Picked loads represent a set of shipments logically grouped together. These loads will be sent to optimizer with the expectation that any optimization plan would keep these shipments together and add other shipments when the change is cost justified.
One potential scenario might be that the shipments have already been picked and are currently sitting on the shipping dock waiting to be loaded into a trailer. Suppose four shipments totaling thirty thousand pounds are sitting on the floor of the shipping dock waiting to be loaded onto a truck expected to arrive in thirty minutes. There would still be room for an additional ten thousand pounds of compatible goods to be added to the load. At this point, the shipments could still be loaded onto the truck in any possible sequence but they must be cleared from the dock as quickly as possible (that is, as soon as the carrier arrives). By defining the load in Picked status, optimizer would be instructed to keep the four shipments grouped together so they could be placed on the incoming truck but at the same time consider adding other shipments if the overall cost could be improved without violating the requirements of all of the shipments.
The introduction of one or more shipments to the load could possibly impact the itinerary sequence of the existing shipments. There would be no restrictions on the order in which the shipments are delivered as long as scheduling requirements can be met for all shipments attached to the load.
Picked loads cannot be dismantled by optimizer under any circumstances, not even if overall costs could be drastically improved by doing so.
There are similarities between Picked loads and the Merge-in-Transit strategy to Allow Drop at Different Locations when used without Merge-in-Transit sequence numbers. In both cases, optimization will ensure that related shipments are assigned to a single load but will not impose any artificial constraints regarding load itinerary. The key difference is that Merge-in-Transit will only enforce this constraint for the final legs for designated shipments while Picked loads can group any leg from a shipment's itinerary.
Loads in any of the following Operational statuses could be in Picked Planning Status: Open, Planed, Tendered, Tender Accepted, Tender Rejected. When a load is advanced to Planned Operational Status, the Planning Status will be set to Picked if currently Free.