Planning Areas

Planning areas define areas of responsibility within a group. Dispatchers use them on the dispatch board and in the orders to narrow down the shipments they are responsible for. Each planning area contains rules (depots, areas, goods groups) that X4fleet uses to calculate the planning area of a shipment when the shipment is saved. The planning area is only set if exactly one active planning area of the shipment's group matches; otherwise the shipment remains without a planning area. Tours receive their planning area via the vehicle's start depot.

This page first explains how the assignment works and when it is calculated. It then covers the planning area filter and the management of planning areas.

1. Prerequisites

• Module: The Planning area module is activated for the tenant. It enables the menu entry, the planning area filter on the dispatch board and in the orders, and the Planning area field in the way and quantity split.
• Roles: The Planning areas page is available to the Administrator, Super administrator and Dispatcher roles (see User Roles).
• Automatic calculation: The calculation always runs as soon as active planning areas exist in a group. If a group has no active planning area, the planning area of that group's shipments remains unchanged.
• Multiple groups: If you work with subgroups, the module should be active in all groups and subgroups you use, so that the planning area filter works the same everywhere and your selection is retained.

2. How the Assignment Works

A planning area belongs to exactly one group. For a shipment, only planning areas are considered that

• are Active,
• belong to exactly the shipment's group (planning areas from parent groups or subgroups do not count) and
• are valid on the shipment's Planned tour date (Valid From ≤ tour date ≤ Valid until; without Valid until, the planning area is valid indefinitely).

X4fleet checks the rules of these candidates. Which rules are checked depends on the shipment's transport type.

Transport Type Determines the Rule Section

The transport type results from the kind of the from location and the to location. What matters is whether the location is a Depot/Terminal/Hub or a Service provisioning site. The transport type is determined again every time the shipment is saved.

Only the rule section of the shipment's own transport type is checked. Rules in the other sections have no influence on this shipment. The Undefined section is not a catch-all for shipments that do not match otherwise; it only applies to shipments with the transport type «Undefined».

Note: If a Collection place is active for the shipment and the location (setting Enable collection places), X4fleet checks the rules using the collection place instead of the original location.

Rule Check Step by Step

The fields of the individual rule sections are described in the «Transport order rules» tab. For each transport type, X4fleet checks the candidates as follows:

Pickup (shipment from the customer to the depot)

1. X4fleet searches for planning areas whose depots contain the to location, i.e. the depot to which the picked-up goods are brought.
2. Only if no planning area matches via the depot: X4fleet searches for planning areas whose And pickup areas contain the postal code of the from location.
3. If at least one of the planning areas found in step 1 also has And pickup areas entered, the result is additionally filtered by the postal code of the from location: only planning areas where the depot and the postal code match remain. Planning areas found via the depot that have no areas are then dropped.

Delivery (shipment from the depot to the customer) – mirroring the pickup:

1. Planning areas whose depots contain the from location (the depot from which the delivery starts).
2. Only if none matches: planning areas whose And dropoff areas contain the postal code of the to location.
3. If one of the planning areas found in step 1 has And dropoff areas entered, the postal code of the to location must also match.

Direct transport (without depot)

1. Planning areas without the Matching both areas option whose Pickup areas contain the postal code of the from location.
2. Only if none matches: planning areas whose Dropoff areas contain the postal code of the to location.
3. Only if there is still no match: planning areas with the Matching both areas option where the postal code of the from location is in the Pickup areas and the postal code of the to location is in the Dropoff areas.

Undefined

1. Planning areas whose Pickup areas contain the postal code of the from location.
2. Only if none matches: planning areas whose Dropoff areas contain the postal code of the to location.

Main leg (transport between depots) – depots only, no postal codes:

1. Planning areas whose Pickup depots contain the from location.
2. Only if none matches: planning areas whose Dropoff depots contain the to location.

