Strategic Route Planner – Optimize Multi-Frequency Recurring Routes With Customer Locations
Route4Me’s Strategic Route Planner simplifies and automates complex optimization tasks for multi-frequency delivery and service schedules over extended planning periods. Sync data via SFTP and upload locations of Customers with schedules, evaluate multiple optimization scenarios, and create recurring route plans for thousands of routes with weekly, bi-weekly, or other visit requirements with one click. All you have to do is upload your data, and Route4Me’s enterprise route optimization API will handle the rest according to your recurring schedules. In this guide, you’ll learn about the Strategic Route Planner and how to use it for selecting the most optimal high-volume recurring route scenarios.
NOTE: “Cycle” in Recurring Routing with the Strategic Planner refers to an instance when a specific Recurring Schedule repeats.
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Route4Me Strategic Route Planner For Multi-Frequency Recurring Routes
Planning hundreds and even thousands of routes, all with different Recurring Schedules and visitation frequencies, is easy with the Strategic Route Planner. Simply upload your Customer Locations or sync data via SFTP upload, and the Strategic Planner will automatically generate the most efficient Scenarios and Route Plans.
Then, follow the steps below to evaluate and select the best Scenarios for your business needs:
- Open the Strategic Planner page.
- Open a strategic plan to see its associated scenarios.
- Pick and open a scenario that meets your requirements.
- Click to accept the Scenario Routes either as regular routes or master routes for Recurring Routing.
Your account’s Strategic Planner is where you can view, filter, and open Strategic Plans and their associated Scenarios. Keep reading to learn more about each of the above steps.
Upload Locations – Plan Multi-Frequency Recurring Routes From Spreadsheet
To upload a spreadsheet file with customer locations and schedule data, click “Create Optimization“. Then, either browse and select a file from your device or simply drag and drop a spreadsheet file into the “Create Optimization” panel.
Route4Me’s Strategic Planner will automatically validate your data columns and map their associated details to the correct internal variables for optimization. If a column header wasn’t validated correctly, click the Down Arrow and select the correct data type from the dropdown menu. Once you’ve confirmed your uploaded data, simply click “Continue” and confirm your optimization settings before optimizing recurring schedules.
Additionally, you can select “Ignore” from the menu to omit certain data columns from processing and optimization. Similarly, if a data column is necessary but not already listed, select the “Custom” option to associate that collumn’s data to route destinations as Route4Me Custom Data. Keep reading to learn more about the Strategic Planner’s mandatory and supported data fields.
NOTE: Especially large datasets with thousands of locations and complex schedules may take slightly longer to optimize.
Locations Spreadsheet – Data Columns And Formatting For Strategic Planner
Formatting a locations spreadsheet for strategic planning is similar to regualr Route4Me Spreadsheet Formatting. The table below outlines supported data columns and shows which are mandatory for strategic optimization with recurring routing. You can also click the green button to download an example locations spreadsheet with mandatory and optional columns.
Download Example Locations Spreadsheet
NOTE: If a location has no specific schedule and should be visited once per cycle, all schedulding fields must be left blank.
| Column (Key) | Description | Mandatory | Expected Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alias (alias) | Name of the location, used to easily identify locations and find them via search fields. | Text | |
| Address (address) | Street address of the location. Can be used alone or alongside coordinates. | Text | |
| Depot (is_depot) | If the location is a route origin point (depot) or a destination location. | TRUE/FALSE | |
| Days (scheduler_days) | Days of the week of a planning cycle on which a location should be included in routes. | mon, tue, wed, thu, fri, sat, sun | |
| Time Window Start (time_window_start) | Time of day from which the location is available for visit. | Time (hh:mm) | |
| Time Window End (time_window_end) | Time of day till which the location is available for visit. | Time (hh:mm) | |
| Starting Cycle (scheduler_starting_cycle) | On which cycle of the recurring schedule should the location first be included in routes. | Number | |
| Days Between Cycle (scheduler_days_between_cycle) | Number of days between planned visitation cycles. | Number | |
| Days Range (scheduler_days_range) | Adds days before and after the Days Between Cycle value to account for delays and scheduling specifics. | Number | |
| Visits Per Cycle (scheduler_visits_per_cycle) | Maximum number of times the location can be included in routes per recurring schedule cycle. | Number | |
| Service Time (service_time) | Duration of planned location visit in minutes. | Time (mm) | |
| Latitude (lat) | Coordinate indicator of the location. | Coordinate | |
| Longitute (lat) | Coordinate indicator of the location. | Coordinate | |
| Customer UUID (CustomerUUID) | Unique internal ID used to identify a unique Customer in the system | UUID String | |
| Frequency (frequency) | How often the location can be planned for visitation when scenario routes are accepted. | Number |
Filter And Customize Strategic Planner Data Table
To find a specific Strategic Plan on your account, you can use custom filters or search for a Plan by name with the “Search” field.
