Manage vehicle capacities by route and by delivery

AntsRoute software lets you manage capacities, i.e. numerical constraints between your vehicles, routes and deliveries. For example, a weight (kg), a volume (m3), a number of pallets (units), etc.

• The 3 types of capacity managed by AntsRoute
• Step 1: Create capacities
• Step 2: Define the capacity of each vehicle 
• Step 3: Enter the quantities to be carried for a delivery

The 3 types of capacity managed by AntsRoute

For each of your vehicles, you can define:

• Maximum vehicle capacity: For example, if one of your vehicles has a maximum capacity of 10 pallets, you can set this limit in the settings to ensure that this capacity is not exceeded when planning routes.
• Minimum capacity per delivery: For example, if one of your vehicles has to carry at least 2 pallets per delivery, you can define this minimum capacity in the settings. This ensures that when you plan your routes, this vehicle will only be assigned to deliveries requiring a volume of at least 2 pallets.
• Maximum capacity per delivery: For example, if one of your vehicles can carry a maximum of 2 pallets per delivery, you can define this minimum capacity in the settings. This ensures that when you plan your routes, this vehicle will only be assigned to deliveries where the volume does not exceed 2 pallets.

Step 1: Create capacities

1. Go to the “Settings” module.
2. Click on the “Capacities” tab.
3. Click on the “+” button.

   

4. Enter a “Name”.
5. Enter a “Unit”.
6. Determine the “Validation mode”.
7. Enter a “Default value” if necessary.
8. Click on the “Save” button.

   

💡 The default value corresponds to a carrying capacity which will be filled in by default for each delivery you plan.

Step 2: Define the capacity of each vehicle

Once you have created your capacities in the settings, you need to define the carrying capacities of each of your vehicles.

1. Go to the “Resources” module.
2. Click on the “Vehicles” tab.
3. Click on “...” > “Edit”.

   

4. Enter a positive integer for each capacity.
5. Click on the “Save” button.

   

☝️ Good to know: If necessary, you can add a new capacity directly from your vehicle details.

Step 3: Enter the quantities to be carried for a delivery

When planning a delivery, you can view a “Capacities” section. All you need to do is enter a quantity to be delivered for each of your capacities.

The quantities to be delivered for each delivery can also be defined in the import file. Simply add a Cap_XXX column to this file, with XXX corresponding to the name of one of the capacities defined in the “Capacities” tab. For example, Cap_Weight. Then simply enter the quantity to be delivered in the cells of this column.

💡 The quantity entered in the cells must be an integer. For example, if 3 pallets are to be delivered for the first delivery, simply enter 3 in the cell.