Max Cube per Route – Plan Routes with Cube Optimization Constraint
With Route4Me’s Cube Advanced Constraint and route planning with cubic volume capabilities, you can effortlessly account for the cubic volume of the cargo on all your routes with just a touch of a button. When planning and driving your routes, Route4Me route optimization software enables you to track the dynamic cubic volume loaded or reserved on your vehicle fleet so that you can always be aware of the current carrying capacity of your fleet vehicles. Whenever your drivers have to visit and service multiple stops of different types to deliver or pick up packages of different sizes, you can make sure that your vehicles always have enough space onboard. Moreover, with Route4Me’s near real-time data synchronization, managers and dispatchers back at the office can make changes to the cubic volume of 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.
To leverage route planning with the cubic volume optimization constraints and plan routes with the cubic volume of your vehicles, first, go to Plan New Route from the navigation menu.
Next, select one of the preferred route data import methods (Upload a File or Import Data).
After that, adjust the following route optimization settings:
- Go to the Optimization tab;
- Select Multiple Drivers Route optimization type so that the system can automatically plan and optimize more than one route if needed;
- Choose where to end the route(s) after the last stop is visited and serviced.
Next, use the corresponding fields for defining the maximum number of routes that can be created from the imported addresses and the maximum time duration (DD:HH:MM) for each created route.
NOTE: The Maximum Number of Routes/Vehicles and Maximum Route Duration constraints, as well as the Multiple Drivers Route optimization type can be enabled through the Feature Manager as components of the Route Optimization for Multiple Drivers with No Advanced Constraints module. Alternatively, when registering a new Route4Me account, select the Advanced Route Optimization package that has both constraints included.
Then, in the Maximum Volume per Route field, define the maximum cubic volume allowed to be loaded or unloaded per one planned route.
After that, specify the rest of the route parameters to your preference and then click on the Create Route and Proceed to Add Addresses button.
Next, import the route addresses using one of the previously selected methods. When importing a spreadsheet with route data, for it to be successfully processed, the spreadsheet must contain a header row and data rows. The header defines the type of information you are importing, while the corresponding data rows contain the actual information/values that you import into the system. Besides the obligatory Address column, you can also include other data columns. In the Cube column, you can define the cubic volume of the cargo that is expected to be loaded or unloaded at each route stop.
Learn more about Route4Me’s spreadsheet requirements.
Once you uploaded the spreadsheet, Route4Me processes the imported data and displays it in the corresponding window. For the system to process the data automatically, select the Auto (attempt detection) option respectively. Alternatively, you can manually match column titles to the data contained in the corresponding columns. To proceed, click on the Continue to Review button.
In the Verify Addresses on Map window, you can view all imported and processed addresses on the map, as well as check their geocoding statuses. Green colored dots indicate that the corresponding addresses were successfully geocoded with High Confidence. Addresses that have yellow colored dots next to them should be reviewed and fixed accordingly.
Geocoding is the process of giving/assigning latitude and longitude values/coordinates to street addresses for accurate location detection and precise GPS tracking.
Once the route is planned, it is optimized and then opened in the Route Editor where you can modify it, as well as added to the Routes List with all your routes. To view or change the cubic volume of a particular stop, first, open the route that contains this stop in the Route Editor and then click on the corresponding stop to open its menu. In the Order section of the opened stop, you can view its cubic volume value in the Cube field. To modify the Cube value, click on the corresponding field and then input a new value respectively. To apply the same cubic volume to all stops on the route, first, click on the gear icon in the Cube field and then select the corresponding option.
To view the cubic volume 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:
- Cube: Displays the total cubic volume for the entire route;
- Cube Maximum: Displays the maximum cubic volume capacity permitted for the corresponding route;
- Cube Utilization: Displays how much cubic volume is actually utilized throughout the entire route based on the aggregated data of all route stops (in percentage).
Once enabled, the Cube, Cube Maximum, and Cube Utilization values of the entire route are aggregated based on the cubic volume data of all route stops and displayed in the Summary Table at the bottom of the interactive map. To get an overview of how the cubic volume is distributed throughout the entire route, you can use the Route Manifest. Learn more about how to use the Route Manifest to view the cubic volume of each stop.
Depending on the Maximum Number of Routes/Vehicles, Maximum Route Duration, and Maximum Volume per Route constraints settings, the system automatically plans the corresponding number of equally-sized and efficiently optimized routes. When the Maximum Volume per Route constraint is exceeded for one route, new routes are planned accordingly.
If multiple routes are planned, then they are automatically opened in the Routes Map. When the system plans multiple routes, each route is suffixed with its corresponding progression Part number next to the original name of the route.
Once you planned one or multiple routes, you can start assigning users and vehicles to them. To do so, click on the gear icon next to a particular route and then select the preferred option from the list. Learn more about all methods to assign users and vehicles to your routes.
When the applied Maximum Number of Routes/Vehicles constraint is exceeded, the system may automatically plan one or multiple Unrouted Destinations routes. The Unrouted Destinations routes contain the stops that did not fit into the planned routes due to the exceeded optimization constraints. When you have one or multiple Unrouted Destinations routes, you can use the timeline in the Routes Map for moving stops between different routes.
Route4Me’s interactive timeline that operates in real time allows you to move stops from one route to another and instantly synchronize all changes across all associated devices. To do so, click and hold on a particular stop from one route and then drag it to the preferred sequence position on another route. Thus, whenever you have stops that did not fit into planned routes due to the exceeded optimization constraints, you can always manually distribute them to different routes in a fast and effortless manner.
Route4Me provides near real-time data synchronization across all associated computer and mobile devices so that any changes made from the Route4Me Web Platform can be effortlessly synchronized with Route4Me’s iOS and Android mobile apps in a matter of seconds. Thus, managers and dispatchers back at the office can modify the cubic volume of any stop/order and instantly synchronize these updates with the mobile devices of the drivers who are out in the field.
Learn more about how to view and manage cubic volume constraints.
