For each eligible itinerary for a delivery schedule, the scheduling process will determine if any of the timetable entries are compatible with the pickup and delivery dates for the transaction and the hours of operation for the shipping locations.
Scheduling will vary based on the Date Basis for each timetable entry.
Fixed Dates
When the Date Basis for a timetable entry is Fixed Dates, the delivery schedule can be configured with explicit dates and times for both arrival and departure. Potentially, the arrival and departure at an intermediate point could be on different dates. Departure Date and Departure Time Range are not applicable for the last location on the itinerary while Arrival Date and Arrival Time Range are not applicable for the first location.
See the table below for an example of a Fixed Date timetable entry:
Location |
Arrival Date |
Arrival Time (from) |
Arrival Time (to) |
Departure Date |
Departure Time(from) |
Departure Time(to) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A |
|
|
|
09/01/2010 |
06:00 |
06:00 |
B |
09/02/2010 |
18:00 |
18:00 |
09/03/2010 |
10:00 |
10:00 |
C |
09/04/2010 |
01:00 |
01:00 |
|
|
|
Day of Week
When the Date Basis for a timetable entry is Day of Week, Departure Day defines the day of the week when freight will leave the location while Arrival Day indicates when it will arrive. Departure Day and Departure Time Range are not applicable for the last location on the itinerary while Arrival Day and Arrival Time Range are not applicable for the first location.
Instance of Delivery Day also defines the duration between the departure from the previous location and arrival at the current location. A value of 1 indicates the first occurrence of the designated day of the week (which might be the same day as the departure from the previous location), a value of 2 indicate the second occurrence of the day of week, etc. This is not applicable for the first location on the itinerary.
Instance of Pickup Day defines the duration between the arrival at an intermediate location and the subsequent departure from the same location. Again, a value of 1 indicates the first occurrence of the designated day of the week, a value of 2 indicate the second occurrence of the day of week, etc. This is only applicable for intermediate points on the itinerary (For example: not first or last location).
See the table below for an example of a Day of Week timetable entry:
Loc |
Arrival Day |
Arrival Time (from) |
Arrival Time(to) |
Instance of Delivery Day |
Departure Date |
Departure Time(from) |
Departure Time(to) |
Instance of Pickup Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A |
|
|
|
0 |
Monday |
06:00 |
06:00 |
0 |
B |
Tuesday |
18:00 |
18:00 |
2 |
Wednesday |
10:00 |
10:00 |
1 |
C |
Friday |
01:00 |
01:00 |
1 |
|
|
|
0 |
In this case, arrival at Location B would occur on the second Tuesday after departure from Location A (that is, 8 days later). Departure from Location B would occur the day after arrival at Location B. Arrival at Location C would be two days after departure from Location B. In total, arrival at Location C would be on the 11 days after departure from Location A.
Elapsed Days
When the Date Basis for a timetable entry is Elapsed Days, Arrival Elapsed Days defines the duration in days from the departure from the previous location on the itinerary to the arrival at the current location. Departure Time Range is not applicable for the last location on the itinerary while Arrival Elapsed Days and Arrival Time Range are not applicable for the first location.
Departure Elapsed Days defines the duration in days between the arrival at an intermediate location and the subsequent departure from the same location. This is only applicable for intermediate points on the itinerary (that is, not first or last location).
The Business Days ID referenced by the delivery schedule will define the business days.
See the table below for an example of an Elapsed Days timetable entry:
Location |
Arrival Time (from) |
Arrival Time (to) |
Arrival Elapsed Days |
Departure Time(from)
|
Departure Time(to)
|
Departure Elapsed Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A |
|
|
|
06:00 |
06:00 |
0 |
B |
08:00 |
08:00 |
3 |
10:00 |
10:00 |
1 |
C |
01:00 |
01:00 |
2 |
|
|
0 |
In this case, arrival at Location B would occur three business days after departure from Location A. Departure from Location B would occur one business day after arrival at Location B. Arrival at Location C would be two business days after departure from Location B. In total, arrival at Location C would be 6 business days after departure from Location A.
Times for Timetable Entries
It is assumed that the range defined by Arrival From and Arrival To is on the same day. Likewise, it is assumed that the range for Departure From and Departure To is on the same day.
All times are expressed in the time zone context of the location where pickup or delivery will occur.
Web UI will prompt with warning message if timetable entry has a case where arrival at a location occurs “before” departure from the previous location. The configuration is allowed as it could be valid (for example, for expedited services that cross the International Date Line moving East).
Holidays
For timetable entries where Date Basis is Elapsed Days or Day of Week, if there are any business hour exceptions (that is, Holidays) configured for dates that fall between pickup and delivery, the duration will be extended by one day for each holiday. Pickup or delivery could occur on a date for which there is a business hour exception provided there are override hours of operation defined for the exception. In this case, the hours of operation for the business hours exception will constrain pickup or delivery.
