About

Delivery Galaxy P.C. (DG) introduces a novel business model for fostering “last mile” delivery services, based on innovative AI algorithms in the area of intelligent transportation and optimization, including traffic prediction, load balancing, demand forecasting and route optimization. DG offers an integrated mobile application suite, web dashboard and backend platform for the whole last-mile delivery service chain, targeting users such as customers, stores, deliver professionals, fleet owners, etc. Through its core technologies, DG ensures optimal utilization of the entire ecosystem of consumers, enterprises, distributors and achieves maximum workload and the fastest possible time to deliver.

Solution & Product

DG provides a software platform that includes: 1. Database in the cloud (hosted by Hetzner cloud service provider in Germany). 2. Backend, which implements all communications with the database, through appropriate connection points for each entity (API's-Endpoints). The backend is responsible for the implementation of the business logic of the platform, and the execution of the advanced prediction and optimization algorithms. It is also hosted by Hetzner cloud service provider in Germany. The backend allows integration with legacy systems. 3. Dashboard application that provides full monitoring of all processes in real time through information visualization tools. 4. Mobile application (Android, iOS, web app) for drivers to execute transfer requests. 5. Mobile application (Android, iOS, web app) for end-users to add their shipping and delivery request on the platform. 6. Web Tracking application, through which real-time traceability can be made regarding the location of each transfer request from the emd-user. 7. Web cloud engine for optimizing assignments and routing transport requests with traffic prediction, etc.

Innovation & Scalability

Our software platform is based on core AI technologies such as deep learning for precise prediction of the estimated delivery time with multiple parameters (e.g. seasonality, peak hours through demand forecasting, special events, weather conditions, etc.). This alone comprises a competitive advantage of the DS platform over the current competition. Another unique feature is the implementation of multi-objective optimization algorithms for real-time automatic decision making on assigning pickup and delivery tasks to drivers, re-routing them as necessary in order to manage optimal workload. Those algorithms exploit AI and Machine Learning tools, in order to provide computational efficient solutions to problems that are characterized by extremely high computational complexity. These problems include the travel salesman problem, the pickup and delivery problem with time windows, etc. Also, key innovations include the use the crowdsourcing model for allowing drivers to join the platform as free lancers. The provided solution is scalable by design, so that it meets not only e.g. fleets with different sizes, but also different vertical markets, with the need to deliver goods, as part of their core business, e.g. fuel industry, dark stores, restaurants, super markets, courier companies, etc. The ability of the backend to integrate with third-party legacy systems, is another unique feature that ensures global scalability. Backend is hosted by Hetzner cloud service provider in Germany.

Traction & achievements

Two of the first clients of Delivery Galaxy are ‘Auto Spot IKE’ and ‘Delivery Services’. ‘Auto Spot IKE’ is one of the largest fleet management companies in Greece, operating in Athens and Thessaloniki, among other cities. ‘Delivery Services’ is a small startup fleet management company operating in the towns of Ptolemaida and Serres, Greece. Both of them have used the DG platform as beta testers from its first beta release (May 2021) until its latest stable release v2.0 at the end of August 2022. In that period, the use of the DG platform was offered for free to those two companies, as they helped on its development and optimization. Through that period, the DG platform managed to reach TRL7, as it was validated and finally demonstrated in a real operational environment. In that period, over 850,000 orders have been successfully executed over the DG platform! Since September 2022, the aforementioned partners, together with an additional one, i.e. the company ‘Masoutis SA’, one of the largest super market chains in Greece, formed the first three clients of GA who officially signed the first contracts for the commercial use of the DG platform. The ‘subscription’ business model was used as the most appropriate one for Masoutis SA and Auto Spot IKE because of the big number of their orders to be executed over the DG platform, whereas the ‘pay-per-use’ model was deemed more appropriate for the size of ‘Delivery Services’. More clients are expected to be added soon.

Team & Why Us

DG team members are: 1) Georgios Thraskias, Co-Founder and Administrator. Mr. Thraskias has been active in the business area of IT for more than 25 years. He is the founder and owner of TOP SERVICE (founded 1995), having implemented important projects in Greece and Cyprus. He was a consultant to the IT Committee of the Ministry of Development for fuel management (2012). Mr. Thraskias has participated in several national and international events and conferences on business innovation and start-up entrepreneurship. 2) Dionysios Kehagias, Co-founder and Director of R&D, holds a PhD on Electrical and Computer Engineering, and he is Principal Researcher at the IT Institute of the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas in the area of Software Technology for Intelligent Systems and Algorithms. Recently, he has demonstrated remarkable research results in the area of intelligent transportation systems, with publications in high-level scientific journals (h-index: 12). The DG team is complementary: Mr. Thraskias, a successful entrepreneur in the field of IT, with 30 years of business experience and extensive knowledge on the needs of start-ups, contributes to the creation of DG's customer network, the design of the company's individual products and functional requirements, while Dr, Kehagias, a recognized researcher in his field, contributes to the infusion of innovative technologies into the products offered by DG, as of his proven ability to produce innovation through research.

Funding Needs

Delivery Galaxy is a young company that has already developed a robust product with innovative features. DG has been founded as a spin-off company of the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, the largest research center of Greece, as of today, therefore, part of its technological expertise and know-how is derived from previous research projects, through intellectual property agreement between the mother organization and the spin-off company. Being a spin-off company of CERTH, comprises an advantage that has been exploited by the company until now for developing its main core product. At this moment in time, the main funding needs of the company are focused on marketing, brand name establishment, promotion, communication and dissemination activities in order for the company to increase its visibility and grow its clientele. An estimate of requested finance per type of activity would be broken down as follows: 85% marketing, 10% research & development, 5% operational expenses. To this end, a large part of the necessary funding will be used by the company in order to intense its marketing activities, such as: increase of its web and social media presence, participate in exhibitions, conferences and networking events, conduct market analysis & research, create media commercials, advertising and campaigns, engage clients through direct, digital, social marketing, search engine optimization, etc.