When an optimization request is initiated, the user must indicate whether eligible loads, trips, and/or bookings should be included. Loads, trips, and bookings that meet eligibility requirements (see the See Also links) are forwarded to the optimizer. Loads not attached to a trip or booking must also meet filter criteria as specified on the Create Optimization Request – Select Loads (Employee) page. Trips must also meet filter criteria as specified on the Create Optimization Request – Select Trips (Employee) page. Bookings must also meet filter criteria as specified on the Create Optimization Request – Select Bookings (Employee) page.
Re-planning occurs when existing loads, trips, and bookings are returned to the optimizer.
An existing load being re-planned by the optimizer could be modified in any of the following ways:
An existing trip being re-planned by the optimizer could be modified as follows:
An existing booking being re-planned by the optimizer could be modified as follows:
Optimization is an asynchronous process that may take several minutes to complete. Total execution time varies depending on the volume of data (number of shipments, loads, trips, and bookings), complexity of tariffs, sophistication of optimization strategy, and hardware configuration.
Restricted Access to Loads, Trips, and Bookings During Optimization
Loads, trips, bookings and shipment legs being re-planning (optimized) will be ineligible for most activities in Transportation Manager (for example, tender, set to planned, interactive rating) until the optimization process completes. The Cancel Re-Planning operation is available to make a specific load, trip, or booking immediately available for any applicable operation. If requested, this will invalidate any proposed changes to this load, trip, or booking made by the optimizer. There is no equivalent operation for shipment legs.
Loads in planning status of free are not eligible for re-planning.
While most changes to loads, trips, bookings and shipment legs will be disallowed while re-planning is active, there are several operations that will be allowed during optimization. Generally, these are operations that would usually be triggered by an external party (for example, Tender Accept/Reject is performed by a Carrier). Because concurrent updates to shipments and loads are allowed during re-planning, the possibility exists that the proposed update will no longer be permitted when the optimization process completes. When this occurs, the proposed updates will not be applied. This may result in a routable shipment leg being "orphaned" (not assigned to any load). When changes proposed by optimizer are rejected during write-back to Transportation Manager, this creates the possibility that the "web" of loads/shipments will be corrupted.
Impact on Stops for Loads where Planning Status is Picked
If a load in picked planning status is modified based on re-planning:
You should set planning status for loads where this information must be preserved to packed or locked.
Combining Loads to Create or Extend Trips
Pre-existing loads can be combined to create a new trip if either of these situations is applicable:
A pre-existing load can be attached to an existing trip if either of these situations is applicable:
Using Existing Loads to Create or Extend Bookings
Pre-existing load(s) can be used to create a new booking if the Operational Status for all load(s) is Open or Planned.
A pre-existing load can be attached to an existing booking if the load’s Operational Status is Open or Planned and the status of the booking’s Operational Status is Open or Planned.
Concurrent / Consecutive Optimization Requests
If an optimization request is created while a previous request is still active, it is possible that the second request will not start until the first request is complete. If the second request indicated that existing loads should be considered, all eligible loads that exist at the time the second request starts will be selected. This could include loads that were just released when the previous optimization request ended. This would mean that the load would continue to be unavailable for certain Transportation Manager activities.
Depending on hardware configuration, multiple optimization requests could be active concurrently. Should this occur, it would not be possible for the same load, trip, booking or shipment leg to be considered for re-planning by any more than one concurrently active optimization request. While there is no way to explicitly associate loads, trips, or bookings with specific optimization requests, when initiating an optimization request, filter criteria can be used to restrict loads and/or trips and/or bookings selected for re-planning.