August brings new strides in our continuous improvement of Locate2u. We’re constantly refining the platform to enhance user experience and extend its capabilities.
Keep an eye on this space as we share the specifics of our latest updates.
Product Update Version 2.8.4: August 12
Feature: Ability to Search on Trip Page
Description:
Search functionality has been added to the Trips page, allowing users to search within trips based on the specific criteria below.
Details:
- Search Criteria: Users can search for text contained in the following fields:
- Team Member
- Source Reference (Source ref)
- L2U Reference (L2u ref)
- Address
- Contact Name
Feature: Customer Filter Applied to Stop Tiles on Trips Dashboard
Description:
The customer filter is now integrated into the Stop tiles on the Trips dashboard, with updates applied based on changes to the filter and other settings.
Details:
- Customer Filter: The dashboard will update to reflect totals that match the selected customer filter. Only Stops associated with the selected customer will be included in the displayed totals.
- Date Range Filter: Totals on the Trips dashboard will adjust according to changes in the date range filter.
- Team Region Filter: The dashboard will also update the totals when the team region filter is changed.
Feature: Display ‘Stop Duration’ in Shipment/Stop Details
Description:
The ‘Stop Duration’ is now displayed in the Shipment and Stop details, previously this information was only accessible from the Edit/Update Stop/Shipment Forms.
Feature: Display Shipment Contents and Driver Instructions
Description:
- Shipment Contents: Shipment contents is now visible in both the Shipment Sidebar and Details page, providing users with detailed information about the items included in each shipment.
- Driver Instructions: Stop’s driver instructions will be displayed in the Stop Sidebar and Details page, ensuring that drivers have easy access to relevant instructions for each Stop.
Feature: Permission for Customer Admin to Allocate to Team Member
Description:
Customer admins can now allocate Stops and Shipments to team members tagged under their customer profile.
This assignment is permitted only if the team owner of the main Locate2u account grants the necessary permissions.
Details:
- Visibility: Customer admins will be able to see tagged team members on the map.
- Allocation Permissions: Customer admins can assign Stops and Shipments to these tagged team members, with permissions configured by the team owner.
- Assignment Locations:
- Stops & Shipments Forms: Team members can be assigned via the Stops and Shipments forms.
- Action Buttons: Team members can be assigned using action buttons on the Stops/Shipments pages and the Trips screen.
Feature: View Unassigned Trips in Customer Portal
Description:
Unassigned Trips, which are created via the API and bound to a customer with a run name group, can now be viewed in the Customer Portal.
Previously, these Trips could not be expanded or accessed in the Trip form From the Customer Portal.
Feature: More Information visible on ‘Customer Portal Booking’ Emails
Description:
Booking emails sent from the customer portal will now include additional details to provide more comprehensive information about each stop/booking.
Details:
- Capacity Settings: If capacity settings are present in the stop or shipment booking, they will be included in the email body.
- Time Windows: Any time windows or specific times for pickup and delivery will be displayed.
- Included Fields: The email will now contain the following fields:
- Customer Name
- Trip Date
- Source Reference
- Address
- Time
- Quantity
- Volume
- Weight
Feature: New Email for Booking Confirmation
Description:
A new “booking confirmed” email notification has been introduced for customers.
This feature automates the confirmation process when a Stop or Shipment is manually added to the system, removing the need to manually respond to a customer to let them know their booking has been received.
Details:
Part 1: Enable Booking Confirmation Emails
- Checkbox Addition: A new checkbox, ‘Enable Booking Confirmation Emails,’ has been added under the contact email field on the edit customer form.
- Tooltip: When you add a stop/shipment on behalf of this customer, they will receive a confirmation email if this box is checked.
- Image Reference: [Image-20240624-034107.png]
- Trigger Email: If a Stop or Shipment is added and the customer has the ‘Enable Booking Confirmation Emails,’ setting checked, a confirmation email will be sent to the specified contact email address.
