Understanding Stop Timing: A New Feature for Location Overhead

When optimizing delivery routes, not all time spent at a stop is the same. Over the years, we’ve added several timing parameters to model real-world scenarios more accurately. With our latest addition, setup_time, we now cover another common case: fixed overhead when arriving at a location.

The Timeline at a Stop

Let me walk through what happens when a vehicle arrives at a delivery location:

prevLoc──travel──▶──preparation──▶──waiting──▶──setup_time──▶──duration──▶travel──▶nextLoc
                                 │           │                           │
                              arr_time   tw.earliest                  end_time
  

• Preparation time: Time before arrival, e.g., finding a parking spot
• Arrival (arr_time): The vehicle reaches the location
• Waiting: If the vehicle arrives before the time window opens, it waits
• Setup time: Location overhead like dock check-in or security clearance
• Duration: The actual service time (loading, unloading, etc.)
• Departure (end_time): Vehicle leaves for the next stop

Three Time Parameters, Three Different Behaviors

The key difference: duration is always charged, while preparation_time and
setup_time are only charged once per location. If two deliveries happen at the same warehouse, you only check in once.

When to Use Setup Time

Use setup_time when you have fixed overhead at certain locations that:

• Happens after you’re allowed to start (after the time window opens)
• Applies regardless of how many tasks you perform there
• Varies by location (a secure facility vs. a regular address)

{
    "id": "delivery-1",
    "address": { "location_id": "warehouse", ... },
    "duration": 300,
    "setup_time": 600
  }
  

This models a 5-minute unloading task at a warehouse that requires 10 minutes of check-in, but if you have three deliveries at that warehouse, you only check in once.

For more details, see the setup_time documentation.

Happy optimizing!