Clover Secondary
One of OPSI’s biggest projects during the past year (2007) has been a rollout of FLO2 to 21 Clover secondary distribution depots countrywide. At the time of writing, FLO is live at 15 Clover depots across the county, and rollout is scheduled to finish by end of June 2007.
The implementation makes use of a centralized server architecture, with up to 6 depots on each of four servers located at the head office in Roodepoort. A mix of decentralized (for the large depots) and centralized (for the smaller depots) scheduling is used. GPS tracking integration (from Control Instruments) is handled by OPSI’s new GPS module, with a single instance per server trickle feeding the relevant GPS data for that server’s depots.
A cornerstone of the implementation process has been a tight integration with Clover’s order process system using MQ (IBM Websphere) middleware. This includes a customized FLO MQ Adaptor that handles all communication of data into and out of FLO. The MQ architecture handles the routing of messages to the relevant FLO server and back again in a robust and auditable manner.
Part of the customisation process undertaken for Clover was the concept of pick groups within routes, and the automatic assignment of unique pick groups to split routes. This process occurs at finalization of routes with the help of the MQ Adaptor. The FLO rollout has included country-wide alignment of the route/pick group structure within Clover.
Other features added to FLO for Clover include multi-user debriefing on the same date (geocoding correction, route deviation monitoring, etc), assigning of vehicle crews according to default routes (delivery groups) instead of by default vehicles, and a centralised MS SQL KPI reporting tool for all depots.
Currently the project is focusing on the KPI measurements and the planned versus actual comparisons in FLO. Planned extensions and developments include conversion of FLO to MS SQL, a new master route planning decision support system (DSS) and visualization tool, and integration to a centralised electronic fleet list.
