Systems and methods for ranking potential attended delivery/pickup locations

1. A computer system comprising:

a logistics server in communication with a logistics network, the logistics server comprising at least one computer-storage media storing computer-useable instructions thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method comprising:

storing logistics network data associated with each of a plurality of established attended delivery/pickup locations in memory;

receiving an indication of an area in which to establish a new attended delivery/pickup location in the logistics network for receiving and storing one or more parcels, wherein the new attended delivery/pickup location has not been previously established as an attended delivery/pickup location in the logistics network;

receiving data associated with each of a plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates within the area, wherein:

i) each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates has indicated a desire to be established as the new attended delivery/pickup location;

ii) each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates is associated with a primary form of business other than receiving and storing the one or more parcels; and

iii) the data associated with each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates comprises a plurality of characteristics;

determining a value for each of the plurality of characteristics for each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates;

assigning a weight to each of the plurality of characteristics based on a level of importance of each of the plurality of characteristics;

ranking each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates based on a comparison of the respective values and the respective weights of the plurality of characteristics;

automatically determining the new attended delivery/pickup location from the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates based at least in part on the rank of each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates;

adding the new attended delivery/pickup location to the logistics network by modifying the logistics network data in the memory to include the new attended delivery/pickup location as one of the plurality of established attended delivery/pickup locations;

automatically generating and sending a communication to the new attended/delivery pickup location that the new attended delivery/pickup location is established for delivery of one or more parcels by a common carrier;

automatically determining a capacity of the new attended delivery/pickup location prior to directing the one or more parcels to the new attended delivery/pickup location;

determining that the capacity is adequate at the new attended delivery/pickup location;

reserving space to accommodate the one or more parcels at the new attended delivery/pickup location;

generating a shipping label for the one or more parcels; and

directing delivery of the one or more parcels to the new attended delivery/pickup location utilizing the shipping label.

2. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein at least one characteristic of the plurality of characteristics includes social network data.

3. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein at least one characteristic of the plurality of characteristics comprises customer reviews.

4. The computer system of claim 3 , wherein a weight is assigned to the customer reviews indicating a higher level of importance relative to the remaining plurality of characteristics.

5. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein at least one characteristic of the plurality of characteristics comprises a number of returns associated with the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates.

6. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the method performed by the at least one processor further comprises enabling identification of a recipient of the one or more parcels at the new attended delivery/pickup location based on scanning of an electronic ID card associated with the recipient at the new attended delivery/pickup location.

7. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein:

(A) the plurality of characteristics associated with each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates comprises a customer reviews characteristic; and

(B) ranking each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates comprises determining an attended delivery/pickup location candidate value for each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates, wherein the attended delivery/pickup location candidate value for each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates is based at least in part on a determined value of the customer reviews characteristic for each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates.

8. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein the primary form of business associated with any of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates is:

(A) a gas station;

(B) a convenience store;

(C) a flower shop;

(D) a magazine stand;

(E) a retail location associated with a common carrier;

(F) a kiosk at a mall; or

(G) a retail department store.

9. The computer system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates is located within the area.

10. A computer-implemented method for establishing a new attended delivery/pickup location in a logistics network, the method comprising:

storing, by at least one processor, logistics data associated with each of a plurality of established attended delivery/pickup locations in the logistics network;

receiving, by the at least one processor, an indication of an area in which to establish a new attended delivery/pickup location;

receiving, by the at least one processor, data associated with each of a plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates, wherein:

i) each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates has indicated a desire to be established as the new attended delivery/pickup location and has not previously been established as an attended delivery/pickup location in the logistics network;

ii) each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates is associated with a primary form of business other than receiving and storing one or more parcels;

iii) the data associated with each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates comprises a plurality of characteristics;

receiving, by the at least one processor, a weight for each of the plurality of characteristics, wherein the weight is an indicator of importance of each of the plurality of characteristics for establishing the new attended delivery/pickup location;

determining, by the at least one processor based at least in part on the received data, a value for each of the plurality of characteristics for each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates;

ranking, by the at least one processor, each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates based at least in part on:

i) the weight of each of the plurality of characteristics; and

ii) the determined value of each of the plurality of characteristics for each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates;

automatically selecting, by the at least one processor, the new attended delivery/pickup location from the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates based at least in part on the ranking,

automatically adding the new attended delivery/pickup location to the logistics network by modifying the logistics data to include the new attended/delivery pickup location as one of the plurality of established attended delivery/pickup locations;

automatically generating and sending a communication to the new attended delivery/pickup location that the new attended delivery/pickup location is established for delivery of one or more parcels by a common carrier;

automatically determining a capacity of the new attended/delivery pickup location prior to directing one or more parcels to the new attended delivery/pickup location;

determining that the capacity at the new attended delivery/pickup location is adequate;

generating a shipping label for routing the one or more parcels to the new attended delivery/pickup location, the shipping label including a machine-readable indicia; and

delivering the one or more parcels to the new attended delivery/pickup location utilizing the common carrier and the shipping label.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein ranking each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates comprises determining an attended delivery/pickup location candidate value for each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates, and wherein the attended delivery/pickup location candidate value is based at least in part on:

