Synergy Lms Training
- 1. S Y N E R G Y R O U T I N G S Y S T E M T R A I N I N G
- 2. S Y N E R G Y T R A I N I N G
- 3. O V E R V I E W Southeastern Freight Lines and Synergistic Systems have collectively created a customized P&D routing system that is one of the best in the industry. The system uses the following features to provide our route planners with a precise routing tool. Geographically positioned (Geocoded) customer locations. Route Sequence Optimizing Algorithms: - minimizes miles between stops Customer and Appointment time parameters: - synergy takes customer and appointment time requirements into consideration when optimizing route sequence Object FX (OFX) mapping software: - enables route planner to see stop sequence for every route.
- 4. Step #1 Reload Our daily billing operation will result in records being submitted to The Synergy Routing System. Our system also sends all closed trailer transactions, ETAs for dispatched loads and current shipment locations. Throughout the day, Synergy stores this information for each service center. At the appropriate time, the route planner initiates a “ RELOAD” on the SEFL system (ON_PD_IR_SN) . Whenever possible, the reload should be run after 10:30pm. This will insure all next-day freight billing has been completed. The “reload” will download all previous day bills that were not delivered such as appointments, returns, etc. to the Synergy System. Note: The system will not allow any further action until this is completed.
- 5. Step # 2 Logging into Synergy Double click the Synergy NEW Dispatch and Maps icon on your desktop. A login box will appear. Select your service center from the drop down list. Enter your Employee ID, Password and Area. (provided by Operations Planning)
- 6. Step # 3 - Geocoding Accurate geocoding of all shipments and customers is CRUCIAL to the success of your Synergy route plan! Once the reload has been run, access the geocoding function in Synergy by selecting Reports – Delivery Planning then Unzonded Bills .
- 7. Geocoding – Cont . Sort the records by due date by clicking the “Due Date” column heading. You can geocode all shipments if you want to but you only need to geocode shipments that have a due date on or before the date you are planning for. (Data can be sorted by any column) Hold the control key down and mouse click each record individually or hold the shift key down to select a consecutive series of records. Note: Do Not select “unbilled” records. (i.e. records with blank consignee and address) Once you have made your selections, click the Geocode button then click OK in the “Confirm Geocoding Request” box.
- 8. Geocoding – Cont . Your screen will display a map and a “Location Information Box” containing the first record to be geocoded. Before you attempt to find the address, make sure all spelling is correct. If you find a spelling error in the Street Name field, simply click inside the character field and correct it. Click the Find button: The goecoder will attempt to find the address. Make spelling corrections here!
- 9. Geocoding – Cont . The location of the address will be marked by a red push pin. Once you have verified that the location found matches the address of the shipment, click the Send button.
- 10. Geocoding – Cont . If the goecoder does not find the address when you click the find button: Click the Restore button. This will restore the address search information in the fields at the top of the Location Info box. 2. Check spelling in the Street Name field. 3. Adjust the Minimum Score sliding scale down to a lower number. The geocoder will broaden the search when you slide the scale to a lower number.
- 11. Geocoding – Cont . Notice that the goecoder gives you alternate matches in this example. To view the alternate matches: Click the next button to advance to the next match. Click the Prev button to go back to the last record. Once you have verified that the location found matches the address of the shipment, click the Send button.
- 12. Geocoding – Cont . Fields Used for Current Match Make sure you pay close attention to the information in this field. It will tell you if the geocoder found the actual address it was trying to match. If the only word in this box is “zip” then the geocoder only found the center of the zip code, not the exact address. Don’t be fooled when you see an address in the Street Name field. The system will automatically find the closest address at the center of the zip code. Note: Geocoding stops to the center of the zip code should always be a last resort. If you cannot find the exact location of the stop, use www.maps.google.com .
