Plan vehicle loads and dock slots
What this does
Groups the day's deliveries into loads, assigns each load to a vehicle and a loading dock, and keeps the load inside the vehicle's weight and volume capacity — the difference between a planned dispatch and a yard full of shouting.
Before you start
- Install the Fleet application.
- Enable Batch, Wave & Cluster Transfers, Storage Locations and Multi-Step Routes in the Inventory settings.
- Record each vehicle's capacity — weight and volume — and its model.
Steps
The ⋮ menu also offers dock dispatching as a weekly calendar, batches grouped by route, and a pivot of batch transfers — the views a transport coordinator lives in.
The dispatch management system feature in WindoorERP is used to plan and build shipments. Key features include:
- Load building: Group products for specific carriers, assign those batches to loading docks, and manage vehicle assignments based on fleet capacity. This ensures the right products are packed into the appropriate trucks for delivery.
- Fleet management: Track and manage the capacity of in-house delivery vehicles.
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01
Create the dock locations under Inventory › Configuration › Locations.
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02
Set up each vehicle as a delivery method, so orders can be assigned to it.
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03
On the operation type, tick Dispatch Management so the dock and vehicle fields appear.
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04
From the Inventory overview, open the ⋮ menu on the delivery card and choose Prepare Batch.
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05
On the batch, set the Responsible, Scheduled Date, Dock Location and Vehicle, then add the transfers.
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06
Work the batch as one job.
Configuration
To use the dispatch management system, the following setup must be completed:
- Install the Fleet application.
- Enable necessary features in the Inventory app.
- Enable and configure the Mapbox integration.
- Configure vehicle capacity (volume and weight).
- Enter vehicle car models.
- Set up vehicles as delivery methods.
- Create dock locations.
Important
Dispatch management can evaluate capacity on a vehicle only if a weight and volume are assigned to a product on the Inventory tab of its product form.
Inventory settings
To set the required inventory settings, navigate to Inventory app › Configuration › Settings.
In the Operations section, select the Batch, Wave & Cluster Transfers checkbox to prepare batches of orders for delivery.
In the Shipping section, select the Delivery Methods and Dispatch Management System checkboxes. Doing so allows specific vehicles to be set as carriers.
In the Warehouse section, select the Storage Locations checkbox to assign specific locations in the warehouse as loading zones for delivery trucks.
Then, once all the configurations are complete, be sure to click Save.
Mapbox integration
Next, configure the Mapbox integration.
First, create a Mapbox account. If you already have a MapBox account, log in. Upon login, the Account overview page displays.
Then, create an access token.
After the token is created, copy it to the clipboard.
Important
If you have created a secret token, Mapbox does not display secret tokens again after leaving the Access tokens page. Make a copy of this token now.
In WindoorERP, navigate to the Settings app. In the Integrations section, locate the Map Routes setting. Paste the token in the Token field.
Be sure to click Save to save the settings.
Vehicle capacity
To configure the vehicle capacity, go to Fleet app › Configuration › Categories.
Next, click New to add a new category, or click into an existing category to modify it. In the Name field, enter the type of vehicle (e.g., Pick-up truck, Van, or Cargo truck). Then, enter the vehicle capacity in the Max Weight (in kilograms) and Max Volume (in cubic meters) fields.
Note
The units of measurement for vehicle capacity are assigned at the global level in the Settings app, in the Units of Measure section.
Car model
Configuring a vehicle's car model is required when adding vehicles in WindoorERP. Ensure the correct Category is selected for a car model. Doing so automatically applies weight and volume capacities to all vehicles of that type.
To configure, navigate to Fleet app › Configuration › Models.
From the Models list, select an existing model, or click New in the top-left corner to create a new model. Then, set the relevant Category field to the relevant vehicle category.
Delivery method
Optionally, delivery vehicles can be assigned as a delivery method carrier.
To configure delivery methods, go to Inventory app › Configuration › Delivery Methods. Select an existing delivery method, or click New.
