Route Planning, Tour Generation, Dispatching
You may recall, as a child, taking a napkin and putting the corner in a small pool of water. The paper napkin absorbed water. As the napkin absorbed the water, it drew more water from the pool. If the napkin were torn in strips, the water would be drawn to the ends of the torn strips. The process of absorption and pulling more water from the pool continued until either the napkin was soaked (no more demand) or the pool of water was exhausted (no more capacity).
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Download the full version: End-To-End Supply Chain Visibility, Security and Effectiveness PDF, 200K
What do napkins and water have to do with truck scheduling and routing? They are more closely related than it may first appear. Shippers and carriers are looking for ways to more effectively use their fleets to move freight. Many have adopted next-load assignment programs that will efficiently give a group of drivers their next load to carry. This has helped take a level of costs out of the transportation process and has lowered overall transportation expenses.
Clearly, this hypothetical situation is simplified, but it highlights a very important concept: the further into the future you look when planning transportation, the better you're going to be able to use your fleet. Long-range plans are the torn napkin strips that will draw capacity to where it will be needed.
Learn more in the Route Planning, Tour Generation, Dispatching Viewpoint PDF, 261K paper about an approach that has been successfully implemented to achieve enhanced efficiency through long-range forecasting. The paper also describes the next step in the evolution of this approach to help achieve superior use of private fleets.