Route Planner On-demand 24.10 is available as of October 28, 2024. This release includes new features, enhancements, and resolved issues. Reference the ticket number in parentheses if you have any questions about the respective items to the support team.

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ
Be advised of the following important information concerning this release:

• Microsoft® Internet Explorer: As Microsoft has announced the end of support for applications and services on Internet Explorer, the browser is no longer supported for the Descartes® Route Planner On-demand application. The browser can be used, but new functionality may not work. Please use Google™ Chrome or Microsoft Edge as the preferred internet browser to access Route Planner On-demand.

• Supported Versions: Versions one year older than the current version will not be supported (i.e., for 24.10, versions 23.07 and older are not supported). You can continue using versions older than one year from the current version, but critical issues with those versions will not be fixed.

Submit your enhancement idea using our Idea Portal! You can find more information and learn how to request access here.

Highlights

24.10.01

🟩 Resolved Issue: Within the Fixed Routes & Territories section, the button to reactivate previously deleted groups incorrectly displayed 'Undelete Masterroute group' instead of 'Restore Fixed Route group'. This issue occurs when users expand the Inactive fixed routes group section. (1150859)

🟩 Resolved Issue: The Driver column incorrectly displayed the driver account configured phone number instead of the expected name and username. This issue affected various pages, including Map View, Dispatch, View Routes, and View Route Detail. (1145155)

🟩 Resolved Issue: An error occurred during optimization of certain datasets when no unrouted shipments were present on the delivery day and the 'Restrict Shipment Assignment Based on Attribute' feature was enabled. The optimization process now works correctly under these conditions, as well as ensuring the manual re-assignment of routed shipments still functions as expected. (1144838)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Users were unable to assign drivers to routes from the Deliveries > Dispatch page. Selecting the 'Assign Driver' option from the route context menu did not generate the expected driver selection list. (1144413)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Sorting on the Route column in Map View did not function correctly after sorting another column or when route labels were manually changed. Additionally, newly created routes were also not sorted properly. These issues have been fixed, and sorting now works correctly on the initial load and after manual changes are completed. (1143246)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Certain user accounts could incorrectly have multiple default locations assigned, preventing successful login to the application. The issue occurred due to exceptions generated during user actions or background functions, resulting in a bad account cache. The application now ignores the errors caused by multiple default locations and utilizes the first specified default location to ensure proper login functionality. (1139958)

🟩 Resolved Issue: The Add Region function in the Configuration > Regions section incorrectly cleared all control centers when reassigning existing locations to a new region. The system has been updated to clear control centers only once after all location regions are updated. Additionally, regions can now be deleted if no active locations are assigned. Inactive locations will be automatically assigned to the first available region. (1139639)

24.10.00

🟩 Resolved Issue: Route configured restrictions were incorrectly wiped out for Dispatch Preferences when setup for a preference. This occurred when a route template was deleted from the Configuration > View Routes page. (1135863)

🟩 Resolved Issue: The application mistakenly allowed users to set a value of Mixed for Shipment Type attribute in both Icon Display and Filters. The option has been removed from the respective selection lists as it was not applicable at the shipment level; it only pertains to stops and leads to confusion for users as it does not function correctly when used. (1135179)

🟩 Resolved Issue: The actual service time for planned stops was not set or displayed correctly in the Service Time column when stop-related messages were sent concurrently. This prevented the correct service time from appearing in the user interface as well as within generated reports and/or exports. (1134171)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Additional stops were not added to an existing route when the route contained a locked trip, even when the Allow Reloads option was enabled in the optimization profile. This was due to a restriction preventing the same depot-related shipments from being added to routes with locked trips. (1132341)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Hazmat-related constraints were not accurately evaluated during optimization, leading to shipments being assigned to vehicles that did not meet the necessary hazmat requirements. (1132059)

