Define geographical zones with constraints

AntsRoute allows you to create geographical zones with constraints in order to apply specific rules to certain service areas.

Unlike sectorisation, which assigns drivers or technicians to fixed sectors based on a recurring schedule, geographical zones allow you to add temporary or specific constraints to a given area.

For example, you can:

• apply a specific time slot to a zone
• add required or additional skills
• define an application period
• prevent deliveries from being scheduled outside a defined zone

💡 This feature is available from the Pro plan.

1. Enable the “Delivery zones” feature

Before creating a geographical zone, you must enable the feature in the settings.

1. Go to Settings.
2. From the Settings tab in the side menu, click on General.
3. Enable the ‘Activate delivery zones’ option. 
4. Click on Save.

2. Create a geographical zone

Once the feature is enabled, you can create your first zone.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Click on Delivery zones.
3. Click on the ‘+’ button in the top right-hand corner.
4. Define a ‘Name’ for this zone.
5. Next, define the application period of the zone:
   • Permanent: the zone is always active.
   • Define an application frequency: the zone applies according to a defined recurring frequency.
   • Define a period of application: the zone is active during one or more specific periods.
6. If necessary, you can also add non-application days by clicking ‘+ Add’.
7. Then click Next step.

3. Define the zone constraints

You can then define the constraints that will apply to the deliveries located within this zone.

The available options are:

1. Exclusive zone
   If this option is enabled, deliveries can only be scheduled within this zone during the defined period.
2. Time slot
   Allows you to define a specific time slot for deliveries within this zone.
3. Additional skills
   These skills will be automatically added to deliveries located in the zone.
4. Exclusive skills
   Only deliveries that have these skills can be scheduled in the zone.
5. Parking time
   Allows you to add a specific parking time for deliveries within this zone.

☝️ Good to know: 

• If you activate the exclusive zone, the planning of deliveries will be prohibited outside the defined zone for the specified period. All existing zones on these dates will also become exclusive.
• If a delivery already has a time slot, AntsRoute applies the intersection between this slot and the shortest slot of the active zones.
• The applied parking time will be the greater of your delivery time and the times of the active zones.

Here are a few examples to help you understand:

Case 1:
Delivery: 8:00 – 18:00
Zone: 12:00 – 14:00
✅ Time slot selected: 12:00 – 14:00

Case 2:
Delivery: 8:00 – 16:00
Zone 1: 8:00 – 14:00
Zone 2: 12:00 – 20:00
✅ Time slot selected: 8:00 – 14:00 (intersection between the delivery 8:00 – 16:00 and the shortest slot of the zones 8:00 – 14:00)

Case 3:
Delivery: 9:00 – 16:00
Zone 1: 8:00 – 14:00
Zone 2: 12:00 – 20:00
✅ Time slot selected: 9:00 – 14:00 (intersection between the delivery 9:00 – 16:00 and the shortest slot of the zones 8:00 – 14:00)

Case 4 (No intersection possible):
Delivery: 8:00 – 10:00
Zone 1: 8:00 – 12:00
Zone 2: 14:00 – 16:00
⚠️ No time slot selected, as there is no intersection between the delivery time slot 08:00 – 10:00 and the shortest time slot of zones 14:00 – 16:00. AntsRoute will not show availability in this case.

4. Draw the geographical zone on the map

Once the constraints have been defined:

1. Click the brush icon to draw the geographical zone directly on the map.
2. Click on Save.

To display existing zones on the map:

1. Click Filter display.
2. Select the zones you want to display.

☝️ Good to know:
If several geographical zones are created on the same dates, they will be ‘merged’:

• The skills of the different zones will be added together and applied to the delivery.
• The time slot selected will be the shortest among the zones concerned.

Duplicate a geographical zone

If you want to create a similar zone:

1. Click “…” next to the existing zone.
2. Click Duplicate.

All the defined constraints will be kept, allowing you to modify the necessary information without having to redraw the zone on the map.

Filter deliveries by zone

You can also filter deliveries according to their geographical zone.

For example, from the Delivery basket:

1. Go to Plan > Deliveries' basket.
2. Click Filter above the table.
3. Select Delivery zones.
4. Choose the zone you want to display.

Conclusion

Geographical zones with constraints allow you to apply specific rules to certain service areas, whether to limit time windows, require certain skills, or restrict deliveries to a defined zone.

This feature is particularly useful for managing specific operational constraints depending on geographical areas.

🙋‍♀️ Need help?

If you experience any difficulties setting up service area zones, feel free to contact AntsRoute support by email or via the chat available in the web interface.