Creating a route

The Create Route action is useful when your current carrier contracts and routing guides do not meet the routing needs for a shipment. For example, the shipment must be expedited and, therefore, the rate is different from the carrier's contracted rate. You also use the Create Route action to create multi-stop or aggregated routes and then employ the rating and routing process for carrier selection.

Use the Create Route action to:

  • Create a route by using an automatically assigned or manually entered route number
  • Assign a specific carrier to a route
  • Create a multi-stop or aggregation with the option to arrange the stop sequence for a route that has more than two stops
You can create a route from the Shipment list page or from the Shipment detail page. When you create a route from the Shipment list page, you can select multiple shipments for the route. When you create a route from the Shipment detail page, you create a route for that one shipment.

To create a route:

  1. Select Transportation > Shipment.
  2. Click the Search arrow on the search toolbar to display a list of shipments. Use the filter options on the search toolbar to refine the list.
  3. Select one or more shipments for which you want to create a route.
  4. Select Actions > Create Route. The Create Route dialog is displayed.
  5. Complete this information on the Stops tab, if applicable:
    Carrier Route Number
    TM assigns a unique number to the carrier route.
    Carrier
    Specify a carrier for the route. Leave blank if you plan on using the rating and routing process to assign the carrier through the Select Carrier or Tender actions.
    Total Freight Charges
    Specify the total freight charges for shipment. Leave blank for the rating and routing process to calculate the charges based on the contractual agreement with the assigned carrier.
    Charge Currency
    Specify the currency associated with the total freight charges. Leave blank for the rating and routing process to enter the charge currency based on the contractual agreement with the assigned carrier. You can override the charge currency later as needed.
  6. Use the Freight Charges tab to update the freight charges for individual shipments. Complete this information, if applicable:
    Shipment Number
    Specify the shipment numbers which represent the route.
    Total Buy Rate
    Optionally, specify the buy rate for the shipment, which represents the cost that the payer of freight is charged by carriers.
    Buy Rate Currency
    Specify the currency type for the buy rate.
    Total Sell Rate
    Optionally, specify the sell rate for the shipment, which represents the price that the payer of freight charges customers.
    Sell Rate Currency
    Specify the currency type for the sell rate.
  7. Select the applicable action:
    • To create and save the route with a New status, select Actions > Save Route.
    • To create and save the route and tender the route to a carrier, select Actions > Tender. If you select a carrier, the route is tendered to the carrier. If you do not select a carrier, the rating and routing process rates and routes the shipment and tenders the route to the first qualifying carrier. The shipment receives a Route Created status, and the route receives a Tendered status. After you select an action, the Create Route dialog is closed and you are returned to the Shipment list or detail page. Note that if a user manually assigns a carrier, then the Tender Time Out value defined in the configuration settings is used to define how long the carrier has to respond to the tender, assuming that Tender Time Out is enabled; if the rating and routing process selects the carrier, then the tender time out time defined in the carrier's contract is used. Upon tender, the carrier receives an e-mail tender notification or a tender notification via EDI, depending on configuration.
    • To select a carrier without tendering the route, select Actions > Select Carrier. The rating and routing process creates the route, rates and routes the shipment. The shipment receives a Route Created status, and the route receives a Carrier Selected status.

    After you select an action, the Create Route dialog is closed and you are returned to the Shipment list or detail page.

    From the Shipment detail page, you can click Messages to display the Shipment Messages dialog and confirm that the route is created.