🟩 Resolved Issue: When editing a shipment, the stop service time isn't recalculated as expected, even though the 'Recalculate service time on shipment edit' feature is enabled. This occurs if the shipment was initially created with zero values for all metrics (like quantity, weight, etc.). The application doesn't recognize the change in metric values as an edit, so it fails to trigger the recalculation. (1127986)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Upon Link of pickup and delivery orders into a single transfer order, the order numbers are combined with a dash (-) as expected. However, upon editing the said transfer order, the order number is incorrectly displayed on the Edit a Transfer Order page. When saved, it reverts to the initial pickup order number instead of the linked/merged number. (1125444)

🟩 Resolved Issue: For a certain scenario, Map View would fail to load when two users update routes concurrently. The issue occurred when both users attempted to apply fixed routes to the same dataset simultaneously, causing the system to create and delete routes simultaneously. (1122914)

🟪 Enhancement: The custom service time code logic has been updated to replace hardcoded values with a new configurable solution. A new lookup table has been created, allowing the shipment parser to apply and calculate service times based on the supplied codes found in this table. This change makes it easier to update service time codes without requiring code changes and/or a restart of the instance. (1122478)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Edits made to merchandiser stops in the user interface were not displaying date-related information as expected, although route-level and field data edits showed correctly. This issue has been resolved, and the date information now appears properly for all stop edits. (1120675)

🟩 Resolved Issue: When a stop's sequence was changed via web edit for a merchandiser's route, the distance from the previous stop was incorrectly set to zero. The issue has been fixed, and distances are recalculated correctly when a stop's position is modified. (1118646)

🟩 Resolved Issue: An optimization fault occurred when running manual or scheduled optimizations on days when routes had already started. This problem has been resolved, ensuring optimization functions properly when a route is already in progress. (1115080)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Manually hidden frozen routes were incorrectly shown in the Routes pane after creating a new route. The Routes context menu also displayed the wrong action for Show/Hide Frozen Routes based on the current use case. (1112910)

🟩 Resolved Issue: The map zoom level was not retained when transitioning from Map View to the Geocode Address map on the geocode action performed, causing a misalignment in the map position during user navigation. (1111755)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Incorrect map View options were displayed despite being unsupported. When users enabled the 'Try new map' feature, the 'Show Incidents' and 'Show Vehicle Restrictions' options were erroneously listed, though not supported by the vector tile map. (1109832)

🟩 Resolved Issue: The search results in Map View returned incorrect results when utilizing the Dispatch Preferences feature. Queries against datasets incorrectly showed data that should have been excluded based on the configured preferences. (1108344)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Users could not add new columns to the Export configuration successfully. The 'Add Column' button failed to add a newly selected column when an apostrophe was present in one of the column names. The issue was fixed by adding proper escaping and handling of apostrophe values when present. (1108031)

🟩 Resolved Issue: When using the Keep Existing Routes and Insert Shipments feature, the 'Multi-Depot Loads' setting was incorrectly enabled during route optimization. This led to a new route being created, which included multiple depots, which was unintended and not set within the selected profile used. The logic has been updated to prevent the setting from being enabled for new route creation unless required by the optimization profile. (1107612)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Adding Flyby information to an existing order resulted in a blank page, and the order was not updated. (1107428)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Updating the shipment date on the Edit Order form failed to refresh the page, leading to display-related inconsistencies. The page now correctly updates when shipment dates are changed. (1107295)

🟪 Enhancement: The Territories context menu has been updated in the Fixed Routes and Territories module. Key changes include (1106910):

• The Export option was removed from the TERRITORIES mode.

• Load All Customers will no longer appear when a territory is selected.

• The Combine option will only display when multiple territories are selected.

• The Edit an Area option was added to the TERRITORIES list.

• The Menu text was adjusted to match capitalization standards.

