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Kilometers or money?

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 Have you ever wondered which calculation model to choose in ANT-Logistics: per kilometers or per money? In this article, we describe calculation models and their using.

There are two calculation models in ANT-Logistics:

— per km – this value is set by default. The calculation model «per km» is used when the selection of optimal routes must be carried out according to the minimum mileage and route duration.

— per money — is used when the tariffing of cars is applied. The selection of optimal routes in this case is carried out according to the principle: the cheapest route is the most optimal. The «recalculation per money» model is also useed to calculate route profitability.

Let us give you someexamples of the using different calculation models.
Prepare the data for the generating of routes. To do this, load order points using a method that is convenient for you: manually, using an Excel file or API. Then configure the vehicle parameters. In our example, we used two vehicles: Mercedes 1 and Mercedes 2, which had exactly the same parameters (carrying capacity, operating time, etc.), except the route template and tariffs.

Let’s assume that Mercedes 1  is a car owned by the company and its tariff is 9 USD per each kilometer 1.Let’s set the route template: in our case, we designated the start and end of the route with point Warehouse 2. 

Car Mercedes 2 is a hired transport and its tariff is accorded to the principle: 7 USD per each kilometer, starting from the 10th, and an additional payment is 500 USD for route 1. Set the start and end of the route with the point Office 2.

If you don’t know how to enter tariffs or a route template, we recommend you to read the articles  Vehicles’ Tariffing and Setting up route templates.

Calculation model: recalculation per km

Go to the menu Service-Settings-Accounting 1. In the Calculation model field, select Recalculation per km 2.

Generate a route by ticking the boxes for available vehicles 1 (in our case, these are Mercedes 1 and Mercedes 2). In the Additional parameters we set «Yes» in the field Consider traffic 2. 

The service generated route using Mercedes 1 and Mercedes 2 vehicles with a mileage of 268.09 km. The expences of this route is 2411.

Calculation model: Recalculation per money

Go to the menu Service-Settings-Accounting 1. In the Calculation model field, select Recalculation per money 2. 

Then similarly to the previous example, form a route by ticking the boxes for available vehicles (in our case, these are Mercedes 1 and Mercedes 2) 1. In the Additional parameters we set «Yes» in the field Consider traffic 2. 

The service generated route using Mercedes 1 and Mercedes 2 vehicles with a mileage of 275.71 km. The expences of this route is 2257.

As you can see, the service gives priority to the route where the mileage will be the smallest (not taking into account the tariffing of vehicles and expenses)when calculates per km, and it gives priority to the route with the lowest expenses when calculates for money.

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

Table Settings

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 You can customize the display of fields on the screen: hide and move fields, change the width of columns in the ANT-Logistics service .

To do this, go to the Directories-Table Settings 1. If you need to display of fields only for yourself, incorporate Mode: apply only for the current user 2 — the icon will be highlighted in pink. If the field display settings are performed for all users of the service (Administrator, Logist, etc.), then this mode does not need to be incorporated. 

Pay attention! The settings for the current user take precedence over the settings for everyone.

Then select the desired line — a sub box will open with a list of available fields and data on their display. Double-click on the line with the required field and in the Editing Record 3 box, make the necessary changes. To move rows, enable Mode: Move record 4. If you need to reset to the table settings to whose you had maded previously, then click the Reset to default button 5: 

Pay attention! Tables that have saved default settings are highlighted in green. Tables whose have been modified by the user are highlighted in black.

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.

Cash register in your smartphone: connecting Defin Pay

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In modern mobile commerce, the convenience and speed of payments directly affect the quality of the service. That is why ANT-Logistics has implemented integration with the Defin pay payment service, which allows you to accept payments directly from your smartphone — via NFC or QR code, with automatic fiscalization and receipt. A smartphone with an NFC feature turns into a cash register: payment is made instantly, data is recorded, and a receipt is sent to the client’s phone.

The function is available on a paid basis and is connected upon request.

We have prepared step-by-step instructions on how to enable the function, configure all parameters, and start using new features today

Step 1. Registration in Defin and basic settings

After registering in the Defin service, you will be given a merchantId — a unique company identifier. This code must be transferred to your manager in ANT-Logistics — that’s when the payment module is activated in the mobile application.

Immediately determine which types of payments your employees will use:

  • cash
  • NFC
  • QR code

You can choose one option or all of them. The list of methods is transferred to Defin — after which they will appear in the application automatically.