Click the “Created Date” button to open the calendar and filter Strategic Plans by their creation date or time frame. Then, you can further refine the Plans shown on the Strategic Planner by clicking the “Filters” button. Currently, you can filter Plans by the number of associated Scenarios and Customer Locations.
Furthermore, you can customize the columns on the Strategic Planner to see only the data relevant to your needs. To do so, click the Display Columns Button and check the boxes next to the columns you wish to enable. After that, you can change their positions by dragging column names. Accordingly, columns listed from top to bottom are displayed from left to right on the Strategic Planner. Click the “Apply” button to save your data column settings.
| Column | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| General | ||
| Name | Unique name or alias of the plan. You can use a plan’s name to find it via the “Search” field. | |
| Created | Date when the strategic plan was created via SFTP data sync. | |
| Locations | Total number of locations included in the plan’s scenarios and routes. | |
| Scenarios | Total number of scenarios included in the strategic plan. | |
| Source | How the strategic plan was created. Currently supports SFTP. | |
| User | User who uploaded the strategic plan. | |
| Route Metrics | ||
| Avg Routes | Average number of routes per week. | |
| Avg Distance | Average distance of routes included in the strategic plan. | |
| Avg Duration | Average duration of routes included in the strategic plan. | |
| Destination Metrics | ||
| Avg Destinations | Average number of destinations on routes included in the strategic plan. | |
| Avg Time Delta Destinations | Average time between destinations on routes included in the strategic plan. | |
| Avg Delta Destinations | Average distance between destinations on routes included in the strategic plan. | |
| Travel & Service Metrics | ||
| Avg Duration | Average duration of routes included in the strategic plan. Combination of Travel Duration and Service Duration. | |
| Avg Travel Duration | Average Travel Time Duration of routes included in the strategic plan. | |
| Avg Service Duration | Average Service Time Duration of routes included in the strategic plan. | |
| Avg Distance | Average distance of routes included in the strategic plan. | |
Open Scenarios And Customer Locations From The Strategic Planner
The Strategic Planner provides an overview of your Recurring Routing Scenarios bundled into Strategic Plans. To view more detailed data about a specific Plan and its associated Scenarios, click the “Open” button.
On the “Scenarios” page, you can see the scenarios included in the Strategic Plan you opened and their associated data such as the number of routes, visits, average and total route durations, and more.
Click the “Locations” tab to see the Customer Locations associated with the Strategic Plan and its Scenarios. Additionally, here’s where you can find data relating to the visit frequency and pattern of each location.
Customize Scenario Data Columns And Settings
Just like the Strategic Planner, you can customize the data shown for your Scenarios. To do so, click the Display Columns Button and check the boxes next to the columns you wish to enable. After that, you can change their positions by dragging column names. Accordingly, columns listed from top to bottom are displayed from left to right on the “Scenarios” page. Click the “Apply” button to save your data column settings.
