Paradox Routing Tool Overview and Quick Tour
- 1. © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting Paradox Routing Tool (PART) Overview – March 2012 1
- 2. About Paradox Established in 1998 as logistics consulting company. © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting Major consulting assignment with Ryder led to recognition of specific types of operational software not available in the marketplace. Developed Paradox Routing Tool (PART) as an economical routing and scheduling solution rich in functionality but affordable to small fleet operators. Suite of products include software tools for routing and scheduling, continuous move planning, discrete resource scheduling, and fulfillment planning solutions. Customers include 3PLs, Supply Chain consulting service providers, shippers, and carriers. Continue to enhance products, primarily from user feedback, with two major releases per year. 2 Besides supporting traditional perpetual licensing model, Paradox also offers software on subscription basis which carries no upfront license fees and annual maintenance or implementation costs. With the subscription model, you simply download the tool and subscribe for the period of time you need it.
- 3. About PART PART is a routing and scheduling application that works off order and vehicle information © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting considering DOT regulations and customer service requirements. PART can also be used for site selection using center-of-gravity modeling to determine optimal locations for the required number of facilities and assign supply and demand locations to them. Shipment frequencies and zone routing are also supported. Carrier mode selection can be accomplished with the objective to consolidate shipments. Closed loop (private fleet) and one-way (multi-stop TL) routes can be created in the same project. LTL routing with pickup and delivery windows is also supported. Accepts data input in ASCII flat file formats such as tab delimited, comma delimited, and fixed width or entered directly into PART. Uses powerful optimization algorithms to generate routes and schedules in seconds resulting in least distance and cost. Interfaces with Microsoft MapPoint and PC*MILER’s suite of products for accurate mapping, directions, distance and time calculations. Offers many features that allow visibility to operational data for planning and operational 3 improvement. Facilitates “what if” analysis with a few mouse clicks including generation of trip manifests and maps, Gantt charts, and exports to your other applications. Available On-Demand from ParadoxSCI.com.
- 4. Solutions for Logistics Problems Locate distribution facilities for a given demand distribution and identify © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting delivery territories. Optimize miles, number of vehicles and drivers, and delivery/pickup schedules to reduce fuel costs, capital costs, and fleet expenses. Improve customer service with time-definite arrival schedules, prioritized delivery and accurate driving instructions and ensure DOT compliance. Consolidate LTL shipments and determine carrier mode (e.g., private fleet, truckload, etc.) for each shipment. Setup static routes and baseline current operations to analyze routing and scheduling improvements. Route street level with North American and European data. 4 Route maps, driving directions, Gantt charts, summary and detailed reports, and exports to your other applications. Periodic “fine tuning” of your current operation by allowing import of changed data.
- 5. Some Customers © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting “The PART software has had a dramatic effect on the productivity involved in engineering solutions for both our external customers and internally. In the past it would take us multiple days or weeks to analyze the data to provide a solution, while with PART, it has been reduced to hours or days. The PART program has also allowed us to test projects before we submit a bid. Secondly, the IT support and response time have been absolutely incredible. Never have I been put on hold and if I leave a voice mail I always get a very timely call back and then a follow up call to make sure everything is functioning properly. Lastly I would like to say as an everyday user of PART I could not 5 have asked for a more user friendly product." Kenneth Hartman Director, Yield Management Covenant Transport
- 6. About the Overview This overview covers following areas: © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting Case Study Scenario Setup and Data Requirements - what data needs to be collected? Managing Your Data - how is data entered into the program? Setting up the Problem – how to set various parameters? Site Selection Analysis – where should the facilities be? Routing and Scheduling – how to sequence stops on routes and schedule vehicles and drivers? Presenting Your Results - how to view maps and reports? 6
- 7. Case Study Scenario Distributor of Automobile Parts & Accessories to 650 stores located in FL, © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting GA, AL, LA, MS, & SC. Founded in 1971, Sales $650 million, rapid growth outside of Florida. Spending $4.7 million on Transportation, average cost $1.10 per mile. Currently making no pick-ups although 25 of the top 150 vendors are within the delivery area of the fleet. Currently Operating: After Optimizing: 42 Tractors 29 Tractors 70 Trailers 70 Trailers 80 Drivers 51 Drivers 12 Teams 12 Teams 7 83,000 miles / week 72,000 miles / week 11,000 miles @ $1.10 = $12,100 per week (excluding one-time asset Savings: reduction savings) Payback: Less than one week
- 8. Setup and Data Requirements The following information is generally required to solve most © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting problems with PART and can be entered directly using the data entry screens or imported from Excel or Access as flat files: Nodes – location of depot(s), suppliers, and customers Orders – Quantity (weight, cube, shipment, etc. for each delivery and/or pickup) Transportation Rates – per mile, per shipment, LTL, etc. Time Windows – up to three per day of the week (open and close times for each week day) Vehicle Data – type, availability window, cost per mile per hour and 8 capacities Other Data – vehicle restrictions, load incompatibilities, prioritized stops, DOT restrictions, etc.
