What Is A Route?
A route is made of a code and a date. The code represents a geographic area and the date is when a delivery is to take place. You can move customers between routes by changing the route code or the date and the computer will move the customer to the new route. Within a route, you can order the stops by assigning stop numbers and the computer will then keep that order when it prints the route sheets and tickets for the route/date deliveries.
These changes to a delivery ticket can be made at several locations within the program so make delivery management easier. They are:
• Work order screen
• F4 list of delivery tickets (work orders)
Most companies use the F4 screen so they can easily see how the routes have been grouped and if they are properly loaded and the customer sites are in the same geographic area.
Managing Routes (F4)
To manage a route, press the F4 key and select the dates of deliveries to be managed. A list of all the tickets (work orders) for the selection will be displayed. You can at this point:
1. Right-click and, via the action menu, edit the work order.
2. Left/right mouse click to bring up the action menu. Some of the features of the tool box are:
a. Print a listing of the routes for office use
b. Edit work orders
c. Etc.
3. Using Dispatch Work Order management to graphical map pin heads for work order, arrange work order in shortest travel order, high speed re-routing via the lasso tool.
Daily Activity
1. Use the F4 display to review route/day and identify which customers should receive a delivery. You do this by changing the dates and routes the tickets. Customers who do not receive a delivery can have the schedule date changed to a date later in the week
2. Use the Stop-to-Stop mapping tool to optimize the order of the stops to minimize driving time and to verify that the selected stops are a complete day's work, i.e., not less that eight hours or more then 10.
3. Print the driver route sheet for each route and review.
4. Print the tickets for the routes to be completed that day. The tickets and the customers listed on the route sheet will be in the order that was set in Stop-to-Stop.
5. Check returned tickets against office copy of route sheet to account for all deliveries. Re-schedule any customers who were missed, i.e., move the ticket schedule date to a later date in the week.
6. Post the tickets into the line item charge screen. This updates the customer history.
7. Print open charges report and verify entries for each driver. Make corrections and then print and post invoices.
8. Post receivables and print deposit report to verify that all checks and cash received have been deposited.