Bulk Plan

Bulk Plan is OTM’s automated planning engine. It reads Order Release or Order Movements, matches them against the Itineraries and Rate Records configured in earlier posts, and creates optimised Shipments with carrier assignments and freight cost.

Create an Order Base:

An Order Base (Purchase Order) represents a buying commitment for a quantity of goods. Order Releases drawn from it represent shipments of specific quantities.

Order Management > Purchase Order > Order Base > New

Enter the following details for the TCRP scenario:

Order Base ID: PO2018051001
Order Configuration: ONE_TO_ONE
Item ID: ITEMA01
Source Location ID: DC_TCRP
Destination Location ID: STORE_B
Total Package Count: 100
Note: Order Configuration ONE_TO_ONE means each Order Release will generate exactly one Shipment. This is the simplest configuration and appropriate for this scenario.

Create two Order Releases:

Order Releases represent specific quantities being released for shipment against the Order Base. Create two releases for different quantities.

Order Base > Actions > Order Management > Change Order > Release Lines > New Release Instruction

Create the first release:

Unit Amount: 20 (quantity being released for shipping)

Repeat the same path to create a second release:

Unit Amount: 10 (quantity being released for shipping)

Run Bulk Plan:

Query for the two Order Releases you just created:

Order Release query results showing two order releases ready for planning

Select both Order Releases and run Bulk Plan:

Select Order Releases > Actions > Operational Planning > Create Buy Shipment > Bulk Plan – Buy

OTM evaluates the available Itineraries and Rate Records and creates a single consolidated Shipment covering both Order Releases, assigning the least-cost carrier for the lane.

Shipment Routing Options:

To understand how OTM selects a route, use Shipment Routing Options before running Bulk Plan. This is useful when verifying your Rate and Itinerary configuration.

The rates configured for this scenario are:

SGTM 20-FT $30SGTM 40-FT $50PNDP 20-FT $20PNDP 40-FT $40SGTM53-FT $75SGTM 40-FT $50SGTM 20-FT $20DCSTORE_ASTORE_CSTORE_B

Create a new Order Release with Source = DC and Destination = STORE_C, then request routing options:

Order Release > Actions > Operational Planning > Show Routing Options

OTM evaluates all matching Itineraries and presents two routing options — one direct (ITIN-B: DC → STORE_C) and one multi-leg (ITIN-D: DC → STORE_A → STORE_C):

Two routing options shown — ITIN-B direct and ITIN-D multi-leg

Select both Itineraries and click Show Options to see the cost breakdown for each:

Cost and carrier details for both itinerary options

The results confirm our configuration is correct:

  • ITIN-B (DC → STORE_C direct): SGTM, 53-FT, $75
  • ITIN-D (DC → STORE_A → STORE_C, two legs): Leg 1 PNDP $20 + Leg 2 SGTM $20 = $40 total

When you run Bulk Plan on this Order Release, OTM selects ITIN-D as the least-cost option and creates two Shipments:

  • Shipment 1: PNDP, DC → STORE_A, $20
  • Shipment 2: SGTM, STORE_A → STORE_C, $20

Shipment list showing two planned shipments with carriers and costs

OTM has identified the carrier for each leg. The next step is to notify (tender) those carriers with the pickup dates, times, and location details.

← Previous
Business Numbers, Planning Parameter
Next →
Tender Process
Backward Business Numbers, Planning Parameter
Tender Process Forward