Introduction
If your organization's logistics processes involve staging orders for last-mile deliveries, setting up Distribution Centers (DC) in Mover can significantly enhance your operational efficiency.
By creating a DC, you establish a central hub where orders can be pre-sorted and organized before they hit the road. This strategic approach ensures that drivers have the correct orders loaded in the optimal sequence.
The Distribution Center you create on the web app is seamlessly synchronized with the DC mobile app, enabling your DC workers to efficiently stage orders at the gate, and enabling you to see activity progress at the gate.
In this guide, we will go through how to set up and manage distribution centers, how to monitor routes departing from a distribution center and how to report problems at the gate.
What Is a Distribution Center
A Distribution Center (DC) in last-mile logistics is a specialized facility where goods are stored, sorted and prepared for delivery to the final destination, usually the customer's doortstep. In other words, it's the heart of your delivery operations, where your routes begin.
What is Staging in Last-Mile Logistics
The staging process in last-mile logistics involves preparing and organizing packages at a Distribution Center so that they are ready to be loaded onto delivery vehicles in the correct and logical order based on the planned delivery route.
This process ensures that:
Orders are retrieved and sorted: Packages are gathered and organized according to their delivery destinations
Sequencing: Packages are arranged in the order they will be delivered, optimizing the delivery route.
Loading: Packages are loaded onto delivery vehicles in this order, ensuring that the first deliveries are easily accessible and minimizing handling time during the delivery process
How to Set Up a Distribution Center
Go to Distribution Center
Click New Distribution Center or Add Distribution Center
Add the details of the DC
Name: Give your DC a descriptive name for easy identification. This is especially important if you manage multiple locations.
Address: Enter the exact address of the distribution center.
Time Between Departures: Specify the typical time interval between route departures from this DC.
Click Create Distribution Center
How to View Routes Departing from a Distribution Center
Once you've created routes with matching start addresses, they'll automatically appear in the corresponding DC.
For a route to appear in the Distribution Center, its start address must exactly match the DC's address. Always double check that there is a perfect match between the two in case you don't see an existing route within its Distribution Center.
To view the routes departing from a specific DC, simply click anywhere on its listing.
This overview includes:
Route ID: Clickable to open the route's details.
Route Reference
Driver Info: If a driver has been assigned. The column will be empty if no driver has been assigned to the route
Port: The specific gate from which the route is departing
Fulfiller: The contractor who is executing the route
Planned Arrival
Actual Arrival
Planned Departure
Actual Departure
Colli: Number of colli that the driver has handled against the total number of colli from the route
Driver List: Printable version of the route
Problems: Number of Problems Recorded at that gate
Filtering within a Distribution Center
Date Filter: View routes from specific dates.
Route ID/Reference Filter: Search for specific routes.
Managing Distribution Centers
Edit: Click the pen icon to make changes.
Delete: Click the trash bin icon to remove a DC.
How to Report an Issue at a Distribution Center
As a planner, you can report any problems or deviations that occur at a DC directly through the TMS. This helps maintain the accuracy of your routing information and ensures smooth operations.
To report a problem:
Locate the applicable route (pro tip: use the Filter box to search by Route ID or Route Reference)
Click on Report Problem at the end of the row
Select the relevant problem and leave your comments in the dedicated box
TMS Sync with Distribution Center App
The Distribution Centers from the web-app are synchronized with the Distribution Center mobile app and shown to any user with permissions to access Distribution Centers.
Grant User Permissions
To access and use the Distribution Center App, users need appropriate permissions.
Go to Organization -> Roles
Locate the Roles that need access to the Distribution Center App and enable the following permissions:
Distribution Center > View
Distribution Center > Edit
FAQ
As a Distribution Center Worker, if I don't need to do order staging, what actions can I perform in Distribution Center on the web-app?
You can use the web-app to have an overview of all the routes starting at a specific DC, so you can assess how busy the day will be.
You can also use the web-app to report a problem at a DC.
What happens when I report a problem at a Distribution Center?
Reporting a problem at a Distribution Center helps you identify and track issues occurring at that location. While it doesn't automatically trigger a specific action within the TMS, this data is valuable for analysis. Our team can generate reports on these issues to help your organization address recurring problems.
When I report a problem in the web-app, can my coworkers see it in the Distribution Center App?
No, problems reported in the web-app are not visible to DC workers in the mobile app. However, gate activity recorded in the mobile app (such as how many colli have been scanned, what the actual arrival and departure times were) are transmitted to the TMS.