Step 2. Setting up cash registers and cashiers

The integration allows you to clearly define who and where accepts payments

How does it work?

For each employee who will work with payments (driver, forwarder, etc.), you need to set two parameters:

  • terminalId — the identifier of the cash register or sale point;
  • cashierID — a unique cashier number.

In addition, you will need a bank token, which is issued by Defin or a partner bank. The token can be one for all or individual for each cashier.

Please note! Acceptable characters for terminalId and cashierID: Latin letters, numbers and the underscore «_».

Next,

  • send the list of terminalId to Defin — without them, the payment will not work;
  • in the mobile application, add each cashier to the «Employees» directory.

To do this, perform the following actions:

  • go to the directory and click the «+» button;

In the Adding record window — Employee field, specify the person’s real full name.

In the Other tab — the Fiscal cash desk num field, enter: terminalId|cashierId.

As a reminder: cashierID must be unique for each employee. But terminalId can be repeated if the point of sale is the same.

Step 3. Linking the cashier to the route

For the system to work correctly, the cashier must be assigned to the route as a driver or forwarder. This can be done:

  • manually in the route properties;
  • directly in the template.

If both the driver and the forwarder are specified in the route, the system will take the driver’s data if both have fiscal numbers.

Step 4. Transfer debts from ERP/CRM

For the payment to work, the system must know what exactly is being paid for.

Transfer the list of debts from your ERP or CRM via the API method: DEX_MobiAgent_Import_Debts

Do not forget to specify the payment currency.

Step 5. How to prohibit independent payments

By default, drivers can create payments without debt — manually. To do this, click the «+» button on the «Debts and payments» screen. The «New payment» window will open, where you can enter the necessary data yourself.

If this practice is undesirable, it is easy to restrict it.

To do this:

  • In the service, on the toolbar, enable the “Map object properties” checkbox.
  • Go to the “Table settings” directory.
  • Find the “Mobi agent (Payments)” document and click on the corresponding field.
  • In the “Properties” window, click on the “Forbiddance” field — an editing window will open.

Check the “Adding a new payment without debt” box for the “Driver” role.

After that, the “+” button will disappear, and it will be impossible to create a new payment without a document.

Step 6. Preparing the application for work

Each driver or forwarder must choose a payment method in the application: Settings > General > Payment solution > Defin pay

After that, payment types (cash, NFC, etc.) will appear as tiles in the “New payment” window.

Please note! For the payment to work, the route must be loaded on the desired date, and the employee must be assigned as a driver or forwarder. It is from the route that the application receives fiscal data of the cash register and the cashier.

It is not recommended to use «Debts and Payments» without a route, because then the cashier cannot be identified.

Step. 7 Fiscalization with a check: a full cycle

Not only can you accept payment, but also immediately generate a fiscal check with a list of goods.

How does it work?

     1. Add goods to the delivery request.

It is from the request that the goods will be transferred to the fiscal check.

Fill in the required fields for each item:

  • Name — the name of the product from the directory;
  • Quantity — this field is used as a universal unit of measurement in the receipt (the fields «Weight» and «V³» are not taken into account);
  • Price — if the price is not specified in the application, the price from the directory will be used.

     2. Transfer the list of products in the application

Use the API method DEX_Import_Request_JSON with the fields:

  • Product_Id — product ID
  • Qty — quantity
  • Price_Sale — price (or used from the directory)

Be sure to fill in the Request number field — the goods will be tied to the debt by it.

API method: DEX_Import_Request_JSON, Comps parameter, Request_Num field.

The debt must contain the same number — DEX_MobiAgent_Import_Debts method, DocNumber field.

Now, when paying the debt at the point, the mobile application will transfer the list of goods found by the application number to the check.

     3. The amount in the check is calculated automatically

Please note! The system does not use the amount from the debt document — it is calculated dynamically based on the list of goods and their prices.

     4. Control over editing goods

To prevent drivers from changing goods before payment, prohibit this in the settings: Table settings > Document «Routes (Products)» > Forbiddance «Change products at SP»

When the restriction is set, the driver:

  • will not be able to edit the quantity of the issued goods;
  • will not be able to add new goods to the list.

     5. Send the check immediately to the client

Fill in the contact field Phone in the format 380950136281 — the fiscal check will be automatically sent to this number.

