In OTM, a multi-stop shipment is a single shipment that picks up or delivers freight at more than one location. For example, a truck may pick up goods from one warehouse and deliver them to multiple customer locations in sequence — all on the same shipment.
OTM’s Bulk Plan algorithm can automatically consolidate multiple orders into a single multi-stop shipment to optimize transportation costs. To enable this, the following areas need to be configured.
Logic Configuration (MULTISTOP):
This is the main configuration that enables multi-stop behavior in the Bulk Plan algorithm.
Shipment Management > Power Data > General > Logic Configuration
Create a new Logic Configuration record with the below header fields:
Logic Configuration ID: Enter a unique ID for this configuration (e.g. CUSTOM_MULTISTOP or any name that suits your business).
Logic Configuration Type: Select MULTISTOP from the dropdown. This is the key field that tells OTM this is a multi-stop logic configuration.
Domain Name: Select the domain applicable to your business.
Once the header is saved, update the below parameters in the GENERAL section:
MULTISTOP ALLOWED: Set to TRUE to enable multi-stop shipments in Bulk Plan.
MULTISTOP CHECK TIME FEASIBILITY: Controls whether OTM checks if stops are time-feasible before consolidating orders into a multi-stop shipment.
MULTISTOP MAX DISTANCE BETWEEN DELIVERIES: Maximum road distance allowed between two consecutive delivery stops. Configure based on your business area coverage.
MULTISTOP MAX DISTANCE BETWEEN PICKUPS: Maximum road distance allowed between two consecutive pickup stops. Configure based on your business area coverage.
MULTISTOP MAX RADIUS FOR DELIVERIES: Maximum radius from a central point within which delivery stops can be consolidated. Configure based on your business area coverage.
MULTISTOP MAX RADIUS FOR PICKUPS: Maximum radius from a central point within which pickup stops can be consolidated. Configure based on your business area coverage.
MULTISTOP RATE DISTANCE ID: Distance calculation method used for multi-stop rating. Set this to the mileage engine configured in your OTM environment.
MAXIMUM DELIVERY STOPS ALLOWED: Maximum number of delivery stops allowed on a single shipment. Configure based on your operational requirements.
MAXIMUM PICKUP STOPS ALLOWED: Maximum number of pickup stops allowed on a single shipment. Configure based on your operational requirements.
MAXIMUM STOPS ALLOWED: Total maximum stops (pickup + delivery) allowed on a single shipment.
Bulk Plan Parameter Set Configuration:
After updating the Logic Configuration, the MULTISTOP Config ID must be linked to the Bulk Plan Parameter Set so that the algorithm picks up the correct multi-stop settings during planning.
Shipment Management > Power Data > General > Parameter Sets
Open the Parameter Set used by your Bulk Plan and locate the MULTISTOP section. Update the below parameter:
MULTISTOP CONFIG ID: Set this to the Logic Configuration ID updated in the previous step. This links the Bulk Plan to the multi-stop settings you configured.
The other parameters visible in this section can be left at their default values unless your business scenario requires specific adjustments:
CONSIDER CARRIER CAPACITIES DURING MULTISTOP: Controls whether carrier capacity limits are checked when building multi-stop shipments. Default is FALSE.
FLEXIBLE ROUTE PROFILE ID: Optional. Used to reference a flexible route profile if your business uses flexible routing.
MULTISTOP XDOCK INBOUND AFTER OUTBOUND COMPLETE: Controls cross-dock sequencing for multi-stop. Default is FALSE.
USE MULTIPASS MULTISTOP: Enables multiple passes of the multi-stop algorithm for better optimization. Default is FALSE.
USE PRIORITY IN COST SAVINGS: Controls whether order priority is considered in cost savings calculations. Default is FALSE.
VOLUME PADDING FACTOR BETWEEN STOPS: Additional volume buffer added between stops. Leave at default unless required.
WEIGHT PADDING FACTOR BETWEEN STOPS: Additional weight buffer added between stops. Leave at default unless required.
Note: Some parameters may appear blank on an existing MULTISTOP Logic Configuration. If the multi-stop Bulk Plan algorithm is failing during testing, check that all parameters above have explicit values. Blank values can cause the algorithm to fail without a clear error.
Itinerary Level Configuration:
The Itinerary in OTM defines the route lanes and stop sequences used by the Bulk Plan algorithm when building shipments. For multi-stop shipments to work, configure the below two settings on the Itinerary.
Shipment Management > Power Data > Itinerary
Multi-Stop Itinerary (Header Level): On the Itinerary header, check the Multi-Stop Itinerary checkbox. This tells OTM that this itinerary is eligible for multi-stop shipment building during Bulk Plan.
Auto Consolidation Type (Itinerary Leg Level): On each itinerary leg, set the Auto Consolidation Type field to MULTISTOP INTO ONE EQUIP. This instructs OTM to consolidate multiple order releases into one equipment (single shipment) at the leg level during Bulk Plan execution.
Rate Offering Level Configuration:
The Rate Offering controls how OTM rates a shipment. For multi-stop shipments, stop count limits must be configured on the Rate Offering so OTM knows how many stops are permitted under a given rate.
Shipment Management > Rate Management > Rate Offering
On the Rate Offering, update the below stop count limits:
Minimum Stop Count: Minimum number of stops for this rate to apply.
Maximum Stop Count: Maximum number of stops allowed under this rate. Set this to cover the maximum number of stops your multi-stop shipments will have.
Distance Lookup Configuration:
Shipment Management > Power Data > Geography > Distance
For direct shipments, OTM only needs distance from the source location to the destination location. However, for multi-stop shipments, OTM also needs distances between each stop to correctly calculate the total route distance and shipment costs.
Maintain distance records between all stop locations that may appear together on a multi-stop shipment — not just from origin to final destination.
If you use an external mileage engine (such as PC*MILER, MileMaker, or RatewareXL), verify that it is configured to return distances between intermediate stops and not just the direct origin-to-destination distance.
For LTL rates using an external rating engine, note that these engines typically only return direct origin-to-destination distances. For LTL multi-stop shipments, you may need to manually maintain inter-stop distance records in OTM.
Note: Missing distance records between stops is one of the most common reasons Bulk Plan fails to build multi-stop shipments. If Bulk Plan is not consolidating orders into multi-stop shipments as expected, verify that all inter-stop distances are populated.
Testing:
Once the above configurations are in place, run a Bulk Plan with order releases that have nearby delivery or pickup locations. Verify that Bulk Plan consolidates them into a single multi-stop shipment rather than separate direct shipments.