How to assign tasks to carriers quickly and easily using the rule-based on criteria ?

In the past, assigning tasks to carriers sometimes required a change of configuration to be done by an Urbantz employee.

You can now perform this operation autonomously, each time you need to, by simply defining criterias that will determine that a certain task is sent to a specific carrier, based on task information.

Overview:

1. Setting up the “Rule-based on criteria” carrier assignation
2. The Hub criteria
3. The Zones criteria
4. The Flow criteria
5. The Postal code criteria
6. The Distance from the hub criteria
7. The Dimensions criteria
8. The Days of the week criteria
9. The Start of time window criteria
10. How to create rules based on multiple criterias

ℹ️  Before starting, you might want to read this article to learn how to create an Associated Platform or if you want to explore additional ways of assigning carriers.

1. Setting up the “Rule-based on criteria” carrier assignation

To set up the "Rule-based on criteria" carrier assignation, you can start by configuring it in: Platform > General > Carrier and select the “Rule-based on criteria” option.

Click on the “+” sign to create a new rule.

Choose a Mapped carrier of your choice by selecting an associated platform that will be assigned if the criteria match. 

Fill in a Description of the rule, that will, later on, allow you to easily search for it among all the rules you have created by clicking on the black pencil. Please bear in mind that the search is case-sensitive.

Right below the description, you can select the criteria you want to use for your rule by clicking on the plus sign. 

2. The Hubs criteria

When selecting the hub criterion, a drop-down menu appears. You can select one or multiple hubs.

Once the rule is created, you can find it by performing a search with the hub name in the “Search by Hub” box above.

3. The Zones criteria

When selecting the zones criterion, a drop-down menu with all available zones of your platform appears. You can select one or multiple zones.
Once the rule is created, you can find it by performing a search with the zone in the “Search for a Zone” box above.

4. The Endpoints (flows) criteria

When selecting the Endpoints (flow) criterion, a drop-down menu appears. You can select one or multiple flows.

Once the rule is created, you can find it by performing a search with the flow name in the “Search by Flow” box above.

5. The Postal Code criteria

When selecting this criterion, you can type specific postal codes and add them by hitting "Enter". Tasks that have these postal codes will be assigned to the chosen carrier.

6. The Distance from the hub criteria

When you select this criterion, two new fields will be displayed:

• Criteria operator: The values can be: “less than”, “greater than”, “less than or equal to”, “greater than or equal to”
• Distance: the distance in meters from the hub is to be understood as the distance of a straight line between the two locations: the hub's and the task’s location

 7. The Dimension criteria

When you select this criterion, three new fields will be displayed:

• Criteria value: where you can choose between Weight or Volume

• Criteria operator: where the values can be: “less than”, “greater than”, “less than or equal to”, “greater than or equal to”

• Blank field: depending on the criteria value chosen, it'll represent the volume in liters and the weight in kilograms.

8. The Days of the week criteria

Similar to other criteria a drop-down menu allows you to select one or more days of the week.

9. The Start of time window criteria

When this criterion is selected the start of the time window assigned to tasks will determine the carrier. You will have to define a range from XX:XX to YY:YY. If a task falls inside a range the corresponding carrier will be assigned. This can for example help divide the day into morning, afternoon, and evening carriers.
Once the rule is created, you can find it by performing a search with the time window range in the “Search for a Time window” box above.

10. How to create rules based on multiple criterias

Sometimes you might need to assign tasks to a carrier that fulfill not just one, but several criteria at the same time. You can do that by inserting multiple criteria lines, linked among them.

When you create multiple criteria lines, you can link or prioritize some of them by using these fields:

Operators: "AND"/ "OR". You will be able to see them only when you are inserting a second criterion. Their purpose is to determine if the carrier assignation should match both of the criteria you inserted (“AND”) or at least one of the two (“OR”)

There is no limitation to the number of rules you can create. When having multiple rules, you can easily search for them based on their name (description), and the assigned carrier, hub, or flow, by using the search boxes at the top of the page.