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Batch builder

What this screen is for

The batch builder is where you choose which orders go into one batch. On the left are the orders that could be added; on the right are the orders that are in the batch now. When the batch is right, you send it to the Planning board.

Who can see it

Everyone who signs in to the Control Tower sees this screen. What each role may change is set by your organisation's administrator; see Roles & permissions.

Where to find it

Open Order batches in the left-hand menu, then click a batch (or create a new one). The menu item stays highlighted while you are inside a batch.

What you see

Header. A ← Order batches link, the batch name with a Rename link, and a summary line: how many orders are ready to plan, how many are in the batch if that is different, whether it was gathered from a wave or assembled by hand, and its total weight. If the orders are for different days, the line shows spans and the dates, and an amber note explains: a run is anchored on one operating day (the earliest), so later days are timed past midnight and vehicle availability is checked on the first day only.

Plan this batch → at the top right opens the Planning board on this batch. It is greyed out while nothing in the batch is ready to plan.

Filters. A panel above the lists narrows the eligible orders:

  • GATHERED FROM: pick a planning wave to apply its criteria (shown as small tags). A wave's own criteria apply on top of anything you set below. The number beside each wave is how many orders it currently matches.
  • REQUESTED FROM and REQUESTED TO: a date range.
  • CUSTOMER, SERVICE, VEHICLE TYPE, PRIORITY, ORIGIN ZONE and DELIVERY ZONE.
  • Clear all filters resets everything. A line reads NARROWED FURTHER BY n FILTERS when you have added some beside a wave.

Eligible orders (left). Columns: ORDER / CUSTOMER, ROUTE, SERVICE, REQUESTED, PRIORITY and WEIGHT / VOLUME. An order is eligible once it has been accepted at intake and is not already in another batch. The search box at the top of the screen filters this list too.

In this batch (right). Columns: ORDER / CUSTOMER, DESTINATION and WEIGHT. An order shown faded with an amber note is in the batch but can no longer be planned, either because it was never approved for planning or because it has moved past planning.

What you can do

Add orders.

  1. Tick the orders you want, or use Select all n shown to tick everything the current filters show.
  2. A bar appears at the bottom with the count, total weight and volume.
  3. Click Add n to [batch name].

Your ticks stay when you change a filter, so you can narrow to one zone, tick some orders, widen, and tick more. If some ticked orders are hidden by the current filter, the bar says so, and show them lists them so you can untick any. Clear selection removes all ticks.

Remove orders. Click Remove on one order, or Remove all at the top of the right-hand list and confirm. Removed orders return to the eligible list.

Remove an order that is already on a route. If the batch has been planned and the order is on a route, a question appears: This order is on a planned route. It repeats the reason and asks whether to remove it anyway. Remove and re-plan goes ahead with the removal, which invalidates that part of the plan; Cancel keeps the order in the batch. An order that is already on the road cannot be removed this way.

Rename the batch. Click Rename. See Batch name and source.

Popups and panels

Rename uses the Batch name and source dialog described on the Order batches page. The two confirmations (Empty [batch]? and This order is on a planned route) are short yes/no questions that open the help page for this screen.

Tips

  • The eligible list is empty. An order becomes eligible once it has been validated and approved into planning. Everything approved may already be in a batch, or intake may have nothing waiting.
  • "The wave and your filters do not overlap." The wave selects some orders, but none of them match the extra filters you set. Clear one or the other.
  • Selected orders disappeared after an error. If the server refuses an add, ticks on orders that are no longer eligible are dropped. Check the list and tick again.
  • Plan this batch is greyed out. Nothing in the batch is ready to plan.