Dispatch and Operations
Hikyaku assigns packages immediately. When a package comes in, Hikyaku puts it on a driver's shift in the same request. There is no nightly planning run. Dispatchers see the updated routes at all times.
This page tells you what Hikyaku does with a new package, and which settings change the result.
The two steps of assignment
Step 1: Instant assignment
Hikyaku examines each open shift at the warehouse of the package. For each shift, it calculates the lowest-cost position for the new stop. It then selects the shift where the package adds the least time and distance.
Hikyaku does not add a package to a shift when:
- The vehicle does not have enough capacity for the weight.
- The vehicle does not have all the skills that the package requires.
- The new stop makes another stop late for its delivery window.
- The shift goes above a driving limit of the driver.
- The shift already has 45 stops.
- The shift starts in less than 15 minutes.
If no shift can take the package, Hikyaku starts a new shift for a free driver and van. If there is no free driver and van, the package stays Pending in a queue. Hikyaku adds it to a shift when a shift has space, or when a dispatcher clicks Re-optimise.
Step 2: Background replan
After each change to a shift, Hikyaku solves the full route of that shift again. This replan uses the VROOM solver and real road times from Valhalla. The replan can change the sequence of the stops. It does not move a package to a different driver.
The replan usually completes in a few seconds.
Who gets the package
When service areas are active, Hikyaku prefers drivers who cover the delivery address. It tries these steps in this sequence:
- An open shift of a driver who covers the address.
- A new shift for a free driver who covers the address.
- An open shift of a driver who does not cover the address.
- A new shift for any free driver.
- Move a less urgent package off a shift to make space. If this is not possible, keep the package Pending.
Hikyaku records the step that it used on the package as the Coverage value, for example Covered or Fallback: no coverage. The package page shows this value.
Hikyaku can move a package off a shift to make space for a more urgent package. It does this 2 times at most for each package. After 24 hours, a package does not move again.
Planning assumptions
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Time at each stop | 15 minutes |
| Default start time of a shift | 08:00, in the time zone of the warehouse |
| Maximum stops on one shift | 45 |
| Shift closes to automatic assignment | 15 minutes before it starts |
| Start and end of each route | The warehouse of the vehicle |
What the dispatcher can do
The dispatcher can change the plan at any time:
- Make a shift manually. Select the driver, van, date and packages. Refer to Driver Shifts.
- Re-optimise. On the Driver Shifts page, click Re-optimise to solve today's shifts at a warehouse again and add queued packages. This does not make new shifts, and it does not add to your shift usage.
- Look at the reasons. Each package page shows the Coverage value. Each shift page shows the planned time, distance and stops against the driving limits of the driver.
Operational goals
- Each package is on a route seconds after it comes in.
- Drivers work in the areas that they know.
- Vans carry only the packages that they can carry.
- No shift goes above the limits that you set for the driver.
- Dispatchers can see the reason for each decision.