🟩 Resolved Issue: The route stop representation was missing on the Order Management > View Deliveries page. The route summary line appeared, but no stop or truck-related information was displayed. (1105887)

🟩 Resolved Issue: The 'Ignore Stop Position' functionality was inconsistently represented across the application's respective pages, especially on the map icons. While stops appeared correctly in the route detail, they were incorrect in Map View, Deliveries, and Dispatch maps. The representation of stop positions has been corrected to ensure alignment and consistency between all pages, ensuring correct reporting of planned vs actual. (1105832)

🟩 Resolved Issue: An incorrect evaluation of a shipment attribute caused duplication of shipments when utilized as a part of the shipment webservice lookup logic. This occurred when a shipment attribute was missing a value but still had a name specified, leading to an error in determining whether the shipment already existed. (1104489)

🟪 Enhancement: The merchandising Payroll Summary export file has been updated with format, structure, and informational requirements changes. (1104333)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Users could not deselect icons on the map by clicking. (1104097)

🟩 Resolved Issue: The Configuration > Users page experienced slow loading times or failure to render the page when several user records were present. This primarily affected administrative users attempting to modify user accounts where many configured users were found to have access to a high (all) number of active locations available within the application. (1103272)

🟪 Enhancement: The display of Vector tile maps has been updated across various pages, including Map View and geocode-generated windows. This change enhances the user experience by improving the display of icons and data. (1103098)

🟪 Enhancement: Users can now configure Maximum Waiting Minutes in the Sequencer/Optimizer profile. This setting, available under the General tab, allows users to specify the maximum wait time for stops following the start depot stop. Previously, the only configurable wait time applied to all stops, which could lead to inefficient routes with excessive waiting times at the first stop. (1101239)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Users could not utilize nor configure filters when the definition included a new field without specifying any field conditions. This caused the system to display a continuous spinning icon. Users are now required and unable to save filter definitions unless newly mandatory fields are selected and/or completed. (1101149)

🟩 Resolved Issue: When attempting to geocode an ungeocoded customer, the map was incorrectly centered in Iowa instead of the location's actual geographical area. This issue occurred when the 'Try new map' feature was enabled. The map now correctly loads the location's area upon opening the Geocode Address window. (1099070)

🟩 Resolved Issue: The vehicle listing did not display a correct number of selected vehicle values when using the 'Used' or 'Unused' filters in the Available Vehicles section of the Optimize window in Map View. This occurred due to an incorrect evaluation when a one-to-one relationship existed between a route template and a vehicle key. The issue did not occur when vehicles were assigned to multiple route templates or when no vehicle was assigned to a route template. (1098413)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Route information was incorrectly displayed on several pages, including View Delivery Day and View Deliveries. Routes were not sorted consistently across the pages as expected after a user happened to navigate and load the View Deliveries page found in the Order Management module. (1097709)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Users could not click and drag the map to change the view in MapView when an icon cluster was present and expanded. This issue occurred when creating or modifying an icon or depot display item. (1097582)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Changing the Route Template incorrectly created duplicate depot stops (Start or End) on the Scheduling Board. This occurs when users change the route by either dragging and dropping it onto a different template or updating the route template through the drop-down selection list in the Stop Details window. (1096852)

🟪 Enhancement: The Territory creation features have been extended to support the new maps. Several refinements have been made to improve its usability, including: (1095226)

• Repositioning displayed options to the upper left of the map to avoid obstructing users during territory creation or modification.

• Reducing the size of edit-related icons for territory modifications to align with similar icons.

• Adjusting the tooltip's time to live when following the cursor during territory creation or modification.

• Adding a new indicator or icon to mark the first point for closing or completing polygon territory creation.

Learn more about this feature here.