The “Scenarios” and “Locations” tabs support different data columns. See the table below for more information about each tab’s supported columns.
| Column | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Scenarios | ||
| Description | Functions as the alias of a scenario and includes schedule details and parameters. | |
| Routes | Number of routes included in the scenario. | |
| Visits | Number of visits to be planned for routes in the scenario | |
| Avg Duration per Route | Average duration of routes in the scenario. | |
| Total Duration | Total duration of routes in the scenario. | |
| Total Travel Duration | Total combined duration of scenario route travel time. | |
| Total Service Duration | Total duration of route Service Time in the scenario. | |
| Avg Distance per Route | Average travel distance of routes in the scenario. | |
| Total Distance | Total combined distance of scenario routes. | |
| Optimization Period | The period of time across which scenario routes will be scheduled. | |
| Avg Distance Between Destinations | Average travel distance between scenario route destinations. | |
| Avg Time Between Destinations | Average travel time between scenario route destinations. | |
| Status | Current status of the scenario depending on whether it was accepted. If a scenario hasn’t been accepted, it will have the “Pending” status. | |
| Accepted | Date on which the scenario was accepted. | |
| Created Routes Count | Total number of scenario routes that have been successfully created. | |
| Failed Routes Count | Total number of scenario routes that were unable to be created. | |
| Locations | ||
| Address | Address if the location which will be used as the destination address when scenario routes are accepted. | |
| Alias | Name or alias of the location. You can use a location’s name to find it in other Route4Me interfaces. | |
| Frequency | How often the location will be planned for visitation when scenario routes are accepted. | |
| Days | Weekdays on which the location will be planned for visitation when scenario routes are accepted. | |
| Starting Cycle | On which cycle of the scenario schedule will the location first be planned for visitation when scenario routes are accepted. | |
| Days Between Cycle | Number of days between planned visitation cycles. | |
| Days Range | Days before and after the Days Between Cycle value to account for delays and scheduling specifics. | |
Open And Accept Scenario Route Plans For Regular Or Recurring Routing
To see detailed information about a Scenario’s associated Route Plans, click the “Open” button next to a Scenario. This enables you to evaluate Strategic Scenarios in detail before accepting and adding routes to your account.
Once you open a Scenario, you can see the routes associated with it, including details like start time, planned distance and duration, number of destinations, etc. The combined totals for these metrics are shown in the Summary Panel on the left. For your convenience, Scenario Routes are grouped by week, giving you an overview of their recurring schedules and visitation patterns.
If the Scenario Route Plans meet your requirements, simply click the “Accept All as Master Routes” button to add those routes to your account as Master Routes for Recurring Schedules. Alternatively, click the “Accept All as Ad Hoc Routes” button to use add the routes to your account as regular, non-recurring routes. NOTE: Ad hoc routes will be scheduled for the dates and times shown in the Scenario and won’t repeat.
To get a detailed breakdown of the visitation frequency and schedules for all destinations included in a Scenario, click the “Destinations Schedule” tab. Here, you can see the Customers and Customer Locations associated with destinations in the Scenario Route Plans. Additionally, you can see the visitation frequency and weekday schedules of each destination.
Customize Route Plan Data Columns And Settings
You can easily customize the data shown for your route plans. This streamlines the process of evaluating a Strategic Scenario and simplifies decision-making. To do so, click the Display Columns Button and check the boxes next to the columns you wish to enable. After that, you can change their positions by dragging column names. Accordingly, columns listed from top to bottom are displayed from left to right on a Scenario’s page. Click the “Apply” button to save your data column settings.
The “Routes” and “Destination Schedules” tabs support different data columns. See the table below for more information about each tab’s supported columns.
| Column | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Routes | ||
| Route Name | Name or alias of the routes. You can use a route’s name to easily find it in other Route4Me interfaces. | |
| Week Number | For how many weeks the route will be planned when scenario routes are accepted. | |
| Week Day | For which days of the week the route will be scheduled when scenario routes are accepted. | |
| Start Date | Date for which the route will be scheduled when scenario routes are accepted. | |
| Start Time | Time for which the route will be scheduled when scenario routes are accepted. | |
| Duration | Total duration of the route, including travel time and Service Time. | |
| Distance | Total distance of the route. | |
| Number of Destinations | Total number of destinations that will be included in the route when scenario routes are accepted. | |
| Avg Distance Between Destinations | Average distance between destinations on the route. | |
| Avg Time Between Destinations | Average travel time between destinations on the route. | |
| Destinations Schedule | ||
| Customer | Customer or contant person associated with the destination. | |
| Customer Location | Customer Location associated with the destination. | |
| Frequency | How often will the destination be planned for visitation when scenario routes are accepted. | |
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About author: Kristian Andreev
