Multi-system distributed processing of delivery and/or referral information for orders

Abstract

Various systems and methods that may relate to referral and/or delivery services are described. Some embodiments may include syndicating service providers for orders to a plurality of providers, in store delivery options, mobile device ordering, price arbitrage and/or other elements. Various other embodiments are described.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that when executed by a computing device, causes the computing device to perform a method comprising:
 receiving an order for a restaurant from a user of a delivery service, in which the order includes an order to deliver a set of food items from the restaurant to the user;   transmitting an indication of the order to the restaurant;   determining that a plurality of delivery agents should be used to perform delivery of the set of food items from the restaurant to the user;   selecting a first delivery agent to transfer the set of food items from the restaurant to a first location;   selecting a second delivery agent to transfer the set of food items the first location to the user; and   facilitating delivery of the food items from the restaurant to the user using the first and second delivery agents.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which facilitating delivery includes notifying the first and second delivery agents of the first location and a time to meet at the first location to transfer the set of food items from the first delivery agent to the second delivery agent. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which facilitating delivery includes arranging an intermediary at the first location to receive the set of food items from the first delivery agent, hold the set of food items for an amount of time, and provide the set of food items to the second delivery agent. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , in which the order includes an order for a food item from a second restaurant, in which the intermediary includes the second restaurant, and in which arranging includes arranging for the intermediary to add the food item to the set of food items provided to the second delivery agent. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which determining that the plurality of delivery agents should be used includes initiating an auction for delivery of the set of food items and comparing costs submitted to the auction for complete deliveries to prices submitted to the auction for partial deliveries. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , in which selecting the first and second delivery agents includes selecting based on a most affordable combination of prices submitted to the auction. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which the plurality of delivery agents includes cab drivers. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , in which selecting the first and second delivery agents includes selecting based on a comparison of a route of travel of the first and second delivery agents and the locations of the user, the first location, and the restaurant. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , in which selecting the first delivery agent includes selecting based on a route of expected travel passing proximate to each of the restaurant and the first location. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , in which the method further comprises receiving an indication of GPS coordinates of the first delivery agent and an indication of a destination of the first delivery agent, and determining the route of expected travel based on the GPS coordinates and the indication of the destination. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , in which selecting the second delivery agent includes selecting based on a route of expected travel passing proximate to each of the first location and the user. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , in which the method further comprises receiving an indication of GPS coordinates of the second delivery agent and an indication of a destination of the second delivery agent, and determining the route of expected travel based on the GPS coordinates and the indication of the destination. 
     
     
         13 . An apparatus comprising:
 a point of sale terminal configured to:
 receive information about one or more items purchased at a merchant by a customer, 
 receive payment information for the purchase of the one or more items, 
 receive information about a destination for a delivery of the one or more items, and 
 transmit information about the delivery to a computing device of a delivery service to arrange for the one or more items to be delivered from the merchant to the customer; and 
   the computing device of a delivery service configured to:
 receive the information about the delivery from the point of sale terminal, 
 initiate an auction to determine which of a plurality of delivery agents should deliver the items from the merchant to the customer, 
 select a delivery agent based on the auction, and 
 facilitate delivery of the items from the merchant to the customer using the selected delivery agent. 
   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , in which facilitating the delivery includes transmitting information to the selected delivery agent identifying the order and transmitting information to the merchant identifying the selected delivery agent. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , in which the payment information includes payment information for the delivery. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , in which the pint of sale terminal includes a cash register. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , in which the auction includes a reverse auction. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , in which the information about the delivery includes a time for the delivery, and in which facilitating the delivery includes identifying the time to the selected delivery agent. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , in which the information about the delivery includes a destination for the delivery, and in which facilitating the delivery includes identifying the destination to the selected delivery agent. 
     
     
         20 . An apparatus comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon a plurality of instructions that when executed by a computing device, causes the computing device to perform a method comprising:
 receiving a plurality of respective indications of items captured by a camera of a cellular telephone;   receiving an indication of a payment for the items from the cellular telephone;   receiving an indication of a destination for a delivery of the items from the cellular telephone;   initiating an auction to determine which of a plurality of delivery agents should deliver the items to the destination;   selecting a delivery agent based on the auction; and   facilitating delivery of the items to the destination using the selected delivery agent.