🟩 Resolved Issue: Customer icons were incorrectly placed on the map at coordinates (0,0), off the coast of Africa, when a stop was missed during driver execution. This issue occurred when new maps were enabled, and the driver missed the customer pickup stop leg of a shipment. (1094356)

🟪 Enhancement: Shipment tracking history now includes additional Optimize options, providing more detailed tracking of dispatch operations. The history will indicate when the 'Keep Existing Routesand Insert Shipments' or 'Reassign Stops Among Routes' options are used. This update ensures complete visibility into shipment operations, removing the misleading UNROUTED state when existing routes are maintained during optimization. New shipment state values, including OPTIMIZED_KEEP EXISTING and OPTIMIZED_REASSIGN STOPS, have been added to provide more accurate tracking. (1094032)

🟪 Enhancement: A change has been made to the data transformation behavior for Link and Flyby shipments created. This enhancement changes how shipment-level data elements are handled during the execution of these features, preventing data overrides and ensuring data such as internal order ID is preserved across shipment legs. (1093998)

🟪 Enhancement: New configurable options, Service time at client and Service time at depot, have been added to the Driver Breaks recovery time definition in the Sequencer/Optimizer profile. These options, all with the addition of the 'All legalbreaks' service time definition, are available in both the Map View and Scheduling Board modules. (1093983)Resolved Issue: For driver users, executing the Exit Order action after checking order-related details incorrectly generated and displayed an error. (1093407)

🟪 Enhancement: The Search Order feature has been updated to sort results in descending order, displaying records from newest to oldest. (1091687)

🟪 Enhancement: A new 'Is GeoStop' attribute has been added to the Icon Display and Filters configuration selection lists in both the Map View and Scheduling Board modules. This attribute helps users identify customers at the same geographical location using the Assign by Geocode feature. (1091398)

🟪 Enhancement: The Logout option in the User Profile menu has been renamed to Sign Out to align with company guidelines and ensure consistency across all solutions. (1089437)

🟪 Enhancement: Improvements have been made to ensure route calculations are fully executed, regardless of user navigation. Previously, navigating away from a page, such as Map View, before the process was complete could result in routes showing zero duration or distance values. This update prevents incomplete calculations by using asynchronous processing. (1087552)

🟩 Resolved Issue: In the Fixed Routes module, the Undo operation failed to function as expected, with no changes being undone or displayed on the page. This issue has been fixed, and the Undo action now works correctly. (1079619)

🟩 Resolved Issue: The font size for territory selection on the Optimize form was inconsistent with other fields on the same form. (1079068)

🟪 Enhancement: The Optimization Schedule processor has been improved to support multithreaded execution. This allows optimizations for different locations to run simultaneously when scheduled simultaneously. (1078672)

🟩 Resolved Issue: During manual edits, users could not clear out attribute data for Transfer Orders (e.g., customer-to-customer, depot-to-depot). This affected all attribute types, including but not limited to shipment and stop customer attributes, where previously entered data could not be cleared and saved. (1075939)

🟪 Enhancement: A new configuration option has been added to allow service time extension based on the Vehicle type. Users can now set a fixed time (in minutes) for each vehicle type to account for additional service time at customer stops. For example, a curtain-side vehicle may require more time to unload than a van. This new fixed time field is available on the Add/Edit a Vehicle and Vehicle Profiles pages, Vehicles Parser, and Vehicle API. It is factored into the stop's service time calculation and optimization processes. (1072588)

🟪 Enhancement: Changes have been made to the Commodity Codes rule configuration. When creating a new rule, the Shipment Field Item fields will no longer auto-populate with the first available option. Additionally, validation has been added to ensure users select an option in the Shipment Field Item fields and input or select a value in the Data Value fields. (1072548)

🟪 Enhancement: The Configure Export page and Output Selection options have been updated so that no pre-defined options are automatically selected for stop selection. Users must manually choose the appropriate options, with the initial value set to "blank." The export definition cannot be saved without selecting valid options. (1067686)

🟩 Resolved Issue: The Find Unplanned Stops option was incorrectly displayed in the Deliveries > View Routes > View Route Detail page menu when the feature was disabled. (1066274)

