During truck planning, rules are applied to fulfill legal restrictions. For example, certain axle loads cannot be exceeded. In addition, a certain loading sequence of the goods to be transported optimizes the transportation plan. Load planning concerns the loading of goods to be transported in an optimized manner into a transportation unit, be it be a truck, trailer, or container resource.
You can plan the loading space of box trucks, trailers, semitrailers, and containers in the transportation cockpit or directly in one of the following business documents:
Road freight order
Trailer unit
Container unit
Planning is carried out at the level of business document items. Load planning returns an approximate calculation of how the available loading space can be optimally used, taking into account the maximum axle loads and the maximum weight of a vehicle resource. The calculation is based on the master data that you enter for the resource.
In automatic load planning, also known as load optimization, the load optimizer creates a load plan for your business document. It considers capacity restrictions in terms of the height, width, weight, and length of the loading space. For vehicle resources with two axle groups, it also considers the maximum axle load.
Vehicle Capacity Attributes
VSR:
One-dimensional, for example, volume or mass: Up to eight dimensions.
VSO:
Three-dimensional, for example, pallet or box size: Visual representation.
Vehicle capacity is maintained in vehicle resource master data.
In vehicle scheduling and routing (VSR) planning, SAP TM considers the resource capacities of weight and volume. However, the new load planning function requires more information on the master data level. Not only are weight and volume limitations considered more precisely, but the weight distribution of axles is also planned. This is required to fulfill legal restrictions when creating a load plan.
Within the resource master data, on the Physical Properties tab, there are more capacity and resource configuration fields to maintain. You can specify attributes regarding dimension, weight, and type of resource. One specific attribute is the definition of axle groups.
The table, Box Truck, provides a detailed explanation of the elements of the preceding figure.
Box Truck
| Measurement in Figure | Name in the Master Data | Description |
|---|---|---|
| a1 | Axle Group Distance 1 | Distance between axle group 1 and the front of the box truck |
| c | Cargo body distance | Distance between the start of the loading space and the front of the box truck |
| a2 | Axle Group Distance 2 | Distance between axle group 2 and the front of the box truck |
| d | Connector Distance | Distance between the trailer coupling of the box truck and the front of the vehicle |
| s2 | Distance Between Axles | Distance within axle group 2 |
| h | Interior Height | Height of the loading space |
| l | Interior Length | Length of the loading space |
Vehicle Types Example 2: Semi-Trailer
The table, Semi-Trailer, provides a detailed explanation of the elements of the preceding figure.
Semi-Trailer
| Measurement in Figure | Name in the Master Data | Description |
|---|---|---|
| a1 | Axle Group Distance 1 | Distance between axle group 1 and the front of the trailer |
| s1 | Distance Between Axles | Distance within axle group 1 |
| k | King Pin Distance | Distance between the king pin and the front of the trailer |
| h | Interior Height | Height of the loading space |
| l | Interior Length | Length of the loading space |
| p | Split Deck Position | Position in the trailer at which you have added the split deck |
Freight Unit Dimensions
Dimensions of individual packages are determined from the business document items; that is, freight unit items are the basis for load planning and load optimization in the transportation cockpit. The following are relevant dimensions:
- Length
- Height
- Width
- Gross Weight
Load Plan Settings
Load planning settings define a process controller strategy. This strategy defines a sequence of methods to be executed for the load planning and enables a flexible combination of standard and custom logic. With the strategy, it is possible to define a set of rules to be applied when optimizing the load. The rules can be given a priority, deactivated to test the planning with a different rule set, and adjusted with certain attributes.
Load Planning Settings Definition
Load planning strategy
Load optimization runtime
Load planning rules (including their priorities and parameters)
Load planning settings are assigned in the planning profile. By assigning a planning profile in the freight order type, different load planning settings can be used for different freight order types.
Load Planning Rules
In automatic load planning, you can define the rules to be considered by the system during a load optimization run. You can choose between the following types of rules:
Rules that apply to automatic planning for all resource types
Rules that apply only to the automatic load planning of box trucks
Rules that apply only to the automatic planning of trailers and semitrailers
Rules that apply only to the automatic load planning of the upper decks of double-deck trailers
You can define different rules for the lower and upper deck of double-deck trailers.
The combination of stack, row, and line indicates the exact position of each package loaded onto the resource. Packages loaded on top of each other form a stack. Packages loaded next to each other from left to right form a row. The first row of a deck is always placed towards the start of the loading space. Packages loaded one behind the other from front to back form a line. The first line of a deck is always on the left side of the deck in the direction of travel.
Rules for Load Planning
Stack height ascending in driving direction
Stack height descending in driving direction
Maximum height difference of adjacent stacks
Maximum height difference of stacks within a row
Maximum height difference of stacks within a line
Penalty for packages that cannot be loaded based on weight
Penalty for packages that cannot be loaded based on weight multiplied by volume
Packages with high density must be at the bottom of the stack
Packages can be positioned anywhere in the stack regardless of weight and density
Load Planning
The load plan is the result of load planning. It provides you with an overview of how the loading space available for transporting a business document is used currently.
In both the transportation cockpit and in the business document, you can display the complete load plan as a 3D load plan or a table load plan of business document items. In the 3D load plan, you can show or hide individual objects as well as entire rows, columns, or stacks and fill them with different colors. Furthermore, you can show and hide gridlines in your decks in the 3D load plan.
If items cannot be loaded, the load plan includes information on the loading sequence and the exact position on the vehicle. In addition to the load plan, a load distribution is available for each axle and the complete vehicle. This document proves that the load plan fulfills the legal requirements. An additional tab holds statistical indicators such as the used volume and area.
The Load Plan
The load plan contains the following information about the business document item:
Resource
Item in the resource
Loading sequence
Row, stack, and level in the loading space
Gross weight
Height, width, and length
Stackability
Load Plan Analysis
The following is the load distribution and statistical data based on the current load plan:
Number of loaded business document items
Used area on the lower deck of your double-deck trailer
Utilization of the loading volume in percent
Used area on the upper deck of your double-deck trailer
Maximum weight for each axle group compared to the current weight for each axle group
Maximum trailing load compared to the current trailing load