By optimizing your route, Onward finds the shortest distance to travel, creates delivery windows, and calculates service times
1. Select the route to work on. In the Plan page, once orders are assigned to route, it's time to optimize the routes. To optimize, select ‘Routes’ at the top left corner of the page, and click into the desired route.
a. When you select a route, the map will show only that route. If you wish to see all the routes at once again, click the “Show All Directions” button in the top right hand corner of the page.
2. Route Details. By clicking the Route Details button, set a loading time. This informs the delivery timeframes for the remainder of the day. You may also assign a truck or a driver from this drop down.
3. Edit Service Times. Use the green + and - buttons to adjust the expected loading time and service times on each stop based on the delivery type and product. Onward defaults to 30 minutes. This will impact delivery timeframes to give customers the most accurate estimate of when to expect delivery.
4. Optimize. Click the ⚙️ icon to:
- Arrange stops in the most efficient order
- Generate timeframes based on distances between orders and assigned service times
5. Make additional adjustments. Adjust service times, reverse route order (use the up and down arrows at the top of the route), or drag and drop stops based on customer requests as needed. Once applicable changes are made, click the green triangle labeled "map route" to apply the changes and update the timeframes.
6. Send to Internal. When you're ready to go, click Send to Internal to lock in the route.
When you send timeframe messages to your customers, this is the message they receive:
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- “Hi [customer name], this is the automated dispatching system for [shipper name]. We have you scheduled for delivery on [scheduled date] with an estimated time frame of [delivery timeframe].
Please reply YES to confirm your delivery, or NO to reject your delivery. To speak with a store member about your order, please call [store number]. Reply STOP to opt out.” - If a customer replies ‘YES’ to the message (or any variation: yes, yeah, yep, etc) they will be marked as “Confirmed” in green next to their name in the ‘Plan’ section.
- If a customer replies ‘NO’ to the message, the system will mark that by noting “rejected” next to their name.
- If customers call or you speak with them directly, you can manually confirm or reject timeframes by selecting the three dots on their order.
- If the customer has not responded, “Pending” will be noted next to their name in orange
- If the text message fails to send (i.e they’ve provided a landline), a message next to their name will state, “SMS failed.”
- “Hi [customer name], this is the automated dispatching system for [shipper name]. We have you scheduled for delivery on [scheduled date] with an estimated time frame of [delivery timeframe].
- Once all customers on the route have either been confirmed or removed, the system will display a green message beneath the route number saying “All customers have been confirmed. and will appear in the “Pre-transit” column on the ‘Tracking’ page.
