Route 

Definition

Sequence of legs that are connected by transshipment locations.

Use

The route represents a framework or corridor that comprises a multitude of trips, in other words, possible concrete itineraries. The system uses routes to determine trips in route determination.

The following figure shows a route with three legs that are connected by the transshipment locations P and M. It also shows a (red) trip for the case where all stop-offs in the middle leg are optional and a (blue) trip for the case where these stop-offs are mandatory.

You can form cross-docking routes from routes.

Structure

Leg

A leg is assigned uniquely to a route, in other words, it cannot be part of multiple routes. You define legs as a sequence of stops. Each stop is a supply chain unit (SCU), in other words, a location or zone. The stops that connect two consecutive legs must be locations.

By specifying whether the stop-offs are optional or mandatory, you define which locations the carrier is to serve in which order.

You assign exactly one means of transport to each leg. In most cases, adjacent legs of a route have different means of transport. However, it might also be necessary to change legs due to various properties of the legs. Nonetheless, in most cases, the legs of a route represent its unimodal parts.

Stop

At stop level, you can assign a mode of transport for foreign trade to each location. The system then takes into account this mode of transport for outbound shipments in the case of exports. The value that represents this mode of transport is dependent on the country in which the location lies. The system does not check if the mode of transport semantically matches the means of transport used for the leg of this location. Since, in most cases, the system cannot define a unique country for zones, it does not permit you to define a mode of transport for such stops.

In static route determination, the system determines the mode of transport for foreign trade for outbound shipments (trips) in the following sequence:

       1.      Country of first location

       2.      Part of the location sequence of the trip that runs from the first location within this country

       3.      The first location in this part of the location sequence when going backward that is a stop along the leg and for which a mode of transport for foreign trade was defined, in other words, the location that lies closest to the border.

Carrier Assignment

You can assign as many different carriers as you want to your means of transport or any of its subordinate means of transport for the leg. You can specify whether dangerous goods can be transported for each such combination of leg, means of transport, and carrier.

In static route determination, the system defines the carrier for a trip as the carrier for the first leg who can transport dangerous goods, if required, and for which you have defined the lowest costs for transportation along this leg in the carrier profile.

Departure Calendar Assignment

You can define a departure calendar for the leg. If the departures for a specific request type do not correspond with the departure calendar for the leg, you can also define a specific departure calendar for this request type.

The system takes into account departure calendars when scheduling a trip for both the start location of the request and for each transshipment location served.

Validity and Restrictions

You can restrict the validity of a route by specifying the following:

●      A validity period that the system compares with the cutoff time of a single request.

●      Permitted shipping conditions that the system compares with the shipping conditions of a single request.

●      Permitted request types that the system compares with the request type of a single request.

You can specify permitted request types at the header level of the route and for each stop within the leg (customer, for example). The request types at stop level must be part of the request types that you specify at header level. Request types at stop level have a higher priority than those at header level. Accordingly, the request types at header level are valid for those stops for which you have not defined separate request types.

●      Permitted transportation groups that the system compares with the transportation groups of the products in a single request.

●      Weight limits for single and collective requests that the system compares with the total weight of the products in the single request or in multiple combined requests

You can also specify weight limits for single and collective requests for each stop within a leg. These limits overwrite the relevant limits that you specify for the route at header level.

●      Volume limits for single and collective requests that the system compares with the total volume of the products in the single request or in multiple combined requests

You can also specify volume limits for single and collective requests for each stop within a leg. These limits overwrite the relevant limits that you specify for the route at header level.

●      Dimension limits (length, width, and height)

You can specify the maximum dimensions that a product is permitted to have to be valid for a certain route. The system compares these dimensions with those that you defined in the product master.

You can also define various lead times for the different request types. These influence the start time of a trip in scheduling.