TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Input Parameters
• Period Planning Parameters
• Balance Criteria Parameters

Once all the files have been updated and completed, Schedule Build will use those files to create routes for the first week of the planning period. The first week’s routes will be the base from which routes for the remaining weeks in the planning period will be built.

To begin the Schedule Build and select all input parameters, select File > New > Schedule from the menu.

Input Parameters

1. Dispatch Date: Select the earliest date to dispatch/schedule vehicles; the default is Sunday.
2. Enable Preprocessing: Uses Preprocess settings from Routing Preferences.
3. Stop File: Select the Stop File (.stp, .xls, .xlsx, etc.).
4. Truck File: Select the Truck File (.truck, .trk, .xls, .xlsx).
5. Pattern Data File: Select the Pattern Data File (.TXT).
6. Distance File: Select the Distance File (.dist).

Period Planning Parameters

• Planning Horizon: Number of weeks the scheduling solution will cover.
• Total Days of Operation: The number of days the solution will cover in a week (ex: 2 = 2 days per week).
• Workload Deviation: Used with Max Capacity Utilization, an amount (%) by which the truck Capacity can be adjusted.

EXAMPLE: 20% is the goal to which the algorithm will try to balance and make equal between days. Tuesday’s total volume would be within 20% of Monday’s volume which should be within 20% of Wednesday’s volume, etc.

• Max Patterns Per Customer: The number of Delivery Patterns in use by a customer (set to a minimum of Total Days of Operation).
• Max Capacity Utilization for Initialization: The percentage of Max Capacity that SchedulePro can assign (load) on a truck, before considering another truck; used with Work Load Deviation during the optimization process.

EXAMPLE: 80% is default and relays to the algorithm to fill up each day and or week to 80% of the total capacity in order to leave room for optimization to then move stops from one day and or week to another before ultimately filling up each day and week to the potential maximum volume allowed.

• Exceed workload deviation for cluster code: Selection allows SchedulePro to ignore the Workload Deviation if required, to honor Cluster Codes.
• Eliminate patterns based on associated days: Reviews the Pattern1 of each stop and anchors that day eliminating all other patterns in the Pattern Library for a customer that doesn’t include that specific Pattern1 day. The algorithm does this regardless of whether this option is selected True or False.
• Create centroids based on associated days: If the Day column has been imported, SchedulePro will create route centroids based on the provided days.

Balance Criteria Parameters

• Service Time: Considers Fixed Time, in addition to Capacity, when assigning customers. 
• Quantities: Select the Capacity field that will be used for balancing purposes; default is the first quantity field listed in Preferences > Configuration > Volume.
• Volume Allocation: Choose how customer volume should be allocated per week or visit.

Click Next after all selections have been made. When the build is complete, the results will appear on the next screen.