Strategic Planning
As the trading pattern of a
company is constantly changing there comes a need from time to time
to re-deploy the resources required to service customers.
Historically this may lead to overlap of depot areas and in some
cases the need to close or re-locate depots. In many cases
stock-holding depots can be replaced by simple transhipment points.
As the term "Strategic Scheduling"
suggests, the program looks at the distribution operation over a
period of time - several days, weeks, or even months. Although any
decision to change a company's depot strategy is ultimately a
financial one, a proposed operational plan should be available to
support each decision. Such a plan must show the required fleet at
each depot proposed together with the most likely route patterns. An
estimate of all costs involved is also essential.
These features combine to offer a total package requiring little
or no extra tailoring for individual requirements. The programming
techniques used ensure that unnecessary computation is eliminated
and that execution times are short - so allowing many alternative
strategies to be examined quickly.
The DiPS Software conducts
optimisation analysis to reallocate demand (and supply) points to
their cheapest depot or supply chain option. Account may be taken of
multiple supply chains with their constituent individual links,
product throughputs, costs and resource limitations at each depot.
Complimentary modules also enable location of ideal "greenfield"
sites and a graphical manual allocation of depot areas.
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 more information on Costing click this link
Supply Chain & Depot
Location
This module will choose the best method of utilising a given depot
supply-chain network to minimise the operating costs defined,
looking at a period of time ranging from several days to weeks
or even months. The allocation of accounts is fully integrated with
the DiPS Strategic Route Planning System to allow immediate
scheduling.
Complete depot structures may be modelled to reflect different
product "paths" from origin to destination. Any combination of
factory, depot, transhipment point, satellite depot etc. can be
represented. It is possible to define a comprehensive set of cost
parameters to cover all aspects of an operation. Account is also
taken of the maximum resources available on each link of the
supply-chain and at each depot. Many levels of product supply and
demand are catered for with the ability to merge and factor volumes
by product type. Even carriage paid supply and delivery can be
included to measure the trade-off between own fleet and third party
operations.
The actual algorithm can be
modified by the use and typically takes any or all the following
into account :-
* Costs - Local, Trunk, Handling and Third Party
* Actual road system in the area
* Fleet size at each proposed depot
* Proximity of calls to depots and marginal costing
* Work standards
* Vehicle size constraints
* Opening times in conjunction with stem times
* Economics of using transhipment points or sub-depots to meet the
following criteria :-
* Minimum cost
* Maximum fleet utilisation
* Minimum travelling for each load
* Obeying all restrictions placed upon the system
* Sensible shaped boundaries
* Service levels required.
An advanced feature of this program is its ability to work
with individual product lines. Each store can take each product line
from any of a number of possible supply warehouses. All the
warehouses have their own maximum throughput and cost attributes.
Vehicle Scheduling
This module provides the means to model the entire distribution
operation of a company at the finest level of detail, minimising
travelling time and maximising vehicle utilisation. It may include
one or more depots in each run thus enabling a combined trunking and
multi-drop operation to be investigated.
Full account is taken of all constraints placed upon the problem
ranging from vehicle capacities, depot and call opening times,
travel and work standards, to legal restrictions on shift and break
times. Since no two distribution problems are the same, a number of
control parameters have been provided to enable users to achieve
results appropriate to their particular problems. These controls not
only define the algorithm to be used but also reflect the decision
criteria generally practised within a company's traffic office. In
exploring the effects of changing aspects of the distribution system
the following investigations are commonly undertaken :-
* Mixing different types of trade on the same fleet
* Interaction of several depot areas
* Changes to fleet composition
* Examine the costs of different service levels over a number of
weeks
* Plans for peak/trough operations
* Profitability analysis of each account -
The results produced contain detailed
information such as travel and work times, arrival times and
departure times and resource summaries over a period of weeks if
required. All reports may be exported to spreadsheet and database
programs.
Once the scheduling run is complete these routes will be saved on
the central database, where the load planner may amend the routes
using "Drag and Drop" facilities to easily transfer Calls, Vehicles
and Trips between any number of routes. All the required checks are
made on time and load constraints using the road network travel
times and warning messages advise the user of anything illegal.
Visual displays for Calls not assigned to Trips by varying priority
ensure that nothing is missed from the plan. Re-optimisation of the
calls in a route is provided as an option.
Over 21 years of working closely with customers has led to
enhancements including: optimising remote garaging and reload
points; scheduling draw-bar demountable body operations which allow
access to restricted delivery points with or without the trailer
section; and planning multiple depots and vehicle fleets where
vehicles from one depot may be further utilised by other depots to
collect and deliver product before returning to their initial
starting location.
For more information or to arrange a demonstration of DiPS software please
phone 01299 400528 or email sales@dips.co.uk.