- 9. Managing Your Data © Copyright 20012Paradox Software Consulting Data Management: PART displays summary listing of your order data including: Orders Customer / Destination Time Windows Demand 9 You can import any form of ASCII data using PART’s data import wizard. Data can be edited upon import.
- 10. Setting up the Problem © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting Parameters Setup … Site Selection Parameters (if locating facilities) Routing Parameters and… 10 Service time windows can be set as global parameters or imported for each customer. Max. of 3 time windows per day of the week are handled.
- 11. Setting up the Problem © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting Parameters Setup continued … Solution Strategy, Rules and Restrictions Scheduling Parameters Calculation Engine before routing and scheduling. 11 Distances and transit times are calculated automatically using PART’s built-in calculation engine, PC*MILER, or Microsoft MapPoint.
- 12. Site Selection Analysis © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting Site Selection: PART solves network design using center-of- gravity approach to determine: Number of facilities Locations of facilities Supply and demand distribution around facilities 12 Existing facilities can be included in the site selection analysis. PART keeps them intact and only locates the remaining required facilities in relation to the existing facilities.
- 13. Territory Planning © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting Territory Planning: PART supports territory planning using center-of- gravity approach to model: Required territories Shipment frequencies Zone routing 13 Territories or zones can be routed individually or from a central depot. PART supports user defined zones or those determined through territory planning.
- 14. Routing and Scheduling Optimization © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting Routing Solutions: Select Solve … Routing Private Fleet Routing Common ….Carrier Routing New Orders to build routes instantly. 14 Routing and scheduling for multiple depots in one project is supported. DOT parameters and cost factors can be set at the depot level.
- 15. Routing and Scheduling Optimization © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting Routing Solutions: In seconds, PART creates optimal vehicle routes and schedules for each depot considering … Service constraints DOT regulations Distances Costs Resource utilization 15 PART can be used to model over the road and local private fleet routing problems. LTL shipments can be consolidated to multi-stop TL routes.
- 16. Presenting Your Solution - Maps © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting Map Displays: This display includes Stops and Routes Depots Roads, highway and street-level detail Driving Directions Accurate Distances User defined speed zones 16 Mapping functionality is provided through interfaces with PC*MILER and MapPoint.
- 17. Presenting Your Solution - Reports © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting Reports: Reports include Order Details Route Summary Route Manifest Driving Directions . 17 PART has built-in reporting engine. Reports are configurable with options to select fields and change field headers and widths.
- 18. Next Steps © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting Next Steps: Your next steps are easy: Go to ParadoxSCI.com Download product datasheet and other information Download the full functional version of PART Call us for an authorization code for the 14-day free trial 18 Help is available via email and phone. Logistics professionals can help you with data setup and modeling to complete consulting services.
- 19. On-Demand Solutions for Logistics Professionals © Copyright 2012 Paradox Software Consulting Thank You Paradox Software Consulting Shelby, NC Tel 772.224.1116 info@paradoxsci.com 19 Please contact info@paradoxsci.com for more information or visit ParadoxSCI.com for solutions to your logistics problems.