Introduction
Auto contractor assignment gives routes to a contractor as soon as they are created, based on rules you set up. A rule checks the route's tags, where the route starts, or both, and assigns the route to the contractor you choose.
Helpful for: Planners, Sourcing
Before you start
Connection: the contractor must be a Connection of your organization. Otherwise it won't appear in the list. See Connections: what they are and how to add a new connection.
Route planning: rules only apply to routes created by route planning. Routes created manually are not assigned.
Route tags: if your rules use tags, make sure your rule set adds them to the routes.
Create a rule
Go to Routes > Auto contractor assignment.
Click New rule. A panel opens on the right.
Under Name, enter a Rule name that tells you what the rule does, for example the contractor and the area.
Under Criteria, enter a Priority. If a route matches more than one rule, the rule with the lowest number wins.
Add one or both tag criteria. Leave a field empty to ignore it.
Matches all route tags: the route must have every tag you add.
Matches any route tag: the route must have at least one of the tags you add.
Optional: under Geographic area, click Draw area. The panel closes and the map opens. Click points on the map to draw the area, then click the first point again to close it. The panel opens again and shows Area defined. To change the area later, click Redraw area. The rule matches routes that start inside the area.
Under Action, pick the contractor in Assign to organization. You can type to search the list.
Click the save icon in the top-right corner of the panel.
Manage your rules
The list shows each rule's criteria and the contractor it assigns to.
Use Find… to search by rule name, tag or organization.
Click Show map to see the drawn areas. Click the layout button next to it to show the map beside the list or below it. Click Hide map to close it.
Click the pencil icon to edit a rule, or the bin icon to delete it.
Example
You work with two contractors:
Rule 1: Matches any route tag = Express, Priority 1, assigned to Contractor A.
Rule 2: area drawn around your north distribution center, Priority 2, assigned to Contractor B.
A route tagged Express that starts at the north distribution center matches both rules. It goes to Contractor A, because 1 is the lower number. All other routes starting in the north go to Contractor B.
Best practices
Use route tags rather than drawn areas where you can. Tags are easier to maintain, and the area only checks where the route starts.
Leave gaps between priority numbers (10, 20, 30). Then you can add a new rule in between without renumbering the others.
Give rules names that include the contractor, so the list is easy to scan.
The list doesn't show priority numbers. Open a rule to check its priority, or add the number to the rule name if you use many rules.
If something goes wrong
A route wasn't assigned to a contractor
Check that the route was created by route planning and that its tags match the rule exactly. Also check whether a rule with a lower priority number matched first.
The contractor isn't in the Assign to organization list
The contractor isn't a Connection of your organization yet. Invite them as a Connection first.