Creating and setting up routes

We want to create a route from the area in Stockholm in which postcodes start with 12 to the area in which the postcodes start with 11. It should be a distribution route.

Summary:

To set the route, proceed as follows:

1. Click on Order > Routes. Click on to create a new route. Give the route the name “Stockholm 12*–11*”.

2. In the Type drop-down list, select Distribution.

   

3. Click on the route’s Schedule and use the option buttons on the left to select Weekly schedule. Select the checkboxes for the days of the week that the route will operate, in our case Monday to Friday. For more information, see Schedule, routes (window).

   

4. Click on the Pickup tab and create a new row under From postcodes. Choose Country “Sweden” and enter “12*” in the Postcode field.

   We tick the boxes in the columns Monday to Friday inclusive, because we want the postcode area "12*" to be served for collection on those days. (The columns Monday - Sunday are available in Opter as of 2024.12.16.)

   

   The columns for Saturday and Sunday are greyed out because the route is not operated on those days of the week (according to the schedule on the tab General). This means that it does not matter whether the checkboxes in the columns for Saturday and Sunday are ticked or not.

5. On the Delivery tab, create a new row under To postcodes and also select Country “Sweden” there and then enter “11*” in the Postcode field.

   We tick the boxes in the columns Monday to Friday inclusive, because we want the postcode area "11*" to be served for delivery on those days.

   

6. Click on to save all changes. (If it cannot be saved, see Comments below).

7. In order reception on the Shipments tab, it can now be seen that there is an order going from a sender address with the postcode “120 07” to a receiver address with the postcode “111 52”, so the order is assigned to the “Stockholm 12* - 11*” route.

   

8. In dispatch on the Routes tab it is possible to see how many shipments are assigned to the “Stockholm 12* - 11*” route, which in this case is one shipment.

Comments

In this example, we have no intermediate stops and the route therefore involves direct transport. For a shipment to receive this route, we need to go to Economy > Price lists > Services, select the service to be used and on the tab Dispatch select the checkbox Allow automatic dispatching, and also select the checkbox Allow direct connections (one leg).

The pickup or delivery area could also be a terminal. In order for the route to be selected, the address on the order must then be a selected Terminal from the Terminal Register.

Routes can be likened to train timetables in which train departures are routes and railway stations are terminals.

This example shows an arrangement where goods can be transported from Stockholm to Gothenburg and Malmö via transhipments in terminals on the way.

From: Akademigränd 3, 11152 Stockholm

To: Storgatan 2, 21141 Malmö

The sender is matched via the postcode to the “Stockholm pickup” route, which takes the goods to the terminal in Stockholm. A line haul vehicle then takes the goods to the terminal in Jönköping where they are unloaded. A further line haul vehicle takes the goods to the terminal in Malmö where they arrive. Finally, the goods are delivered to the receiver address via “Malmö delivery”, which is matched via the postcode in the receiver address.

A total of four shipments are created for the order, each of which is carried out by a vehicle.

For this to work, the following applies:

• The Allow automatic dispatching checkbox must be selected on the service to be used. (The checkbox can be accessed under Economy > Price lists > Services, on the Dispatch tab).

• The terminals in the above image are in the terminal registry. (The terminal registry can be accessed under Register > Terminals).

• The following routes are created.

  Name	Type	From	To
  Stockholm pickup	Distribution	Postcode 11*	Stockholm terminal
  Gothenburg delivery	Distribution	Gothenburg terminal	Postcode 41*
  Malmö delivery	Distribution	Malmö terminal	Postcode 21*
  Stockholm → Jönköping	Line haul service	Stockholm terminal	Jönköping terminal
  Jönköping → Gothenburg	Line haul service	Jönköping terminal	Gothenburg terminal
  Jönköping → Malmö	Line haul service	Jönköping terminal	Malmö terminal

We will not go through how all these routes are created, but will just show how to create a distribution route and a line haul route:

Creating the “Stockholm pickup” distribution route

This is how to create one of the required distribution routes:

1. We click on Order > Routes. We click on to create a new route and name the route "Pickup Stockholm".

2. In the Type drop-down list, select Distribution.

   

3. Click on the route’s Schedule and use the option buttons on the left to select Weekly schedule. Select the checkboxes for the days of the week that the route will operate, in our case Monday to Friday. For more information, see Schedule, routes (window).

   

4. Click on the Pickup tab and create a new row under From postcodes. We choose Country “Sweden” and enter “11*” in the Postcode column.

   We tick the boxes in the columns Monday to Friday inclusive, because we want the postcode area "11*" to be served for collection on those days. (The columns Monday - Sunday are available in Opter as of 2024.12.16.)

   

   The columns for Saturday and Sunday are greyed out because the route is not operated on those days of the week (according to the schedule on the tab General). This means that it does not matter whether the checkboxes in the columns for Saturday and Sunday are ticked or not.

5. We select the “Stockholm terminal” on a row under To terminals and click on to save all changes.

   

Creating a Stockholm–Jönköping line haul route

We proceed as follows to create one of the required line haul routes:

1. We click on Order > Routes. We click on to create a new route and name the route "Stockholm – Jönköping".

2. In the Type drop-down list, select Line haul.

   

3. Click on the route’s Schedule and use the option buttons on the left to select Weekly schedule. Select the checkboxes for the days of the week that the route will operate, in our case Monday to Friday. For more information, see Schedule, routes (window).