Waiting, Loading & Unloading Times not Applicable
Excess waiting times and loading/unloading times will not be considered or computed for any stop type when scheduling using a delivery schedule.
Minimum Transit Hours
Consider the following timetable entry of a delivery schedule being used for a load moving from Locations A -> B:
Location |
Arrival Time (from) |
Arrival Time (to) |
Arrival Elapsed Days |
Departure Time(from)
|
Departure Time(to)
|
Departure Elapsed Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A |
|
|
|
06:00 |
12:00 |
0 |
B |
13:00 |
19:00 |
0 |
07:00 |
13:00 |
1 |
C |
06:00 |
12:00 |
1 |
|
|
|
Assuming business hours and holidays for shipments and locations are not constraints and Minimum Transit Time for the timetable entry point is not defined, scheduling results will be computed by assigning the latest possible pickup time and earliest possible delivery time. The results might be:
Stop |
Stop Type |
Computed Arrival |
Computed Departure |
Transit time between A and B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A |
Pick |
08/01/2010 12:00 |
08/01/2010 12:00 |
|
B |
Drop |
08/01/2010 13:00 |
08/01/2010 13:00 |
1 hour |
The computed transit time may be unrealistically short. If the actual transit time needed is 7 hours and pickup occurs at Location A at 09:00, drop at Location B should not occur before 16:00.
Minimum Transit Time defines the minimum duration that would be required to travel between the previous location and the current location. When the value is zero, it will mean that the scheduling will assign the latest pickup time and earliest delivery time.
Minimum Transit Time will be considered regardless of Date Basis.
Minimum Dwell Hours
Minimum Dwell Time defines the minimum duration that freight would be required to remain at an intermediate location.
For the timetable entry, since the Dwell Time at Location B is 18 hours, the equipment that arrives on a given day will not leave until the following day.
Loc |
Arrival Time (from) |
Arrival Time(to) |
Arrival Elapsed Days |
Minimum Transit Hours |
Departure Time(from) |
Departure Time(to) |
Departure Elapsed Days |
Minimum Dwell Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A |
|
|
|
Monday |
06:00 |
12:00 |
0 |
|
B |
13:00 |
19:00 |
0 |
7 |
07:00 |
13:00 |
1 |
18 |
C |
06:00 |
12:00 |
1 |
23 |
|
|
|
|
Scheduling
Scheduling will be performed for each consecutive pair of locations for a transaction. Constraints from all of the following sources will be considered:
The computed dates/times for a stop on a transaction’s itinerary will constrain the next stop. For a route with stops that do not match consecutive itinerary points on the timetable entry, the Transit Days, Minimum Transit Time and Minimum Dwell Time for all intermediate itinerary points will be included when computing the schedule.
Maximum Elapsed Time calculation for tariff restrictions will be enforced using the interval between the Computed Arrival Date/Time of the first stop to the Computed Departure Date/Time of the last stop.
When the computed earliest possible arrival time is later than the stop Itinerary Point’s defined Arrival From Date/Time (for example, due to Minimum Transit Time, Minimum Dwell Time), the defined Itinerary Point’s Arrival From Date/Time will be overridden by the computed date/time such that only the adjusted arrival window will be available for scheduling. For example: when the defined arrival window is 08:00-12:00, and the computed earliest possible arrival time is 10:30, then 10:30 – 12:00 will be the adjusted available window for scheduling. When the accumulated transit and dwell hours are zero or the computed arrival time is earlier, the full interval defined by the arrival window will be available for scheduling.
When route stops do not match the itinerary exactly and intermediate itinerary points exist between two stops, only the Minimum Transit Hours and Minimum Dwell Hours from such intermediate itinerary points will be considered; the windows for these locations will not be considered.
When Minimum Dwell Hours is defined for the itinerary point that matches the stop, the system will compute the earliest possible departure time by adding the Minimum Dwell Hours for the location to the computed earliest possible arrival time. For example, if the computed earliest possible arrival time at the stop is 12:30 and the Minimum Dwell Hours is 0.5 hours, then the earliest possible departure time will be 13:00. When the computed earliest possible departure time is later than the defined Itinerary Point’s Departure From Date/Time, the defined itinerary point’s Departure From Date/Time will be overridden by the computed date/time. In this case, only the adjusted departure window will be available for scheduling. For example: when the defined departure window is 10:00-17:00, and the computed earliest possible departure time is 13:00, then 13:00 – 17:00 will be the adjusted available window for scheduling. When Minimum Dwell Hours is not defined or the computed earliest possible departure time is earlier, the interval defined by the departure window will be available for scheduling.