Mapline Data: Advanced Routing

MAPLINE DATA:

ADVANCED ROUTING

Imagine routes that optimize themselves effortlessly.

We’re excited to let you know that this isn’t just a dream – it’s a reality you can access right now!

Route optimization goes beyond just arranging stops for the shortest routes; it takes every detail into account.

Need to handle 1,000 stops within 2 days without drivers exceeding 10 hours on the road? No sweat. With Mapline’s Route Optimization, you’ll get an automatic calculation of drivers required, driving distance, hours spent driving, and anything else you require.

Even if your routes change daily and you’re juggling countless driver schedules, we’ve got you covered.

VEHICLE POINTS

This section tells Mapline which data to work with.

First, determine where you want your routes to begin. Do your drivers all show up to the yard first thing to pick up their vehicles? Or, if you’ve uploaded your drivers’ starting points as a dataset, reference that instead!

Next, determine whether drivers will visit all stop points in your dataset, or if you need to assign stops based on certain criteria, such as vehicle type or driver capability.

Finally, pinpoint where you need your drivers to end their day. Do they need to return to the office, or bring their vehicle to a maintenance facility?

These options give you control over all of your drivers’ touch points throughout the day.

ADVANCED ROUTING OPTIONS

This is where route optimization gets really cool. Use this section to fine-tune every possible trip factor, and watch your route efficiency skyrocket.

Trip Requirements

MAX ROUTES: Assign a max number of routes for the stops listed in your dataset to ensure sufficient coverage.

If you select Group Stop Points By, you can assign a max number of routes per group.

GROUP STOP POINTS BY: Group your stop points based on column data such as delivery date. This is particularly useful if you have stores that need to receive products on a specific delivery date, or have a specialized type of delivery.

Just make sure your dataset includes the store’s preferred delivery days, then select Group Stop Points > and select the column that lists the delivery dates.

This way, Mapline will auto- calculate the most optimum delivery routes so you don’t have to puzzle out hundreds upon thousands of variations.

Or, maybe you want to build a bunch of routes, but you need a specific person to visit each location.

In your dataset, make sure there’s a column that lists your personnel assignments. Then, select Group Stop Points by > and select the column listing these assignments.

Then, all of your routes will be optimized based on personnel assignment.

VEHICLE CAPACITY: If you’re making deliveries or your vehicles are picking up passengers, set a vehicle capacity, and your routes’ totals will always stay within this limit.

VEHICLE REQUIREMENTS: This option only appears if you select a dataset for your start points. Configure specific vehicle requirements to ensure the correct assignments.

DELIVERY QUANTITIES: Include delivery quantities to ensure that each vehicle has the right amount of product onboard every single time.

DEPARTURE TIME: Determine the exact time the drivers begin their routes. If you want to calculate route end times, you’ll definitely want to set a departure time.

STOP DURATIONS: Do some stops take longer to restock than others? Or maybe you’re sending personnel to on-site visits with a specific duration? Set stop durations to ensure your routes allow enough time for your staff to do their jobs right.

BREAKS: Set driver break times to give drivers enough time to take their breaks. This also ensures driving regulation compliance.

TIME WINDOWS: Do you have locations that can only receive deliveries at a certain time? Or maybe you need to send personnel to each location for set training times? Add time windows for each location to your dataset, and optimize your routes to ensure your staff arrives at the exact times they’re needed. Never worry about rerouting missed locations again!

MAX STOP POINTS: Want to ensure that your routes never exceed a certain number of stops? Set a max number of stop points to limit the length of each route.

MAX TRIP TIMES: Limit the total length of each driver’s route, including stop durations.

CURBSIDE STOPS: If your vehicles have to make curbside stops, or if you have vehicles like motor coaches and semis that cannot turn around easily, this option is for you.

Optmize your routes so every stop is on the righthand side of the road. Just set and forget.

Route Details

And if that’s not enough customization for you, we have more.

Under Route Details, you’ll configure the precise data outputs you need. This data will be added as new column(s) to your existing dataset when the routing process is complete.

(Not sure which dataset you’re accessing? Reference which Layer folder you clicked–the data tied to that layer is the dataset to which you’ll add new information).

Under Distance Units, toggle between Miles and Kilometers to get the correct units. This is particularly helpful if you have staff in multiple different countries.

Set your Refresh Schedule to Manual or Automate depending on how you would like to refresh your route calculations. If you have continuously changing data, the Automate function will save you tons of time!