Optimize routes by including mid-route stops like landfills, fuel terminals, and warehouses to plan capacity loads efficiently. In this article, we will explain how this works.
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Custom plans |
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Users that have administrator privileges |
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All regions |
What is Dynamic Mid-Route Depot Planning?
Dynamic Mid-Route Depot Planning helps plan smarter routes by picking the best places to load or unload along the way. Instead of always returning to one depot, routes are optimized to stop at designated landfills, warehouses, or fuel terminals as needed. This helps with:
- Optimizing capacity planning and mid-route stops.
- Reflecting more accurate ETAs which will take into account real travel back and forth from these mid-route locations.
- Simplifying administration tasks as all depots stops are managed in one location.
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Dynamic Mid-Route Depot Planning is available upon request. Contact support to enable this feature.. |
Adding depots
To add depots for mid-route stop planning:
- Go to Administration→Settings
- Then from the left menu, go to Locations→Depots
- Click “Add depot”
- Give your depot a name
- Choose depot type
- Input the depot address, or drag the yellow pin to the depot location on the map.
- Optionally, modify the “Time & Access” tab to add the depot duration and access constraints.
- Click “Confirm”
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The first depot in the depot list is always the main depot, it cannot be deleted and must be of a type depot or vehicle lot to ensure drivers have a default start location. Learn how to set custom start and end locations for drivers here. |
Depot types
There are 5 depot types.
- Depot - Drivers start or end routes here and load or unload
- Vehicle Lot - Drivers start or end routes here but cannot load or unload
- Landfill - Drivers unload mid-route here, but cannot start or end
- Fuel Terminal - Drivers load mid-route here, but cannot start or end.
- Load-Unload - Drivers load or unload mid-route here, but cannot start or end
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Currently, only the main depot can be a depot or vehicle lot type. Learn how to set custom start and end locations for drivers here. |
Updating time and access constraints
Depots can have their own visit durations and access constraints to help make sure routing is kept efficient and realistic.
- Visit Duration (min): How long (in minutes) a driver will take at this depot to perform their duties.
- Required Vehicle Features: If this depot can only accommodate certain vehicle types or restrictions, you can add them here. This will exclude any vehicle that does not have all the required vehicle features from being routed to this depot.
Configuring depot planning settings
You can set up how depots are incorporated into your route planning. To configure your depot planning settings:
- Go to Administration→Settings
- Then from the left menu, go to Locations→Depots
- Choose the “Planning Settings” tab
- Choose your planning options
- Click “Save” in the top right corner.
Planning Options
There are three options for mid-route depot visits:
- Not enabled: Drivers will not visit depots mid-route for loading or unloading.
- Return to start depot only: Drivers may return to the depot they started from mid-route to load or unload.
- Dynamic mid-route depots: The system selects the best depots to visit mid-route for loading and unloading to optimize routes.
You can also select if these options can be overridden by dispatchers in the planning settings either in app, or the API (if enabled). If overriding is allowed, the dispatchers will see the “Override Per-Depot Settings” in their planning window.
Enabling this setting applies a single visit duration to all depots. When disabled, each depot will have its own individual visit duration as defined in the depot settings.
Planning Results
When you plan your routes, Dynamic Mid-Route Depot planning will be triggered under the following conditions:
- Vehicles have capacities defined
- Drivers have vehicles assigned to them
- Orders have loads defined
- Dynamic Mid-Route Depots are enabled when planning
When routes are planned, vehicles will be routed to the nearest or most efficient depot for loading and unloading. You can see depot stops along the routes in the orders grid, timeline, live screen, and analytics.
Timeline
You can see depot stops on the timeline. It is recommended to enable capacity display to visualize the loads throughout the day.
Live screen
Here you can see depot stops both on the map, and in the orders table.
Analytics
Here depot stops are registered in the plan.