Tour management

In the Tour management is a planning process. In this process, individual orders are combined into a tour and put in an economically sensible sequence. Economically sensible action arises when either the available resources (financial resources, time budget, etc.) are used efficiently ( maximum principle ) or a given goal is achieved with as little effort as possible ( minimum principle ). The funds used and the targeted income must therefore be set in relation to one another so that maximum benefit or maximum profit can be achieved.

The tour of a vehicle is managed in each case. In this context, all areas play a major role, because the highest possible order volume should be completed with this one vehicle. At the same time, restrictions and special requirements of the recipient must be taken into account. The more tours to be planned, the more complex the tour management becomes.

The optimal tour management is characterized by the following criteria , among others :

• The loading space of a vehicle is used to the maximum and is loaded according to the order of the destinations to be approached (" last in - first out ").
• The driver's time is realistic and complies with legal requirements.
• The route to be traveled is optimally planned in terms of time windows and restrictions.
• All resources are used efficiently and as sparingly as possible.

Description of tour management

Tour management comprises several areas of responsibility or components, all of which play an economically important role:

Tour planning

The route planning must be clearly separated from the route planning . Route planning deals with the determination of the optimal route for a given number of vehicles and a certain number of transport orders. At the same time, pick-ups and deliveries must be taken into account, and day and multi-day tours must be handled.

Route planning, on the other hand, finds a route between a starting point and a destination. Although different waypoints or intermediate destinations can be recorded, these systems are not nearly economical for logistics . Route planners, for example, are not able to optimize the individual tours in a resource-efficient manner, but only track the information entered by the user.

Tour optimization

Route optimization is one of the core functions of route planning. The individual tours are compiled and optimized here. Well-engineered software for route management uses algorithms to determine a time-distance matrix between the individual destinations and to optimize the route, taking into account all conditions. These conditions include, for example, the acceptance times for deliveries of goods, the driving and rest times of the drivers, the capacities of the transport vehicles, the load on the routes due to rush hour traffic, construction sites, etc.

Tour optimization in the area of ​​A / B tour planning is of particular importance. This refers to orders in the context of which a starting point must first be approached in order to load goods or the like, in order then to head for the destination point at which these goods are to be unloaded. If several such orders are to be completed in one day, there is a risk of inefficiency and thus economic damage - regardless of how many vehicles are in use. There is typically a need for optimization in the areas due to potential double journeys

• Fuel consumption
• Transport costs (toll, etc.)
• Time efficiency
• On-time delivery
• Restrictions
• Tour control

In route control, the target / actual comparison is a central component for drivers and dispatchers. In this way, both are able to initiate appropriate measures in the event of disruptions - for example on the route. Not only is the planned tour known, the actual one is also displayed. Digital maps and sophisticated, special navigation programs are in use.

One of the prerequisites for optimal tour control is vehicle location, with the help of which the vehicle positions can be called up at any time. In addition, there is an intelligent linkage of the associated data and their clear presentation. Numerous forwarding agents and courier services now offer their customers live tracking in real time. The status displays are always up-to-date and provide precise information on the status of deliveries, among other things.

Order processing

Order processing includes the fast and timely recording of orders to be dispatched and new addresses, billing, etc. Modern software for route management works with interfaces to ERP systems and controlling programs for evaluation. Drivers and dispatchers communicate in real time and send electronic documents that can be read in by the logistics company and processed further without delay.

Resource management

The resource management includes the management of transport and loading equipment per vehicle depot and destination address. As a rule, double postings and entries are omitted because the correct counter-posting (removal from the warehouse - loading the vehicle or, conversely, removal from the vehicle - output to the recipient) is carried out automatically.

Evaluations

Statistical evaluations are an important instrument for controlling for corporate management. Relevant data for operations management and scheduling are recorded, compiled and evaluated. As a rule, the evaluated data can be sent via interfaces to special programs (Excel PowerPivot and similar) for further processing.

Digital maps

They map the digital road network and are based on official and always up-to-date raw data from relevant institutions. Specific tour management applications use this data as a basis and present a great deal of relevant information for dispatchers and drivers on the maps, for example separate unloading stations.

As a rule, this data can be supplemented with further individual information by the logistics company - both by the driver and the dispatcher. Traffic restrictions, restrictions, etc. can be displayed and taken into account in route planning.

The basic model of route planning

A high-quality and modern tour management software is designed to support logistics companies in the planning and optimization of tours. The focus is on the economy of the tours. The definition of a route planning states that a certain order quantity is to be assigned to a certain amount of means of transport in such a way that all transport costs are minimized. Transport costs include all costs that arise from the use and deployment of the means of transport and the distances to be covered.

The basic model of route planning belongs to the class of NP-difficult problems. This means that the software has several potential options to continue the calculations at any point in time. There is no clear calculation method. In order to solve the problem of route planning, the programmers have various options in the form of algorithms, methods, etc.

A modern route management software uses, among other things, strategies for local search and exchanges the order of the orders as well as their assignment to the individual means of transport in order to determine the optimal combination. Since the complexity of this situation makes it impossible to fully test all alternatives, approximate solutions are sought. At the same time, a taboo list is used when searching for the ideal solution (here: optimal route). This list contains trains or solutions that may not be taken into account in the current situation (here: route planning ), for example routes that are not approved for vehicles with a certain total weight.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ What is tour management? cotris.com Blog, Retrieved May 18, 2020
2. ↑ Tour planning for business administration learning, accessed on May 19, 2020
3. ↑ Tour optimization business administration learning, accessed on May 19, 2020