Abstract: The US Bureau of Labor Statistics defines those providing their labor in the gig economy as “independent workers.” This category includes “intermediate contractors” who are self-employed but connect with clients through an online marketplace or other intermediary, which includes drivers hired via peer-to-peer apps.  Online marketplaces that match drivers with transportation or delivery tasks have become ubiquitous in the last decade.  These environments have given rise to many new challenges and opportunities.  We highlight and illustrate a few of these challenges focusing primarily on meal delivery settings.

Biography Martin Savelsbergh

Martin Savelsbergh is the James C. Edenfield Chair and Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech. He is an optimization and logistics specialist with 30 years of experience in mathematical modeling, operations research, optimization methods, algorithm design, performance analysis, logistics, supply chain management, and transportation systems. He has published over 170 research papers in many of the top optimization and logistics journals and has supervised more than 30 Ph.D. students.

Martin Savelsbergh has a track record of creating innovative techniques for solving large-scale optimization problems in a variety of areas, ranging from supply chain master planning, to world-wide tank container management, to service network design, to production planning, and to last mile delivery.  He has given presentations and short courses on optimization, transportation, and logistics in more than a dozen countries around the world.

Martin Savelsbergh is the Editor-in-Chief of Transportation Science, the flagship journal of INFORMS in the area of transportation and logistics. He has served as Area Editor for Operations Research Letters and as Associate Editor for Mathematics of Operations Research, Operations Research, Naval Logistics Research, and Networks.  Martin Savelsbergh has served as president of the Transportation and Logistics Society of INFORMS and is an INFORMS Fellow.