Network Routing

Network routing provides an additional way to model multi-tier transportation networks, and allows for planning orders through such networks. There are other ways to model transportation networks (but each with their own limitations for networks).

Network routing provides the following:

• Allows for intelligently routing orders through transportation networks. This logic accounts for order volumes and synergies of flow when making routing decisions.
• Can be used for both order release planning and order movement planning.
• Re-use of equipment where feasible
• Flexibility

There are several logic configuration network routing parameters available to help you configure network routing to suit your needs.

When using network routing, the representative location should be entered for regions that are used as the source or destination of a network leg, and is used as a stand-in for the region when determining the rated cost of going through the network leg. See "Use of Representative Location" in Bulk Plan Network Routing and "Representative Locations" in Modelling Routing Networks.

When to Use Network Routing

Network Routing solves problems about how to route orders through transportation networks where one or more shipments in sequence are needed to transport the order from its source to its destination. Orders may need to be routed through cross docks and pools or other intermediate locations (or "through-points"), and in many transportation scenarios there is a choice about which cross docks or pools or through-points to use.

Network Routing is useful when the following is true:

• When sending an order from its source to its destination, multiple shipments are potentially needed, where some shipments deliver into intermediate locations such as cross docks, etc. For example, the order must first ship into a Denver cross dock, before being put on another truck to ship to its destination.
• A given order has a choice from among different intermediate points; e.g., there are three different cross docks that might be used for this order, or perhaps two through-points in succession, such as an order routed through a cross dock and then a deconsolidation pool.
• This routing choice of intermediate points is determined at the time of planning, rather than being fixed ahead of time.
• Network Routing is especially relevant when the routing choice depends in part upon the order volumes and where they are coming from and going to. For example, there are already some orders being sent through the Indianapolis cross dock, so it is cheaper to fill up those trucks with orders that otherwise might more cheaply be routed through the Louisville cross dock.

Network routing would not be relevant to the following scenarios:

• An order is always shipped directly from its source to its destination.
• An order may be shipped through intermediate points, but these intermediate points are always known in advance for every order.
• OTM planning is not used to create shipments for orders. For example, shipments that come into OTM as Shipment As Work (SAW) shipments are not considered in Network Routing logic.

You can choose not to go through routing optimization logic when using network routing. This may be desirable when the planning scenario does not involve any routing decisions, but when network routing must be turned on (for example when using work assignments in bulk plan). When this is enabled, the property glog.optimization.networkrouting.useSimpleSolve is true, network routing will use much simpler logic to choose a route. The default is false. Similarly, there is a network routing logic configuration parameter "Routing Solution Method" that allows you to disable the logic associated with the network routing. This can save run time when your bulk plan planning scenario (such as Bulk Plan with Work Assignments or Network Modeling Bulk Plan) use network routing but do not have any routing decisions.

Examples for Using Parameter "Routing Solution Method"

Here is some information about how you may want to set this parameter:

• Optimize: This is the default value, and is appropriate if you have orders with different routing options (e.g., direct vs crossdock vs multiple crossdocks), and would like the Network Routing logic to route orders based on rates and consolidation opportunities.
  • In this case, the NetworkRouting logs will indicate: "NetworkRoutingMIPSolver: Using MIP Solve".
  • In this case, the NRNetwork.xml file will show actual rated costs on the NRLegOptions.
• Simple Solve With Rating: This value is appropriate when you have orders with different routing options, but there are no consolidation opportunities that would affect routing decisions. This setting is also appropriate if there is a need to turn off the FICO XPRESS OPTIMIZER in Network Routing (if for example Oracle Support has suggested to do this in order to diagnose an optimization problem).
  • In this case, the NetworkRouting logs will indicate: "NetworkRoutingMIPSolver: Using Simple Solve"
  • In this case, the NRNetwork.xml file will show actual rated costs on the NRLegOptions.
• Simple Solve With No Rating: This value is appropriate when you have orders that do not have different routing options, so rates and consolidation opportunities are not needed to make routing decisions. This option is still appropriate when orders need to be routed along multiple legs, and when different orders might travel along different legs, so long as there is only one possible path for each order.
  • In this case, the NetworkRouting logs will indicate: "NetworkRoutingMIPSolver: Using Simple Solve"
  • In this case, the NRNetwork.xml file will not show actual rated costs on the NRLegOptions, but simply a container cost of 1.0 (or a container cost equal to the estimated cost defined on the corresponding leg).

Actions/Processes that Support Network Routing

Network routing is supported in the following shipment planning actions/processes:

• Order Release: Bulk Plan
• Order Release: Build Shipment - Direct
• Order Release: Show Network Routing Options
• Order Movement: Bulk Plan

Note: Bulk plan partitioning is not supported for bulk plans using network routing, for either order releases or order movements.

Note: To use network routing, order planning must use a parameter set with the parameter ORDER ROUTING METHOD set to "Network Routing". The parameter 'NETWORK ROUTING CONFIG ID' points to the Network Routing logic configuration, which specifies a number of different network routing parameters.