Site lanes

Site lanes determine the Site Sourcing Policies, Transportation Policies with sites as destinations, and Flow Constraints with sites as destinations.

In addition to generating the policies and constraints, site lanes provide the ability to define:

• Capabilities

• Sourcing Costs

• Transportation Costs

Defining site lanes

1. Navigate to the Site Lanes node within Policies & Constraints. By default, Generate Site Lanes is selected. If you do not want to generate site lanes, select No Site Lanes generation.

2. If you want to generate flow constraints, turn on the Generate Flow Constraints switch, then select the DDM table to use for the flow constraints:

   • Orders Full - this is the default value. Flow Constraints are generated based on unique combinations of Source-Destination-Product using the orders_full DDM table.

   • Shipments Full - If your Transaction Table is Shipments Full, Flow Constraints are generated based on unique combinations of Source-Destination-Product-Mode using the shipment_full DDM table.

     In both cases, the Constraint Value in the generated record is the sum of all Quantity values for the orders or shipments with that specific combination. The Constraint Type is not set, which means the constraint will default to Min unless you update the column value.

3. Click Next to continue defining the Site Lanes Capabilities.

Site lanes capabilities

Use the Capabilities node under Site Lanes to do the following:

• Select the source of the policies from a set of DDM tables.

• Apply rules for policies with multiple sources or modes to control the actual policy definition and associated policy parameter.

• Optionally generate product specific Transportation Policies.

Defining site lanes capabilities

1. Navigate to the Capabilities node within Site Lanes.

2. Use Select the source to generate Site Lanes to select the source DDM table for Site Sourcing Policies and site-based Transportation Policies. This is one of:
   • Orders Full - this is the default. Sourcing and transportation policies are generated using the orders_full DDM table.
   • Shipments Full - Sourcing and transportation policies are generated using the shipment_full DDM table.
   • Sourcing Policies and Shipment Lanes - Sourcing policies are generated using the sourcing_policies DDM table and transportation policies using the shipment_lanes DDM table.

   When you select "Sourcing Policies and Shipment Lanes" as the source, additional columns will be mapped from the sourcing_policies DDM table to the Site Sourcing Policies model table. These include Source Lead Time and Minimum Order Quantity.

3. If you selected "Orders Full" or "Shipments Full", select the Multiple Sources for Sites Rule. This setting determines which lanes are created if sites are served by multiple sources. The value is one of:

   • Include all sources – this is the default. All source-destination-product combinations from the DDM table are generated. The Sourcing Policy is "Multiple Sources(Most Inventory)" and the Policy Parameter is 1.

   • Include all sources with fixed sourcing splits – Source-destination-product combinations are generated with a "Split By Ratio" policy and a Policy Parameter value based on the percentage of total flow that this policy represents in the source DDM table. For example, a distribution center is sourced a particular product from 3 different sites with percentages of total quantity of 0.5, 0.3 and 0.2. The 3 resulting policies in the model with have the Policy Parameter value set to 0.5, 0.3 and 0.2 based on the sourcing site.

4. If you selected "Orders Full", "Shipments Full", or "Sourcing Policies and Shipment Lanes" and want to create Transportation Policies that are also unique by Product value, turn on the Generate Product specific Transportation Policies switch.

5. If you selected "Shipments Full", select the Multiple Modes for Lanes Rule. This setting determines which lanes are created if source-destination-product combinations have multiple modes defined. The value is one of:

   • Include all Modes – this is the default. All source-destination-product-mode combinations from the DDM table are generated. The Sourcing Policy is "First" and the Policy Parameter is 1. Note that Transportation Policies are product-specific only if you turn on the Generate Product specific Transportation Policies switch.

   • Include all Modes with fixed Mode splits – Source-destination-product-mode combinations are generated with a "Split By Ratio" policy and a Policy Parameter value based on the percentage of total flow that this policy represents in the source DDM table. For example, a distribution center is served a product from a site using 3 different modes with percentages of total quantity of 0.5, 0.3 and 0.2. The 3 resulting policies in the model with have the Policy Parameter value set to 0.5, 0.3 and 0.2 based on the mode.

   • Note that Transportation Policies are product-specific only if you turn on the Generate Product specific Transportation Policies switch.

6. Your Site Lanes capabilities are now complete. Click Next to proceed to Site Lanes > Sourcing Costs.

Site lanes sourcing costs

Use the Sourcing Costs node under Site Lanes to do the following:

• Enable the generation of costs for the Site Sourcing Policies in your model.

• Select the source of the sourcing costs from a set of DDM tables.

