Optimization
Assignment
Planning is more complicated than most people appreciate.
Assignment weighs hours of service, driver preferences, customer and load priorities, driver work schedules and home time, location tolerances, efficiency, and how each driver behaves — and returns the driver and load pairing that is best for the company, not just the one in front of you.
What it does
The best pairing for the company, re-solved as the day changes.
| Order | Status | Lane | Pickup | Assignee | Recommendation | Alignment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9882996 Parts DC · Memphis, TN · TEA | Started Critical | Spokane, WA → Morton, IL 1,848 mi · 3 stops · begin bobtail | 12 Aug · 12:59 PDT | Driver 1042 38 · 27005 | — | — |
9892465 Retail DC · Bethlehem, PA · NELO | Available Critical | Bethlehem, PA → Newark, NJ 120 mi · 2 stops · hook preloaded | 16 Aug · 00:00 EDT | unassigned | Driver 1043 start 15 Aug · 19:21 rank 1 of 8 | 19.4 mi deadhead 06:48 hrs · 03:39 excess On time $659.35 · $97.04/hr |
9893730 Retail DC · Bethlehem, PA · NELO | Available Critical | Bethlehem, PA → Newark, NJ 120 mi · 2 stops · hook preloaded | 17 Aug · 00:00 EDT | unassigned | Driver 1044 start 17 Aug · 00:37 rank 1 of 6 | 25.8 mi deadhead 03:37 hrs · 00:28 excess Late $659.35 · $182.17/hr |
9895427 Retail DC · Bethlehem, PA · NELO | Available Critical | Bethlehem, PA → Newark, NJ 120 mi · 2 stops · hook preloaded | 18 Aug · 00:00 EDT | unassigned | Driver 1045 start 17 Aug · 13:17 rank 1 of 4 | 77.0 mi deadhead 14:33 hrs · 11:24 excess Late $659.35 · $45.32/hr |
9892458 Retail DC · Bethlehem, PA · NELO | Available Critical | Bethlehem, PA → Philadelphia, PA 129 mi · 2 stops · hook preloaded | 16 Aug · 23:30 EDT | unassigned | Driver 1046 start 16 Aug · 16:00 rank 1 of 1 | Tour route · MM–Philly 66.7 mi deadhead On time |
9892439 Retail DC · Bethlehem, PA · 193 | Planned Critical | Houston, TX → Irving, TX 275 mi · 4 stops | 16 Aug · 12:58 CDT | Driver 1047 55 · 6038 | — | — |
9889603 Retail DC · Bethlehem, PA · NEREG | Started On plan | Mechanicsburg, PA → Wilkes-Barre, PA 155 mi · 4 stops · begin empty | 13 Aug · 14:15 EDT | Driver 1048 93 · PLP314 | — | — |
9892689 Parts DC · Memphis, TN · TEA | Planned On plan | Spokane, WA → Spokane, WA 3,420 mi · 3 stops · round trip | 18 Aug · 06:01 PDT | Driver 1042 38 · 27005 | — | — |
Assignment pairs the optimal driver to the optimal load against your objectives, and keeps re-solving as the network moves, so the plan on the screen is the best one available now rather than the best one available when someone last looked.
Rank is not a quality score. It counts how many drivers were feasible, which is why a load can be ranked first out of four and still be the wrong shape — and why the slack above what the trip needs is the number worth arguing with.
Stacks.
Two or more load combinations, often non-obvious, that make up a driver’s tour — which is how a driver gets a predictable schedule and how their available hours get used.
Take me home.
Plans the week in reverse from the time a driver has to be home, pairing loads to reduce empty miles on the way.
Bulk planning.
Assign many driver and load pairings at once rather than one at a time.
What happens without it
There are three layers to how a fleet runs, and only one of them is documented.
There are the rules the fleet has to operate by. Then there are the SOPs nobody wrote down, which are how it operates. Then there is what an individual planner knows. We codify all three, so the way you operate is explicit — and so is the trade-off between your way and the optimal one.
