Parcel Delivery Optimizer

A console-based parcel delivery management system in C++ demonstrating four core algorithms from the algorithms/DSA curriculum. Features role-based access for admins, delivery staff, and customers, with full file persistence across sessions.

---

Algorithms Implemented

Algorithm	Where Used	Complexity
Merge Sort	Sort parcels by delivery distance	O(n log n)
Greedy / EDF	Earliest-Deadline-First scheduling & auto-assignment	O(n log n)
0/1 Knapsack DP	Max-weight optimization within vehicle capacity	O(n × W)
Priority Queue	Urgency-based dispatch ordering	O(n log n)

---

Features

Admin

• Add/delete parcels and staff (with duplicate ID guard)
• Manually assign staff to parcels, or auto-assign via Greedy EDF
• Sort parcel list by distance using Merge Sort
• Run Priority Dispatch Queue to see urgency-ranked delivery order
• Run 0/1 Knapsack to find optimal parcel set for a given vehicle capacity
• Search parcels by sender, receiver, or status (case-insensitive)
• Analytics report: delivery rate, average distance, heaviest parcel, busiest staff

Delivery Staff

• View only parcels assigned to their Staff ID
• Update parcel status with timestamped history log

Customer / User

• Track any parcel by ID with full status history
• Cancel a parcel (only if still in "Booked" state)

---

Build & Run

Requirements: C++11 or later

g++ -std=c++11 -o parcel parcel_delivery.cpp
./parcel

No external libraries required.

---

Sample Session

========================================================================
                     PARCEL DELIVERY OPTIMIZER
                  Algorithms Course Project — IIUC
========================================================================
               [1] Admin Login
               [2] Delivery Staff Login
               [3] User / Customer Access
               [0] Exit

                         ANALYTICS REPORT
========================================================================
Total Parcels     : 5
Delivered         : 2  (40%)
In Transit        : 1
Booked / Pending  : 2
Assigned to Staff : 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avg Distance      : 18 km
Total Weight      : 21 kg
Heaviest Parcel   : #3  (7 kg)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Staff Count       : 2
Busiest Staff     : Rafi  (3 parcels)
========================================================================

---

How the Algorithms Connect

New Parcels Added
       │
       ▼
┌─────────────────────┐     Sort list by distance
│   Merge Sort        │ ──► O(n log n) — stable sort
└─────────────────────┘
       │
       ▼
┌─────────────────────┐     Which parcels fit in the vehicle today?
│   0/1 Knapsack DP   │ ──► Maximize weight within capacity
└─────────────────────┘
       │
       ▼
┌─────────────────────┐     Assign staff to selected parcels
│   Greedy EDF        │ ──► Earliest deadline gets assigned first
└─────────────────────┘
       │
       ▼
┌─────────────────────┐     Final dispatch order for drivers
│   Priority Queue    │ ──► Urgency = deadline × 2 + distance
└─────────────────────┘

---

File Persistence

Data is saved automatically after every write operation:

File	Contents
parcels.txt	All parcel records + next ID counter
staff.txt	Staff records with assignment counts

Both files are pipe-delimited, human-readable. Add them to .gitignore — they're runtime data.

# .gitignore
parcels.txt
staff.txt
*.exe
*.out
*.o

---

Project Structure

parcel-delivery-optimizer/
├── parcel_delivery.cpp    # All source — ~600 lines
├── .gitignore
└── README.md

---

Known Limitations

• No authentication — staff login is by ID only, no password
• Urgency score formula is heuristic; not derived from a formal scheduling model
• Status history stored as a flat string; a proper log would use a separate file or linked list
• File parser assumes no | characters in names — enforced by replacing | with ; in history strings

---

Author

Asliraf Samaylan — IIUC, CSE
Algorithms / DSA Lab Course Project