Setting Up Territories

  1. Territories are not the same as routes. Aim to name your territories after the geography you care about, not “Route 134.”
  2. Territories should cover the entire service area. Even if a driver is not typically assigned to the area, it is better for reporting and optimization set up to have a defined territory.
  3. Smaller territories will give you more fine grained control over where drivers go, but will take longer to test and set up.
  4. Routes will make sure to include the primary territory, then if there is space, go out to secondary territories. For primary territories, select the territories you want that driver to always deliver in. Imagine a busy day, set the secondary territories to the territories you’d be fine having the driver also go to make deliveries. If you absolutely don’t want a driver to go to an area, don’t select it.
  5. Make sure that territories overlap slightly. Stops that do not have a territory because they sit in a gap between territories can lead to the optimization unexpectedly bringing in a driver from outside the nearby territories.
  6. The start time is when the driver leaves the start location. If the start location is not at the terminal, make sure to account for the time it will take the truck to drive to the start location.


Setting Up Runs

  1. If you are setting a start and an end location in general place the marker on the street or access point. Placing in the middle of a warehouse may result in the optimization not being able to route to the start or end.


Hot Runs and Morning Runs

  1. If you have a customer you always want a particular run to service, you can make a dedicated territory for that customer and assign the route to that territory. This can be useful for large volume customers. The optimizer cannot read your mind.
  2. Set the start location as the terminal and the end location as the customer.
  3. Make sure to leave enough time for them to travel to the stop.
  4. If you want them to potentially take other deliveries, include the surrounding territory as secondary. 


Routes that Can Reload

  1. If you want the route to return and take a second load, you can check the reload box. This means the route will optionally create a first run that loops back to the service center followed by a second run that will end at the selected ending location.
  2. Routes at can reload should usually be set to a strict territory to ensure they stay within the desired area.