Optimizing Courier Positioning and Demand Coverage in Online Food Delivery Platforms

Online Food Delivery (OFD) platforms face the challenge of dynamically positioning couriers at waiting points to serve spatiotemporally varying demand at restaurants. This study develops a mixed integer programming model for the integrated problem of waiting point location, restaurant allocation, courier assignment, and relocation over a discrete planning horizon. The model incorporates practical operational constraints, including coverage radius limits, allowable relocation distance, courier capacity bounds, and waiting point capacity restrictions. To evaluate the impact of service flexibility, the model is formulated under two coverage paradigms: full coverage, which requires the complete fulfillment of assigned restaurants, and partial coverage, allowing for flexible demand fulfillment under capacity constraints. Computational experiments demonstrate that the partial coverage variant consistently achieves superior performance, with substantially higher service levels, using the same resources. Coverage radius emerges as the dominant factor in the solution, while relocation distance exhibits secondary effects.