Pay Attention! If the format is specified incorrectly, the check will not be delivered!

Integration with Defin pay is a step towards the complete digitalization of the payment process: a convenient form of payment for customers, transparent fiscalization, full reporting for the company. You manage not only the route and delivery, but also every cent that comes to the cash register. And all this in one mobile application.

We remind you: in addition to integration with Defin pay, ANT-Logistics also offers the ability to accept card payments through payment terminals. 

If you are interested in this opportunity, leave a request on the ANT-Logistics website. We will demonstrate the service, help with setup, and answer all your questions.

Looking Back at 2022

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Let’s recall the main updates of ANT-Logistics for 2022.

  1. We realized the possibility of planning international routes. Route «Kyiv-Warsaw-Prague-Dresden-Munich-Milan»? It’s possible!
  2. We recently released a new functionality — taking into account the number of ramps for loading cars in the warehouse. Thanks to this update, there will be no queues of cars on warehouse ramps.
  3. The schedule of visiting points is a tool that supervisors have been using for several years to plan the work of sales representatives. The developers have updated the functionality and now users can configure individual templates for visiting points.
  4. At the beginning of the war, ANT-Logistics had the opportunity to display the actual movement of transport on the roads — Heat map.
  5. We also took care of your customers — now you can send them a link to the location of the car or the courier. The ability to track the package and contact the courier significantly increases customer loyalty, and he will want to come back to you again and again.
  6. What’s new in the mobile application?
    • Terminal payment
    • Recalculation of the route, editing of the order of detour points by the driver
    • Several photos in the tasks
    • Receiving tasks from the server.
  1. 2022 was also marked by a fairly large number of integrations and cooperation with other services (CRM systems, GPS providers, SMS service).

And most importantly, we significantly accelerated all calculations.

Follow the updates on our social networks and Viber and Telegram groups.

Summary panel customization

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ANT-Logistics service was added a new feature — now you can count the Summary Panel in the Document «Routes» and «Fact. routes». Users of the service can choose what information they want to see and what information they don’t need and have to be hidden: mileage on routes, quantity points on routes, expenses of routes, etc. 

Go to the Table Settings Directory and select the Documents / Routes (Summary) or Documents / Fact. routes (Results).

Choose in a sub-box needing field and use double click to cause the  Editing Record box. In the General tab, in the Show field 1 , choose the most appropriate option to display. You can also move the fields — to enable Mode: Move record 2.

After the performed actions, the Summary panel in the Routes Document or the Fact. routes Document will change according to the settings made.

Pay attention! Fields that were entered manually will be highlighted in black instead of the standard green in the table settings.

You can learn more about the capabilities of the Table Settings Directory in the article Table Settings.

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.

Password recovery, login change and additional profile settings

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What to do if you forgot your login password? Or maybe the mail specified during registration is outdated and you have to change your login? You will find answers to these and other questions in this article.

1. If you forgot your service login password

Enter the login (the e-mail specified during registration) in the Username field 1. Press the Forgot your password button 2. An email from support@ant-logistics.com.ua will be sent to the specified E-mail with a link to reset the password 3 . Follow the link to get a new password. Further, it is recommended to change the password according to the instructions in paragraph 2. 

Pay attention! If you have not received an email support@ant-logistics.com.ua to your email, please check your Spam folder.

2. If you need to change your login or password

Let’s go to Profile 1. In the Change login / password tab 2 , select the necessary action: Change login or Change password. It is possible to change the login and password at the same time and separately. To change the login — enter a new email in the User field , to change the password — data in the fields Current password and New password. 

Pay attention! While changing your login, you must enter the details of the mail to which you have access, as it will be used if you need to recover your password.

3. Enable or disable assistive features

In the User Profile, in the Other tab 1, you can enable or disable additional features of the service:

  • Show. assistant 2 – show or hide the service assistant, which gives tips on how to use the service (you can also do it  in a System help — Show assistant 3 ).
  • Show. additional buttons 4 – show or hide Quick access panel 5 (Import requests, Geocode points, Calculate routes, Clear request, Delete routes, Calculation settings).

If you have not been able to complete the above steps on your own, contact the technical support service.

Calculation settings templates

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Do you often change route calculation parameters? For example, today you plan city routes with geo-zones, and tomorrow — intercity routes. Or have you selected the optimal parameters for the calculation and would like to save them for future use?