Defining site lanes sourcing costs

1. Navigate to the Sourcing Costs node within Site Lanes. By default, No Sourcing Costs is selected.

2. Select Generate Site Lanes from the DDM table to enable the generation of site sourcing costs.
3. Select the source DDM table for Site Sourcing Policies costs. This is one of:
   • Orders Full - this is the default. Costs for Site Sourcing Policies are generated from the orders_full DDM table.
   • Shipments Full - Costs for Site Sourcing Policies are generated from the shipment_full DDM table.
   • Sourcing Policies - Costs for Site Sourcing Policies are generated from the sourcing_policies DDM table.

4. Your Site Lanes sourcing costs are now complete. Click Next to proceed to Site Lanes > Transportation Costs.

Site lanes transportation costs

Use the Transportation Costs node under Site Lanes to do the following:

• Enable the generation of costs for the site Transportation Policies in your model.

• Select the source of the transportation costs from a set of DDM tables, or enter transportation costs manually.

• Based on the source for the transportation costs, specify the details for how lane costs are determined and which costs will be applied.

Defining site lanes transportation costs

1. Navigate to the Transportation Costs node within Site Lanes. By default, No Transportation Costs is selected.

2. Select Basic Transportation Costs to enable the generation of site transportation costs.
3.  Select the source for site Transportation Policies costs. This is one of:
   • DDM Shipment Headers table - this is the default. Transportation costs for site Transportation Policies are defined using the shipment_headers DDM table.
   • DDM Shipment Lanes table - Transportation costs for site Transportation Policies are defined using the shipment_lanes DDM table.
   • Lookup from DDM Shipment Cost Matrix table - When the lookup field values you select for your lanes match those in the shipment_cost_matrix DDM table, the associated costs are applied to your site Transportation Policies.
   • Enter Manually - You define the fixed and variable costs, and the average shipment size to be applied to all site Transportation Policies.

4. Based on the source for transportation costs, the steps you follow will vary as described in the specific task below.

Basic transportation costs

The definition of basic transportation costs depends on the source you selected:

• DDM Shipment Headers table

• DDM Shipment Lanes table

• Lookup from DDM Shipment Cost Matrix table

• Enter Manually

When using Shipment Headers, Shipment Lanes or the Shipment Cost Matrix to populate transportation costs, you can also define default costs that will be applied when costs are not available in the DDM table lookup.

Defining transportation costs from Shipment Headers

1. Select "DDM Shipment Headers table" as the source for your transportation costs. You see Cost Details with two dropdown lists to determine the cost calculation method and the cost basis.

   • Select a cost calculation method - Use this selection to determine how average transportation costs are calculated .

2. Select the cost calculation method to determine how average transportation costs are calculated based on source locations and optional modes. This is one of:

   • Calculate average transportation cost on each individual lane – this is the default. Costs will be averaged across those records with the same source-destination-mode combination. Note that both product and mode are optional, so it may be the source-destination combination if neither the product nor mode is populated. Product-specific policies are based on your selection in the Capabilities node. Modes are available based on the source DDM table selection as defined in the Capabilities node and if the mode is populated in the selected DDM table.

   • Calculate average transportation cost for each unique mode – Costs will be averaged for each mode. For example, if you have 3 modes defined (Ocean, TL, LTL), average transportation costs are calculated for each of these 3 modes and applied to the Transportation Policies based on the mode definition.

   • Calculate average transportation cost for each unique mode out of each source location - Costs will be averaged on each unique source-mode combination. For example, if there are lanes with DC_Atlanta as the source that differ by mode, such as TL and LTL, average transportation costs are calculated for the DC_Atlanta-TL lanes and for the DC_Atlanta-LTL lanes and applied to the Transportation Policies based on the source-mode definition.

3.  If you selected "Calculate average transportation cost on each individual lane", select the cost basis to use for each unique combination of source-destination-product-mode as described above. When the average transportation cost is calculated, this is populated in the Variable Transportation Cost column in Transportation Policies. When the fixed shipment cost is calculated, this is populated in the Fixed Shipment Cost column. The average weight shipment size is populated in the Shipment Size column using weight as the shipment size basis. This is one of:

   • Quantity based variable cost – this is the default. The average transportation cost is calculated as the total cost / total quantity.

   • Weight based variable cost – The average transportation cost is calculated as the total cost / total weight.

   • Volume based variable cost – The average transportation cost is calculated as the total cost / total volume.

   • Distance based variable cost with average quantity shipment size – The average transportation cost is calculated as the total cost / total distance using the average shipment size expressed as a quantity.

   • Fixed shipment cost with average quantity shipment size - The fixed shipment cost and average shipment size are populated.

4. If you selected "Calculate average transportation cost for each unique mode" or "Calculate average transportation cost for each unique mode out of each source location", select the cost basis to use:

   • Distance based variable cost with average weight shipment size – The average transportation cost is calculated as the total cost / total distance using the average shipment size expressed as a weight.

