Create And Manage Recurring Route Schedules
Recurring schedules help you automate route planning so routes can be generated on a regular basis without starting from scratch each time. This makes it easier to maintain consistent routing patterns while reducing manual setup. In this guide, you’ll learn how to set up and manage recurring schedules within Route4Me. You’ll also see how to adjust and update them as your planning needs change over time.
Table of Contents
Create A Recurring Schedule Based On A Master Route
To create a Recurring Schedule, you first need a Master Route, which serves as the template that your Recurring Routes will be built from. You can either plan a new route or use an existing one and designate it as your Master Route.
If you’re working with an existing route, you can set it as a Master Route directly from the Routes List or Route Editor. Once it’s set, it can be reused to generate Recurring Schedules.
Access The Schedule Editor – Configure Your Recurring Schedule
To use your Routes List, go to “Dynamic Routing” > “Routes” from the Navigation Menu. Then, click the Down Arrow next to a route and select “Create Recurring Route” to use it as a Master Route.
You’ll be redirected to the Recurring Routes Schedule Editor, where you can configure your Recurring Schedule.
To begin, complete the fields in the “General” section: “Master Route Name“, “Assign User“, and “Assign Vehicle“. Refer to the table below for a detailed explanation of each field.
| General Field | Field Description |
|---|---|
| Master Route Name | The Master Route automatically inherits the name of the template route, but you can rename it if needed. |
| Assign User | Select a driver or field team member for the recurring schedule. This user will be automatically assigned to all routes generated from this schedule. |
| Assign Vehicle | Choose a vehicle for the recurring schedule. This vehicle will be automatically assigned to every route created from the schedule. |
Create Recurring Route Rules – Control When Routes Repeat
Next, create a scheduling rule by completing the fields in the “Schedule” section: “Date Range“, “Repeat Frequency“, and “Repeat Settings“. You’ll find detailed descriptions of each field in the table below.
After you click “Save“, the rule will appear in the Recurring Routes Schedule Editor. From there, you can use the toggle to activate or deactivate the rule, click the Pencil Icon to edit it, or click the Trash Icon to delete it.
The Schedule Preview highlights in light blue all dates when recurring routes will be generated.
| Schedule Field | Field Description |
|---|---|
| Date Range | Set the start and end dates for the recurring schedule. If you do not want the schedule to end, enable “Repeat Forever“. You can add multiple Date Range rules to the same schedule to support different recurring patterns or seasonal schedule changes without creating separate schedules. |
| Repeat Frequency | Choose how often recurring routes should be generated: daily, weekly, monthly, or annually. |
| Repeat Settings | Define the interval for the selected frequency, such as every day, every 2 days, every week, or every 3 months. |
To add exceptions to your schedule rules, select any dates you want to exclude from the Recurring Schedule. Recurring Routes will not be generated on these dates. You can add multiple exception dates, which will appear in red in the Schedule Preview.
Exceptions make it easy to skip routes on holidays, seasonal dates, or other non-working days without creating a separate schedule. You can also use the toggle to temporarily deactivate an exception, or click the Trash Icon to permanently delete it.
Lastly, specify how many days in advance Recurring Routes should be generated from this schedule, then click “Create Schedule” to finalize it.
NOTE: Dark blue dates in the Schedule Preview indicate Recurring Routes that have already been created, helping you quickly see which dates are already scheduled.
Manage Recurring Route Schedules – View, Filter, And Edit Schedules
View Recurring Schedules – Filter And Refine Results
You can view all of your Recurring Schedules on the Recurring Routes page.
Route4Me provides filters and grouping options to help you refine which Recurring Schedules appear on this page. You can also use the “Created At” calendar to filter schedules by their creation date. See table below for an overview of all filters.
