GeoOptimization Server: The planning and route optimization web service

GeoOptimization Server, a route optimization web service, adds planning and geographical optimization features to existing information systems.

Can be easily integrated with existent systems like SAP, Primavera, PHC, Oracle, SAGE, Dynamics, SalesForce or others: multi-constraint optimization, geocoding, redistricting and routing.

The main benefits are optimized routes (delivery, pick-ups, both, sales visits, maintenance visits), sales territories balancing and call center location support…

Geo-Optimization Server has the following functionalities:

Geocoding

Determinate LAT/LONG coordinates based on an address, an address file or directly from a database.

Routes Optimization

Calculate the best routes based on multi restrictions (resources, clients, street network and more).

Routing

Calculate the best path between two or more locations depending of the traffic patterns

Redistricting

Territories balancing functionality to allocate your customers to different strategic distribution areas so that you can assign routes evenly based on different retail outlets or brands.

Drive-Time Areas

Calculate Drive time areas from one or more points based on kilometres or time

Configurable Variables

Clients

• Days, time windows, visits frequency
• Punctuality, delay penalties
• Fixed and variable time visits, unloading duration
• Mandatory characteristics (skills, type of vehicle…)
• Street side management
• Quantities (until 24 definitions: products or dimensions)
• Assign clients into a specific route

Resources

• Days and working time, lunch break
• Extra work hours
• Characteristics (Driver’s skills or vehicle characteristics)
• Define different starting and ending shift locations
• Capacity(until 24 definitions: products or dimensions)
• Distance-Cost, hour cost, extra-hour cost, overnight cost
• Fixes costs, delivery costs, per visit costs
• Delivery and pick-up management
• Driving time legislation configuration>/li>
• Overnight Routes
• Multi-Warehouse management

Road Network and vehicles

• Avoid areas
• Traffic statistics *
• Different kinds of vehicles
• Velocity configuration for every type of road and vehicle
• Toll allowance configuration
• Heavy trucks configuration**:
  – Weight and Height: 16 variables for each;
  – Length and width of the vehicle;
  – Towing vehicle;
  – Transportation of hazardous materials;
  – Transport of flammable materials;

* Depending on the countries ** Depending on information available in the road network databases

Technical integration

Thanks to TourSolver Server’s user-friendliness, the integrator does not need to be an optimization expert. The web service is available on any kind of technical platform and allows the integrator to carry on working on his current environment.

Two operation modes are available:

● The http requests transmit to TourSolver Server the commands and data as an XML flow. The results are also sent back as an XML flow.

● The file mode works through a predefined folder architecture (Default, In, Out) that contains input files and results files. For each new demand, a specific file is created in the In and Out folders, making possible to stack several optimization that will then follow on each other.

Whatever the operation mode used, TourSolver Server has optimization demands queue management. The demands are taken into account in their stacking order. The load can be distributed across multiple processing nodes. The multi-country setup can handle international contexts of use.

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