1. DeliveryCrowd, though the help of some early adopter customers, picked up and successfully delivered it's first six orders.
This was a trial run. We defined the time window and we knew the folks placing the orders. Everything else was up to the customer or the DeliveryCrowd algorithm.
Here's how the test worked:
- Customer places order with restaurant of his or her choice.
- Customer uses DeliveryCrowd interface (consumer-facing portal) to signal the need for a pickup.
- The algorithm identifies the best Crowdie who is available to complete the order and assigns it accordingly.
- The Crowdie's smartphone app receives a push message that the order is available for pickup.
- The Crowdie accepts the order and is en route.
- The pickup is made, followed by the delivery.
- The Crowdie is available for the next delivery in queue.
2. Our first revenue was generated.
The goal of the pilot wasn't to make money (as funny as that sounds), but rather to test the functionality of the systems that will eventually bring the money in.
We collected some though, and that's the important part.
Just because I know you're curious, the total charged to our customers was $9.90. Plus tips, we ended up at around $20. This is on the low side of what we'd normally expect, but that's because our two Crowdies (Fran and Ryan) only charged near the bare minimum for their time (partly as a thank you to our initial customers).
We'll keep doing these trials. After each one we get better.