The following then applies to all transport types:

• Goods groups: Planning areas that have only Good groups entered in the rule section (no depots, no areas) are also candidates. If a planning area has Good groups entered, it only matches if at least one item of the shipment has one of these goods groups. A planning area without goods groups is not restricted by them.
• Source and salesman code: If Source or Salesman code is entered, only planning areas remain where the shipment's source or the order's salesman code matches one of the values (upper/lower case does not matter). These fields only narrow down; on their own they never make a planning area match.
• Or within a list, and between rule types: Within a list (e.g. several depots or several areas), one match is enough. Between the rule types (depot, area, goods group, source, salesman code), all entered rules must be met – except for the fallback steps described above («only if none matches»).
• An empty rule section never matches: A rule section without depots, without areas and without goods groups matches no shipment. Empty does not mean «all».
• Postal codes and areas: The postal code of the location must be a positive number; non-numeric postal codes never match. An area must also be valid on the Planned tour date. The exclusion list is checked first, then the postal code list, then the postal code range from–to.

Result: Exactly One Match

• Exactly one planning area matches → the shipment receives this planning area.
• No planning area or more than one matches → the shipment receives no planning area.

There is no priority, no order and no planning area used as a fallback. Several active planning areas may exist in a group at the same time; X4fleet does not warn if their rules overlap.

To make the assignment unambiguous, check the following when setting up:

1. Is each depot entered in only one planning area of the group per rule section – or is it combined there with different, non-overlapping areas?
2. Do the postal code ranges of the areas used not overlap?
3. Do planning areas that are meant to differ only by Good groups, Source or Salesman code have different values?
4. Do the validity periods of an old and a new planning area with the same rules not overlap?
5. Are all required rule sections (transport types) filled? An empty rule section never matches.

Examples

The following examples use fictitious data.

Example 1 – Delivery with depot and area

A shipment goes from «Depot North» to a customer with postal code 8004 (transport type delivery). Both planning areas match via the depot. Since both have dropoff areas entered, the postal code of the to location is additionally checked: only «Zurich» matches. The shipment receives the planning area «Zurich».

If the shipment goes to a customer with postal code 6003, neither of the two planning areas matches after the postal code check. The shipment remains without a planning area.

Example 2 – Overlap

The planning areas «East» and «North» both have «Depot North» entered under Transport type pickup: Dropoff depots, but no And pickup areas. A pickup at a customer that is brought to «Depot North» matches both planning areas. Because more than one planning area matches, the shipment receives no planning area. Remedy: enter the depot in only one of the two planning areas, or add non-overlapping And pickup areas to both.

3. When Is the Planning Area Calculated?

Shipments

The planning area is calculated every time a shipment is saved – regardless of how the shipment is created or changed, for example when entered on the web, during an import or via an interface, for AdHoc orders, for orders generated from recurring orders, for splits or in quick editing. The status of the shipment does not matter.

Exceptions:

• If the shipment's planning area was set manually, it is retained when saving (see section 4).
• If the shipment's group has no active planning area, the shipment's previous planning area remains unchanged.

Tours

Tours receive their planning area exclusively via the Vehicle start depots in the «Tour rules» tab. It is calculated every time the tour is saved and with Recalculate Planning Area in the tours toolbar on the dispatch board. A planning area cannot be set manually for a tour.

4. Setting the Planning Area Manually or Recalculating It

These actions are hidden for users with read-only or clerk roles.

Change Group & Planning Area

With the Change group & planning area button (in the toolbar of the orders and of the unassigned shipments on the dispatch board), you assign a group and a planning area to the marked shipments:

• Auto: X4fleet calculates the planning area in the selected group according to the rules.
• Manually: you select the planning area yourself in the Planning area field.

The change is not possible for shipments with the status Allocated or for split shipments (Quantity split, Way split, Truckload process split).

Note: In both modes, the planning area is then considered manually set. It is no longer recalculated automatically when the shipment is saved until you run Recalculate Planning Area.

