To create load plans

Load building is the core functionality of Freight. The load building engine is used to create load plans. For further general information on the load building functionality, see Introducing load building.

To create load a load plan, take the following steps:

Step 1. Start the Generate Plan (fmlbd0280m000) session

You can start the Generate Plan (fmlbd0280m000) session from the following locations:

  • The Freight Planning menu, which you can select from the Freight menu in the Web Browser.
  • The Generate Plan option on the appropriate menu of the Freight Orders (fmfoc2100m000) session.
  • The Generate Plan option on the appropriate menu of the Freight Order Lines (fmfoc2101m000) session.
  • The Generate Plan option on the appropriate menu of the Plans (fmlbd0110m000).
  • The Generate Plan option on the appropriate menu of the Freight Order Lines to Be Replanned (fmlbd0120m000) session.

For the latter sessions, the Generate Plan option is only available for freight orders whose status is lower than In Progress.

You must perform all of the following steps in the Generate Plan (fmlbd0280m000) session.

Step 2. Add to existing plan?

Select the Add to Existing Plan check box if the freight orders for which you want to create loads and shipments must be added to an existing load plan. In the Plan field, select or enter the load plan to which the new loads and shipments that you are going to create must be added.

Step 3. Select planning method

Select the Planning Algorithm that you want to use to create your load plan. For further information, see Planning methods.

Step 4. Select freight orders and freight order lines on which to base your load plan

To select the freight orders and freight order lines for which you want to create the load plan, proceed as follows:

  1. Select the Shipping Office of the freight orders on which you want to base your load plan. The freight orders of a load plan must belong to the same Shipping Office. To perform load building, the user must be authorized to use the selected shipping office.
  2. Select the Planning Group of the freight order lines on which you want to base your load plan. To perform load building, the user must be authorized to use the selected planning group. As described in Freight order grouping, a shipping office can have more than one planning group. The freight order lines of the freight orders that are allocated to the shipping office can be allocated to any of the planning groups of the shipping office. Your load plan will only be based on freight order lines that are allocated to the planning group that you select in the Generate Plan (fmlbd0280m000) session.
  3. Select the range of freight orders on which you want to base your load plan. You can select from the freight orders that belong to the selected shipping office. By default, the range of freight orders is set to all freight orders. This means, that LN selects all freight orders of the selected shipping office and planning group to create the load plan.
  4. Select Freight Order lines. If you selected one freight order in the previous step, you can specify the freight order lines of the freight order that you want to plan. By default, the range of freight order lines is set to all freight order lines.

    Note

    You can perform load building for freight order lines if the freight order lines meet the following criteria:

    • The Load Planning check box is selected for the freight order lines or for the entities that are linked to the freight order lines, such as transport types, transport means groups, and so on.
    • The freight order lines are not blocked.
    • The freight order line status is Expected, Planned, or Actual.
    • The latest load date of the freight order lines is later than the LN system date.
    • The loading and unloading addresses are available according to their calendar in the period defined by the loading and unloading time windows.
  5. Select the Status range of the freight orders on which to base the load plan. Freight orders with statuses within the selected range are included in the load plan. You can select the Expected, Planned, and Actual statuses. By default, the range of Status in these fields is from Expected to Actual.
  6. Select Planned Load Date and Planned Unload Date. Freight orders with load dates and unload dates within the selected range are included in the load plan. By default, the planned load date and planned unload date ranges are set to all dates in these fields.
Step 5. Select planning options

The following planning options are available:

  • Replanning of Freight Orders
  • Shipment Planned Dates Based On
    For further information, see To use the planned date determiner options.
  • Carrier/LSP Selection Criterion
    This field enables you to specify whether the load building engine must search for the fastest, the cheapest, or the shortest option for transporting the goods listed in the loads and shipments of the load plan. Shortest means that the carrier that travels the shortest distance to deliver the goods to the unloading addresses will be selected. For further information, see Carrier/LSP Selection Criterion.
  • FM Leading Load Plan
    If you select this option, changes made by Warehousing to loads and shipments created by Freight are checked by Freight. For example, if Warehousing wants to move a shipment created by Freight to another load, Freight performs a check on several data of the load and the shipment, such as the loading capacity of the transport means group of the load, whether the transport type of the load and the shipment match, and so on.
  • Allow Means of Transport in Multiple Plans
    For further information, see Means of transport selection.
  • Calculate Additional Costs
    If you select this option, additional costs are calculated if additional costs apply to any of the freight orders of the selected freight order range. For further information, see To allocate additional costs.
  • Detailed Planning Log
    If you select this option, additional information about the load plan is generated while the load plan is created. This information includes details of the steps taken by the load building engine to create the plan, and any errors that took place during this process.
  • Reports
    If you select this option, a standard report on the load plan is generated.
Step 6. Start the load building process

After you select freight orders and additional options, click Generate to start the load building process.

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