DI Optimize - version 1.7.0 introduction of breaks and vehicle tags

Today, July 3rd, we will release a new version of the Optimize plugin. You can now download version 1.7.0.

Here’s what’s new:

Breaks

We introduce the concept of breaks on routes. In the layer panel, you will now find a new layer called “Breaks”, and you can use this layer to add breaks when setting up a new optimization.

There are different ways to do this, but one suggestion is to select the layer, then go to "Toggle Editing" in the toolbar, and click “Add Point Feature”. This allows you to select a specific location on the map using a pointer. In this example, we have selected a parking lot by a gas station.

Once you have selected the point on the map where you want your carrier to take a break, you will be presented with a popup.

In the popup, we define which vehicle we want to apply the break to, a time window for when the break should occur, and the duration of the break. Click “OK”, and you will see that your break layer has been updated.

To use your breaks in an optimization, you need to save the break layer and then use the input layer from the same group when submitting a new optimization. When you run the optimization, DI Optimize will take the break into consideration, and in the solution, you will see the break represented in the sequence layer as a “Pause”.

Vehicle Tags

When adding or editing a vehicle, you can now assign tags to it. A use case is when you want to associate a specific attribute with the vehicle — for example, indicating that the vehicle is a thermo car equipped for delivery of frozen goods. Simply tag the vehicle with an appropriate label.

Then you can select the desired deliveries on the map and tag them with a specific vehicle attribute.

When you run a new optimization using this input layer, DI Optimize will consider the tags and assign thermo cars to service the selected deliveries.

Editing Multiple Vehicles

Some optimization jobs require a large fleet consisting of multiple vehicle groups. Let’s say you have set up your fleet, run an optimization, and now want to make some general adjustments — for example, modifying the time window. Previously, you had to edit each vehicle individually to change the time windows. Now, you can select multiple groups by holding down the Shift key and clicking the groups you want to edit.

Simply click “Edit Selected Vehicles” to make general changes to all selected vehicles.

Finally, we’d like to mention that we’ve updated our user manuals on the support pages. We’ve added more information about the use of order and vehicle tags, including some practical use cases and step-by-step instructions.

If you have any questions about the new features, don’t hesitate to reach out.