Part 2: Email Content
Feature: Change in Behavior of Questions with Team Region Condition Applied
Description:
The behavior for applying team region conditional questions has been updated to streamline the process. Tagging a parent region now automatically applies the conditions to all associated child regions.
New Behaviors:
- Automatic Application to Child Regions:
When a parent region is tagged in a custom question, the question will also apply to all child regions under it. This change eliminates the need to individually tag each child region, which in some cases is significant. - Indentation Based on Hierarchy:
The dropdown options for team regions will now reflect hierarchical indentation, with the level of indentation representing the region’s hierarchy. For example, in the hierarchy:- Parent
- Child 1 (Child of Primary parent)
- Child 2 (Child of Child 1)
- Child 1 (Child of Primary parent)
- Parent
- Labeling Selected Regions:
Selected team regions will be labeled to indicate their selection status. For example, ‘Team Region A (selected).’ This labeling only applies to children that are programmatically selected when their parent is selected. - Popup Notification:
A popup message will notify users after they have selected all child regions of a parent region, informing them that the selection includes all associated child regions. - Parent-Child Region Relationship Logic:
Questions configured to a parent region will now apply to all its child and descendant regions. For instance, if a question labeled ‘Test’ is configured only for ‘Parent’, it will also apply to ‘Child1’ and ‘Child 2’ regions as they are descendants of the ‘Parent’ region.
See below conditional questions setting, for example, where the condition is applicable to the region : Melbourne Metro Zone 4 :
This will now be applied to all the team regions in the hierarchy for Melbourne Metro Zone 4.
As per this example, it will be applicable to the stops and shipments going into the zones, Melbourne Metro Zone 4.1 and 4.2
Improvements and Bug Fixes
Improvements:
- Rates Engine Enhancements:
Improved functionality and performance of the Rates Engine for more efficient rate calculations.
Bug Fixes:
- Automatic Detachment of Team Members:
Fixed an issue where a team member was not automatically detached from an asset when they were attached to another one. Team members will automatically detach from an asset, if they ‘take possession’ of a different asset. - Import Restrictions:
Users are now prevented from importing data with both Appointment Time and Time Windows simultaneously to avoid conflicts. - API Validation for Team Member:
Added validation to ensure that team members are correctly validated when creating stops or shipments via the API. - Estimated Travel Time Display:
Corrected the issue where Estimated Travel Time in the Trip Summary export was displaying as 0:00, despite having values in other tabs of the Excel file. - Download Trips Functionality:
Resolved the issue where the ‘Download Trips’ feature failed to download on an intermittent basis when using the ‘new optimiser’ version. - Pin Individual Routes:
Fixed the problem preventing users from clicking to pin individual routes when using the ‘New Optimiser’ version. - User Interface Issues:
Addressed various minor user interface issues to improve overall usability and user experience.
Product Update Version 2.8.3: August 1
Feature: Configurable Failed Delivery Flow
Description:
The Failed Delivery Flow (available under Settings > Configuration > Failed Delivery Configuration), previously hardcoded, is now configurable by the user. Customers can customize the questions and options that appear when a delivery status is marked as failed.
This change addresses the need for flexibility in managing failed delivery reasons, allowing for tailored configurations that match specific business requirements.
Feature: Allocation of Stops/Shipments to Trips with Customer Linking
Description:
When assigning a Stop to a Trip, either via an optimizer or manual assignment, the system will check if the trip is associated with a customer.
If a customer is linked to the trip, any stop assigned to the trip will have its customer updated to match the trip’s customer ID.
This ensures consistency across all stops on the trip, aligning their customer IDs with that of the trip.
If a stop has a different customer ID, it will be updated to reflect the trip’s customer ID.
If a trip does not have a customer linked, the existing logic for stop assignments will remain unchanged.
Feature: Apply Run Schedule Edits to Existing Trips
Description:
When a user edits an existing Run Schedule with future trips already generated, they now have the option to apply these changes to the already generated future trips.
Previously, users were only informed via a warning message that changes would affect only future trips that had not yet been generated.