That is why planning is hard to scale. To plan well you have to know your drivers, your fleet managers, the region you are responsible for, the rules at every location you pick up from or deliver to, and where you stand with each customer. Today that knowledge sits with the person doing the job.
One model, your objective
You cannot keep every driver moving and get the most from every tractor at the same time.
| Driver | Current | Remaining HoS | Home time | This week | Recommendation | Alignment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Driver 1049 sen 47 · tractor 5942 | Unscheduled Riverdale, IL · off duty No load | 11:0014:0070:00 drive · shift · cycle | Waukegan, IL 14 hours overdue | $2,124.37 of $5,000 · 2 loads · 381 mi | — | — | Assign |
Driver 1050 sen 47 · tractor 26159 | Started Joliet, IL · off duty Late | 06:4306:2831:06 drive · shift · cycle | Bethany, IL in 18 days | $6,027.46 of $5,000 · 4 loads · 1,496 mi | — | — | Assign |
Driver 1051 sen — · tractor 26165 | Unscheduled Charlotte, NC · off duty No load | 11:0014:0070:00 drive · shift · cycle | Charlotte, NC 2 days overdue | $1,561.83 of $5,000 · 6 loads · 361 mi | 9866987 Columbia, SC → Columbia, SC rank 1 of 1 | 110.1 mi deadhead 02:30 hrs · 02:00 excess On time $159.16 · $63.64/hr | Review |
Driver 1052 sen 40 · tractor D064 | Unscheduled Dayton, OH · off duty No load | 11:0014:0027:47 drive · shift · cycle | Dayton, OH in 20 hours | $14,400.00 no target set · 8 loads | 9896657 Tipp City, OH → Tipp City, OH rank 1 of 23 | 15.7 mi deadhead 08:31 hrs · 07:31 excess On time $1,851.02 · $217.34/hr | Review |
Driver 1053 sen 54 · tractor 6134 | Unscheduled North Houston, TX · off duty No load | 05:1506:4249:33 drive · shift · cycle | Houston, TX in 5 months | $1,868.78 of $5,000 · 7 loads · 497 mi | 9888950 Brownsville, TX → Fairburn, GA rank 1 of 5 | 288.7 mi deadhead 60:12 hrs · 20:42 excess On time $4,408.43 · $73.22/hr | Review |
Driver 1054 sen 65 · tractor 6222 | Started Waverly, GA · driving Late | 06:3409:2328:11 drive · shift · cycle | Jacksonville, FL in 7 months | $1,771.86 no target set · 3 loads · 2,245 mi | 9889784 Jacksonville, FL → Savannah, GA rank 1 of 2 | 5.1 mi deadhead 05:34 hrs · 01:47 excess On time $523.10 · $93.97/hr | Review |
Driver 1055 sen 19 · tractor D029 | Started Valdosta, GA · off duty On plan | 08:3710:5352:34 drive · shift · cycle | Valdosta, GA in 3 hours | $944.76 of $5,000 · 3 loads · 367 mi | 9898153 Valdosta, GA → Savannah, GA rank 1 of 2 | 13.2 mi deadhead 09:32 hrs · 03:26 excess Late $899.96 · $94.48/hr | Review |
Driver 1056 sen 40 · tractor D056 | Started Vandalia, OH · off duty On plan | 07:0008:3017:49 drive · shift · cycle | Clear Creek, OH in 13 days | $5,894.41 no target set · 9 loads · 726 mi | 9896590 Cincinnati, OH → Louisville, KY rank 1 of 3 | 51.0 mi deadhead 13:39 hrs · 06:05 excess Late $1,026.82 · $75.23/hr | Review |
Some companies want all of their drivers utilized and moving. Others want to maximize each driver and each tractor. The outcomes are materially different, and the model is set to the one you are running.
Hours, home time and the week to date sit in the same row as the load the model would give that driver, so the cost of the recommendation is visible before anyone takes it.
The objective by fleet type
A dedicated fleet often wants something other than revenue per hour.
