Three customers for southern Spain, one for Portugal, dates all over the place
Part-load customers pay less because they share the lorry. That only works if you can fill it. The planner keeps a list of consignments: volume, collection town, destination, when the customer needs delivery and how flexible they are. Some goods are in your store waiting. Some are still at the customer's house.
The trip is built by staring at the list, calling customers to ask if they can wait a week, and hoping the volumes add up. When one customer drops out, the whole trip is reworked.
Why shared trips are so hard to plan
It is a puzzle with moving pieces: volume, route order, dates, storage and each customer's flexibility, all changing as bookings come and go.
- Consignments are held in a spreadsheet without route or flexibility captured clearly.
- Customers' delivery windows are recorded as free text.
- Goods waiting in store are not linked to the trip they are meant for.
- Customers are updated one by one by phone when dates change.
- Trip costs and revenue are not compared until afterwards.
What poor trip planning costs
Trips that leave half full cost nearly as much to run as full ones. Trips delayed waiting for volume leave customers waiting and goods in store longer, which some customers dispute. A dropped consignment can mean an expensive rethink at the last minute.
How we plan shared trips from the consignments
- Each part-load consignment is recorded with volume, collection and delivery locations, the earliest and latest acceptable dates and whether goods are in store or at the customer's address.
- Planned trips are set up with a route corridor, departure window and capacity.
- The planner suggests which consignments fit each trip by route, dates and volume, and shows the remaining space.
- The planner accepts, moves or removes consignments. The system shows the effect on capacity and on each customer's window.
- Goods in store are linked to their trip, so the warehouse knows what to prepare for loading.
- Customers receive updates when their consignment is assigned to a trip, when it departs and with an estimated delivery window.
| Consignment detail | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Volume | Fits the lorry or not |
| Delivery window | Which trips are acceptable |
| Location on route | Drop order and detours |
| Goods in store or at home | Collection needed or ready to load |
The suggestions help; the planner decides. Route order, driver hours and ferry or tunnel bookings stay with your transport team.
What part-load planning looks like after
Trips are built from a clear view of what is waiting and where. Customers are told when their goods are on a trip. The warehouse knows what to load. When a customer drops out, the planner sees which waiting consignments could take the space.
Sales benefits as well. When a customer asks for a part-load price to a particular region, the office can see which planned trips pass nearby and how full they are, and quote a realistic departure window rather than a hopeful one.
Does trip planning live on sticky notes?
- Part-load consignments are tracked in a spreadsheet or notebook.
- Trips leave with space you could have filled.
- Customers call to ask when their goods will leave.
- Goods in store are not clearly linked to a trip.
- A single cancellation means replanning the whole trip.