To use the planned date determiner options

The loading and unloading dates and times calculated for shipments are based on the planned load/unload dates and the loading and unloading time windows of the freight orders on which the load plan is based. The planned dates and the time windows of the freight orders, in turn, are created manually or are derived from the planned dates of the originating orders.

When load building is carried out, stops are created from the addresses of the freight orders on which the load plan is based.

If the time windows of the freight order are large, which signifies a surplus of time between the earliest and the latest load or unload date, the planned dates calculated for the shipments can differ considerably from the planned dates of the originating orders.

To prevent the load building engine from calculating undesirable planned shipment dates, the following planned date determining options are available to control the way planned loading and unloading dates are calculated for shipments. You can access these options in the Generate Plan (fmlbd0280m000) session:

  • Earliest of Possible Dates

    The planned dates of the shipment are equal to the earliest possible loading and unloading dates defined in the stop. Use this option if you want the shipment to be delivered or received as soon as possible.

  • Latest of Possible Dates

    The planned dates of the shipment are equal to the latest possible loading and unloading dates defined in the stop. Use this option if you want to postpone delivery or receipt of the shipment as long as possible, for example, to enable the use of transport capacity for rush orders.

  • Minimum of Planned Unload Dates

    The calculation of the planned dates of the shipment is based on the earliest planned unload dates of the original orders. Load dates are calculated by subtracting the travelling times from the unload dates. If you use this option, all shipments are delivered or received on or before the planned unload date of the originating orders. If, however, large load date tolerances are used, the shipments might not be delivered or received at the earliest possible date.

  • Average of Planned Unload Dates

    The calculation of the planned dates of the shipment is based on the average date of the planned unload dates of the original orders. All order lines are equally taken into account at all stops to determine the average date. As a result, some of the shipments are delivered somewhat later than the planned unload dates of the originating orders.

Note: 
  • If the Minimum of Planned Unload Dates or the Average of Planned Unload Dates are outside the time windows of the freight orders, the nearest time window border is taken as the minimum or average date. The planned dates for shipments must be within the time windows. The following example shows a situation in which a Minimum of Planned Unload Dates is outside the time windows of one of the freight orders in a shipment.
  • If a load plan is replanned or when new order lines are added to a load plan, the same planned date determining option is used as the one used for the original plan. When planning is initiated from an external source, such as the graphical plan board, you can use the Average of Planned Unload Dates option to calculate the planned shipment dates.

Example

Shipment A includes freight orders 1 and 2. The unloading time window for freight order 1 is October 4, 2005, 09:00 - 12:00 and the planned unload date is October 4, 2005, 10:00. For freight order 2, the unloading time window is October 4, 2005, 11:00 - 13:00 and the planned unload date is October 4, 2005, 12:30. The planned unloading date/time 10:00 is outside time window of freight order 2. Therefore, the nearest time window border, which is 11:00, is taken as the minimum planned unload date.