   

4. We click on the Line haul tab and select the terminal “Stockholm terminal” on a row under From terminals.

5. We select the terminal “Jönköping terminal” on a row under To terminals and click on to save all changes.

   

Once the set-up has been completed for the service, all the terminals are in place and all the routes have been created, so we can test how the routes work.

In order reception, we create an order with the sender address “Akademigränd 3, 111 52 Stockholm” and the receiver address “Storgatan 2, 211 41 Malmö”.

Opter then automatically creates four shipments (also called sub-routes or legs), which we can see in the Shipments window in dispatch. One pickup, two line haul services and one delivery.

If the route is to be operated for collection from postcode area "82*" on Mondays, "84*" on Tuesdays, "86*" on Wednesdays, "87*" on Thursdays and "88*" on Fridays, proceed as follows:

1. On the tab General, click the button Schedule. Set the route schedule at Weekly, and tick the boxes for Monday to Friday inclusive. For more information, see Schedule, routes (window).

2. On the Pickup tab, in the From postcodes box, create a row for each postcode area and only tick the box for the day of the week that the postcode area in the row is served for collection. (The columns Monday - Sunday are available in Opter as of 2024.12.16.)

   

   The columns for Saturday and Sunday are greyed out because the route is not operated on those days of the week (according to the schedule on the tab General). This means that it does not matter whether the checkboxes in the columns for Saturday and Sunday are ticked or not.

3. If the route is also to be used for deliveries to different postcode areas on different days of the week, see the example below.

4. Click on to save all changes.

If the route is to be operated for delivery to postcode area '82*' on Mondays, '84*' on Tuesdays and Fridays, '86*' on Wednesdays, '87*' on Thursdays and '88*' on Fridays, proceed as follows:

1. On the tab General, click the button Schedule. Set the route schedule at Weekly, and tick the boxes for Monday to Friday inclusive. For more information, see Schedule, routes (window).

2. On the Delivery tab, in the To postcodes box, create a row for each postcode area and only tick the box for the day of the week on which the postcode area in the row is served for delivery.

   

   The columns for Saturday and Sunday are greyed out because the route is not operated on those days of the week (according to the schedule on the tab General). This means that it does not matter whether the checkboxes in the columns for Saturday and Sunday are ticked or not.

3. Click on to save all changes.

If at a later date you want to change so that, for example, the postcode area "82*" is served for deliveries on both Mondays and Thursdays, tick the checkbox in the column Thursday in the row with postcode area "82*".

If at a later date you want to change so that, for example, the postcode area "82*" is served for deliveries on Mondays, Thursdays and now also on Saturdays, tick the checkbox in the column Saturday on the row with the postcode area "82*". On the General tab, click the Schedule button. Set the route schedule so that the route is also operated on Saturdays, by ticking the checkbox for Saturday in the box Weekly.

Applies to Opter from 2024.12.16.

If you have many rows of different postcode areas on the Pickup and Delivery tabs, and you want to easily see which postcode areas are served on Tuesdays, for example, do this:

1. In the Routes window, click on the Pickup or Delivery tab.

2. In the To postcodes or From postcodes box, click twice at the top of the Tuesday column. The column is then sorted so that the rows where the checkbox is selected are listed at the top of the table. The picture below shows that the postcode areas "84*", "87*" and "88*" are served for collection on Tuesdays.

   

3. If you want the rows to be listed in the order they were originally in, click once more at the top of the column Tuesday.

   To see which postcodes are not served on Tuesdays, click once at the top of the column Tuesday. The column is then sorted so that the rows with the tick box unchecked are listed at the top of the table.

Areas

The areas can be differently specific (see image below). Opter will first select the line that is most specific and matches the address. That is, Opter selects rows in the following order of priority:

1. The row contains both the street (street name) and the postcode. (1 in the picture below.)

2. The row contains only postcodes.

   1. A postcode, for example '34135'. (2)

   2. A range of postcodes, for example "34000 - 35000". (3)

   3. Beginning of a postcode and then star instead last digit, for example "3410*". (4)

   4. Beginning of a postcode and then star instead the last digits, for example "341*". (5)

That is, Opter selects in the first instance the row that is most specific. The image below shows the order of priority using the numbers 1-5.

For example, if a row has a street name and a postcode that matches the address, Opter will select that row (1). In addition, if there is a row (2) without a street name, but with a matching postcode, Opter will not select that row, as there is a row that is more specific. That is, the row (1) where the street name also matches the address.

Areas and times

The rows can also have times in the columns Time - Earliest and Time - Latest. Opter first selects the line that is most specific and matches the shipment. That is, Opter selects rows in the following order of priority:

1. The row contains both postcode area and times. (1 in the picture below.)

2. The row contains only the postcode area, no times. (2)

Days and times

If we have a postcode area with different days and times, for example postcode 3413* is served for deliveries on Wednesdays at 9.30am. 17:00-19:00 and Thursdays 13:00-15:00, Opter follows the order of priority in the drop-down menu Cost calculation when choosing a route.

One of the following is prioritised:

• The route with the lowest score (cost).

• The route that gives the earliest arrival time.

The Cost calculation list box can be found under Settings > Offices, on the Dispatching tab in the Auto dispatch box . For more information, see Defining how Opter prioritises routes.

Applies to Opter from 2025.06.00.

If you have large volumes of goods to/from the same street, it can be useful to enter the street number on the tabs Pickup and Delivery. If you enter a street number, we recommend that you also enter the street name, and preferably also the country, postcode and/or town.

The image shows that you can enter a specific street number (1) or a range (2). It is not possible to use "*" in this column.