Route Optimization Glossary

Below is a list of the terminology used within our Route Optimization and Delivery System.

This document provides an overview of the key terms used within the delivery management functionality.

Table of Content:

 
 
Terminology
 
Terminology  Definition
 Delivery Option The method of delivery; a Service Area or Assigned Route.

Service Area

A geographic area that defines which orders to plan and build optimized tours for delivery.

A geographical area with a set of parameters where orders are fulfilled. Both assigned routes and dynamic tours are associated to a service area. A user can set the rules here for the algorithm to create tours.

 Assigned Route

A predefined and planned route with a collection of customer scheduled locations which orders can be placed into. Assigned Routes can inherit the schedule of the Service Area or have their own unique schedules. 

Tour Planning The process of dynamically grouping a collection of orders onto tours for a given Scheduled Date on a Service Area delivery option only. 
Tour Plan A collection of all the tours for a given period of time, including all service areas tours and assigned route orders.
Optimization  The process of dynamically grouping orders on to tours this is now for the Service Area and Schedule Date delivery option only.
 Optimization Parameters Parameters set and used in optimizing a Service Area with orders for deliveries. 
 Tour A grouped set of orders on a particular day. Tours have one service area.
 Tour Prefix The set of characters used to uniquely Identify the tours within the service area. Each tour will contain this prefix followed by a dash and a 8 character long hash ID.
Tour Sequencing

the process of defining the optimal (supporting delivery windows) order to deliver in

ETA Calculation

the process of calculating the time a delivery will arrive based on the sequence, conditions and other factors

Scheduled Orders

requires a schedule date and a Delivery option

 Location

The customer business location where the delivery is being made.

Schedule

The defined days and hours throughout the week that a service area will be operational and have deliveries being made within it.

Service Area Schedule

The specified service windows (days and hours) available to fulfill in a given service area. This is also where you associate customers and all their locations to a specific service area. A customer can have its own schedule or default to the service area schedule.

 Assigned Days

The valid days at which this location can accept any potential orders.

Service Window 

When turned on, the sequencer will honor service windows defined in Delivery Options.

 Service Window Start

Formatted as HH:MM. This is the start of the service window for the Location.

 Service Window End

Formatted as HH:MM this is the end of the service window for the Location.

 Service Time

The total time it takes to complete a delivery at a customer location. This time is calculated in minutes.

 Drop

A Drop is the physical location where an order is to be delivered to.

 Location

The location the schedule is associated with

Service Details 

Refers to the Service Time, Service Window, and Delivery schedule.

Schedule

The specified service windows, delivery days and stop time for a given service area, assigned route or customer.

 

Refers to the service details such as:

  • Delivery days
  • Service stop time
  • Service window