[ICS] Transportation Package

Today's transportation and logistics sector is highly competitive, which means it’s never been so important to maximise cost-efficiency and foster positive customer relationships with timely deliveries. Our innovative Transportation Package is designed to help your business streamline your transport routing with its impressive MS Dynamics add-on solutions.

Developed in collaboration with our clients, [ICS] Transportation Package expands the standard functionality of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3 and D365FO systems to deliver new features for vehicle route planning and logistics network management. It is intended for companies (distributors, wholesalers, manufacturers, logistic services providers, etc.) that operate complex delivery networks and are faced with a challenge of their optimization to reduce total transportation costs.

The Package is designed to help your business thrive with its easy-to-use functionality and seamless integration to your Dynamics ERP system. With this suite of add-on solutions, you can build an optimal delivery route, plan cargo trips for a large number of orders for delivery by vehicles with varying carrying capacities and streamline deliveries in a multi-echelon delivery network.

Some of the typical benefits of implementing [ICS] Transportation Package include considerable reduction in route planning time, greatly simplified overall workflow, and lower operating costs through reduction in mileage, driving time and the number of vehicles used. The Package is available on Microsoft AppSource.


May 2024 Update

We are pleased to announce that an updated and greatly improved version of [ICS] Transportation Package has been successfully published on AppSource! This means that our solution has met all the requirements of Microsoft's strict validation process and is now available publicly.

June 2023 Update

Here's some long-awaited news! We are proud to announce the release of an updated and greatly improved version of our [ICS] Transportation Package
Please follow this link for more details.
December 2020 Update

We are pleased to announce that [ICS] Transportation Package has been successfully published on AppSource! This means that our solution has met all the requirements of Microsoft's strict validation process and is now available publicly.

September 2020 Update – Transportation Processes Assessment Workshop (FOC)

ICS launches a new offering: a free-of-charge 4-hour workshop conducted by our TMS experts who will provide advisory consultation on transportation processes set-up in your Dynamics AX 2012 R3 or D365FO environment. Please click here for more details.

June 2020 Update

We are proud to announce that [ICS] Transportation Package is now officially released and ready to simplify your logistics processes! You can find more information in our press release.

[Optimal Route Building Solution]


The Challenge
Businesses use various methods and tools to calculate optimal routes for the delivery of goods to recipients of cargo trips. Automating this process in the ERP system will offer great advantages in terms of convenience, speed and increased performance.

The Solution
In our solution route segments consist of logistic hubs, and each counterparty’s delivery address is associated with such a hub. The solution allows you to synchronize the data of logistic hubs with the addresses of counterparties. Data on transit time and distance are set for a pair of logistic hubs. Integration with cartographic services (OSRM, Mapbox, HERE) has been implemented to obtain transit time and distance data for logistic hubs. It is also possible to connect other cartographic services.

As a result, ICS solution allows you to create the optimal route for the selected cargo trip either by using previously calculated transit time or distance between logistic hubs, or by using the data obtained from the cartographic services. The solution also provides the ability to perform a visual analysis of the constructed route, while the calculation of transportation costs is implemented using the data associated with the generated route.

Feature Description
Logistic hubs
Introduces functionality of logistic hubs with possibility to get GEO-coordinates from OSRM by postal address
Customer/Vendor hubs
Map customer and vendor delivery addresses with logistic hubs
Cost calculation
Calculation of transportation cost using carriers' rates
Calculation/Visualization
Calculation and visualization of optimal routes using OSRM engine for the transportation load

Pic 1: Logistic hubs

Pic 2: Customer/Vendor hubs

Pic 3: Cost calculation

Pic 4: Route visualization


[Transport Routing Solution]


The Challenge
Plan cargo trips for a large number of orders for delivery by transport with different carrying capacities in the most optimal way (i.e. with minimal transportation costs).

The Solution
To solve this task, as a first step ICS solution allows you to store and maintain data on vehicles in the system with their key characteristics. The solution then performs vehicle routing calculations with restrictions on carrying capacity and time windows for service (CVRPTW). There is functionality to change the set of orders for planned cargo trips. The planning functionality also allows you to take into account different sets of parameters when assigning orders to cargo trips: the warehouse working hours, the number of docks in the warehouse, vehicle loading time, order delivery time windows, order weight and dimensions, order and vehicle compatibility, etc. For the planning of cargo trips the solution uses two strategies that calculate the vehicles’ filling rate on trips according to volumetric weight and the number of containers. The solution allows to perform a visual analysis of planned cargo trips.

Feature Description
Vehicles
Maintain data about vehicles, their capacity (weight, volume) and assign carrier’s service to each vehicle
Time/Distance matrix
Integration with cartographic services to obtain transit time/distance between hubs
Geofences
Mapping logistic hubs with geofences
Trips calculation
Vehicles’ trips calculation for the pool of open sales/purchase orders.
Two new strategies are supported by the algorithm (volumetric weight and number of containers).
Possibility to calculate trips by dividing orders according to geofences.
Manual trip building
Possibility to build trips manually using Load Planning Workbench
Vehicles' reservation
Possibility to reserve vehicles for trips manually using a Gantt chart
Visualization
Visualization of calculated trips

Pic 1: Vehicles

Pic 2: Time/Distance matrix

Pic 3: Geofences

Pic 4: Trips calculation

Pic 5: Trips calculation (cont.)

Pic 6: Manual trip building

Pic 7: Vehicles' reservation

Pic 8: Visualization


[Multi-Echelon Delivery Network Solution]


The Challenge
Plan the delivery of goods in a multi-echelon delivery network.

The Solution
A multi-echelon delivery network consists of a central warehouse and intermediate branch warehouses for reloading goods into smaller vehicles. The solution optimizes the transportation routes to allow consolidation of shipments at intermediate branches to ensure that vehicles with an optimal carrying capacity are used and total delivery costs are thus reduced.

The solution also allows you to specify the structure of a multi-echelon delivery network and delivery geofences. Delivery geofences allow you to combine logistics nodes into groups. When performing vehicle routing calculations, customer orders will be grouped by geofence and routing will be calculated for each group of orders. The solution allows performing vehicle routing calculations sequentially for each delivery tier automatically and manually.

Feature Description
Delivery network
Set up central / intermediate branches and reloading points
Delivery tier
Set up structure of multi-echelon delivery network
Multi-echelon trips calculation
Calculation of trips for each delivery tier

Pic 1: Schematic representation of a multi-echelon delivery network

Pic 2: Delivery network

Pic 3: Delivery network (cont.)

Pic 4: Delivery tier


[Track and Trace Mobile App for Drivers]


A mobile app based on MS Power Apps platform that allows drivers to view the planned routes and access full cargo details. It also provides the ability to build the route in a GPS navigation system and for the driver to regularly update the status of delivery.

Key Features:

  • View the planned delivery routes
  • Access information on vehicle loading
  • Access full cargo details (delivery addresses, time of arrival, volume and weight of goods and other information)
  • Build delivery routes in an external GPS navigation system
  • Regularly update the head office and the customer on the status of delivery

Pic 1: [ICS] Track and Trace Mobile App

Pic 2: [ICS] Track and Trace Mobile App (cont.)



* Please note that the above solutions are offered only as part of the whole Package and are not sold separately.

** [ICS] Track and Trace Mobile App is optional and can be excluded from the Package.


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