🟪 Enhancement: The display of image-configured columns has been improved for scenarios where multiple images are captured in Descartes Mobile multi-picture/carousel mode. Previously, all images were shown in a single cell, making viewing difficult. Now, an icon is displayed when multiple images are present, allowing users to select it to open an image viewer. The viewer, which includes features such as zoom, rotate, and download, enables easy navigation through all images. This enhancement applies to all levels of field data where images are configured (route, stop, job, item). Learn more about this feature here. (1064114)

🟪 Enhancement: The Shipment Webservice has been updated to support new Fixed Time and Slope fields for utilization for service time calculations, similar to the Customer Service Time Fixed Time/Slope fields in the file import parser. (1063470)

🟪 Enhancement: A new configuration option has been added to allow the execution-based vehicle icons to display the same color as their assigned route on the map. This setting can be configured in Map View > Menu > General Display settings. (1063458)

🟪 Enhancement: A new configuration option has been added to prevent the generation and display of stop position numbers for special stops (e.g., Break, Lunch, Sleep). While users can still add special stops automatically through optimization or manually to a route, enabling this setting ensures these stops will no longer display stop numbers in the application's user interface or appear in exports. This option can be configured via the Configuration > Parameters > Routes page. (1063435)

🟪 Enhancement: The following bulk feature options, Product Type and Bulk, have been added as attributes in the respective selection lists for Icon Display and Filters within the Map View and Scheduling Board modules. (1057562)

🟪 Enhancement: The dispatcher_admin role has been updated to restrict its ability to configure Organization and Location Defaults. Users with this role will now have capabilities similar to those of the dispatcher role for configurable options such as General Display, Icon Display, Columns, and Filters. This new restriction is controlled via a new parameter in the Configuration > Parameters > User Security section; the setting is disabled by default. (1052913)

🟩 Resolved Issue: Selecting a route via the Vehicle or Driver columns on the Deliveries > Dispatch page was not functioning correctly. While the Selected Route tab appeared, no route details were shown during the selection. This issue has been fixed, and route selection via these columns now works as expected. (1047620)

🟪 Enhancement:Freeze Route related data has been added to the user interface. Users can now view the current state (Frozen, Unfrozen), the executed method (User, Exported, Completed Route), and the time (date, time) via a hover-over tooltip in the Is Frozen column. This information has also been added and is available in the Selected Routes tab within Map View and the DB Logs > Route page. (1047033)

🟪 Enhancement: The application now supports geocode data (latitude, longitude) when adding Descartes Mobile initiated Driver Activity stops to a route. A new configurable parameter has been added to the Configuration > Parameters > wGLN page to control this functionality, allowing the system to process and apply geocode data while creating a special stop (e.g., Break, Lunch, Sleep) within a route. (1045687)

🟪 Enhancement: The Generic Shipment PDF now includes all captured data for Transfer order type selected stops. When users search for shipments from the Order Management > Search page, the resulting PDF now reflects the selected stop’s data based on user input. (1042742)

🟪 Enhancement:Descartes Analytics has been embedded directly into the On-demand application, improving flexibility compared to the current Descartes Reporting Services (RPS) method. This enhancement provides more customizable reporting options and consolidates all reporting and analytics needs in one location. Reports are now accessible through the Reports page, supporting existing capabilities for report visibility and restriction configuration. (1042666)

🟪 Enhancement: A new configuration option has been added to the General Display window in Map View, allowing users to define the default shipment icon color. This feature includes a color selector, and the default color is set to blue to match how icons are shown by default today. (1042639)

🟪 Enhancement: Users can now edit the planned service time for unrouted shipments in the On-demand application. This new feature allows service time to be set before routing occurs, either manually or via optimization. A new configuration parameter, Enable Unrouted Shipment Service Time Edit, has been added to the Configuration > Parameters > Service Time page, with a default off setting. (1042157)

🟪 Enhancement: A new configuration ('Show Report Schedules for dispatcher users') parameter enables 'dispatcher' users the ability to create and manage their own report schedules through the Schedules > Report Schedule feature. This new option is available in the Configuration > Parameters > Report/Export section. (1038995)

