Planning

Planning

This page is designed for planning routes. You can use warehouses and orders as route points. To create or import orders, expand the Planning item in the navigation bar and select the required section (New order or Import orders). After that, you can create a route from the orders.

Interface

The interface of the Planning page consists of the following components:
  • table, the content of which changes depending on the planning stage (selection of orders and delivery dates, selection of units for fulfilling the orders and creating a route);
  • toolbar which contains filters, a search tool, and other options depending on the planning stage;
  • block with information about the order (orders), unit (units) or route, depending on the item selected in the planning window; 
  • map which displays the order address, unit location or the created route depending on the planning stage.








Planning Stages

Planning includes the following stages:

  • selection of orders;
  • selection of units which should deliver the goods;
  • route creation.

The stage numbers are displayed below the table. The stages are completed sequentially. If you have completed a stage, you can return to it until you save the route.

Selecting Orders (Stage 1)

At the first stage of planning, you should select orders to plan a route or routes for the day.

To do this, follow the steps below.

  1. If needed, customize the filter to see only the required orders in the table.
  2. Select orders in the list. To do this, check the box next to the order number or click on the line while holding down Ctrl. To select a group of several orders arranged one after another, select the first order in the group, hold down Shift, and select the last order. To select all the orders, check the box in the table header or click on any of the fields while holding down Ctrl.
     You can also select orders on the map. To do this, hold down Ctrl and click on the order markers, or hold down Shift and select the area within which the markers are located.
  3. For permanent orders, select the date of delivery in the calendar that opens after clicking on the icon . Below the calendar, you can activate the Templates creation option (see the Templates section).
    If the order is overdue, the date selection is not available for it. 
  4. Change the planning settings (icon ) if necessary. These settings are the same as those on the Planning tab, but are applied only one time to the routes planned at this stage. When you go to another page, the settings are reset.
  5. Click Next to go to the unit selection
The interface components available at this stage are described in detail below.
Table of Orders

By default, the table displays all permanent orders and the single orders in which the delivery date coincides with the current one. Overdue orders, that is, those in which the delivery time has expired, are marked with an exclamation sign.

The names and contents of the columns correspond to the order parameters specified when creating or editing the orders.

You can select the columns that should be displayed in the table. To do this, click on the icon   in its upper-right corner. To hide or show a column, click on its heading. To change the sequence of the columns, drag a line with a column heading to the required place.

The columns with custom fields are not shown in the table by default, but you can select them in the menu (icon  ). The names of such columns are marked with a number sign (#).

When you point to a line with an order, the following actions are available:

  1.  - change the order parameters
  2.  - copy the order
  3.  - delete the order


Search and Filters
There is a filter and a dynamic search in the toolbar above the table to facilitate the search of the items.


The dynamic search allows you to search for orders by any cell of the table.

Using the filter, you can sort the orders according to various criteria. To use the
filter, click on the icon   and configure the required parameters. To reset the
filter, click on the icon  .


Below are parameters available in the filter:
  1. Order type - a filter which allows you to show the orders a cerain type. The available options are: single, permanent or both types
  2. Delivery interval - a filter which limits the orders by the time of delivery
  3. Warehouse - the selection of a warehouse. Allows filtering orders by the geofences attached to the selected warehouse and by the warehouse tags. 
  4. Geofences - a filter which allows you to select the orders the address of which is within the selected geofence. The list shows the geofences that are attached to the warehouse selected above. 
  5. Delivery requirements - a filter which contains all the requirements specified in the order parameters. 
  6. Warehouse tags - a filter which shows the orders with the seleted tag
Information Block
If you click on an order in the table, the information block displays the following parameters:
  • order name and address;
  • delivery interval;
  • cost, weight, and volume;
  • note;
  • comment;
  • client's name and contact details (phone, email).

Using the buttons in the lower-right corner, you can edit the data of the order, copy or delete it.


If you select several orders, the information block shows the total weight, volume, cost and number of the selected orders.