For-hire OTR.
Efficiency and available working hours across the entire fleet — the primary consideration when the freight is one-way and the truck has to keep earning.
Dedicated.
Service and empty miles, without losing drivers.
Private fleets.
Service and fleet utilization — driving cost below what the market would charge, and, if the empty miles can be filled, turning the fleet into a revenue generator.
Why the plan holds up
A two-hour unload that is really six hours is the difference between a plan and a guess.
NCDIST04 — Distribution center · Salisbury, NC
Details
Salisbury, NC 28147
Appointments — what this location tolerates
Live load
Hook preloaded
Live unload
Final drop loaded
Transit times — observed, not quoted
| Destination | Miles | Avg mph | Median | Min | Max | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail DC · Charlotte, NCCHA-B4 · Charlotte, NC | 41 | 41 | 1h 00m | 1h 00m | 1h 00m | 1 |
| Grocery DC · Charlotte, NCCHA-D7 · Charlotte, NC | 41 | 31 | 1h 20m | 1h 19m | 1h 20m | 2 |
| Manufacturing plant · Charlotte, NCCHA-C2 · Charlotte, NC | 41 | 25 | 1h 37m | 1h 37m | 1h 37m | 1 |
| Distribution DC · Charlotte, NCCHA-A1 · Charlotte, NC | 41 | 10 | 3h 59m | 3h 59m | 3h 59m | 1 |
| Regional DC · Kernersville, NCKRN-01 · Kernersville, NC | 55 | 49 | 1h 07m | 1h 07m | 1h 07m | 1 |
| Warehouse · Lexington, NCLEX-02 · Lexington, NC | 64 | 56 | 1h 09m | 1h 09m | 1h 09m | 1 |
| Retail DC · Duncan, SCDUN-04 · Duncan, SC | 119 | 51 | 2h 21m | 2h 04m | 2h 30m | 4 |
| Parts DC · Winston-Salem, NCSAL-01 · Winston-Salem, NC | 144 | 52 | 2h 46m | 2h 46m | 2h 46m | 1 |
Most systems assume a generic speed — something like 25 mph in the city and 55 on the highway — and a fixed thirty minutes to drop a trailer or two hours for a live load. Those numbers are not what happens. A two-hour estimate can be six hours at a specific location, and today that is knowledge held by whoever has worked the account, which is exactly why planning does not scale.
On time is not one number either. Home time runs from to-the-minute to within a few days, depending on the company. Delivery runs from to-the-minute to within a few days, depending on the location. Both are constraints and both have slack, and using the slack changes how much you can do with the same fleet.
What the plan runs on
A driver who has ruled something out takes that option off the board entirely.
Drivers › Driver 1057
Driver 1057
Weekly revenue
Measured against the minimum earnings goal on this record.
On-time service
Rolling, by appointment kept.
Pickup 100%
Delivery 94%
Missed 2 of 71
Core information
Equipment
Finances
The minimum earnings goal is used to measure weekly revenue against a target.
Schedule
Without a home time frequency the driver is assumed to be available 24/7.
Location preferences
Location preferences are used to help align Planning recommendations to the right driver. Drivers with avoided locations will not receive recommendations taking them in or out of the area.
What that removes
The consequence of the two rows above, applied to this week's board.
Assignment plans on historical transit for that lane at that hour, and on loading and unloading durations by location, time of day and piece count — then adjusts during execution for traffic or a driver who has been rerouted.
Which freight to take is a different question, answered one page over by Freight Intake. Assignment recommends who runs it.
Location profiles.
What counts as on time at that location, with the tolerance. The TMS has a field for an appointment or a window and nothing for how much either can move.
Driver profiles.
Work schedule, whether the driver will come in early or late, days of the week, start time and home time. Also the commodities they will not haul, the locations they are not allowed to go to or will not go to, and the lanes they prefer.
Real dwell.
Loading and unloading duration by location, time of day and piece count — not a default.
Historical transit.
By lane and by hour, and adjusted during execution.