Systems and methods for predictive in-transit shipment delivery exception notification and automated resolution
A shipping management system includes one or more computer systems coupled to a network and a data storage device. The shipping management system uses one or more ingest modules to collect shipping information from the computer systems of multiple carriers. The shipping management system uses one or more normalization modules to normalize carrier specific data. The shipping management system uses one or more prediction modules to analyze the normalized shipping information using a set of prediction rules. The shipping management system identifies carrier exceptions and generates predicted exceptions based on the normalized shipping information. The shipping management system can selectively generate notifications, take actions, and/or resolve identified and generated exceptions.
1 . A computer-implemented method of predicting and classifying shipping exceptions, the computer-implemented method comprising:
storing a set of shipping records for a plurality of shipments across a plurality of carriers, each shipping record in the set of shipping records associating a respective shipment from the plurality of shipments with a respective carrier from the plurality of carriers;
connecting to a plurality of carrier systems over a network, the plurality of carrier systems including a carrier system for each of the plurality of carriers;
automatically collecting current shipping information for the plurality of shipments from the plurality of carrier systems, wherein the current shipping information includes, for each shipment from the plurality of shipments, electronic shipment tracking data for the respective shipment formatted according to a carrier specific format used by the respective carrier;
for each shipment from the plurality of shipments, mapping the electronic shipment tracking data for the respective shipment from the carrier specific format used by the respective carrier to one of a set of normalized tracking codes to generate normalized shipping information for the respective shipment;
analyzing the normalized shipping information for a first shipment of the plurality of shipments using a prediction rule to predict an exception for the first shipment due to a predicted delay at a tracking location associated with the first shipment, wherein the prediction rule compares a current transit time for the first shipment to an average historical transit time tracked by carrier and mode from an origin location to a destination location, and predicts the exception when the current transit time exceeds the average historical transit time by a specified amount;
accessing weather data associated with the tracking location;
analyzing the weather data to determine that weather causes the predicted delay at the tracking location;
based on the analysis of the weather data, determining that the predicted exception should be classified as a weather delay for the first shipment; and
after determining that the predicted exception should be classified as the weather delay, communicating, to a device, a notification (i) indicating the weather delay for the first shipment, and (ii) a discount applicable to a future purchase.
2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
classifying the weather delay as one of an automated resolution, a communication resolution, or a no resolution.
3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising:
triggering an action to resolve the weather delay, wherein the action depends on the weather delay.
4 . A system for predicting shipping exceptions, comprising:
a computer memory storing:
a set of shipping records for a plurality of shipments across a plurality of carriers, each shipping record in the set of shipping records associating a respective shipment from the plurality of shipments with a respective carrier from the plurality of carriers; and
one or more processors interfaced with the computer memory and configured to execute computer-readable instructions to cause the one or more processors to:
connect to a plurality of carrier systems over a network, the plurality of carrier systems including a carrier system for each of the plurality of carriers,
automatically collect current shipping information for the plurality of shipments from the plurality of carrier systems, wherein the current shipping information includes, for each shipment from the plurality of shipments, electronic shipment tracking data for the respective shipment formatted according to a carrier specific format used by the respective carrier,
for each shipment from the plurality of shipments, map the electronic shipment tracking data for the respective shipment from the carrier specific format used by the respective carrier to one of a set of normalized tracking codes to generate normalized shipping information for the respective shipment,
analyze the normalized shipping information for a first shipment of the plurality of shipments using a prediction rule to predict an exception for the first shipment due to a predicted delay at a tracking location associated with the first shipment, wherein the prediction rule compares a current transit time for the first shipment to an average historical transit time tracked by carrier and mode from an origin location to a destination location, and predicts the exception when the current transit time exceeds the average historical transit time by a specified amount;
access weather data associated with the tracking location,
analyze the weather data to determine that weather causes the predicted delay at the tracking location,
based on the analysis of the weather data, determine that the predicted exception should be classified as a weather delay for the first shipment, and
after determining that the predicted exception should be classified as the weather delay, communicate, to a device, a notification (i) indicating the weather delay for the first shipment, and (ii) a discount applicable to a future purchase.
5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the one or more processors is configured to execute computer-readable instructions to further cause the one or more processors to:
classify the weather delay as one of an automated resolution, a communication resolution, or a no resolution.
6 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the one or more processors is configured to execute the computer-readable instructions to further cause the one or more processors to:
trigger an action to resolve the weather delay, wherein the action depends on the weather delay.
7 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium configured to store instructions executable by one or more processors, the instructions comprising:
instructions for storing a set of shipping records for a plurality of shipments across a plurality of carriers, each shipping record in the set of shipping records associating a respective shipment from the plurality of shipments with a respective carrier from the plurality of carriers;
instructions for connecting to a plurality of carrier systems over a network, the plurality of carrier systems including a carrier system for each of the plurality of carriers;
instructions for automatically collecting current shipping information for the plurality of shipments from the plurality of carrier systems, wherein the current shipping information includes, for each shipment from the plurality of shipments, electronic shipment tracking data for the respective shipment formatted according to a carrier specific format used by the respective carrier;
instructions for, for each shipment from the plurality of shipments, mapping the electronic shipment tracking data for the respective shipment from the carrier specific format used by the respective carrier to one of a set of normalized tracking codes to generate normalized shipping information for the respective shipment;
instructions for analyzing the normalized shipping information for a first shipment of the plurality of shipments using a prediction rule to predict an exception for the first shipment due to a predicted delay at a tracking location associated with the first shipment, wherein the prediction rule compares a current transit time for the first shipment to an average historical transit time tracked by carrier and mode from an origin location to a destination location, and predicts the exception when the current transit time exceeds the average historical transit time by a specified amount;
instructions for accessing weather data associated with the tracking location;
instructions for analyzing the weather data to determine that weather causes the predicted delay at the tracking location;
instructions for determining, based on the analysis of the weather data, that the predicted exception should be classified as a weather delay for the first shipment; and
instructions for, after determining that the predicted exception should be classified as the weather delay, communicating, to a device, a notification (i) indicating the weather delay for the first shipment, and (ii) a discount applicable to a future purchase.
8 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 7 , wherein the instructions further comprise:
instructions for classifying the weather delay as one of an automated resolution, a communication resolution, or a no resolution.