On the Delivery Method form, enter a name for the delivery method. It is recommended to use identifying information, such as the vehicle description and license plate number (e.g. Truck 123-ABCD).
Since the delivery methods are managed internally, set the Provider to either Fixed Price or Based on Rules. For more information about how shipping prices are calculated, refer to the Delivery method article.
Next, set a Delivery Product, which is the product that shows up as the customer's delivery charge on the sales order or invoice.
Optionally, in the Availability tab, set the Countries, States, or Zip Prefixes to limit the range of local delivery.
Dock locations
Each loading dock must have a dedicated location. To create dock locations, go to Inventory app › Configuration › Locations and click New.
After dock locations are set up in WindoorERP, configure them in the operation type. Navigate to Inventory app › Configuration › Operations Types and open an existing delivery operation type, or click New to create a new one.
After defining the other fields in the operation type form, scroll to the Batch & wave transfers section and select the Dispatch Management checkbox. The Dock locations field appears. Define the dock locations for this operation type.
Build loads
After setup is complete, optionally assign orders to a carrier and group them into batches. Then, configure the batch form, as needed.
To group products, go to the Inventory app › Operations › Deliveries, which reveals a list of outgoing deliveries.
Carrier assignment
Reveal the Carrier column, if it is not visible by default, by clicking the (settings) icon in the top-right corner, and selecting the Carrier checkbox.
Tip
Other useful columns to enable can be Zip code, Shipping Weight, and Shipping Volume.
Select the delivery orders for the batch by selecting the checkboxes on the left. Next, click into the line's Carrier fields. In the resulting drop-down menu, choose the desired vehicle's delivery method. A Confirmation pop-up window appears, indicating the number of orders being added to the batch. Click Confirm, and the carrier is updated for all the selected records.
The delivery method Truck 1-MER-001 is set as the Carrier for two delivery orders.
Create batch
With the carrier set, begin adding orders to a batch or wave transfer by ticking the checkbox.
Note
If a delivery order is already assigned to a batch transfer, assigning a batch transfer here does not update it.
Then, click the Actions button, and click either Add to batch or Add to wave. In the pop-up window, ensure Add to is set to a new [batch/wave] transfer, then click Confirm.
Delivery orders are selected to be grouped into a wave transfer.
Alternative batch creation method
Another place to create batches is by going to the Inventory app, and in the Delivery Orders card, click the (vertical ellipsis) icon. In the resulting drop-down menu, click Prepare batch.
Note
The Transport Management drop-down menu contains other tools for fleet management:
- Manage Batches: open list of batches
- Dock Dispatching: open weekly calendar view of scheduled batch operations
- Batches by Route: Kanban view of batches grouped by fulfillment route
- Calendar: open hourly calendar view of scheduled operations
- Statistics: open pivot table of the batch transfers
Batch form
On the batch transfer form, fill the following fields out accordingly:
- Responsible: Assign an employee to the picking. Leave blank if any worker can fulfill this picking.
- Operation Type: From the drop-down menu, select the operation type under which the picking is categorized.
- Scheduled Date: Specify the date by which the Responsible person should complete the transfer to the output location.
- Dock Location: Select the loading location.
- Vehicle: Select the vehicle, which will auto-fill the Vehicle Category.
- Vehicle Category: Determine if the order exceeds the vehicle's capacity limits
Example
The Volume bar indicates that the transport truck is nearing capacity.
Prepare delivery route
To help the driver prepare, click the Map button at the top of the batch or wave form to view delivery destinations on a map. Selecting an individual delivery order pinpoints its location.
Note
The Map button is only visible for transfers with the In progress status.
Additionally, use the View in Google Maps button to generate a route from the warehouse to the delivery points.
Common mistakes
- Vehicle capacities left empty, so the system cheerfully plans a load nothing can carry.
- Batching by customer instead of by route, and sending one lorry across the city twice.
- Assigning a dock without telling the loading team which dock is which.
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