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Delivery Optimizer: Vehicle Planner Setup

Distributor steps for setting up vehicle trailers, bays and vehicles in Encompass so Delivery Optimizer's Vehicle Planner can assign pallets to truck bays after palletizing. Requires v21.01+.

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Written by Bailey Naas-Thornton

Minimum Version Required: 21.01

Steps

How to set up Vehicle Trailer
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  1. Navigate to the Vehicle Trailers table.
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    - This table is used for distinguishing each trailer available for delivery that can be assigned to a route.
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    - A Bin can be assigned when adding a Vehicle Trailer or Encompass will automatically populate one when the trailer is saved. This Bin can be assigned to the load sheet if the route type is set up to use vehicle trailer bins.
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  • Location
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    ​    - Where the trailer will be loaded
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    - This can be changed if the vehicle is moved to another warehouse
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  • Load Method
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    ​    - Process for automatically assigning pallets to bays
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    - Side Load: Based on Weight & Size of the Bays (Largest Pallet in Largest Bay, Closest to the Tractor)
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    - End Load: Based on Pick Sequence (Loaded in Reverse Delivery Sequence)
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  • Length & Width
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    ​    - Length and Width of the Trailer. This is used to be able to see the dimensions in Vehicle Planner.
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    - Values should be entered in inches.

How to set up Vehicle Bays
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  1. Navigate to the Vehicle Bays table
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  • Vehicle Trailer - Created in the table above. Relates the Trailer to the Bays
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  • Vehicle Bay
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    - Represents each compartment (side loader) or pallet position (end loader) in a vehicle trailer.
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    - Best practice is to keep naming consistent from one Trailer to the next. Ex: Increasing front to back and noting D or P to be consistent with the Side and 2 to denote Vertical Position.
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  • Side - Which half of the Trailer the Bay is located on (driver, passenger, or center bay)
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  • Sequence - Loading priority. The best practice is to start the sequence at the tractor and increase it moving away from the tractor.
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  • Dimensions - Height, Width, Length - defines the size of the Bay
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  • Active - If true, the product can be loaded here. Ex: False - a dolly is stored here and the product would not be loaded in this Bay.
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  • Vertical Position - Used for Bays split in half
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  • Vehicle Bay Description - used to identify special purposes or characteristics for a bay such as Wheel Bay, Bulk, Empties to help users when allocating bays in Vehicle Planner.

How to set up Vehicles
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  1. Navigate to the Vehicles table
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  • Vehicle - Descriptive name or VIN number
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  • Vehicle Type - Defines the class of vehicle. Used to set max cargo weight.
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  • Location - Warehouse where the vehicle is loaded.
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  • Vehicle Trailer - Default trailer used for the vehicle.
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  • Detachable Trailer
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    - If True: The vehicle can have different Trailers assigned to it.
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    - If False: permanently fixed Ex: box truck or van
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  • GPS Device ID - Set when using Encompass Fleet Tracking.
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  • Cost Per Mile - Dollar amount used to calculate Cost per Route. Ex: Federal reimbursement per mile is .54
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Pallet Types
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This is a useful table to know how bay capacities are calculated. Bay Capacity Calculation Method:
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  1. Bay height, default calculation method
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  2. Pallet type height is useful when vehicle planning keg pallets
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Accessing Vehicle Planner
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  1. The Vehicle planner can be accessed once invoices have been palletized.
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    - The tool can be accessed from the palletization page
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  2. Then click on Detail.
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Adding Routes

  1. The best practice is to assign a Vehicle to Route.
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    - If the route could be run by a different vehicle each week, set the Vehicle as Unassigned. The Vehicle running the Route can be assigned each week to the Load Sheet before palletizing.

Best Practices

Maintenance
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Helpful template information to table import into necessary tables
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​ - Vehicle Trailer Table
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- Vehicle Bays Table
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- Vehicle Table

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