- 13. Geocoding – Cont . In the search field, simply type in the name of the company then city and state where they are located. You can also search for just the address, city and state Example: 107 Eastover Dr. Charlotte NC
- 14. The following are explanations for the basic methods you will need to be familiar with when using the Synergy map. Zoom In/Out Slide map in any direction. Open the Location Info Box. Navigating the Map
- 15. If you click the right mouse button anywhere on the map, a grey box will appear. The first option is the Zoom Box . Selecting this will enable you to draw a square around the area that you want to zoom in on.
- 17. To slide the map in any direction, simply hold the left mouse button down, then drag the mouse in any direction. When you let go of the left mouse button the map will re-center itself.
- 18. Map will zoom out one frame when this option is selected Map will zoom out to show entire service center territory Map will zoom to the previous frame view. Resets the map and removes all items previously mapped. Displays a distance scale at the bottom right corner of the screen. Make sure both of these items are checked. Opens the Location Info Box. Allows you to print the map shown on your screen.
- 19. After you have geocoded all selected shipments, go back to the Unzoned Bills window. Click Refresh The Consignee and Address fields will update for any pros that have recently been freight billed. Sort by Due Date. Select any newly billed shipments and geocode them.
- 20. Step # 4 Select Inbound Trailers Once all geocoding has been completed, access the Select IB Trailers function by clicking “ Delivery Planning ” from the top menu bar, then selecting “ Select IB Trailers ”.
- 21. Step # 4 Continued In the Inbound Trailer Selection verify that the ETA date shows the date the routes will go out for delivery. Change the ETA Time to 10:30am. This will insure all trailers dispatched with ETA before 10:30am are automatically be included in the route plan. Then click OK
- 22. If the screen has a grey background, go to Reflections and run the Reload. ON_PD_IR_SN. (See Step #1)
- 23. Step # 4 Continued Click the check box in the first column for all trailers you want included in the route plan. you can select multiple items by holding down the ctrl key while clicking with the mouse. Appointment shipments scheduled on or before the plan date will automatically be checked. Trailers with ETAs on or before the plan date will automatically be checked.
- 24. Two columns will very important to you as you go through the trailer selection process. Later/Today – numbers in this column indicate the number of shipments that are due for service on or before the selected plan date for each trailer. 2. Early – numbers in this column indicate shipments having a due date later than the selected plan date for each trailer.
- 25. Shipments not closed and/or dispatched to your service center will be grouped by current location. You only need to select the next-day origins. In this example, DFW is the routing service center. You can easily identify the next-day lanes by looking at the last two columns. The route planner would select LOC trailers that have pros in the Late/Today column.
- 26. You will also see groups of pros that show ORG and a service center alpha code (Example: ORGTPA) These pros are closed to a service center other than yours and are dispatched to a Break Bulk or relay service center. An ETA for these trailers would be confusing to show in this application so they are grouped by their last location. Use this column to help you determine if the shipment are due for service.
- 27. To see the individual pros in any of the groups, double click the line. A new window containing a list of the pros will appear. The example below shows the APT trailer. APT groups all pros with an AP or NT special instruction code. Note these shipments do not have appointments set. Not all shipments with the AP or NT code actually require appointment or notification. Based on your local knowledge of the customer, you may elect to include some of these in your route plan.
- 28. Hold the Ctrl key down and mouse click all of the shipments that can be delivered without an appointment or notification. Then click Modify Bill .
- 29. Click Reassign
- 30. Double click inside the white area. Type a word or phase to identify the new group.
- 31. The new group of pros will appear on the Select Inbound Trailers screen. Make sure you check the box for the pros you want to include in the routing and leave boxes unchecked for pros that don’t need to be routed. Note: Shipments with an AP or NT code will automatically default to the APT route in Reflections when they are not selected into Synergy.
- 32. Once you have selected all pros for routing… click Process Selected Trailers Then click OK
- 33. After all bills are routed and sequenced you will see this box appear. Click OK
- 34. Step #6 Route Balancing
- 35. To access Route Balancing: Click Delivery Planning then Route Balancing .
