Route

Definition
Sequence of legs that are connected by transshipment locations.

Use
The route represents a framework or corridor that comprises a multitude of trips, in
other words, possible concrete itineraries. The system uses routes to determine trips
in route determination (see Route Determination).

You can form cross-docking routes from routes (see Cross-Docking Route).

You can define routes in transaction /SCTM/ROUTE.

Structure
Leg

A leg is assigned uniquely to a route, in other words, it cannot be part of multiple

routes. You define legs as a sequence of stops. Each stop is a supply chain unit
(SCU), in other words, a location, or zone (see Zone). The stops that connect two
consecutive legs must be locations.

By specifying whether the stop-offs are optional or mandatory, you define which
locations the carrier is to serve in which order.

You assign exactly one means of transport to each leg. In most cases, adjacent legs
of a route have different means of transport. However, it might also be necessary to
change legs due to various properties of the legs. Nonetheless, in most cases, the
legs of a route represent its unimodal parts.

Stop

At stop level, you can assign a mode of transport for foreign trade to each location.
The system then takes into account this mode of transport for outbound shipments in
the case of exports. The value that represents this mode of transport is dependent
on the country in which the location lies. The system does not check if the mode of
transport semantically matches the means of transport used for the leg of this
location. Since, in most cases, the system cannot define a unique country for zones,
it does not permit you to define a mode of transport for such stops.

In static route determination, the system determines the mode of transport for foreign
trade for outbound shipments (trips) in the following sequence:

1. Country of first location

2. Part of the location sequence of the trip that runs from the first location within
this country

3. The first location in this part of the location sequence when going backward
that is a stop along the leg and for which a mode of transport for foreign trade
was defined, in other words, the location that lies closest to the border.

Carrier Assignment

You can assign as many different carriers as you want to your means of transport or
any of its subordinate means of transport for the leg. You can specify whether
dangerous goods can be transported for each such combination of leg, means of
transport, and carrier.

In static route determination, the system defines the carrier for a trip as the carrier for
the first leg who can transport dangerous goods, if required, and for which you have
defined the lowest costs for transportation along this leg in the carrier profile.

Departure Calendar Assignment

You can define a departure calendar for the leg. If the departures for a specific
request type do not correspond with the departure calendar for the leg, you can also
define a specific departure calendar for this request type.

The system takes into account departure calendars when scheduling a trip for both
the start location of the request and for each transshipment location served. For
more information, see Scheduling.

Validity and Restrictions

You can restrict the validity of a route by specifying the following:

 A validity period that the system compares with the cutoff time of a single
request.

 Permitted shipping conditions that the system compares with the shipping
conditions of a single request.

 Permitted request types that the system compares with the request type of a
single request.

You can specify permitted request types at the header level of the route and
for each stop within the leg (customer, for example). The request types at stop
level must be part of the request types that you specify at header level.
Request types at stop level have a higher priority than those at header level.
Accordingly, the request types at header level are valid for those stops for
which you have not defined separate request types.

 Permitted transportation groups that the system compares with the

transportation groups of the products in a single request.

 Weight limits for single and collective requests that the system compares with
the total weight of the products in the single request or in multiple combined
requests

You can also specify weight limits for single and collective requests for each
stop within a leg. These limits overwrite the relevant limits that you specify for
the route at header level.

 Volume limits for single and collective requests that the system compares with
the total volume of the products in the single request or in multiple combined
requests

You can also specify volume limits for single and collective requests for each
stop within a leg. These limits overwrite the relevant limits that you specify for
the route at header level.

 Dimension limits (length, width, and height)

You can specify the maximum dimensions that a product is permitted to have
to be valid for a certain route. The system compares these dimensions with
those that you defined in the product master.
You can also define various lead times for the different request types. These
influence the start time of a trip in scheduling.

Example
The following figure shows a route with three legs that are connected by the
transshipment locations P and M. It also shows a (red) trip for the case where all
stop-offs in the middle leg are optional and a (blue) trip for the case where these
stop-offs are mandatory.

Route