Recalculate Planning Area

In the toolbar of the unassigned shipments on the dispatch board, Recalculate Planning Area recalculates the planning area of the marked shipments:

1. Mark one or more shipments.
2. Click Recalculate Planning Area.

No confirmation prompt appears. The «manually set» flag is removed, and the planning area is calculated according to the current rules and saved. The message Planning area successfully recalculated then appears. The status of the shipments does not matter.

For tours, the tours toolbar has its own Recalculate Planning Area button.

Way and Quantity Split

In the way and quantity split (see Orders), each partial shipment has a Planning area field. Use the Refresh planning area icon to have the planning area calculated in advance.

• If you select a planning area, this value is retained (it is considered manually set).
• If you leave the field empty, the planning area is calculated according to the rules when saving – here too, only if exactly one planning area matches.

5. Planning Area Filter on the Dispatch Board and in Orders

On the dispatch board (toolbar of the unassigned shipments) and in the orders, the Planning area multi-select is available.

• It offers the active planning areas of the current group that are valid in the selected date range.
• Nothing selected → no filtering by planning area.
• Planning areas selected → only shipments with one of these planning areas are displayed. Shipments without a planning area are then not displayed.
• The selection is saved per user and per group and is the same on the dispatch board and in the orders. If you change the group, the selection saved for that group is loaded.

Default Planning Area (Without Module)

If the Planning area module is not activated, the Default planning area text field appears instead. It has nothing to do with the planning areas managed here:

• You enter free text, multiple values separated by «;».
• Shipments whose from location reference contains one of the values and tours whose name contains one of the values are displayed.
• The value is saved per user and reset every new day.

6. Navigation

Planning areas are accessible via the main menu under Dispatching › Planning Areas.

7. Overview (Table)

The overview shows all planning areas in a configurable table that is loaded page by page. Each row represents one planning area.

Default Columns

If a depot column contains several entries, these are listed below one another or separated by commas.

Sorting

Clicking a column header sorts the list in ascending or descending order by that column.

Selection

Clicking a row marks a planning area. Marked entries form the basis for the toolbar actions (Edit, Delete).

8. Group Filter

The filter bar can be used to restrict the list to one or more groups. The filter bar is hidden by default and can be shown when needed.

1. Show the filter bar.
2. Select one or more groups in the group field.
3. The list updates according to the selection made.

Only Current Group

With the Only current group option, the display is restricted to planning areas of the currently selected group. If the option is deactivated, planning areas of the associated subgroups are also displayed.

Note: The Only current group option is not available for subcontractors. For users who only enter web orders, the filter bar is hidden.

9. Create or Edit a Planning Area

Planning areas are created and edited via the toolbar. Both actions open a freely movable window with the entry form.

New Planning Area

1. Click Add in the toolbar.
2. The empty entry form opens.
3. Fill in the fields in the General, Transport order rules and Tour rules tabs (see sections 11 to 13).
4. Save.

Edit an Existing Planning Area

1. Mark a planning area in the list.
2. Click Edit in the toolbar.
3. The form opens with the existing data; the window title shows the name or short name of the area.
4. Adjust the desired fields and save.

Note: The entry window is freely movable and resizable. Several windows can be open at the same time (maximum five); position and size are saved.

Changes only apply to shipments and tours that are saved or recalculated afterwards (see section 3).

10. Save as New (Duplicate)

With the Save As New button in the entry form, the current planning area is created as a completely new record. This is useful for using an existing area as a template for a similar new area.

1. Open an existing planning area for editing.
2. Adjust the desired fields.
3. Click Save As New.

A new, independent record is created; the original planning area remains unchanged. After saving, the table is updated.

Note: If saving fails, the originally opened planning area is retained and can continue to be edited.

When duplicating, make sure to adjust the depots and areas in the copy. Otherwise, if both planning areas remain active and valid at the same time, their rules overlap (see Result: Exactly One Match).

11. «General» Tab

The General tab captures the identification and validity details of the planning area.

