Calculation of routes by product groups

In November 2017, a new service feature was added - calculation of routes with the condition of distributing groups of goods by vehicles assigned to them. For example, goods of the "frozen" group have to be transported only by vehicles specially equipped for this purpose, nevertheless other goods should not get into the refrigerator. 

Start setting - go to Settings, Accounting tab, opposite the Use Product Groups field, select Yes and save the changes:

Create product groups in the Product Groups directory. In our example, two groups are created: Frozen and Fruits and vegetables - a group that does not require special transportation conditions.

Then go to the Products directory 1 and add the necessary products. When adding record in the  Name  field 2, select a product group from the drop-down list (in our example, it is Frozen or Fruits and vegetables):

Let's go to the Vehicle directory 1, select the vehicle and open the Prod.Group  tab 2 in the subwindow. From the drop-down list, select the product group that this car will transport 3 :

In the same way, we will link product groups to other vehicles from the directory. If it's necessary, you can select several product groups for the machine by adding product groups using the + button on the control panel for the elements of the directory 1:

Prepare an Excel file for importing delivery points. To do this, add the following columns to it:

• Product_Id 1 - product code. Here you can specify the code of the product that needs to be delivered to this point. If several goods need to be delivered there, the point must be duplicated the required number of times .
• Request_Num 2 – request number. This field specifies the request (order) number for the delivery point.
  
  
  
  Pay attention! For goods of the same product group which are delivered to the same point, the request number must match. But for different points or for different product groups, the request number must not match.

Upload the file to the server, click Generate routes, and in the Additional parameters select the Compatibility 1 tab. Then, in the Control rule for product groups 2 field, set the required parameter:

• The option Consider the compatibility of points and vehicles - while forming routes, distributes product groups by vehicles intended for them. This option allows you to transport several groups of goods in one car, if this option is specified in the vehicle settings. For example, if the product groups Frozen and Documents are specified for a refrigerated truck in the vehicle settings, then if the Consider the compatibility of points and vehicles option is enabled, the service can place both product groups in this vehicle at the same time.
• The Separate and account for compatibility parameter must be activated if it is required to transport strictly only one product group in each vehicle, even if the vehicle settings indicate the possibility of transporting several product groups. For example, if for a refrigerated truck the Frozen and Documents product groups are specified in the vehicle settings, then if the Separate and account for compatibility option is enabled, the service will place only one product group (either frozen or documents) in this vehicle.

After calculating the routes, it is clear that the product groups are distributed strictly according to the vehicles assigned to them:

If you are interested in the described functionality, we are ready to demonstrate its operation, perform the necessary settings and provide access to the service. To do this, leave a request on the ANT-Logistics website.