5. If you want to apply default cost information for historical cost data gaps in your DDM transportation cost table, click Next. You see the Default Costs node. If you want to apply default cost information for historical cost data gaps in your DDM transportation cost table, see Applying default costs.

Your transportation costs are now complete.

Defining transportation costs from Shipment Lanes

1. Select "DDM Shipment Lanes table" as the source for your transportation costs. You see Cost Details with cost information checkboxes. You must select at least one cost value from the available set:

   • Fixed Cost - This is the fixed cost per shipment based on the Average Shipment Size (in weight).

   • Variable Cost - This is the cost applied per quantity unit.

   • Average Shipment Size- This is the weight of a shipment to which the Fixed Cost is applied.

2. If you want to apply default cost information for historical cost data gaps in your DDM transportation cost table, click Next. You see the Default Costs node. If you want to apply default cost information for historical cost data gaps in your DDM transportation cost table, see Applying default costs.

Your transportation costs are now complete.

Looking up transportation costs from Shipment Cost Matrix

The shipment_cost_matrix DDM table has a number of fields that can be used as lane lookups. For example, you may want to define costs based on state to state lanes. In this case, the lookup fields will be source_state and destination_state. The fixed and variable costs, as well as the shipment size are defined based on the lookup fields. In this example, all lanes that share the same source_state-destination_state values will have the same associated costs from the shipment_cost_matrix applied.

 

1. Select "Lookup from DDM Shipment Cost Matrix" as the source for your transportation costs. You see the Lookup based on the field(s) dropdown list. You must select one or more fields to use as the lookup into the shipment_cost_matrix DDM table. When the lookup is performed, all lookup field values selected in the recipe must match the values in the shipment_cost_matrix record for the associated costs to be applied to the lane. If your lookup fields are a subset of the values populated in the shipment_cost_matrix record, validation will be made based on only the lookup fields defined. For example, if your lookup field is transportation_mode_Rkey and your shipment_cost_matrix include records with source_state, destination_state and transportation_mode_Rkey, the match will be evaluated on transportation_mode_Rkey only.

2. You can remove lookup fields from the definition by unchecking them in the dropdown list or by clicking the "x" to the right of the field name.

3. Select one or more of the cost information checkboxes. You must select at least one cost value from the available set:
   • Minimum Charge - This is the minimum charge that must be incurred on the lane. If the fixed and/or variable cost is less than the minimum charge, the minimum charge is used.
   • Fixed Cost - This is the fixed cost per shipment based on the Average Shipment Size (in weight).
   • Average Shipment Size - This is the weight of a shipment to which the Fixed Cost is applied.
   • Variable Cost - This is the cost applied based on the variable cost basis. If Variable Cost is selected, select the basis. This is one of:
     • Per distance - The variable cost is applied per distance unit.
     • Per unit - The variable cost is applied per quantity unit.

4. If you want to apply default cost information for historical cost data gaps in your DDM transportation cost table, click Next. You see the Default Costs node. If you want to apply default cost information for historical cost data gaps in your DDM transportation cost table, see Applying default costs.

If multiple records in the shipment_cost_matrix match the lookup fields, the cost information is averaged across all matching records.

Your transportation costs are now complete.

Entering transportation costs manually

1. Select Enter Manually as the source for your Transportation Costs. You see Cost Details with various fields you use to define fixed and variable costs, average shipment size and the associated basis values for all lanes.

2. Enter the Fixed Cost. This value can be positive or negative and defaults to no cost. The fixed cost is applied to the average shipment as defined using the Average Shipment Size and the associated basis.

3. Enter the Variable Cost. This value can be positive or negative and defaults to no cost. The variable cost is applied based on the selections for Variable Cost Basis and Variable Cost Unit of Measure.

4. Select the Variable Cost Basis. This value determines how the variable cost is applied. For example, you may want to incur the variable cost based on the weight on the lane. The basis is used in combination with the Variable Cost Unit of Measure to identify the actual unit, such as pound or kilogram for weight.

5. Select the Variable Cost Unit of Measure. The unit of measure options are determined based on the Variable Cost Basis. For example, if the Variable Cost Basis is "Weight", you can select "Kilogram" as the weight unit of measure.

6. Enter the Average Shipment Size. This value must be greater than 0 and defaults to no value. The average shipment size is used with the fixed cost. The average shipment size is applied based on the selections for Average Shipment Size Basis and Average Shipment Size Unit of Measure.

7. Select the Average Shipment Size Basis. This value determines how the average shipment size is applied. For example, you may want the average shipment size to be based on weight. The basis is used in combination with the Average Shipment Size Unit of Measure to identify the actual unit, such as pound or kilogram for weight.

