When running the optimizer, a lot of data are read automatically for additional selection or context information. This blog post should give you insides which data are read when and why.

If the optimization takes a very long time a reason could be that the context determination is determining (and reading) a very lot of data. Also, locking issues can occur if you aren’t aware which data are read.

Network Determination

Transportation Network

For all involved locations and means of transports the transportation network is determined. The depth of network analysis for transshipment locations starting at each requirement source and destination location is controlled by the “Search Depth for Transshipment Locations” maintained in the optimizer settings.

Schedule Departures

For a selected schedule, all the schedule departures in the planning horizon are determined.

Automatic Selection

Some data are always automatically selected by the TM system. This means those objects are treated like a direct selection from the user. This means that the optimizer can discard those freight orders, change dates or change freight unit assignments like the user had selected them. Therefore, those data will also get locked by the optimizer run.

Capacity Documents

For a selected capacity document, all assigned requirement documents are automatically selected.  If a selected capacity document is already assigned to a resource also the resource is selected.

“One-Order” Schedules

For “One-Order” Schedules also the existing freight orders for all the departures in the planning horizon are selected. This means also all requirements planned on them are selected.

Automatic Connection Determination

In the optimizer settings, you can activate another type of additional selection, the “Automatic Connection Determination” (be aware that the setting is hidden in the “Advanced Settings”). This context determination determines matching freight orders, schedules and freight bookings along the network. Those are added to the selection to plan on them.

The automatic connection determination is only running when you are plan with “optimizer planning ->all” or using the batch report for VSR planning.

Context Determination

TM always determines a lot of context data on basis of the selection which are necessary for the optimizer run but not changeable. Those aren’t locked. This includes the following information:

Requirement Document Stages

For each selected requirement document stage all other stages of the same requirement document are determined. If those are planned also the corresponding capacity documents are determined.

Single Resources (or Multi Resources With Limit)

For non-multi resources all other documents on the same resource in the planning horizon are determined to ensure that the optimizer does not plan the same resource at the same time twice.

Differences Between the Buttons

Optimizer Planning -> All

The optimizer processing is called with all the data which are loaded in the cockpit session. All above mentioned context determinations are running.

Optimizer Planning -> Selected Entries with All Resources

The optimizer is called with all selected documents. Additionally, all resources and schedules in the cockpit session are selected automatically. The above-mentioned context determinations are running but “Automatic Connection Determination” is never used.

Optimizer Planning -> Selected Entries Only

The optimizer processing is called with only the selected data. The above-mentioned context determinations are running but “Automatic Connection Determination” is never used.

More

More about performance you can find here.