Vehicle constraints

A number of constraints impact how many drops the vehicle can make and the average size of those drops:

Time capacities and constraints:

• Shift time – This is the time the driver is available to work, based on Hours Worked Per Shift, Number Of Shifts Per Day, Hours Break Time Per Shift and Operating Days Per Week. This is also affected by Time Utilization.
• Loading/unloading times – Time required to load and unload at stops based on Location Loading Time, Fixed Unloading Time, and Variable Unloading Time.
• Delivery Time Window – This constraint limits the number of hours between the first drop and last drop on the route.

Vehicle capacities and constraints:

• Capacity (Quantity), Capacity (Weight) and Capacity (Volume) – Each capacity is defined for the specific unit of measure. The most constraining constraint is applied. This is also affected by Capacity Utilization.
• Max Number Of Drops On Vehicle – This constraint enables you to cap the number of drops.

For each point in the matrix, a multi-stop estimated route is built. The customer location is considered the first drop. For example:

The constraints limit the number of average drops that the multi-stop estimated route can contain after the first (“real”) drop. For example, assume the following calculation of average drops based on the various constraints:

Time capacity = 5.5 drops (1 real drop + 4.5 average drops)

Volume capacity (based on one of more units of measure)

= 3.4 drops for unit of Measure A (1 real drop + 2.4 average drops)

= 5.5 drops for unit of Measure B

and so on.

Max number of drops = Infinity

Delivery time window = 8.3 drops (1 real drop + 7.3 average drops)

The minimum number of additional average drops from above (2.4) is taken for further calculation.

With this information, the total quantity, distance, cost and time are determined such as:

Total quantity for route = 3.6 + (2.4 * Avg. Drop Size)

Total distance for route = (2 * 34.9) + (2.4 * IDD)