The new feature prompts the user with a message: “Would you like to apply these run schedule changes to already generated trips? Yes/No” to confirm their preference before proceeding.
Feature: Display Friendly Address Name in Trip Export
Description:
In the trip export, if a Stop or Shipment uses a friendly address name along with GPS coordinates, the export will now display the ‘friendly’ address name in the ‘address’ column if available.
If the friendly address name is not provided, the export will default to showing the GPS coordinates.
Feature: Display Capacity in Optimize Stops and Unassigned Stops Forms
Description:
Capacity information (weight/volume) will now be shown in the Optimize Stops list form and the Unassigned Stops form, if available.
This enhancement provides visibility of capacity details alongside other stop information.
Note: This function is only available in the Google Maps version of the optimiser, and will be made available on the Map Box version of the optimiser in the future.
Feature: New Modal for Adding a Trip from the Trip Screen
Description:
A new modal has been added to the Trip Screen, accessible via the plus (+) button at the top right of the Trips page.
This modal allows users to book a Trip without stops or shipments, which they can then charge an hourly rate for to their customer. Previously a trip was not able to be created without stops/shipments but now the system allows that flexibility.
The ‘service package’ dropdown will display only trip-level service packages.
Additional Fields:
- Service/Rates Package:Users can select a service package (rate group ID), which will be displayed on the trip details page.
- Update Trip Page:The update trip page has been modified to include options for adding or changing the service package.
Feature: New Run Schedule Functionality
Description:
New Field and Options in Create Run Schedule Modal
Run Schedule Details Page:
- Customer Field:The customer field for Run Stops will be automatically populated with the customer from the run schedule. Users cannot modify this field.
- Service Package Field:
Added a new optional dropdown field for selecting a service package in the ‘Create Run Schedule’ modal. - Create Empty Trip Option:Added a checkbox to allow users to create a Run Schedule trip without adding Stops. If checked, an empty Trip will be created.
Run Schedule Creating Trips Functionality:
- If the ‘Create Empty Trip’ checkbox is selected, an empty trip will be created and displayed on the Trip list page once the scheduler processes the run schedule. Run Stops are not required for creating the trip.
- Disabled Actions for Empty Trips:
- Reverse Order
- Send Bulk SMS
- Send SMS
- Download Labels
Feature: Lock Stops on Locked Trips
Description:
When assigning a Stop or Shipment to a locked trip, the trip will now re-lock and the newly assigned stops will also be locked.
Previously, stops assigned to a locked trip would appear as “floaters” and dynamically route, while the trip itself remained locked.
With this update, all stops will adhere to the trip’s locked status, preventing dynamic routing and maintaining consistency.
Feature: Update to Review Charges Form for Trips [For Enterprise Customers Only]
Description:
The Review Charges form has been updated to accommodate trips associated with a service package.
While all Stops and Shipments will still be displayed, stops linked to a trip with a service package will be non-editable, and rates cannot be refreshed.
A link to the trip charges will be provided for these stops.
New Columns Added:
- Start Time: Displays the most recent start time of the job (e.g., Arrived at 8 am).
- End Time: Shows the latest finished time of the job (e.g., Completed at 5 pm).
- Chargeable Units: Displays the charge unit value from ChargeLine.ChargeUnit (e.g., 10 kg, 5 Hours, 4 Items).
Feature: Display Charges and Costs on Trip Details Page
Description:
The Trip details page will now display charges and costs, similar to the Stops and Shipments forms.
The functionality will mirror that of the existing forms.
- Charges: Visible only to customer logins.
- Costs: Not visible to customers.
Feature: Add Filters to Trip List Form
Description:
New filters have been added to the Trip List page to enhance trip management. The following updates have been made:
- Customer Filter:A new filter allows users to view trips associated with a specific customer ID. Trips matching the selected customer ID will be returned in the list.
- Display Enhancements:
Each trip in the list will now display the Customer/Company Name and, if applicable, the Service Package Name linked to the trip.
