Last updated: 12.09.2024
Valid from: Opter 2024.12.00
Multi-vehicle optimisation
In order to carry out route optimisation on several vehicles going to a number of delivery addresses simultaneously, an add-on service from PTV Map&Guide is required and must be enabled in Opter. The service is invoiced by Opter. Contact for more information.
If you have several vehicles available and a number of shipments, which have either been assigned to different vehicles or not assigned at all yet, you can carry out what is known as multi-vehicle optimisation, i.e. calculate an assignment and route sequence for all vehicles and shipments simultaneously.
For more information on the conditions and the factors and settings that affect route optimisation, see Route optimisation: preparation and configuration.
All the vehicles included in route optimisation must have a position. If one of the vehicles does not have a position, the result will be incorrect. For information on how to set a fallback position in case the vehicle’s position cannot be determined, see Vehicle position. A home location can also be set for a vehicle or a driver, see Home location for vehicles and drivers.
Step 1: Choose the shipments on which route optimisation is to be carried out in dispatch
It is possible to work with multi-vehicle optimisation in different ways depending on how the workflow looks.
Choose a number of shipments on which route optimisation is to be carried out and see which vehicle is able to perform them.
Choose a number of shipments and optimise them on all available vehicles.
Selecting shipments from the lists in dispatchSelect the shipments on which route optimisation is to be carried out from one of the lists in dispatch and press F9 (or click on the Other > Route optimize shipments (F9) menu tab), or right-click on the shipments and select Route optimise. The Route optimization window opens where you can select which vehicles will carry out the shipments and then calculate the route sequence.
All shipments assigned to or preplanned for the resources are displayed in the Route optimization window, even if only one shipment per vehicle is selected in dispatch. To exclude certain shipments from the route, they can be deselected in the Route optimization window (see below).
If all the shipments you select are already preplanned for or assigned to a single vehicle, you can only carry out route optimisation on that vehicle in the Route optimization window (single vehicle optimisation).
If the shipments have not yet been assigned, or are assigned to different vehicles, you can select the vehicles to be used in the Route optimization window.
Selecting shipments on the map in dispatchShipments can be selected on the map in dispatch and then the sorting icon in the top right corner can be clicked to open the Route optimization window. This can be useful for assigning shipments located geographically close to each other, and performing route optimisation on these, for example.
To only view shipments that have not yet been assigned on the map, select Show all shipments without resource from the Map menu and deselect all other options.
The selected shipments can also be dragged and dropped onto a resource box to assign them before opening the Route optimization window. For more information on how to select shipments and assign them from the map, see Assigning shipments to resources in dispatch.
Choosing shipments directly from the Route optimization window without selecting any shipmentsYou can open the Route optimization window directly by pressing F9 or clicking on the Other > Route optimize shipments (F9) menu tab. Then all the vehicles and all the shipments that have not yet been assigned are displayed in the Route optimization window. You can then choose whether to fill one vehicle at a time with shipments, or several at the same time.
Step 2: Calculate the route sequence and arrival times
In the Route optimization window there is a list of vehicles and a list of addresses (stops). It is possible to filter the vehicles and addresses that are displayed in the lists by selecting a dispatch filter from the Filter drop-down list.
Logged-off vehicles are also shown in the vehicle list since you may want to carry out route optimisation on the next day’s shipments. Vehicles with a pink background in the list have no position (1).
The vehicle list
The vehicles on which route optimisation is to be carried out can be selected via the checkboxes for each vehicle (2). However, all vehicles that meet certain criteria can also be selected by clicking on the down arrow next to the Select all button. This can be useful if there are a lot of vehicles.
: Vehicles that meet this criterion are selected.
: Vehicles that do not meet this criterion are selected.
: The criterion does not matter. The vehicles are selected whether this is met or not (default). Selecting for all options is the same as clicking on Select all.
In the example in the image below (3), all vehicles are selected except those that do not have a current position and already have shipments assigned to them. It does not matter whether the vehicles are logged in or not.
For more information, see Route optimization (window).
The address list
Each shipment in the address list has two lines, a red one for the pickup address (1) and a blue one for the delivery address (2). This is because the optimal route sequence is not always to pick up and deliver the shipments one by one, but perhaps to first pick up five shipments, (red addresses) then deliver one (blue address), pick up two more, deliver two and so on.
The address list is grouped on the vehicles that already have shipments assigned to them. A vehicle can be expanded to display the shipments assigned to that vehicle (3). The shipments that have not yet been assigned are located under No resource (4). If there is capacity and time, those shipments are assigned to resources when calculating the route sequence.
A shipment can be excluded from the route optimisation by deselecting the checkbox for that address. If one of the addresses for a shipment is deselected, the other is automatically deselected (5). Individual shipments cannot be removed from the list. To do so, close the Route optimization window and select only the shipments that are to be included in dispatch before pressing F9.
To prevent shipments from being moved to other resources when calculating the route sequence, the shipments can be locked to the resource by clicking on 
(6). These shipments then remain on the resource even if it is not optimal from a route optimisation perspective. The shipments can be unlocked again by clicking on 
.
