Automation of the online store delivery service

Posted on 14.11.202414.11.2024 by admin

We all had to be in the role of a buyer of an online store, and if we order goods for home delivery, then everyone knows what it means «delivery will be approximately in the afternoon», i.e. the recipient needs to allocate almost a whole day in anticipation of delivery, which can be performed even in the evening. You must admit, it will be very convenient for you, as a client, specify the exact time range during which the order will be delivered to you. This article describes how, using the ANT-Logistics service, you can deliver orders to your customers at a specified time. Your customers will quickly appreciate it and will certainly come back for new purchases.

In order for the system to correctly generate a schedule for the movement of cars by delivery points, the following parameters must be entered:

• Average vehicle speed — if you do not know the average speed of vehicles on the route — indicate 25 km/h 1;

• If delivery is carried out by trucks (vehicles that fall under the signs restricting the movement of trucks) — indicate the type of vehicle Truck 2. If delivery is carried out by vehicles with a carrying capacity of up to 3.5 tons — indicate the type Cars for such vehicles.

• Also indicate the beginning and end of the driver’s working 3:

Pay attention! If you are delivering bulky, heavy goods, you must select the required units for accounting for the capacity of vehicles: pieces, kg, m3, and set restrictions of their capacity in the properties.

The list of applications must be uploaded as an Excel file, in which:

• In the column Unload_Time — you need to specify the average time the vehicle is at one or another delivery point;

• If the client ordered delivery within the specified time range — in the TimeWork_Beg and TimeWork_End columns — indicate the beginning and end of the working time for delivery to the point:

In the Service — Settings , set the values as in the illustration below:

Note! If you also take into account the capacity of vehicles — Penalty coefficient for vehicle overload, m/kg, set to High.

After calculating the routes, make sure that there are no delays to the points and there are no overworkings of the driver (there are no warnings in the route number area) and the specified time for individual points are observed, in the example, this is point Kangoo 364 with a specified delivery time window of 11:00-12:00. Now you can send an SMS notification to your customers with the delivery time:

For those online stores that combine the delivery of customer orders and the collection of goods from the supplier, the functionality of «intermediate loading warehouses» is offered. Routes in this case are optimized in such a way that delivery to customers is carried out on the way to the next supplier. Assistance in setting up and training this functionality is provided by ANT-Logistics experts. To receive it, you need to make a request to support@ant-logistics.com

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.

How to divide requests between vehicles equally?

Posted on 14.11.202414.11.2024 by admin

It’s no secret that vehicles can suddenly break down, a driver can get sick, or more vehicles than usual can be needed. Accordingly, for reinsurance, it is better to have a small reserve of vehicles. What if there are more vehicles than necessary for a daily delivery, but the work, at the same time, needs to be divided among all drivers?

The most obvious solution — to divide the points equally between the couriers — does not actually distribute the load evenly: there are different distances between the points, and the time spent at the points waiting for unloading can vary greatly. As a result, one driver can finish all the work by lunchtime, while the other is busy until the evening. In such cases, we suggest aligning the work of couriers in time.

ANT-Logistics will take into account the number of points, speed limits, distance differences and unloading times — as a result, you will get efficient routes that will be as similar as possible in time.

There are 2 options for calculating with time alignment.

First one, you need to distribute the load equally among the vehicles, but at the same time, the number of vehicles involved must be reasonable. In this case, having selected vehicles, check the box — Align routes in time, indicating Yes :

After completing the calculation, we see: firstly, out of all the selected vehicles, the service used only 3, and secondly, all routes are approximately the same in duration:

The second option assumes a balance in time for all selected vehicles. Do everything as in the previous example, but specify Yes in the additional parameters — in the Use all autos vehicles field:

After performing the calculation, you can make sure that all selected vehicles are involved in the delivery, while their work time is as balanced as possible:

Service points by day of the week

Posted on 14.11.202414.11.2024 by admin

Several of our clients contacted us with the task of taking into account the working days of the sale points. For example, an point accepts goods only on Mondays, and if such an point accidentally appears in order on any other day, route calculation must be blocked. Thus, the driver will not waste time and fuel.

In order to display the work schedule of points by day, go to the Table settings 1, select the Directories — Sales points 2, in the sub-box Schedule 3 — Editing record 4 — Show 5.

There are 2 ways to set the point’s work schedule:

1. Select a point, click twice to open Editing record 1 tab, Schedule field 2, select the necessary days of the week 3.

2. Excel file. Add the Schedule column, indicate in front of each point the working days of the week separated by commas, where: 1 — Monday, 2 — Tuesday, etc. Save and upload the file to ANT-Logistics.

Go to Service — Configuration — Documentation — Rule for controlling the schedule of SalePoints visit — select Block routes calculation.

Now, if a request accidentally gets a point that is not serviced on the specified day, route calculation will be blocked with a blocking warning displayed on the screen.