Once you've added work orders manually or imported an Excel file with a list of orders on a fixed date, you can start optimising your routes.
- Go to the “Organize” module.
- Click on the “Map” tab.
- select a date in the calendar.
- Click on the “Build routes” button.
💡 If you see the message “Warning! The settings for one or more work orders have been changed. The optimization must be restarted”, this means that you have made changes to working hours, departure and arrival locations, vehicle capacity, etc.
☝️ Good to know: By default, AntsRoute maximises the loading rate of one route to limit the number of drivers or field workers mobilised. However, if you want to distribute the workload fairly between your drivers, you can activate an option to balance the routes. To do this, go to the “Settings” > “Settings” > “Optimization settings” module. From this page, authorise the “Activate route balancing” option and click on the “Save” button.
☝️ Good to know: If you want to take usual traffic into account when creating your routes, please contact our team by email at contact@antsroute.com. As soon as we receive your request, we will be able to activate the option on your account.
☝️ Good to know: The greater the number of work orders scheduled each day, the greater the optimization time in minutes should be. For example, if you plan 500 orders a day, we advise you to define an optimization time of 15 minutes. To do this, go to “Settings” > “Settings” > “Optimization settings”.
Here are some optimization options that you can customize from “Settings” > “Settings” > “Optimization settings”:
- The strategy for calculating the fastest or shortest route.
- The possibility of avoiding tolls.
- The end of a work order is strictly contained within the time slot selected, i.e. a work order with a duration of 45 minutes and a time slot of 10:00–12:00 can be scheduled for 11:15 at the latest.
- The partial geocoding, i.e. if an address is incorrect, you agree to have it partially filled in. For example, [32 inexistent street, Nancy, France] becomes [Nancy, France].
- Minimisation of waiting time between work orders.
- Assigning several work orders with the same address to the same driver.
- The rate at which the schedule is filled when work orders are added, e.g. 90%.
