Dynamics 365: TMS! Rate, Route, and Rejoice – Part 2 (The Routes)
Some say Route (rhymes with ROOT) others say route (rhymes with snout), we say either are good ways to take care of transportation in Dynamics 365. In this part, we will go over the basic set-up to get you started on your route journey using our DEMO USMF environment.
There are 4 basic components in routing: Routing guide, Route plan, Segments, Route schedules, Hubs, and Routes. The chart below illustrates the relationship between the components and it also pays homage to an 80’s video arcade mainstay, Ms. Pac Man. Why Ms. Pac Man for routes? Unlike her counterpart Mr. Pac Man, the missus has no problem stopping for directions. Note that a Route guide has one Route plan. A Route plan can have many Segments and Route schedules. The Segments and Route schedules can have multiple Hubs and Routes.
Routing guide – can be accessed from Modules> Transportation management> Routing> Route guides. Click New and name the routing guide. Under the Information fast tab consider the direction. Leaving it as none makes it flexible but it also creates more overhead for the routing engine when processing transactions. The system will have to review all route guides and it could create performance issues. As we mentioned in the Rate blog, you can create routing guides per site/warehouse and with effective dates. If you are practicing, consider leaving these fields blank for ease of use.
There are multiple fast tabs with configurable data to meet the needs of any organization, including: Customer, zip code, hub, volume and weight limits, etc. we suggest you play around with the settings to get the desired result.
Finally, a Result in the Result fast tab is required. It can be as simple as picking a mode or attaching a route plan.
Route plan – A route plan contains route segments. These segments detail the route and carriers used. These are shown as HUBS. A hub can be a vendor, a warehouse, a customer, or even just a reloading place where you change carrier.
Spot rates – Make sure to review any possible spot rates and create them ahead of time. They are accessible from the Route plan form. A Spot rate could be something like an unloading charge at dock specific to a segment. This is also where accessorial charges are setup as well.
Hubs – Are predefined and are user defined types such as warehouse, regional stops, ports, etc. They can be accessed from the Route plan form by clicking on Edit hubs. Make sure you fill out the address completely to make sure the route properly calculates.
Route schedule – Route schedules are useful for routes that occur on a regular basis. For example, every Tuesday we deliver goods to Target using a route schedule. Make sure to turn on the Activate route recurrence, otherwise the schedule will not be active.
Constraints – D365 has a mechanism to allow a user the ability to add Item specific, customer specific, and vendor specific constraints. This can be useful for cargo that cannot travel in certain routes, etc.
Congrats, we have just created a route structure to use within D365. A few notes to consider when creating this structure:
- There are multiple places in which an effective date can be set. Beware of how these dates are used and the possible outcomes.
- The Profile can be set for a specific site/warehouse. Keep this in mind and be prepared to setup multiple profiles if the need arises.
- Please check out Part one and three (coming soon!) of this series for more information and these other related topics in our blog section:
Dynamics 365: TMS! Rate, Route, and Rejoice – Part 1 (The Rates)