LoadOpt(tm) Technical Details

What It Does Key Capabilities How It Works Accessing LoadOpt
What It Does
	The LoadOpt^tm program is a solver which takes as input information about a set of shipments due to be delivered within a limited time frame (typically a couple of days in the future, or maybe up to a week from now) and determines the lowest cost combination of those shipments into full or partial truckloads to take advantage of the economies of shipping via a truckload carrier with en-route stopoffs in contrast to standard LTL (Less than TruckLoad) carrier rates. In determining the lowest cost combination, LoadOpt^tm considers the direct LTL or truckload option (sending the shipment by itself) as well as the costs, distances and transit times associated with truckload service. Importantly, LoadOpt^tm can take into account your customer service requirements, giving preference to shipments that are already late or have been defined as "hot". The output of the solver is then directed into your Transportation Management Software (TMS) for the preparation of Master Bills of Lading for each of the combined shipments it has recommended. Alternatively, you can download the solver results into Excel spreadsheets or other standard data formats -- using your desktop Web browser. LoadOpt^tm now also offers the powerful FastPlan^tm interface which make easy work of reviewing and adjusting Load Plans for special situations and to respond to short-lead-time customer requests.
Key Capabilities
	LoadOpt^tm was designed by transportation professionals to serve the real needs of the transportation industry. Thus it has many capabilities asked for by Transportation Managers and Planners: Handles multiple origins to multiple destinations - either inbound or outbound Combines freight based on weight, cubic volume or trailer length utilization factors Provides for up to 3 pool distribution options at the destinations and 3 pool consolidation services at the origins Accepts your actual Truckload freight rates on each shipment or can store your freight rates in its own TL rate tables (default freight rates can be used for planning purposes) with state to state and 3-digit zip code detail Complete freight rate engine for pool distribution and/or pool consolidation at pickup Can look up estimated LTL rates if you make use of nationally recognized LTL tariffs. Also can store your custom LTL rate information. Discounts can be assigned on a state-to-state or zip-to-zip basis as well. Provides geographic validation to insure correct city/state/zip information has been provided Has capacity for up to 750 shipments in one solver run, up to 24 shipments per truckload. Maximum allowable stops per load can be set from 2 to 18. Takes into account transit time impacts on motor carrier costs as it builds multi-stop loads Estimates freight costs for each shipment on the load (allowing accurate allocation of total freight charges across sales orders or purchase orders) Applies customer service standards the way you do: it accepts standards like "we try to deliver in two days, but we will go to 3 if we have to" and "we have to deliver in 1 day to our 'A' level customers, everyone else gets 2 day service". Can optimize both common carrier truckload shipments as well as private fleet deliveries Highly configurable, with over 90 user-settable parameters that govern how solutions are developed Calculates truckload transit times segment-by-segment, taking into account Federal hours of service regulations, individual shipper and/or consignee dock hours, and volume-based estimates of loading and unloading time. Has its own consignee/shipper location database for dock hours, loading times, and geographic details so that your TMS or order entry system doesn't need to have that information (but it can use your information, if you have it). Requires no installation on your computers or complicated licensing of software. All services are provided over the Internet and charged for at a modest per-order basis.
How It Works
	At its foundation, LoadOpt^tm is a Genetic Algorithm type solver. The Genetic Algorithm is a form of Artificial Intelligence that enables the solution of so-called "hard problems". In modern Systems Science terms, a "hard problem" is one of those for which huge numbers of possible solutions may exist, and for which there is no accepted mathematical formula that allows for simple calculation of what is "best". For example, taking a typical set of 150 shipments in sizes ranging from 1000 to 20,000 pounds, a diverse array of physical dimensions and weight and a range of delivery requirements, not to mention the possibility of using pool distribution carriers for the final delivery of some or all, the number of possible solutions may number in the trillions. Further, there is no way of quickly calculating what the lowest cost combination of shipments is, short of literally trying them all -- an approach that might take millennia even with today's fastest computers. This is where the Genetic Algorithm can be used to sort through the nearly infinite number of possible solutions and arrive at a very good solution with astonishing speed, given the nature of the problem. Using this technique, LoadOpt^tm can achieve a solution better than the best human transportation scheduler against that set of 150 shipments in less than 60 seconds, and produce a very, very good solution inside of 5 minutes. "Not the best solution?" you ask. No, in most cases, we can't even be certain that there is a single best solution out of the trillions of possible (mostly very bad) solutions. What counts is that we come up with a very good solution that takes all the factors into account and is measurably better than that of a human planner and other computer-based solutions. That we are a fraction of a percent away from the "perfect" solution, if there is one, isn't really very important if we have met this standard.
Accessing LoadOpt
	Most people choose to access LoadOpt^tm directly via their Web Browser. This enables them to upload shipment data directly from their computer. Then they can edit shipments and selectively include/exclude them from the optimization. Finally, they launch the optimizer. A few minutes later, they retrieve the results in one of several available formats for input into their local systems or for delivery to the shipping dock for preparing orders. For a demonstration of how LoadOpt^tm's on-line interface works, click here. Microsoft's Internet Explorer versions 5.0 and later are supported. No other browser product is supported. LoadOpt^tmoutput is provided by default in Microsoft Excel, DBF, CSV, and/or XML format. Customized formats are available for modest cost. Inputs also can be accepted in Microsoft Excel, DBF, CSV, and/or XML formats. Technical documentation on input and output formats is available on request. See our contacts page. Alternatively, you can integrate LoadOpt into your in-house transportation management system (TMS). A variety of mechanisms are provided to send data to and receive it from LoadOpt. These include sending and receiving text files via FTP, using IBM MQSeries messaging, and other Internet-based tools for communication.