| Filter | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment & Attribution | ||
| User | Filter by user assigned to the route. | |
| Vehicle | Filter by vehicle assigned to the route. | |
| Customer | Filter by customer linked to the route. | |
| Contract | Filter by contract linked to the route. | |
| Facility | Filter by facility linked to the route. | |
| Strategic Optimization | ||
| Master Route Source | Filter by the source used to create the route, such as Telematics, API, Route Planner, AMP Job, or Website. | |
| Destinations Total | Filter by the total number of destinations assigned to the route. | |
| Planned Destinations | Filter by the total number of destinations planned during route optimization. | |
| Planned Total Duration (h) | Filter by the total estimated duration, in hours, planned for completing the route. | |
| Planned Total Distance (mi) | Filter by the total planned distance, in miles, for completing all stops on the route. | |
| Planned Total Wait Duration (h) | Filter by the total planned wait time, in hours, across all destinations on the route. | |
| Planned Total Service Time (h) | Filter by the total planned service time, in hours, required to complete all route destinations. | |
| Planned Total Drivers Break Duration (h) | Filter by the total planned driver break time, in hours, scheduled within the route. | |
| Planned Average Service Time (h) | Filter by the average planned service time, in hours, per destination on the route. | |
| Scheduling | ||
| Advanced Interval | Filter by routes that use an advanced scheduling interval configuration. | |
| Advanced Schedule Interval Days | Filter by the number of days defined in the advanced scheduling interval. | |
| Dimensional & Financial | ||
| Cube Planned | Filter by total planned Cube (volume) amount of all Destinations on the planned route. | |
| Pieces Planned | Filter by total planned Pieces (units) amount of all Destinations on the planned route. | |
| Weight Planned | Filter by total planned Weight amount of all Destinations on the planned route. | |
| Revenue Planned | Filter by total revenue to be generated from servicing all route Destinations. | |
Customize Data Display Columns – Adjust And Reorder Data Table Layout
You can also customize the data columns displayed on your Recurring Routes page. To do this, click the Display Columns Icon in the upper-right corner, then select the checkboxes for the columns you want to show.
Drag and drop column names to reorder them in your data table. Once you’re done, click “Apply” to save your changes. See the table below for a full overview of all available data columns.
| Data Column | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Route | ||
| Date Created | Date and time when the route was created. | |
| Planned Total Distance | Total distance planned for the route, including all stops. | |
| Planned Total Route Duration | Estimated total duration for completing the route. | |
| Planned Total Wait Duration | Estimated total wait time during the route. | |
| Planned Total Service Duration | Estimated total service time at destinations. | |
| Actual Total Breaks Duration | Total break time taken by drivers during the route. | |
| Advanced Interval | Number of days defined in advanced scheduling for creating future routes. | |
| Schedule Blacklist | Dates when routes should not be scheduled (e.g., holidays or blocked days). | |
| Schedule Timezone | Time zone used for interpreting scheduled route dates and repeat patterns. | |
| Schedule | Recurring schedule settings that define how often and on what dates the route repeats. | |
| Master Route Source | Source used to create the route (e.g., Telematics, API, Route Planner, AMP Job, Website). | |
| Scheduled Start Time | Scheduled start time for the route. | |
| Planned End Time | Planned end time for the route. | |
| Start Timezone | Time zone associated with the route’s planned start location. | |
| Total Man-Hours | Combined estimated man-hours required for all planned route tasks. | |
| Route # | Unique identifier number for the route. | |
| Assignment & Attribution | ||
| Facility | Location or service point assigned to the route. | |
| Customer | Customer assigned to the route. | |
| Contract | Contract associated with the route. | |
| Key Metrics | ||
| Destinations Count | Total number of destinations planned for the route. | |
| Pending Destinations | Number of destinations not yet visited. | |
| Notes Count | Total number of notes added to the route, destinations, or stops. | |
| Utilization | ||
| Pieces Planned | Total number of pieces planned for delivery. | |
| Weight Planned | Total weight of items planned for delivery. | |
| Cube Planned | Total cubic volume planned for delivery. | |
| Revenue Planned | Planned revenue for the route based on scheduled deliveries. | |
| Strategic Optimization Name | Name of the strategic optimization applied to the route. | |
| Scenario Name | Scenario associated with the strategic optimization. | |
Edit Recurring Schedules – Update Schedule Details
From this page, you can also edit existing Recurring Schedules. Click “Edit Schedule” to open the Recurring Routes Schedule Editor where you can make changes.
To update an assigned User, Vehicle, or Facility, hover over the relevant field, then click the Pencil Icon to edit it.
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About author: Daniel Archer
