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Optimized Route Planning at DHL
DHL Express is one of the top 3 parcel service providers in the United States and the largest in Europe. DHL Express cooperates with many other international parcel service providers (e.g., Securicor in the UK and Ducros in France) via the EuroExpress network. DHL Express links 120,000 destinations in about 230 countries and has over 4,000 offices worldwide.
In the Benelux, orders larger than five pallets are directly transported from origin to destination (“direct transport network”); all other orders are first taken to distribution centers for load consolidation. This happens during the night to move combined truckloads between the various distribution centers (the inter-depot network). During the next morning, individual orders are distributed from the various distribution centers to their final delivery address.
ORTEC has successfully implemented SHORTREC as a strategic planning solution for this inter-depot network. Our easy-to-configure advanced routing and scheduling system is used to create optimal routes and schedules for a given time period and to evaluate different strategic “what-if” scenarios (integration with Danzas and World Net for example). SHORTREC, as configured for DHL Express, takes the following characteristics into account while optimizing:
- Sorting speeds at the different depots and various order waves and ready times.
- Service level / costs trade-offs for use of additional depots and transshipments.
- Relations of orders to the international network and ready-times of international orders in the inter-depot network.
- Express orders for which special times, service requirements and vehicle type restrictions have to be met.
In 1997, ORTEC also implemented SHORTREC as solution for P&D operations (transport to and from various distribution centers). Modules have been configured for the optimal alignment of orders in certain areas, assignments of trucks to areas and for strategic planning of the different freight patterns in these areas. Using SHORTREC has resulted in a substantial reduction of required P&D vehicles.
To fully support the complete DHL “direct transport network”, ORTEC has recently also rolled out SHORTREC as real-time dispatch solution for orders from pickup to delivery address. This solution is used for planning, real-time dispatch and cost allocation modeling (how to assign cost to customers and carriers). In order to deal with real-time changes, board computer information is used as input for the SHORTREC optimization engine. Resulting schedule information is helpful to support day-to-day activities, optimize and balance the direct transport network, but also to support tender procedures.