🟪 Enhancement: The system now restricts shipment assignment based on a configured attribute value. Shipments cannot be assigned to a route manually or via optimization until the specified attribute is set for a shipment. If not configured, the system will inform users on the new Dispatch Restrictions page that the operation cannot proceed. This feature is similar to the existing restriction for assigning ungeocoded customer shipments to a route. A new parameters page and associated settings have been added to control the visibility and utilization of features in the application. Learn more about this feature here. (1038188)

🟪 Enhancement: The Optimization process has been enhanced to support detailed break definitions, improving the processing and calculation of optimization data in the On-demand application. (1029238)

🟪 Enhancement: The process of deleting a Compartment Profile has been updated. If the profile is associated with any vehicle(s), the system now prompts the user with a message confirming the removal of the profile assignment from the vehicle. For a single vehicle, the message states, "Compartment is assigned to the vehicle," for multiple vehicles, it states, "Compartment is assigned to vehicles," followed by the vehicle name and confirmation to proceed. (1029168)

🟪 Enhancement: Customers marked as inactive are now automatically removed from all associated Fixed Routes. This applies to customers deactivated manually via the UI or through integration, preventing inactive customers from affecting planning and operations. (1025315)

🟪 Enhancement:Location ID has been added to the Shipment Webservice, allowing host systems to specify the location for shipment creation, especially useful for Transfer Orders where depot numbers are not unique. If Location ID is provided, it supersedes the current depot-to-location configuration logic. (1019139)

🟪 Enhancement: Users can now update multiple shipments' Order Types at once within the application. A new context menu option, "Change Order Type," has been added, allowing users to select and change multiple shipment order types via the dropdown selection menu. This feature is controlled via options added to the Configuration > Parameters > Dispatch page. The new feature is disabled by default. (1018462)

🟪 Enhancement: New standard date selection options, such as Today, Yesterday, This Week, and more, have been added to the Generate Report page's date selector. Users can still define custom date ranges as well. (985570)

🟪 Enhancement: A new Resource Schedule API has been created, allowing external systems to add or update vehicle and driver schedules in the application. This JSON-based service enables the setting of vehicle and/or driver respective statuses (e.g., available, not available) for planning purposes, previously only possible through the Vehicle/Driver Schedule user interface. (980358)

🟪 Enhancement: The Vehicle Parser now supports setting both the Vehicle Profile and Compartment Profile to null, allowing users to reset previously configured values to no value, similar to how Cost Profile functions. The previous value will be removed if a vehicle record is uploaded with empty fields for these profiles. (966139)

🟪 Enhancement:Pendo® has been integrated into the application to enhance the user experience by gathering feedback, user interaction intelligence, and application usage analytics. (962507)

🟪 Enhancement: A new JSON-based Configuration API has been added to the application, allowing external systems to add, update, or deactivate records related to Routes, Vehicles, and Users. The respective API uses CRUD methods and functions similar to the Customer API. (960700)

🟪 Enhancement: The Edit Launch Time function found in the Deliveries > Dispatch section now allows users to edit both the time and date for the route in the generated window. This functionality matches the behavior of Map View, offering more flexibility when scheduling routes. (761088)

🟪 Enhancement: The View selection in Map View now retains user preferences for enhanced map modes (e.g., satellite, terrain) to avoid re-selection each time the page is re-entered. (708923)

🟪 Enhancement: Exception-related information has been added to generated tooltips in Map View and the View Deliveries respective pages. Users can now review route exception details directly from the tooltips in both the route column and stop/shipment exception icons. (679389)

🟪 Enhancement: The Publish Route to wGLN option has been added to the Deliveries > Dispatch page in the route context menu. This option allows users to manually publish a route based on the wGLN control parameter setting, similar to the existing functionality in the Deliveries > View Routes > View Route Detail and Map View route context menus. (618741)

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