Planning Automatically Using the Optimizer and Proposal

Freight Unit → Stages → Route → Transportation Proposal

Transportation Cockpit → Select Freight Unit → Transportation Proposal

The layout of the transportation proposal result screen can be configured in a way that is similar to the transportation cockpit layout. The results can be displayed in a table format or visualized on a map. In the table-based layout, each stage is shown in a separate line. In complex networks, there could be millions of routing options for a given transport, with only minor differences between them. Depending on the objective of the planner, results can be presented according to defined criteria, as follows:

• Lowest cost

• Shortest duration

• Carriers assigned

• Departure days

• Routes

The features of the transportation proposal are as follows:

• Implicit definition of transshipment locations by schedules and freight bookings (simplified definition of transportation network)

• Mode of transport constraints on freight unit and freight unit stage level

• Fast determination of transportation proposals, yielding more alternatives according to predefined variation criteria (for example, route, carrier, departure date) and trade-off between time and cost (controlled variation according to predefined criteria)

• Consideration of preferences for locations, carrier, mode of transport, dates, and times

• Display of multiple solutions on the result map

• Rough planning (detailed planning on the main leg and rough planning for pre-leg and subsequent leg, based on rough definition of transportation durations)

Watch the simulation Assign Transshipment Locations and Generate Transportation Proposals to learn more about the definition of transshipment locations, the creation of transportation proposals, and how to compare them.

In a freight order, freight units from different transportation demands (SO/PO/DEL/OTR/DTR/FWO) can be consolidated. The VSR optimizer aims to find the lowest cost solution based on the freight units planned, the transportation network (as defined in master data), and, for example, the costs defined in the relevant planning profile.

As the name suggests, the vehicle scheduling and routing (VSR) optimizer considers routing and the sequence in which resources arrive at specific locations (as well as the scheduling of tasks running in parallel). It evaluates potential changes to the routing and the effect such changes would have on scheduling, helping to avoid the possibility of delayed deliveries and follow-on costs.

Essentially, the optimizer's goal is to assign freight units to vehicles/resources and determine the route and sequence of freight units per vehicle/resource so that all constraints are met and total costs are minimized. The optimizer achieves this goal by evolutionary local search, a population-based meta-heuristic that borrows selection principles from evolutionary algorithms and relies heavily on local optimization.

A more evident example of how the optimizer works is its approach to potential date changes. When a date change occurs, the optimizer applies this change to all freight units on the affected vehicle or resource and dependent freight units on any other resources. This method helps determine the best possible choice. The optimizer also considers multiple factors simultaneously for other variables, such as transshipment locations. This comprehensive analysis is essential for developing effective plans or improving existing ones.

The total cost, which the optimizer is designed to minimize, is a weighted sum of the following items:

• Non-delivery/execution penalty (per FU)
• Earliness and lateness penalty (per FU)
• Fixed cost (per vehicle or tour)
• Travel-dependent costs (per capacity), for example, distance, duration, etc.
• Load-dependent costs (per capacity and tour)
• Sustainability costs such as CO2 emissions

The optimizer can consider various additional constraints, as follows:

• At some locations, a handling resource for loading or unloading may be necessary, with attendant breaks or delays.
• The transshipment time of an order at a specific location can be restricted by a minimum and maximum duration.
• There may be incompatibilities between orders, vehicles, (transshipment) locations, and so on, which must be considered.
• Driving times of vehicles may be restricted. For example, a planner can define that after 8 hours of travel, a driver needs a 2-hour break and that 10 hours is the maximum daily traveling time.

The VSR optimizer primarily operates based on freight units. When there are unplanned freight units, the optimizer searches for available capacity to transport them. As a result, it creates freight orders or freight bookings. If the VSR optimizer is tasked with maintaining existing freight orders but can modify them, guidelines must be provided on how these changes can be made. This process is known as incremental planning for freight orders.

The cost and constraint settings of the planning profile contain input for the optimization cost. These are internal costs and are not related to a particular currency. The following settings can be made:

• Non-delivery cost: This is (business-wise, not technical) a mandatory entry. The algorithm used in the optimization takes non-delivery into account. If there are no costs for non-delivery, the system will deliver nothing since this is the cheapest solution. Therefore, a cost setting for non-delivery must be maintained.
• Earliness and lateness cost: Sometimes, it is more cost-effective to deliver early or late if this means the route/trip can be completed. This setting controls the period for early or late pickup and delivery.
• Means of transport or resource-specific cost: This setting controls the cost concerning means of transport, and a break-even calculation can be made to determine the means of transport used. For instance, rail is cheaper than road for large volumes of weighty goods. These costs can be defined for individual resources (based on vehicle resource master data) or groups of similar resources (based on means-of-transport level).
• In the Costs and Constraints Settings, it is allowed to define the minimum target utilization of a means of transport to be considered when road freight orders are created during VSR optimization. Furthermore, whether this utilization is a hard or soft constraint can be specified. As a soft constraint, the target utilization may not be reached, and a warning will be issued in this case. This setting controls whether freight documents not meeting the desired target utilization are kept or deleted after the optimization run. As a hard constraint, the target utilization is always considered so that freight units may remain unplanned. Note that maintaining a minimum utilization is not a constraint in the optimization algorithm itself but rather a check performed on the result.

In incremental planning, the following options are available:

• The optimizer keeps the resource (truck or trailer).

• The optimizer keeps all stops of an incremental freight order.

• The optimizer keeps all freight units of such an incremental freight order.

• It is possible to specify whether additional new stops to an incremental freight order are allowed.

If more control over the incremental planning is required, there is a BAdI before the optimization call. Here, each freight order can be flagged separately for incremental planning. Additionally, there are the following options:

• Define time frames for how much change is allowed in rescheduling.

• Define if it is allowed to add stops as first or last stop or only between.

• Define which locations are potentially allowed to be inserted and which are not.

How incremental planning can be controlled is described in note 1866364.