Dynamic Release – URBANTZ | SUPPORT

Overview

Dynamic Release is an optimisation mechanism that automatically decides when to release tasks for round creation and when to hold them a little longer — so that more tasks can be grouped together into denser, more efficient rounds.

It replaces the traditional wave-based, post-cutoff optimisation approach with a continuous, intelligent hold-and-release process. The result: less manual work, fewer workload spikes, better vehicle utilisation, and more flexibility for same-day delivery operations.

The Problem It Solves

In a classic wave-based setup, optimisation runs once — typically at a fixed cutoff time. All tasks are held until that moment and then optimised in one go. While simple to manage, this approach has real limitations:

Preparation bottlenecks: Releasing all tasks at once creates peaks at the warehouse, loading docks, and vehicle dispatch points.
Underutilised fleet: Between cutoffs, vehicles and drivers may sit idle while tasks are still accumulating.
Reduced time slot availability: Early cutoffs restrict the range of same-day delivery windows you can offer recipients.
Late visibility: Dispatchers have no visibility of upcoming rounds until the optimisation runs.

Activation

In order to have Dynamic Release enabled for your platforms, please reach out to your dedicated CSM representative.

How Dynamic Release Works

Rather than waiting for a single cutoff, Dynamic Release runs optimisations multiple times per day at pre-configured intervals. At each run, it evaluates all pending tasks and makes one of two decisions:

Release — Tasks that are nearing their delivery time window, or that form a sufficiently dense round (based on your configured thresholds), are optimised and sent to preparation.
Hold — Tasks that don't yet meet the release criteria are deferred to the next optimisation run, giving more time for nearby tasks to accumulate and consolidate into a more efficient round.

This continuous cycle ensures that rounds are created as soon as it makes sense to do so — not too early (which would create sparse, inefficient rounds) and not too late (which would cause delays or preparation bottlenecks).

Release Criteria

The decision to release or hold a task is based on configurable thresholds. Two key criteria are used:

Criteria	Description
Cut-off time	A task is released when its delivery time window is approaching and waiting any longer would risk a late delivery (e.g. less than X minutes to the start of its time window).
Round density	A batch of tasks is released when it has reached a sufficient load threshold — e.g. a certain percentage of vehicle capacity or a minimum number of tasks — making it efficient enough to dispatch.

If either condition is met, the tasks are released and optimised into a round ready for preparation. Tasks that don't meet either condition are held and reconsidered at the next scheduled

💡 Note: Release criteria thresholds are configurable to match your operational model. Contact your Urbantz CSM to set these up for your platform.

What Dispatchers See

On the Announcements page, dispatchers can monitor:

The outcome of the last optimisation run (tasks assigned to rounds, unplanned tasks)
The scheduled time of the next optimisation run

On the Overview page, dispatchers have visibility of:

Total optimised tasks and unplanned tasks
Number of active rounds and total planned distance

Dynamic Release statistics view

The purpose of this view is to gain more visibility into what happened during each Dynamic Release run.

Configure which days Dynamic Release launches

Dynamic Release allows you to set up waves at predefined times. Each wave collects announced tasks and releases them for a future delivery date based on the configured release settings.

Configure launching days

Each release time now includes a Launching days setting. Select the days of the week on which you want the wave to run.

New waves have all seven days selected by default.
At least one launching day must be selected.

Important: The launching day determines when the wave runs, not the delivery date of the tasks it releases.

For example, a wave configured to launch only on Friday, with a release horizon of three days, can release tasks for Monday deliveries. The launching day and delivery date remain independent settings.

How Dynamic Release handles the final wave

Dynamic Release uses the last launching wave for each delivery date to determine which wave should collect and release any tasks that are still waiting to be released.

When you change the launching days of a wave, Dynamic Release automatically takes this into account when determining which wave is the final one for a given delivery date.

For example, if an evening wave does not launch on Sunday, the previous eligible wave becomes the final wave for the relevant delivery date. This ensures that tasks that have not yet been released are still picked up by the appropriate final wave.

This means you can safely configure waves around your operating days without leaving announced tasks unreleased.

This logic is depicted in the schema below:

If you have further questions regarding Dynamic Release, feel free to reach out to your CSM representative or to the Support team.