eCourier is a UK courier service.

Courier positions are tracked by GPS and an intelligent despatch

Intelligent despatch

Intelligent despatch is a term used to describe an artificial intelligence system, that automates and controls the allocation of resources for services. Applications range from courier services to taxi services to emergency services to repair services to battlefield management...

 system assigns orders via GPRS, improving efficiency in a traditional industry. A computer algorithm

Algorithm

In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...

 distributes orders to couriers in real time based on location, traffic

Traffic

Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...

, weather

Weather

Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...

, and demand

Demand

- Economics :*Demand , the desire to own something and the ability to pay for it*Demand curve, a graphic representation of a demand schedule*Demand deposit, the money in checking accounts...

. The algorithm was developed by a team of academics in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. The company warehouses the historical GPS positions of its couriers, and donates this information to OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world. Two major driving forces behind the establishment and growth of OSM have been restrictions on use or availability of map information across much of the world and the advent of inexpensive portable GPS devices.The...

, an open source project with the aim of producing a royalty-free GIS suite. This information is also offered to the public via an API under a Creative Commons

Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...

 license. As of October 2008, their data set included over 252 million historical positions.

The company was founded by Jay Bregman and Tom Allason after event tickets were lost by a motorcycle

Motorcycle

A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...

 courier. The business won Allason recognition as a Growing Business Top Gun 2007 and from the BT Business Club; Bregman from the British Computer Society

British Computer Society

The British Computer Society, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in Information Technology in the United Kingdom and internationally...

 as 2005 IT Director of the Year.

Investors in the company include Esther Dyson

Esther Dyson

Esther Dyson is a former journalist and Wall Street technology analyst who is a leading angel investor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and commentator focused on breakthrough innovation in healthcare, government transparency, digital technology, biotechnology, and space...

 and Stuart Wheeler

Stuart Wheeler

Stuart Wheeler is a British businessman and politician. He made his fortune as the founder of the spread betting firm IG Index in 1974, but is best known for his political activism, being formerly a major donor to the Conservative Party and since 2011, has been treasurer of the United Kingdom...

. Venture Capital

Venture capital

Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...

 firm Logispring also owns a minority stake in the company.

In 2007 the company won the Evening Standard

Evening Standard

The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...

’s Most Inspirational Business award.

In 2009 eCourier reached 6 on Deloitte’s list of UK’s 50 fastest growing technology businesses. and 53 on the Sunday Times Tech Track list of Britain's fastest-growing private technology companies.