|
How
Costs are Used
In DiPS
Vehicle costs are an essential
part of both the supply chain analysis and all the vehicle scheduling
programs.
In the supply
chain process, they play an important role in deciding the allocation of
calls to depots as the cost for each call from each depot are compared
before selecting a depot, whilst in producing route schedules the total
cost values are used to choose the best vehicle, with the cheapest
option chosen from a list of acceptable alternative types.
For route planning, user-defined
Carriers can form
the basis of a complex automated decision-making process for
cost-effective planning considering dedicated vehicles, parcel carriers,
and third-part hauliers. Parameters available for carriers are set to
include the ability for the carrier to handle different product types,
undertake collections, accept orders with a booked delivery time, and to
pick-up goods.
Costs for all applicable carriers are compared and a
lowest cost “Best Carrier” is found. Within the routing algorithm the
total carrier cost for all orders on a route is compared with the
cheapest vehicle costs to decide whether the route is cost-effective.
Individual orders may also be analysed to see whether adding them would
make the route un-viable.
Orders can also be manually added onto any acceptable
carrier list (not only the cheapest choice), with any not on their
cheapest being flagged as an error. Orders cannot be dragged onto
carriers that cannot satisfy their requirements (products, postcodes,
service level etc).
In addition specific
carrier logic can be utilised to identify certain calls and prevent them
from entering any of the planning programs. It is particularly useful
for nominating isolated call points that would normally not be
considered for routing, either due to their location or to the amount of
product to be delivered.
|
|
Available Cost Parameters
Cost
values can be input into three possible sections : for any of the vehicle
types themselves, for the driver, and for each mate. All costs are accumulated
to produce the overall figure for a route.
Each section can
have a Fixed Cost per DAY (represents the accumulated fixed costs for a
class over a day's operation, including factors such as depreciation,
tax, overheads etc), Cost per Mile or Km, and Cost per Minute if
required. Where individual
tractor and trailer types are in use, costs are broken down
accordingly into tractor unit costs and costs involved with trailer
operation.
Driver classes
can also be used to allow payment schemes to be employed, providing
options for setting various overtime rates depending upon the time
worked each shift as well as fixed salary levels.
For the carrier cost calculations, two distinct types are available.
A Rate calculation will allow a Fixed + Variable Cost to be calculated
whereas the table represents the total cost of delivery based upon a
given number of items
(e.g. for a
quantity of say 5 pallets, the total Cost is 50). A rate
calculation will allow entry of a minimum item quantity, a fixed cost
for this minimum, and an extra cost per item over and above the minimum
set. Different cost structures can be used to represent service levels
(for example before 1030), or different delivery types (such as
sub-contracted booked deliveries).
Production Planning
DiPS now has a Production
Planning feature to define when product is available at a depot for
vehicles to depart on routes. Two options are available – to define a
total amount by day of the week; or to define a production rate per hour
of each day leading to a cumulative quantity becoming available. When
using this definition, product is not accumulated over the week or
carried forward to the next day. To define a daily limit for a depot,
select the Day of Week radio button, click on the appropriate product
and then Edit to display the Daily dialog. Enter a total amount
available to be routed for each day of the week .
To define an hourly
production schedule for a depot, select the Production Plan for each
Hour radio button, click on the appropriate product and then Edit to
display the Hourly dialog. Set the Weekday and Product required, and
then choose the Start Time for the production to commence and the End
Time it finishes. Finally set the required production rate of Product
per hour. From these values the system will then calculate the
cumulative amount of product available based upon how fast the product
becomes available and then schedule vehicles accordingly.
|
