The delivery scenario must be specified for each new trip. This tells the server how a vehicle must perform pickup and drop-off actions in the route suggestion. Should each trip only have one pickup and one drop-off waypoint? What if it is more efficient for a vehicle to have the ability to stop at several pickup locations before dropping off orders?

Interplai offers the flexibility to choose the best delivery scenario, called the routingScenarioMode, for each route. A vehicle will travel to each waypoint in a route based on which routingScenarioMode is selected. There are five options available: spsd, spmd, mpsd, mpmd, and none.

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spsd: Single Pickup and Single Drop-off

Single pickup and single drop-off refer to the scenario where a vehicle will travel to a single pickup location to load the cargo (single pickup) and immediately travel to the drop-off location to unload the cargo (single drop-off) before being assigned other tasks.

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Example: spsd

Suppose a restaurant offers delivery and wants to get the food order to the consumer as quickly as possible to preserve the quality. They may choose SPSD so that a single segment of a route lets the food get picked up directly from the restaurant and then immediately transported to the dropoff location.

This is the most simple delivery scenario, with two waypoints in the recommended route. The first waypoint will include the pickup location, where the cargo is to be picked up. Only one location and one order are to be included in the pickup. Next, the vehicle will immediately travel to the second waypoint, where the cargo will be dropped off. The vehicle will make no stops along the way. As soon as the two waypoints are completed, the vehicle has completed the entire route and is subject to a new route assignment.

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Tip: spsd

Vehicle capacity is a factor to consider when choosing the routingScenarioMode. If a courier's business model relies on vehicles that can only carry the exact amount of cargo in one order, then SPSD may be the best choice. For example, if tow trucks are being dispatched to pick up broken down automobiles, then one tow truck can only transport one automobile at a time, which would require single pickup and single drop-off.

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spmd: Single Pickup and Multi Drop-off

Single pickup and multi drop-off refer to the scenario where a vehicle can load one or more cargo units from a single pickup location (single pickup), then unload cargo at one or more drop-off locations (multi drop-off).

Under this routingScenarioMode, if several trips have the same pickup location then they may be grouped together in a route. The vehicle will visit the first waypoint location and perform one or more pickups. If a cargo item corresponds to an order, the vehicle will pick up at least one order. The maximum amount of orders (or cargo) a vehicle can pick up will depend on the vehicle capacity.

Once the pickup action is completed, the vehicle will travel to one or more waypoint locations to perform the drop-off action. In this delivery scenario, it is possible for a trip to be assigned a route with a single pickup waypoint and a single drop-off waypoint (such as the routes in the spsd delivery scenario). But using this mode allows the optimizer to look for ways to save costs by using one vehicle to complete trips with the same pickup location. (Note: cost is based on the costMatrixMode)

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Example: spmd

Local restaurants order kitchen supplies from a local warehouse, which offers delivery. The vehicle performing the deliveries will be assigned a segment that includes the pick up of supplies orders from the single warehouse location and the drop-off of orders at multiple restaurants.

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Example: spmd

A pizza restaurant employs in-house delivery drivers. To maximize efficiency, each driver delivers multiple orders to customers in one trip. The routes will be created where a segment includes a single pickup and multiple drop-offs since all of the orders are loaded into the vehicle at a single pickup location then each order is dropped off at different locations.

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mpsd: Multi Pickup and Single Drop-off

Multi pickup and single drop-off refer to the scenario where a vehicle has the option to load cargo from one or more pickup locations (multi pickup), and unload all cargo at a single drop-off location (single drop-off).

The delivery method of mpsd produces routes and segments for a vehicle to travel to one or more pickup locations to retrieve the cargo, then transport all the cargo to one destination. It is possible for a route to be created with a single pickup location and a single drop-off location, but mpsd allow the option for routes to be created with multiple pickup waypoints.

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Example: mpsd

Suppose a retailer offers free returns, where the packages will be picked up from customers and dropped at the store. Then mpsd would allow vehicles to be assigned a segment of a route where it will pick up the return packages from each of the pickup locations and transport them back to the store.

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Example: mpsd

A rideshare service offers incentives for consumers to carpool to the same location. In this scenario, a vehicle may stop to pick up multiple people at different locations and drop them all off at a single destination. The segment for mpsd includes the multiple pickup waypoints and the single drop-off waypoint.

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mpmd: Multi Pickup and Multi Drop-off

Multi pickup and multi drop-off refers to the scenario where a vehicle has the option to load cargo from one or more pickup locations (multi pickup), then unload cargo at one or more drop-off locations (multi drop-off).

It is important to note that the vehicle will travel to all of the pickup waypoints before going to any of the drop-off waypoints. Every suggested route under the mpmd routingScenarioMode will consider the demand required at each waypoint to ensure the vehicle has enough capacity to transport the cargo.

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Example: mpmd

A company's on-demand delivery business is growing and they want to efficiently use the vehicles available to them to keep up with consumer demand. Choosing mpmd would allow a vehicle to be assigned a route which includes going to multiple pickup waypoints then traveling to multiple drop-off waypoints. The result is one vehicle completing several deliveries more efficiently.

In Figure 4 above, the delivery scheme for mpmd suggests that each waypoint corresponds to one action taking place. However, multiple trips for pickup or drop-off can happen at the same waypoint location.

Figure 5 below shows a delivery scheme where multiple pickups occurred at the second waypoint and multiple drop-offs occurred at the third waypoint, but with a mixture of trips. Since there are multiple pickup locations and multiple drop-off locations, and since the vehicle is performing all pickups before all the drop-off, then this is still an example of mpmd.

Since mpmd specifies "one or more", it is possible for routes to be produced that resemble some of the earlier routingScenarioModes. For instance, if a trip is not near any other trips (or happening around the same time) then a vehicle may be assigned a route with a single pickup waypoint and single drop-off waypoints, despite the mode being specified as mpmd.

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none: No Constraints on Pickup and Drop-off

Interplai also offers the routingScenarioMode option of none, meaning there are no predefined constraints as far as pickups and drop-offs. Instead, the optimizer will suggest routes based on other parameters specified in the trip, such as the location and timeWindow.

This example differs from the other routingScenarioMode options because a route may include pickups and drop-offs in any order. Figure 6 displays an example of a route that the mode none might produce, with some locations having single or multiple actions. This mode is different from thempmd because none does not require that all pickups happen before the drop-offs can start.

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Example: none

A home improvement retailer offers to haul away old appliances with the purchase of a new appliance. In this scenario, it may be most cost-effective to select none for the routingScenarioMode to allow routes to be constructed using a combination of actions. This way, a single segment of a route could allow a vehicle to load all of the new appliances at the store, travel to a customer's home to pickup the old appliances, deliver new appliances to that same customer, then travel to the next waypoint to perform similar actions.