far will AI revolutionize last-mile deliveries?

We will keep an eye on it.

Nagoya Broadcasting Station Reporter


Kei Tamada Joined in


2017 After working at Nagasaki Station

, in charge of economic coverage


from 2022