For the assignment, the validity on the shipment's Planned tour date or on the tour dates counts.

12. «Transport order rules» Tab

In the Transport order rules tab, you define which shipments are assigned to the planning area. The tab is divided into five rule sections, one per transport type. For a shipment, only the section of its transport type is checked (see Transport Type Determines the Rule Section); how the fields are combined is described in Rule Check Step by Step.

You select depots, areas and goods groups via multi-select or autocomplete fields. Input is supported with suggestions as you type. Areas are managed under Areas.

Each rule section additionally contains these fields:

Transport type pickup: Dropoff depots

For pickups: goods are picked up at a customer (service provisioning site) and brought to a depot. «Dropoff depots» are the depots to which the picked-up goods are brought.

Transport type delivery: Pickup depots

For deliveries: goods are picked up at a depot and brought to a customer. «Pickup depots» are the depots from which the delivery starts.

Direct transport

For shipments from customer to customer without a depot. Only areas (postal codes) are checked, no depots.

Undefined

For shipments with the transport type «Undefined», e.g. if a location is missing or has a different location kind. This section is not a catch-all for shipments of other transport types.

Main leg (transport between depots)

For shipments from depot to depot. Only depots are checked, no postal codes.

13. «Tour rules» Tab

In the Tour rules tab, you enter in the Vehicle start depots field the depots via which tours are assigned to this planning area.

1. Open the Tour rules tab.
2. In the Vehicle start depots field, add the desired depots via the multi-select field.
3. Save.

This is how the planning area of a tour is determined:

• Active planning areas of the tour's group that are valid on the tour dates are considered.
• The tour receives the planning area whose Vehicle start depots contain the start location of the tour.
• If no planning area of the group has Vehicle start depots entered, or if the start location is not entered in any planning area, the tour remains without a planning area.
• It is calculated every time the tour is saved and with Recalculate Planning Area in the tours toolbar.

The Vehicle start depots exclusively determine the planning area of the tour. Tour optimisation does not use them.

14. Delete a Planning Area

Planning areas that are no longer needed can be deleted from the overview.

1. Mark one or more planning areas.
2. Click Delete in the toolbar.
3. Confirm the security prompt.

The marked planning areas are removed and the table is updated. Deleting several areas at the same time is supported.

15. Toolbar and Templates

In addition to the management actions (Add, Edit, Delete), the toolbar of the planning areas overview provides further tools:

• Apply templates: Saved column and display templates can be applied to the table with a click.
• Layout functions: The column arrangement can be adjusted and reset.
• Column configuration: Visible columns and their order can be set per user.

The column layout is saved per user and is retained after logging out.

16. FAQ

Why does my shipment have no planning area? Usually either no planning area or more than one matches. Check: Is a matching planning area Active, does it belong to exactly the shipment's group and is it valid on the Planned tour date? Is the rule section of the correct transport type filled (see Transport Type Determines the Rule Section)? Is the postal code of the location numeric and contained in the area? Does another planning area with the same rules overlap?

Why can't I see my shipment on the dispatch board? If a selection is set in the Planning area filter, shipments without a planning area are not displayed. Clear the filter or make sure the shipment receives a planning area. The selection is saved per group – after a group change, a different selection may be active.

I changed a planning area, but the shipments were not adjusted. Changes to planning areas are not automatically applied to existing shipments and tours. Mark the shipments on the dispatch board and run Recalculate Planning Area. If the planning area of a shipment was set manually, it is retained until then.

Why do partial shipments from a way or quantity split have no planning area? Partial shipments, too, only receive a planning area if exactly one matches. Partial shipments often have a different transport type than the original shipment (e.g. main leg instead of delivery) – check whether the corresponding rule section is filled. Alternatively, select the planning area yourself in the Planning area field of the split dialog.

Do orders from recurring orders receive a planning area? Yes. Generated orders are calculated like any other saved order, namely in the group of the recurring order. Therefore create recurring orders in the group whose planning areas should apply.