Bulk editing is available for the selected orders. In this mode, you can:

  • change the delivery interval, service time, and priority of orders;
  • change the weight, volume, and cost of goods in orders;
  • specify delivery requirements and tags (the old ones are deleted, if any);
  • enable and disable the Not to confirm orders outside the radius, Strict delivery interval and the Service within delivery interval options.
Map

To the right of the information block, there is a map where the order addresses from the table are shown with markers. The markers of the selected orders are dark blue, while the markers of those which are not selected are light blue. Click on a marker to open the window with information about the order (delivery interval, address, client's name and contact details) and an icon for editing it.

If the Planning by geofences option is enabled, the map shows all the geofences added on the same-name tab. If a warehouse is selected in the filter, the map shows the geofences attached to it. 

WebGis Maps and OpenStreetMap are available by default. To use Google Maps, the Google (standard) or Google (custom) service should be activated in the billing plan or account properties in CMS Manager. If both are activated, the Google (custom) service is used. The Access to map service corresponding to the added Google key should be also activated.

Use the icon  in the upper-right corner to select a map.

Selecting Units (Stage 2)

At this planning stage, it is necessary to determine among what units the selected orders should be distributed. To do this, follow the steps below:
  1. Select the unit or units that should be used to fulfil the orders
    To select a unit, you can also click on its line while holding down Ctrl. To select all the units, check the box in the table header or next to the icon of any unit while holding down Ctrl.
  2. Change the planning settings if necessary. At this planning stage, the same settings are available as at the previous one. 
  3. Click Next to proceed to the route creation.
The interface components available at this stage are described in detail below.

Table

The table displays all the available units. The table consists of the following columns:
  1. Make (Brand), Model, Registration plate, Carrying capacity, Volume (Effective capacity), Dimenions - the values specified in the same name fields on the Profile tab of the unit properties in Trackd. You can also specify the values for the Carrying capacity and Volume columns on the Units page. 
  2. Delivery Requirements - the values specified in the same name field in the window for editing unit properties. 
  3. Note - the value specified in the Comment field on the Profile tab of the unit properties in Trackd. 
  4. Orders - the number of orders already distributed to the unit. 
  5. Per 1 km, Per 1 hour, Per 1 order, Per vehicle departure - the cost values specified in the same name fields in the window for editing unit properties. 
  6. Geofences - the names of the geofences to which units are attached.
To sort the table items by a column, click on the column heading. 

Filter

The filter by several parameters is available at the second planning stage.

  1. Delivery Requirements - a filter by delivery requirements specified in the order parameters and in the window for editing unit properties. All the requirements specified in the selected orders are selected in the filter by default. If an order has several requirements, they are shown in one tag. The table displays only those units that meet all the selected requirements at once.
  2. Attached Units - a filter which allows you to see the units attached to the selected warehouse.
  3. Note - a filter by values specified on the Profile tab of the unit properties in Trackd (Comment field). The filter doesn't work if the Attached units option is enabled. 
To reset the filter, click on the icon .

Information Block

When you go to the second planning stage, the Orders and units block is displayed by default. It provides summary information: the total weight, volume, cost and number are shown for the orders; the carrying capacity and volume are shown for the units. The values of these parameters change depending on the number of units selected in the table.


After clicking on a unit, the block displays its profile properties (name, note, make, model, registration plate, carrying capacity, volume) and the name of the assigned driver.

Map

Before the unit selection, the delivery addresses and units are shown with markers on the map.

After clicking on a unit, you can see its name and an icon for going to the chat with the driver assigned to this unit. Besides, a colored rectangle displays the number of fulfilled and planned orders for the unit.
​
If the driver is not assigned to the unit, you cannot go to the chat.
At all the stages, there is a button for the map selection in the upper-right corner of the map.

Creating a Route (Stage 3)

At this stage, you can edit the route created by the system.

After making the necessary changes, click Save. The saved routes are shown on the Routes page.

If the Take into account the location of units option is enabled in the settings, the created route also shows the path from the unit location to the first order.