- 36. Route Balancing Top half is a summary of all routes. Stops Total Delivery Miles Un-sequenced Stops Pieces Pallets Weight Total Shipments Route Start Time Locked Stops Route Name
- 37. Stop sequence and pro detail appears for the selected route on the bottom half of the screen. To view specific detail on a pro, simply double click the pro.
- 38. Route Balancing…Cont. Moving stops: Click and hold, with the left mouse button, the stop you wish to move. Drag the stop to the new location, then let go of the left mouse button. Stops can be repositioned within the route or moved to a new route by dragging the stop up to the top section and dropping it on the desired route code. You can also select multiple stops to move from one route to another by using the Ctrl key to select. Then click and hold the left mouse button and drag the stops to the desired route.
- 39. Once you move a stop within a route, it becomes locked because you have overridden Synergy’s sequencing logic. Locked stops are indicated by red/brown colored highlight. Click the Unlock All button then Resequence button to reset the route back to the way Synergy sequenced it.
- 40. When reviewing at the end of the routing process, be on the look out for blanks in the top half of the Route Balancing screen. If a route has “Locked” stops, you must use the Recalc ETA/ETD. If there are un-sequenced shipments, you must use Resequence.
- 41. Route Balancing…cont. When you move stops to a new route, they automatically fall to the bottom of the list and are highlighted with a green N in the sequence column. This indicates that the stops have not been Resequenced. To Resequence them, simply click the Resequence Button.
- 42. Route Balancing…cont. There will be instances when you will need to override Synergy’s sequencing logic due to customer requirement. This should be a rare occurrence. If you find that the route sequence is not logical, take the following steps. Review all shipments scheduled for appointment on the route. You may find an early or late appointment time is driving the sequence logic. To correct the appointment time, double click the stop(s) with scheduled appointments. Then correct the appointment time in the Start or End field. Note: You can clear the appointment time completely by clicking the Clear Appt button.
- 43. Check the route start time. If the route is scheduled to start at a different time than the time shown you can adjust the start time in Reflections. ON_PD_TFM_FM_C. At the far right column change the Start Time field. If a route continues to produce illogical stop sequence, manually put the stops in the correct order. Contact Operations Planning at the end of your shift.
- 44. During route planning, use the maps to help make decisions. The map can be used for determining proper route sequence. The maps can also help you identify which stops can be moved to other routes in order to balance workload or meet customer delivery requirement. To map a route, select the route you want to see, then click the Map Route button. A Map Route window will appear asking if you want to clear the current map display. If you want to keep previously mapped routes on the map, click No. Otherwise, click Yes. This will clear the map and only map the route or routes you selected.
- 45. To see consignee and address information for each stop, click the square of the stop you would like to review. A Location Info box will appear. To review another stop, simply click the next stop on the map. The information for then next stop will populate inside the Location Info box.
- 46. To map multiple routes at the same time, hold the Ctrl key down and mouse click each route you want mapped.
- 47. Each route will be a different color.
- 48. House Keeping Check the NOROUTE - All un-geocoded shipments will appear in here. If you find completely billed shipments, you must geocode them before you move them to the proper route.
- 49. Double Click the shipment you want to geocode. The pro detail box will appear. Click the Geocode button
- 50. Check the Acct# field. If there is an account number in this field, click the Update Customer check box. Then click OK. If no account number, simply click OK. Updating the customer geocode record by checking the box for all coded accounts will insure that the new geocode record will be saved for all shipments in the future for this customer.
- 51. More House Keeping The WILLCALL route is the same as Dock Pick up ( DOC ) All shipments consigned to %SEFL will default to this route. Also, all “Dead Heads” and “Free Astray” shipments will default here when the shipper name is SEFL.
- 52. One Last Step Review all routes to insure every route has been resequenced.
- 53. Send To Host
Editor's Notes
- #20: Note: You only need to geocode shipments with due dates on or before the delivery date you are planning for.