So that you don’t have to remember and choose the necessary parameters for the calculation every time. We added the option of using Calculation settings templates. Now you can quickly and easily select the necessary settings.

We will describe a small instruction manual for using Calculation Settings Templates.

Creation of the Calculation Settings Template

We select the necessary settings in Additional parameters. Next, to save the current parameters in the tab «General» 1, click on Templates 2. The Calculation Settings Templates window will open 3. Add a new template using the «+» button 4. Enter the name of the template 5 and save changes OK 6.

In the same way, you can create several templates.

Pay attention! Editing and deletion of calculation settings templates is possible according to the access hierarchy (for example, a user with «logist» access will not be able to delete a template created by a user with «administrator» access).

Selection of the Calculation Settings Template

In order not to perform all the calculation settings manually each time, simply select the necessary template from the previously saved ones. Tab «General» 1 – Templates 2 – select the required template – click Choose 3.

The selected settings will be automatically applied in the Additional parameters.

When performing the next calculation, the settings of the previous calculation will be set by default.

Return to initial settings

If you need to delete the selected settings in Additional parameters, click Reset by default to initial settings. After that, all default settings will be used.

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 an application on the ANT-Logistics website.

Delivery priorities from A to Z

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During building routes, it may be necessary to visit certain points at the beginning of the route or, oppositely, at the end. To accomplish this task, our service uses delivery priority. There are several types of priority settings:

  • Priority of geo-zones;
  • Priority of groups of pointts;
  • Priority of an individual point in the order.

In this article, we will show you in detail each type of delivery priority.

To begin with, we suggest you reading the rules of using priorities:

  1.  You can set or use priority only one of the settings or a combination of them.
  2. While setting the point priority, it is necessary to foiiow the principle — the higher value of the point priority is the more important to visit it (100-99-98…3-2-1-0).
  3. If you do not set a point priority value, then such points will have a priority value »Auto». These points can be anywhere along the route.
  4. If a point has one priority by geo-zone, and another by the group of points it belongs to, it is assigned a higher priority value. »Auto» is considered as the smallest value. It is used only for a point  ,which hasn’t got other value.
  5. The priority of a point by geo-zone and the priority of a point by a group of points have an equivalent value. I.e. if a point has one priority by geo-zone, and another by a group of points, it is assigned a higher priority value. But the priority of a point by order is of paramount importance — if a priority value from 0 to 100 is specified for the order, this value is accepted for the point, regardless of the values of directories (priority by geo-zones or a group of points).

Geo-zones priority

Geo-zones priority is used  to prioritize points based on their location.

Consider the following example. It is necessary to the VIP points in the city center be served first.

To do this, specify the priorities of geo-zones: go to the Geo-zones 1 directory and open the Edit record field 2. In the Area priority field 3, for the EFXY geo-zone, enter the value «1», for other zones — the value «0»:

 

While generating routes in Additional parameters 1, select the Comps  tab 2. In the Consider the priority of points 3 field, select Yes:

Pay attention! If a point falls into two or more geo-zones, its priority is determined by the priority of the geo-zone with the higher value.

Additional parameters will display the selected settings for generating routes: 

As a result, the route will be calculated in such a way that points that are in the zone with a higher priority will be visited first (in our case, these are points in the city center WRE577,WRE568,WRE563): 

Point Group Priority

The service priority of points can also be determined by the priority of the group that the point belongs to. For example, it is necessary that points from the TMS group are served first, and then points from the TPC group.

To do this, specify the priorities for groups of points: go to the directory Groups of points 1 and open the Editing record 2 box. In the Group Priority field 3, for the TMS group, enter the value «1», for the TPC group — the value «0»: 

While generating routes in the Additional parameters, select the Third tab. In the Consider the priority of points field, select Yes (see the first example in the article).

As a result, the route will be calculated in such a way that the points of the group with a higher priority will be visited first (in our case, these are points WRE80,WRE79,WRE98 from the TMS group): 

Priority of an individual point in the order

In some cases, delivery priority does not depend on the location of points and priority points do not belong to the same group of points. Under such circumstances, it is not possible to use the «Geo-zones priority» or «Point group priority» functionality, and the delivery priority is indicated directly in the application.

Below we will consider several detailed examples of using the Priority of an individual point in an order.