Shipments can be assigned by selecting them in the list, pressing Ctrl + M and then selecting the new resource in the dialogue box that opens (7). The shipments are then locked to the new resource so that they are not moved to any other resource when calculating the route sequence.
Proceed as follows
Route optimisation of one vehicle at a time with already assigned shipmentsWhen a vehicle is selected in the vehicle list, all the shipments already assigned to or preplanned for that vehicle are displayed, and the current route is shown on the map. This means that you can select a vehicle, click on Calculate route sequence, select the next vehicle, calculate the route sequence for that vehicle and so on without having to go back to dispatch.
You can assign more shipments to the vehicle in dispatch without closing the Route optimization window. The new shipments are then also displayed in the Route optimization window and are included when calculating the route sequence.
Route optimisation and assignment of specific shipments that have not yet been assignedIf in dispatch shipments that had not yet been assigned were selected, they are located under No resource in the address list. You can select one vehicle, click on Calculate route sequence and see which shipments the vehicle can complete within the time frame.
If you are satisfied with the route sequence, you can assign the shipments to that vehicle, then go to step 3 below. If instead you want all the shipments to be carried out by one vehicle, you can move on to the next vehicle and see whether it can complete the shipments and so on.
If you select another vehicle and recalculate the route sequence, the shipments planned on the first vehicle are deleted and included in the calculation for the new vehicle. Go to step 3 below to assign the shipments after calculating the route sequence for a vehicle.
Route optimisation of several vehicles at the same time with or without assigned shipmentsIf a large number of shipments are selected in dispatch, route optimisation can be carried out on several vehicles at the same time, and the shipments that have not yet been assigned can be assigned to the vehicles that have time to complete them. More shipments will be added from No resource until the vehicles’ working sessions are filled.
Once the calculation is complete, the route is displayed on the map and the shipments have an estimated arrival time, which is shown in the Estimated column in the address list. Hovering the cursor over the symbols on the map results in a tooltip box appearing with information about the sender, receiver or resource, depending on which symbol is hovered over. For more information, see Explanation of symbols – map.
Sometimes a warning is displayed that there is no capacity for a vehicle, and that the vehicle will not undergo route optimisation. The capacity can be adjusted on the vehicle registry (or via the vehicle type). It is also possible to choose not to take capacity into account, by deselecting the current dimension on the Limitations tab in the route optimisation settings (see Route optimization settings (window)).
A warning that certain address or vehicle positions are poor is sometimes displayed when calculating the route sequence. The address positions can be adjusted by clicking on Register > Adjust address positions. The vehicle positions cannot be adjusted.
After the route sequence has been calculated, it can be changed manually by dragging and dropping address rows to a new place in the list, but the estimated arrival time will then not be correct.
It is always the route sequence shown in the address list that is sent to dispatch and Opter Driver. If you first calculate the route sequence and then manually change the route sequence, or sort using a column other than Order, then that is the route sequence used for the shipments. Not the numbering in the Order column. The Order column only shows the optimal route sequence based on the route optimisation calculation.
If you have changed the sequence manually, or sort using a different column and want to revert to the optimal route sequence, you can sort on the Order column, or click on Calculate route sequence again.
Clicking on Calculate route sequence always removes the manual sorting, and the list is automatically sorted based on the Order column.
Step 3: Save the route sequence and synchronise it with the drivers’ Opter Driver
When there are no more shipments left under No resource, and you are satisfied with the route sequence calculated for the vehicles, select Save route sequence and estimated times in the bottom right corner and choose one of the following options:
- Preplan shipments: the shipments are given a resource, but still have the Created status. No messages that they have been assigned are sent to the drivers. This can be useful if, for example, you want to plan the next day’s shipments, but not assign them immediately. You can then assign the shipments when appropriate by selecting them in dispatch and pressing Enter.
- Assign shipments: the shipments are assigned and drivers see the route sequence in Opter Driver.
- Suggest shipments: save the assignment and route sequence as a suggestion in dispatch. The suggestion is presented in the Suggested resource (code) column. You can use the suggestion to assign shipments that are further into the future and have not yet been started on.
Then click on Ok. If you do not want to save any changes, click on Close instead.
In Opter Driver, the shipments are not split into pickup and delivery addresses. Instead, they are displayed in the correct order based on status. If a shipment has the Assigned status, it is displayed at the position in the route sequence of the pickup address (the Route sequence - from column in dispatch). When the status is changed to Picked up, the shipment is moved to the position in the route sequence of the delivery address (the Route sequence - to column in dispatch).
The map
The routes for all resources are shown on the map, the resources are circular and the addresses are squares. Hover over a resource or address to display more information. For more information, see Explanation of symbols – map.
Addresses can be selected on the map by holding down shift and then dragging the mouse over the addresses. When the mouse button is released, they are highlighted in the address list and can be dragged and dropped as usual. This can be useful for selecting addresses that are geographically close to each other, instead of having to look them up in the address list.
Press Ctrl + M to assign the selected tasks to a resource.