Patent ID: 8443010

Claim:
A method for managing delivery of articles comprising: developing a database that identifies routes for delivery of articles, including characteristics of said routes; providing a display screen selectively showing said routes for delivery and said characteristics; dividing at least one of said routes for delivery into a series of logical segments based on at least one of sections, durations, and route types; assigning new characteristics to a logical segment in the series of logical segments; receiving from said display screen a modification of at least one of said new characteristics; saving at least one of said series of logical segments and said new characteristics to the database; identifying a plurality of routes in proximity to the logical segment; reassigning a section of the logical segment to a carrier assigned to one of the plurality of routes in proximity to the logical segment; and modifying characteristics of said route in proximity to the logical segment to ensure that recipients in the logical segment will receive mail at approximately the same time.