Distance and transport time calculation

There are a number of factors affecting the distance and transport time used with Network Optimization. Both the Transportation Policies and Transit Matrix tables can be used as sources for distance and transport time.

Distance calculation

When you run Network Optimization, the distance that is used depends on the data you currently have populated. Network Optimization will use the distance as populated in the Transportation Policies and Transit Matrix tables as shown below:

Transport time calculation

Transport Time is calculated once the Distance has been calculated for Transportation Policies. The Distance is determined based on the latitude and longitude of the source and destination sites and the distance calculation provider you have selected.

For straight line distance calculations, the Transport Time is determined:

1. based on the Distance and the Speed of the transportation asset, in case an Asset Name is specified on the mode for the Transportation Policy
2. based on the Distance and the Default Transport Speed in the Model Settings if no Asset Name is specified on the mode for the Transportation Policy.

For distance calculations using distance providers, the Transport Time is retrieved through the selected web service.

If you are using parcel rating to look up the Variable Transportation Cost for FedEx or UPS services, the Transport Time is populated based on the guaranteed transportation times specified by the service. For guaranteed delivery services, such as 2nd Day Air, the Transport Time in the Transportation Policies table is set to the carrier’s service time (2 days in this case). Ground-based services are based on zone to zone lookups.

Transport time and multiple periods

Network Optimization looks at the Transport Time of each Transportation Policy individually compared to time period length. If individual Transport Times are less than the period length, all flows will occur within a single period. The Transport Times are not summed up for the full transportation path. For example, assume you have period lengths of one week. The Transport Time from MFG to DC is 5 days and from DC to Customer is 4 days. Since each Transport Time is less than the length of a period, the InterSite Flow and Customer Flow for this solution will occur within the same period if no other factors are considered.