Example 1. There is a VIP point (in our case, WRE1), which should be the first in the route list.

To do this, set the priority for the VIP point higher than for the rest of the points. This action can be performed in several ways:

First way. Preparing an Excel file for importing delivery points, add the Priority_Id column into it. In this column, we indicate the priority value “1” for the WRE1 VIP point, and “0” for the other points. Upload the file to the server. 

Second way. Go to the Requests 1 documents and open the Edit Record 2 field for WRE1. In the Other 3 tab, in the SP Priority 4 field, enter the value «1», for the remaining points — the value «0»: 

While generating routes in the Additional parameters, select the Third tab. In the Consider the priority of points field, select Yes (see the first example in the article).

As a result of the calculation, it can be seen that the WRE1 VIP point is set first in the route: 

Example 2. There is a point WRE79, from which it is necessary to pick up documents during the route. Further, these documents must be taken to the WRE80 point. That is, it is necessary that one point (WRE79) be on the route before the other (WRE80), regardless of the order in which other points are visited.

To solve this problem, set the priority for the WRE79 point higher than the priority of the WRE80 point, without specifying the priority of the other points.

While preparing an Excel file for importing delivery points, add the Priority_Id column to it. Indicate in this column the value of priority «1» for the WRE79 point, «0» for the WRE80 point. For other points, the priority value is not specified. Upload the file to the server. 

Pay attention! These actions can also be done manually in the Applications document (similar to the 2nd method in Example 1).

Further actions in the formation of the route are similar to the first example.

After the calculation, it can be seen that the WRE79 point is in the route before the WRE80 point: 

To solve complex logistics problems, it is necessary to combine different priority settings, guided by the rules for using delivery priorities presented at the beginning of the article.

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.

Ramps in warehouses: how to account for the simultaneous loading of vehicles

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When optimizing logistics, it is very important to create conditions for prompt shipment of goods in a car. But how to prevent a long queue of cars and ensure the continuity of the load?  To solve this problem, ANT-Logistics released a new functionality — taking into account the capacity of the warehouse for simultaneous loading of cars.

Let’s go to the Directory Warehouses. Double-click on the required warehouse to open Editing record. In the General tab, in the field Number of ramps select the required value (when the value is Auto, the parameter is not taken into account in the calculation). The number of ramps in warehouse is actually the number of cars that can be loaded at the same time.

Next, in the tab Working time, in the field Load time, enter the time required to load one car (in minutes).

It is necessary to «allow» the car to arrive later — we go to the Directory Vehicles, select the car and in the window Editing record go to the tab Working time. In the field Allow work later — set Yes.

An example of using the functionality.

Output data:

  • Number of ramps — 2
  • Load time – 20 minutes.

We will create routes:

As you can see, the automatic formation of routes ensures the continuity and optimal operation of the warehouse: two cars arrive for loading at 8:00 a.m., and the other two at 8:20 a.m.

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 an application on the ANT-Logistics website.

New Features Loading Sheet

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How to efficiently load cars and not forget a single product in the warehouse? For this purpose, ANT—Logistics uses the Loading Sheet. The Loading Sheet is a list of cargo that must be picked up at the warehouse. This document is generated in the mobile application of each driver.

ANT-Logistics users have been using two types of Loading Sheets for a long time: by goods (suitable when loading is carried out by individual items of goods, without linking to route points) and by points (when warehouse workers ship orders that are collected separately for each points).

Recently, the developers added a new type of Loading Sheet — by points and goods. It contains information about route points and an expanded list of goods for each point. Such a loading sheet will be useful in the case when it is necessary to deliver not one unit of cargo to the point, but several collected parcels or boxes that have a unique code.

To do this, on the service, go to Service-Settings-Mobile agent and in the field Type of Loading Sheet, select By points and goods:

In the mobile application, go to the screen Routes, select the required route and click on the icon Loading. The Loading Sheet will open. The driver can specify the amount of goods that were loaded at the warehouse and issued at the points of sale.

The developers for all types of Loading Sheets have added the product scanning functionality (with a note about scanning and the time of data addition) and product loading control (by automatically checking the loading of items when exiting the Loading Sheet). The developers have also added a field Notes, in which you can specify the necessary information about the loaded position. You can learn more about these and other features of the Loading Sheets in the Help.

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 an application on the ANT-Logistics website.