Pieces Constraint – Route Planning Business Rule

With Route4Me’s dynamic routing software, you can effortlessly account for the number of packages/pieces/items associated with your route stops at a touch of a button. When planning and driving your optimized routes, the Route4Me route optimization software enables you to track the dynamic number of packages/pieces loaded on your vehicle fleet and always be aware of the current carrying capacity of your vehicles. Whenever your drivers have to visit and service multiple stops of different types, you can make sure that your vehicles always have enough space onboard and the right number of items is delivered or picked up. Moreover, with Route4Me’s near real-time data synchronization, managers and dispatchers back at the office can make changes to the number of items associated with any order, and the drivers who are out in the field can receive instant live updates on their mobile devices using Route4Me’s Android and iOS route planner apps.

Viewing and Modifying Pieces Parameters on the Route4Me Web Platform

To view or change the number of pieces for a particular stop, first, open the route that contains this stop in the Route Editor and then click on the corresponding stop to open it. In the Pieces field of the Order section, you can view how many pieces are associated with the stop. Depending on the stop’s type (Delivery, Pickup, etc.), the number of pieces defined in the corresponding field can be set to be either picked up or delivered at the customer’s location. To modify the Pieces value, click on the corresponding field and then input a new value respectively. To apply the same number of pieces to all stops on the route, first, click on the gear icon in the Pieces field and then select the corresponding option.

Learn more about different stop types.

Adjusting the Summary Table to Display Pieces Parameters

To view the total number of packages/pieces for the entire route, you can use the Summary Table. To do so, first, click on the gear icon next to the route’s name.

After that, go to the Vehicle Utilization tab and then check the following boxes:

• Pieces: Displays the total number of pieces being picked up or dropped off on the entire route;
• Pieces Maximum: Displays the maximum number of pieces permitted for the entire route;
• Pieces Utilization: Displays how many pieces are actually utilized throughout the entire route based on the aggregated data of all route stops (in percentage).

For the Summary Table to display the Pieces Maximum and Pieces Utilization parameters, you need to define the Maximum Pieces per Route value in the route’s Optimization tab when planning the route or when the route is already planned.

Once enabled, Pieces, Pieces Maximum, and Pieces Utilization values of the entire route are aggregated based on the Pieces data of all route stops and displayed in the Summary Table at the bottom of the interactive map.

Learn more about how to use and customize the Summary Table.

Viewing Dynamic Pieces Parameters in the Route Manifest

To track the dynamic number of all pieces for the entire route, you can use the Route Manifest. To do so, in the Route Editor, first, go to View and then select View Manifest respectively.

Next, in the Route Manifest, check the Pieces box in the Order tab and the Remaining Pieces box in the Operations tab. After that, you can track how the number of pieces changes throughout the route, after each stop. Depending on the stop type (Delivery, Pickup, etc.) the number of pieces can increase and decrease accordingly throughout the route.

Learn more about how to use and customize your Route Manifest.

Exporting Pieces Parameters

To export all Pieces data for the entire route, first, go to File, then select Download as from the list and after that select Export CSV respectively.

Next, check the Pieces and Remaining Pieces boxes to add the corresponding data into the export file and then click on the Export button to download the file to your device. You can use the Field search to find the corresponding boxes.

Learn more about how to export your route data.

Viewing Pieces Parameters on Route4Me’s Mobile Apps

To view the number of pieces for a particular stop from Route4Me’s iOS and Android mobile applications, first, you need to open the route that contains the corresponding stop. Next, tap to open the stop you want to check and then select Destination Info from the stop’s menu. The example below shows how to view the number of pieces for a particular stop using Route4Me’s iOS app. To view the number of pieces for a particular stop from an Android device, repeat the similar process using Route4Me’s Android app.

Route4Me provides near real-time data synchronization across all associated computer and mobile devices so that any changes made from the Route4Me Route Optimization Web Platform can be effortlessly synchronized with Route4Me’s iOS and Android Route Planner apps in a matter of seconds. Thus, managers and dispatchers back at the office can modify the number of packages/pieces for any stop/order and instantly synchronize these updates with the mobile devices of the drivers who are out in the field.

Learn about how to plan and optimize routes with the Advanced Pieces Constraint.