Introducing Freight Science™ On-Demand Itineraries
The Freight Science Planning and Optimization Models are designed to recommend drivers for loads that maximize load throughput for the entire network. On rare occasions, users may not see an expected driver or load in the optimization output.
On-demand itineraries allow users to simulate the proposed dispatch of any given driver or load and review key performance indicators such as lateness, deadhead, driver preference alignment, and hours of service utilization.
This new capability will help users answer the question of why a certain driver or load is not recommended when they feel it should be.
How do I access an on-demand itinerary?
As part of this enhancement, various improvements have been made to the Freight Science Planning user experience. From the main navigation bar, select “Planning”, then navigate to the “Planning Grid”.
The grid items for loads and drivers have been updated, removing the “Manual Assignment” button in favor of a more generic “Assign” action.
Clicking “Assign” will navigate users to a dedicated preplan page where recommendations can be reviewed (if available).
Users can perform a manual search via this interface by scrolling to the end of the recommendations list and clicking the “Driver search” or “Load search” button (whichever is applicable).
How does driver and load search work?
Begin by clicking the appropriate action at the bottom of the recommendation list to open the search interface. If you are viewing a load or driver that has no recommendations, this search view will open automatically on page load.
Use the search input to query for a driver or leg. You can submit your query by pressing the “enter” or “return” key, or by clicking the blue search icon at the tail of the input.
Once the results populate, select a driver or leg from the list and click the “Select” button. This will trigger the on-demand itinerary models to simulate the selected driver and load combination.
In some instances, you may encounter an error simulating the dispatch. This is usually the result of a load not being available for planning / is planned on another driver. Or a driver that is not assigned to a tractor.
What is an on-demand itinerary?
Once the simulation is complete, the driver itinerary will populate the right-hand side of the screen. This includes the driver or load selected, a collection of simulated metrics, and the itinerary for the driver. The proposed dispatch is highlighted in blue.
The planning summary includes the driver or load information. If there is a Driver score badge, it simply means how close the driver will get to the target goal of 550 miles per day, excluding deadhead.
Below are the simulated metrics.
Deadhead is the computed mileage from the driver’s preceding event to the pickup location.
Lateness is the total amount of lateness for all stop events. The clock icon will turn red to indicate that this driver exceeded a sensible lateness threshold for optimization.
Alignment compares the equipment needs of the load to the driver’s certifications, as well as the locations of the load to any driver preferences.
The Simulated Itinerary section breaks down how the driver would service all events on their schedule, highlighting any transit events, stops, and idle time waiting for appointments.
Are there additional improvements?
The Planning Grid has been improved to be more responsive for smaller screens.
The Driver details row indicates the HOS clocks and recap count (if available)
The Driver details row more clearly indicates driver availability
Drivers and loads with recommendations have a dedicated icon (⚡️) with a tooltip
This is also a link so users can cross-reference recommendations within the app
Drivers and loads have fewer buttons to simplify interactions
Driver names are now links to the driver profile
Order IDs are now links to the order details