Warning Signs

At this stage of planning, the warning sign  may be shown in the table. This happens in the following cases:

  1. the volume of goods in the orders exceeds the volume of the unit if these values are specified in the order parameters and in the unit properties respectively, but the Volume option is disabled in the Route restrictions section;
  2. the weight of goods exceeds the carrying capacity of the unit if these values are specified in the order parameters and in the unit properties respectively, but the Carrying capacity option is disabled in the Route restrictions section;
  3. there is not enough time to adhere to the delivery interval specified in the order, but the Strict delivery interval option is disabled in the order parameters;
  4. the delivery of one or more orders is postponed to the next day after the selected delivery date because the unit doesn't have time to visit all address in one day;
  5. the delivery requirements of the order which you manually moved from one route to another haven't been fulfilled.
The warning sign  is shown in the line which groups undistributed orders. 

Undistributed Orders

Orders which have been excluded from routes are grouped in a separate block of the table. To find out the reason for excluding an order, point to the icon  in the line with it. The order may be excluded from the route for the following reasons:

  • restrictions from Route restrictions section have been exceeded
  • strict delivery interval has been violated if the same name option is enabled in the order parameters
  • delivery requirements specified in the order parameters haven't been fulfilled
  • the order is not related to the geofence to which the unit assigned to the route is attached, if the Planning by geofences option is enabled

You can perform the same actions with excluded orders as with other orders: move to another route (in the table or on the map), delete, create a new route, etc.

Actions with an Order

To perform actions with a seperate order, point to the line with it an click on one of the following icons:
  1.  - change the sequence of orders by dragging them (or move orders to another route)
  2.  - delete the order

When moving orders from one route to another, both routes are optimized without taking into account the configured restrictions. If you optimize the route again after that (the icon ), the configured restrictions are applied.

You can also move the order to another route on the map.

Actions with a Route

To perform actions with a seperate route, point to the line with it and click on one of the following icons:
  1.  - change the route name
  2.  - assign a unit if it has not been assigned to the route yet
  3.  - select another unit
  4.  - recalculate the route using the system algorithm
  5.  - recalculate the route without considering route restrictions
  6.  - save the route
  7.  - delete the route

These icons are also displayed in the information block.

To expand the route and see all the orders it consists of, use the icon  . To show or hide the route on the map, click on the block with the number of orders next to the route name.

Bulk Actions with Orders and Routes

For bulk actions with orders or routes, select them in the list and use the buttons below the table. To select all the routes, check the box in the table header. The following actions are available:

  1.  - create a seperate route from the selected orders
  2.  - optimize the route again (the number indicates the quantity of the selected routes)
  3.  - delete the items

To expand all the routes in the table, click on the icon  while holding down Ctrl. To show all the routes on the map, click on the block with the number of orders while holding down Ctrl.

Information Block

The content of the information block changes depending on the selected object. To select a route or an order, click on its line in the table. 

If no route or order is selected, the block shows:
  1. summary information about the orders (weight, volume, cost, quantity)
  2. summary information about the units (carrying capacity, effective capacity)
  3. names of the initial, intermediate and final warehouses, if specified
  4. name of the routing service
If a route is selected, the block shows:
  1. estimated mileage
  2. estimated duration
  3. route cost 
  4. number of orders
  5. cost, weight and volume of goods in the orders of the route
  6. driver's name
  7. time of the automatic route termination and the sequence of visiting the points
  8. icons for actions with the route
If an order os selected, the block shows:
  1. it's name and address
  2. delivery interval
  3. unloading time
  4. cost, weight and volume of goods in order
  5. note
  6. client's name and contact details
  7. icon for removing the order 
If the line with undistributed orders is selected, the block shows:
  1. total cost, weight, and volume of goods in undistributed orders
  2. number of undistributed orders

Map

The map shows the created route and the unit selected for fulfilling it. To hide or show the route, click on the colored rectangle in its line. The route color on the map is configured on the General tab of the settings.

Orders which have been excluded from routes are indicated by red markers.

After clicking on the unit on the map, you can see the number of its fulfilled and planned orders and go to the chat with the driver.

After clicking on a point of the route, you can see:
  1. order or warehouse name
  2. icons for moving the order to another route  and removing it 
  3. date and interval
  4. estimated time of the driver's arrival
  5. address of the route point
  6. contact details of the client or warehouse

To move the order to another route, click on the icon   in the upper-right corner of the card. Click on the route to which you want to move the order or on the order icon if the route has only one order. After that, both routes are recalculated. In this case, the configured route restrictions are not taken into account.


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