A skeleton route definition consists on one skeleton route record and two or more skeleton location records.
At minimum, a skeleton route record identifies itself with an ID, description, division and logistics group, a lifespan in the form of an effective/expiration date range and a status (as active or inactive). Optionally, a skeleton route can be designated as applicable to a specific plan, as well as pre-assignment elements (that is, domicile, carrier, service, and equipment types) to lock in assignments when skeleton loads are generated. A skeleton route must have a minimum of two skeleton locations where the first represents a pick (or pick/drop) activity and the last represents a drop (or pick/drop) activity.
Skeleton location records primarily identify the expected stop sequence within the associated skeleton route. Each record identifies the shipping location, activity (in the form of stop type), and estimated time spent loading or unloading at the location. Optionally, skeleton locations support the setting of commodity and service window restrictions. In addition, users may indicate if the optimizer should be allowed to insert stops before and/or after a defined shipping location as well as limits on how many stops may be inserted and the maximum distance the stop insertion candidate may be from this location.