Load Planning

The Fleet Planner starts with the work the vehicle must carry out. A load identifies the lane, requested units, equipment class and promised delivery date. Its planned departure and arrival give the team a starting schedule, while the assigned owner remains responsible for resolving changes before dispatch. The transport partner and operating organization keep the commercial context with the load.

Stops describe the pickup, delivery or service work along that journey. Each stop has a sequence, location and appointment information. The planner can include a service window and the evidence reference needed later. Standard routes provide lane context, including distance and planned duration, for the team to consider when preparing the actual load.

• Prepare the draft. Record the requested scope and order the stops so the dispatcher can follow the intended journey. Check that the equipment requirement and promised date are understandable before sending the load for review.
• Review the revision. The Operations Reviewer examines the current load scope and records a decision with a reason. Approved work can move toward assignment; a Returned decision tells the planner what needs attention before another eligible review.
• Carry changes forward. Keep the revised plan connected to the decision that applies to it. A later change to a stop window or equipment requirement needs a clear handoff to the dispatcher before the team relies on the earlier plan.

Agree what a requested unit means for your operation. The planner may be describing packages, containers or another agreed service quantity. Vehicle capacity is recorded in pounds, so the team must establish a defensible way to compare the load requirement with the equipment capacity rather than treating those figures as interchangeable.

Set the lane naming convention and the meaning of planned versus promised dates. A standard route can inform the plan, but the actual stop windows belong to the load being dispatched. Agree which changes require another review and who tells the dispatcher when approved scope has changed.

Use a depot delivery load with a pickup stop and a customer delivery stop. The Fleet Planner records the requested equipment class and the promised delivery date, then submits the current revision. The Operations Reviewer checks the scope and records why it can proceed or what needs correction.

Before assignment, change the delivery window in the rehearsal. Ask the dispatcher to identify the current revision and the review decision that supports it. The team should resolve the changed commitment before relying on the old assignment plan. Finish by checking that the driver and vehicle assignment, charging evidence and delivery proof can all be traced back to the same load.

• Active Loads — Draft, Review and Approved load scope with the lane, owner and delivery commitment together.
• Loads Awaiting Approval — Load revisions that need the Operations Reviewer’s decision.
• My Loads — Work owned by the signed-in planner, including planned departure and promised delivery dates.

Follow load planning and assignment and dispatch and delivery proof to rehearse the commitment through execution.