Sorry holders, here's an article from The Australian today:...

Sorry holders, here's an article from The Australian today:

Australia is tracking as one of the most efficient marketplaces for Deliveroo, with the introduction of the British food-delivery outfit’s latest algorithm producing a 31 per cent boost in service times.
The algorithm, dubbed Frank, has been in operation in Australia for the better part of this year. Deliveroo CTO Mike Hudack told The Australian that refining the overall experience for customers, delivery riders and partner restaurants was his top priority.
“Deliveroo’s bespoke technology is the most exciting being developed in Europe right now,” he said. “We’re building an algorithm which can cope with millions of simultaneous orders, while continuously refining itself, improving the experience for our riders, restaurants and customers.
“The results in Australia show this is working, as we grow our tech team and continue to refine our trailblazing technology.”
The Frank algorithm harnesses predictive technology to evaluate the most efficient way of distributing orders based on the location of restaurants, riders and customers. According to Deliveroo, machine learning is used to harmonise disparate elements, such as preparation time, types of orders and peak ordering times, to save restaurants time.
Since the introduction of Frank, restaurants have been able to save an average of four minutes prep time per meal, according to Deliveroo.
The improved allocation of orders and reduced restaurant waiting time has a flow on impact on Deliveroo’s delivery network, with riders completing more deliveries per session.
According to Deliveroo, the algorithm has cut travel time for riders to six minutes per order.
The delivery process is controlled by a real-time dispatch “nerve centre” that serves as a matchmaker between orders and riders. After assessing all possible dispatch solutions, the algorithm picks the best option for rider, restaurant and customer. The machine-learning predictive models not only take into account how long it will take for the food to be prepared but also seeks out which rider has the best characteristics to fulfil each order based on the weather, distance and location among other factors.
Frank, named after Danny DeVito’s character in the sitcom It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia — builds on Louie, which was named after DeVito’s taxi-dispatcher character in Taxi. Deliveroo raised $US385 million of new funding in September, giving it a valuation of over $US2 billion.
Hmmmm.