8. Select the Average Shipment Size Unit of Measure. The unit of measure options are determined based on the Average Shipment Size Basis. For example, if the Average Shipment Size Basis is "Weight", you can select "Kilogram" as the weight unit of measure.

Your transportation costs are now complete.

Applying default costs

When using a DDM table as the lookup for transportation costs, there may be cases where costs are not available for some lanes. For example, you may have added new potential lanes that do not yet have historical costs available. For these cases, you can define default variable and fixed costs, as well as the average shipment size, to be applied when costs are not in the DDM table.

These costs are applied when the source of your transportation costs is one of:

• Shipment Headers

• Shipment Lanes

• Shipment Cost Matrix

The default cost fields that are available depends on the rest of the cost definition. For example, if you select a particular cost basis (Shipment Headers) or cost options (Shipment Lanes, Shipment Cost Matrix), the default cost fields are for various configurations are as shown in the examples below:

DDM source for transportation costs	Cost basis or options selected	Default costs displayed
Shipment Headers	Distance based variable cost with average quantity shipment size	Variable Cost Variable Cost Basis Variable Cost Unit of Measure Average Shipment Size Average Shipment Size Basis Average Shipment Size Unit of Measure
Shipment Headers	Quantity based variable cost	Variable Cost Note: the Variable Cost Basis defaults to "EA"
Shipment Headers	Weight based variable cost Volume based variable cost	Variable Cost Variable Cost Basis Variable Cost Unit of Measure
Shipment Lanes	Fixed Cost Average Shipment Size	Fixed Cost Average Shipment Size Average Shipment Size Basis Average Shipment Size Unit of Measure
Shipment Cost Matrix	Fixed Cost Variable Cost	Fixed Cost Variable Cost Variable Cost Basis Variable Cost Unit of Measure

• Example 1 - Source is "Shipment Headers", cost basis is "Weight based variable cost": In this case, only Variable Cost, Variable Cost Basis and Variable Cost Unit of Measure are available. This cost basis does not use fixed cost or average shipment size.

• Example 2 - Source is "Shipment Lanes", you have selected the "Fixed Cost" and "Average Shipment Size" options: In this case, only Fixed Cost, Average Shipment Size and Average Shipment Size Unit of Measure are available. This configuration does not use variable cost or variable cost basis.

The default cost values are applied only when all values you have defined are not available in the transportation cost source. The following table provides examples

Default cost fields populated	Empty cost values in DDM source record	Result
Fixed Cost Variable Cost Variable Cost UOM	Fixed Cost Variable Cost Variable Cost UOM	All default costs are applied
Fixed Cost Variable Cost Variable Cost UOM	Variable Cost Variable Cost UOM	No default costs are applied
Fixed Cost Variable Cost Variable Cost UOM Average Shipment Size Average Shipment Size UOM	None. Records do not exist in the DDM table for the Transportation Policies records.	All default costs are applied

Adding default costs

1. With Shipment Headers, Shipment Lanes or Shipment Cost Matrix selected as the source for Transportation Costs and required values defined, click Next or select the Default Costs node.

2. Enable the Enter default Cost information for historical data cost gaps switch.

3. Enter or select the values you want to use for one or more of the following. Keep in mind that the set of cost fields displayed depends on your transportation cost definition:

• Fixed Cost - This value can be positive or negative and defaults to no cost. The fixed cost is applied to the average shipment as defined using the Average Shipment Size and the associated basis.

• Variable Cost - This value can be positive or negative and defaults to no cost. The variable cost is applied based on the selections for Variable Cost Basis and Variable Cost Unit of Measure.

• Variable Cost Basis - This value determines how the variable cost is applied. For example, you may want to incur the variable cost based on the weight on the lane. The basis is used in combination with the Variable Cost Unit of Measure to identify the actual unit, such as pound or kilogram for weight.

• Variable Cost Unit of Measure - The unit of measure options are determined based on the Variable Cost Basis. For example, if the Variable Cost Basis is "Weight", you can select "Kilogram" as the weight unit of measure.

• Average Shipment Size - This value must be a positive value and defaults to no value. The average shipment size is used with the fixed cost. The average shipment size is applied based on the selections for Average Shipment Size Basis and Average Shipment Size Unit of Measure.

• Average Shipment Size Basis - This value determines how the average shipment size is applied. For example, you may want the average shipment size to be based on weight. The basis is used in combination with the Average Shipment Size Unit of Measure to identify the actual unit, such as pound or kilogram for weight.

• Average Shipment Size Unit of Measure - The unit of measure options are determined based on the Average Shipment Size Basis. For example, if the Average Shipment Size Basis is "Weight", you can select "Kilogram" as the weight unit of measure.

Your default transportation costs are now complete