Manage packages to be delivered with AntsRoute

AntsRoute offers a comprehensive feature for managing delivery parcels, from adding packages to a delivery to validating them via barcode scanning and accessing the history of delivered parcels. This guide walks you through each step of using this feature.

• Activate the “Package management” option.
• Add custom fields related to packages (optional)
• Add packages to a delivery.
• Modify or delete packages from a delivery.
• Scan barcodes on packages to validate delivery.
• Access the history of delivered packages.

1. Activate the “Package management” option

First of all, you need to enable package management in your AntsRoute account:

1. Go to the “Settings” module.
2. Click on the “Settings” tab.
3. Click on “General settings”.
4. Activate the “Package or item management” option.
5. Select the “Package management” option.
6. Click on the “Save” button.

   

2. Add custom fields related to packages (optional)

When adding a package, you can enter the following information: reference, weight, height, length, and width.
If needed, you can enrich the package information with custom fields that are visible in the mobile app:

1. Go to “Settings”.
2. Click on the “Custom fields” tab.
3. Click on “Packages”.
4. Start by creating a category to group multiple fields by clicking on “Create a category”:

   

   • Enter a Name.
   • Click the “Save” button.

     

5. Click on “Create a field”:

   

   • Enter a Name.
   • Select a Field type: Text, Date, Number, Checkbox, List, or Photo.
   • Specify if the field is mandatory.
   • Define whether the field is private (not visible to field agents on the mobile app).
6. Click “Save”.

   

☝️ Good to know: From the “packages” tab in the delivery details, you can customize the columns and choose to display custom fields.

3. Add packages to a delivery

As you plan a delivery, you can add parcels to be delivered. Let's take the example of planning a delivery from the “Schedule deliveries” tab.

1. Go to the “Plan” module.
2. Click on the “Add deliveries” tab.
3. Click on the “+” button next to the “Packages” field.

   

4. Enter a “Reference”.
5. Enter the “Weight” of the package in kg.
6. Enter the “Length” of the package in cm.
7. Enter the “Width” of the package in cm.
8. Enter the “Height” of the package in cm.
9. Click on the “Create” button.

   

10. Repeat these last 7 steps to add other packages.

💡 AntsRoute automatically generates a reference for your package. However, you can deactivate this automated reference and customise it.

💡 The “Weight”, “Length”, “Width” and “Height” fields are optional.

4. Modify or delete packages from a delivery

If necessary, you can modify or delete packages from a delivery. Let's take the example of modifying a package from the “Routes” tab. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to the “Organise” module.
2. Click on the “Routes” tab.
3. Select a date in the calendar.
4. Display the required route by clicking on “...” > “Route's details”.

   

5. Display the delivery concerned by clicking on “...” > “More details”.

   

6. Click on the to modify a package.

   

7. Make the necessary changes.
8. Click on the “OK” button.

   

9. Don't forget to click on the “Save” button.

   

💡 The reference of a package cannot be modified.

💡 To delete a package, simply click on the “delete” icon at step 6 before clicking on “Save”.

☝️ Good to know: From the details of a delivery, a “Package” tab is available, giving you access to a different view of your packages. You can also add packages directly from this tab.

5. Scan barcodes on packages to validate delivery

From the mobile application, drivers can view the packages to be delivered.

At the time of validating a delivery, your delivery driver has to scan each package so that it changes the state to “delivered in conformity”.

1. Display the details of a delivery.
2. Click on the “Complete the delivery” button.
3. Click on the “Scan barcodes” button.
4. Scan each of your packages and click on “Next step”.

   

💡 The driver must determine the state of all the packages in order to move on to the next step. If a package is lost, he can manually select the state “Package not delivered”. If a package is damaged, he can manually select the state “Package delivered with anomaly”.

💡 If the barcode is not readable, for example, your driver can manually select the “Package delivered in conformity” state. The green colour of the sticker indicating the state of the delivered package on the AntsRoute web interface is lighter.

• Package delivered in conformity with barcode scan -
• Package delivered in conformity with manual validation - 
• Package delivered with anomaly -
• Package not delivered -

6. Access the history of delivered packages

In the analysis module, you can access the history of packages delivered. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Go to the “Analyse” module.
2. Click on the “History of delivered packages” tab.
3. Select a period from the calendar.

   

💡 You can also view the number of packages delivered and the states of these packages from the “Delivery report” tab.

☝️ Good to know: In the export files (Excel or CSV) for routes and deliveries, you can view a “Packages” column. This column shows the package reference for each delivery.