Feature: Display Service Areas on Route Map for Optimization
Description:
Service areas will now be displayed on the route map. Users can select bookings within these service areas for routing.
This feature allows for more targeted route planning based on defined service regions.
Feature: Book a Trip in the Past
Description:
Users can now create trips with past dates.
This feature addresses the previous restriction where UI logic prevented creating trips for dates before the current date.
Details:
- Trip Existence Check:The system will verify if a trip for the specified past date and driver already exists before allowing the creation of a new trip.
- Default Status:
Trips created with a past date will automatically be marked as complete. Users will be informed of this default status during the trip creation process. - Required Fields:
- Start and end time
- Start address
- Selected driver
Update Trip Modal:
- The modal will now allow saving if the trip date is in the past. Users will be able to make updates to existing trips with past dates.
Feature: New Driver Commission Facet [For Enterprise Customers Only]
Description:
A new charging type, ‘Commission,’ has been added, allowing for the specification of commission rates as a percentage.
Users can set a commission rate for individual team members. On the rates engine page, the presence of a commission rate for a selected team member will be indicated.
Commission rates will override any other rates specified for that team member and will be processed with top priority through the rates engine using the commission facet.
Feature: Weight/Cubic Adjustment Rules [For Enterprise Customers Only]
Description:
A weight equivalence metric has been introduced in the rates engine, allowing weight and volume to be related.
This enables charging based on volume (e.g., cubic meters) by converting it to a weight equivalence.
For instance, if the rate is set at 10 kg per 1 m³, a job with a volume of 5 m³ would be charged based on 50 kg.
This feature allows for more flexible billing based on both weight and volume.
Feature: Additions/Deductions on Invoices [For Enterprise Customers Only]
Description:
A new modal popup for creating invoice adjustments has been introduced. This feature includes the following fields:
- Invoice Adjustment Rule Type: Dropdown to select from available adjustment types.
- Tax Settings: Dropdown to select tax settings.
- Description: Text field for additional details.
- Unit Price: Decimal value for the adjustment amount.
- Account Codes: Dropdown displaying only “Deduction” type account codes.
An example of an adjustment rule is the “DailyAdjustment,” which applies a deduction based on the number of days a driver worked.
Feature: Customer Invoice – Trips [For Enterprise customers only]
Description:
Trip charges have been integrated into the customer invoice process. The following updates have been made:
- Invoice Creation: Trip charges are now included in invoice creation for customers.
- Invoice Formats:
- PDF: Trip charges will be reflected in the invoice PDF.
- Excel: Trip charges will be included in the invoice Excel format.
Invoice Handlers:
- Roll Up: Trips are added to the Roll Up invoice handler.
- No Roll Up: Trips are also added to the No Roll Up invoice handler.
Improvements:
- API Stop Creation: Resolved issue preventing the creation of a stop in the API using only latitude and longitude as the location.
- Tax Invoicing Setting: Default setting for “Apply for tax invoicing?” in the team member profile is now correctly set to “on.”
- Driver Payments Summary: Total amounts in the Driver Payments Summary now correctly display as negative when applicable.
- Run Schedules Trip Generation: Fixed issue where manually created run schedules were not generating trips.
- Run Schedule Assignment: Corrected the behavior to ensure that when two different run schedules are assigned to a single team member, only one trip is created.
- Run Schedule Stop Information: Fixed issue where stops in run schedules were missing original stop information.
- Customer Invoice PDF Download: Resolved issue causing failures when downloading customer invoice PDFs.
- Incorrect End Trip ETA: Fixed issue where the end trip ETA for a driver trip was incorrect.
- Stop Removal from Trip: Resolved issue where a stop was not removed from the trip after being deleted in the run schedule.
- Invoice Adjustment Rule: Fixed issue where a specific account code was not populating in the Invoice Adjustment Rule.
- Run Schedules – Service Package Population: Fixed issue where the service package was not being populated when a customer was selected in run schedules.
- [API] Trip Status Null: Resolved issue where the trip status was null for future-dated trips in the API.
