Re: => Trigger to split Trailer Loads

From: Rhonda Fischer (anonymous_at_discussions.microsoft.com)
Date: 04/20/04

  • Next message: Phil: "Data Fixing." 
    Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 07:56:06 -0700

    Hello Hugo,

    The scope of the project is slowly becoming clear, but only in stages as I am able to talk to people at Turners.

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    >Question: Does Turners use all these strategies to combine multiple small orders into one trailer? From your previous >posts, I get the
    >idea that only the multiple-suppliers-to-single-supermarket strategy
    >is used, not the single-supplier-to-multiple-supermarktes strategy or
    >the multiple-suppliers-to-multiple-supermarktes strategy.

    Turners
    => can pick up from a supplier and deliver a load direct to the supermarket where the load is full or near full (26)
    => can pick up from many suppliers that have small loads and deliver direct to 1 or more supermarkets
    => can pick up from many suppliers still with small loads bring them back to Turners add some more loads and
         delivery to one or many supermarkets
    usually the delivery part is to one supermarket ie Asda located in a few depots we try not to put loads on for
    Tesco and Asda because they don't like it, but if busy and most cost effective will on the occasion.
    When picking up from several suppliers the points we consider is time the loads will be ready and temperature.
    Most of the time we just pick up for one temperatures, unless using a twin trailer which might have +3 and +10.
    You're right my list of temperatures were incorrect must fix that.

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    >Question: Are at most two different orders consolidated into one
    >trailer or can the number of consolidated orders be more?

    You're right: more.
    We can pick up from a few suppliers, when delivering we usually just have two drops - two deliveries - usually
    to one supermarket of two different depots.
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    >Does Turners do business with multiple supermarkets/suppliers that
    >have the same name? If so, how do the people on the work floor
    >distinguish between the two Asda's?

    Yes there are many Asda's the difference is the name of the depot where they are located this is how they are
    differentiated.
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    >Do you store any information on supermarkets/suppliers other than
    >the name and the artificial ID? If not, is there maybe other
    >information on the supermarkets/suppliers stored in other systems? Do
    >those systems use relational databases as well?

    I'm not quite sure, this db might be integrated into an existing system with such details, although this db is very
    badly designed with hints of relational concepts, perhaps not.
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    >Are there any places that are used as depot as well as location?

    No and not likely to change.
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    >You lost me here. If all vehicles always belong to Exning, than
    >there's no need to store that in the database.

    You're right, I was looking at another company db that does this, though not well designed.
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    >That would mean that a vehicle is unused if a driver is ill. And that
    >a driver has to take a day off if his/her vehicle is in repair. Ask
    >the planning department for confirmation on this.

    A vehicle does have a regular driver:
       => if driver is sick the vehicle is left in the yard and an agency driver is called in to do the run
       => if the vehicle is needing repair the driver might be assigned to a spare vehicle where the driver might be sick
            otherwise might have to wait for another vehicle for half a day or so, apparently waiting is rare
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    >What I think you need to get your project in full swing is:
    >The relational schema to hold all information, suitable for the
    above prerequisites

    I'm working on this at the moment. All of your stated assumptions are correct.
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    >I assume that the process of finding possible consolidations and
    >deciding on the optimal consolidation will done by people, not by the
    >computer

    Yes this is correct
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    Just one more addition that I have only just been informed of that I will work on adding to my relational schema,
    is that Turners have three main hubs for consolidation. I was only working on the understanding that there was
    one Hub. I am told that the model will apply for all. However need to give some thought to a means by which parts
    of a load can be given to another hub to consolidate, however perhaps the db schema accommodates this as its
    the planner that altimately determines the loads to put together I just need to add another field to store the number
    of a hub.

    Thank you for any thoughts that you might have.

    Kind Regards
    Rhonda

     

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