(A) the weight of each of the plurality of characteristics; and

(B) the determined value of each of the plurality of characteristics for each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11 , wherein:

(A) the plurality of characteristics for each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates comprises a primary characteristic and a secondary characteristic;

(B) the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates comprises a first attended delivery/pickup location candidate and a second attended delivery/pickup location candidate;

(C) the weight of the primary characteristic is higher than the weight of the secondary characteristic;

(D) the value of the primary characteristic for the first attended delivery/pickup location candidate is higher than the value of the primary characteristic for the second attended delivery/pickup location candidate; and

(E) the value of the secondary characteristic for the first attended delivery/pickup location candidate is higher than the value of the secondary characteristic for the second attended delivery/pickup location candidate.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 12 , wherein:

(A) the attended delivery/pickup location candidate value for the first attended delivery/pickup location candidate comprises:

i) multiplying the weight of the primary characteristic by the value of the primary characteristic for the first attended delivery/pickup location candidate to get a primary characteristic weighted value for the first attended delivery/pickup location candidate;

ii) multiplying the weight of the secondary characteristic by the value of the secondary characteristic for the first attended delivery/pickup location candidate to obtain a secondary characteristic weighted value for the first attended delivery/pickup location candidate; and

iii) summing the primary characteristic weighted value and the secondary characteristic weighted value for the first attended delivery/pickup location candidate; and

(B) the attended delivery/pickup location candidate value for the second attended delivery/pickup location candidate comprises:

i) multiplying the weight of the primary characteristic by the value of the primary characteristic for the second attended delivery/pickup location candidate to get a primary characteristic weighted value for the second attended delivery/pickup location candidate;

ii) multiplying the weight of the secondary characteristic by the value of the secondary characteristic for the second attended delivery/pickup location candidate to get a secondary characteristic weighted value for the second attended delivery/pickup location candidate; and

iii) summing the primary characteristic weighted value and the secondary characteristic weighted value for the second attended delivery/pickup location candidate.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13 , wherein the attended delivery/pickup location candidate value for the first attended delivery/pickup location candidate is higher than the attended delivery/pickup location candidate value for the second attended delivery/pickup location candidate.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 14 , wherein ranking the first attended delivery/pickup location candidate and the second attended delivery/pickup location candidate comprises ranking the first attended delivery/pickup location candidate higher than the second attended delivery/pickup location candidate.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of characteristics includes a number of returned goods characteristic of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of characteristics includes customer reviews of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer executable instructions thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method comprising:

identifying an area in which to establish a new attended delivery/pickup location in a logistic network comprising a plurality of established attended delivery/pickup locations, wherein the new attended delivery/pickup location comprises a location for receiving and storing one or more parcels and has not been previously established as an attended delivery/pickup location in the logistics network;

receiving data associated with each of a plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates, wherein:

i) each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates has indicated a desire to be established as the new attended delivery/pickup location;

ii) each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates is associated with a primary form of business other than receiving and storing one or more parcels;

iii) the data associated with each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates comprises a plurality of characteristics; and

iv) the plurality of characteristics comprises at least one of:

a) a number of returns associated with each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates, and

b) one or more customer reviews associated with each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates;

receiving a weight for each of the plurality of characteristics, wherein the weight is an indicator of the importance of a particular characteristic relative to the remaining plurality of characteristics for establishing the new attended delivery/pickup location;

determining, based at least in part on the received data, a value for each of the plurality of characteristics for each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates;

determining an attended delivery/pickup location candidate value for each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates based at least in part on:

i) the weight of each of the plurality of characteristics; and

ii) the determined value of each of the plurality of characteristics for each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates;

ranking each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates based at least in part on the determined candidate value for each of the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates;

automatically determining the new attended delivery/pickup location from the plurality of attended delivery/pickup location candidates based on the ranking;

automatically generating and sending a communication to the new attended delivery/pickup location that the new attended delivery/pickup location is established for delivery of one or more parcels by a common carrier;

automatically determining a capacity of the new attended delivery/pickup location prior to directing one or more parcels to the new attended delivery/pickup location;

determining that the capacity is adequate at the new attended delivery/pickup location;

reserving space to accommodate the one or more parcels at the new attended delivery/pickup location;

generating a shipping label for the one or more parcels that includes a bar code comprising a machine-readable indicia; and

delivering the one or more parcels to the new attended delivery/pickup location utilizing the shipping label.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18 , wherein at least one characteristic of the plurality of characteristics includes social network data.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein at least one characteristic of the plurality of characteristics includes a proximity to one or more delivery routes in the logistics network.