Most loads can be built more than one way. Turn the pallets the other way or start the wall from the other end, and the same cargo fits differently. Sometimes worse, sometimes a whole truck better. Until now, you only ever saw one of those plans. From CargoDuo 1.3, you see the other one too, and you decide which plan goes to the yard.
Here is everything new in this release. The three biggest changes are explained below with screenshots. The rest are one line each at the end.
A second loading plan, next to your own
After you press Pack, CargoDuo now also works out a second way to load the same cargo into the same vehicles. If that second plan is really different, for example more items loaded, one vehicle fewer or a better fill, it appears as an Alternative plan card in the corner of the 3D workspace.
Press Inspect plan to see it on the main stage. Turn it around, go through it vehicle by vehicle, and compare the Fill and Weight of each vehicle with your own plan. Nothing changes while you look. Cancel takes you back to your plan exactly as it was. Only Apply this plan replaces your plan, for everyone on the project.
Changed your mind after applying? Your old plan is kept. The card turns into Alternative in use with a Switch back button, and the old plan stays one click away until the load itself changes, for example when you pack again, load the remaining items, or move a box by hand.
The same load, on fewer trucks
The packing algorithm now fills each vehicle much more completely before it adds another. When a plan runs out of room, CargoDuo first checks whether the remaining items could still fit the vehicle it just packed, by volume and by weight, and if they could, packs that vehicle again. You get whichever version carries more.
Each vehicle is also packed tighter to begin with. Items with Allowed rotation set to Free are now tried both lying flat and standing on end, and the version that leaves the most trailer length free wins. On a 13.6 m trailer with 88 pallets, that was the difference between two trucks and one. Stacking rules, maximum stack weight and non-stackable items work exactly as before.
There is nothing to switch on. Same Pack button, same Vehicle Mode on Auto-add. The plan just comes back on fewer vehicles, with a higher Fill.
Packing keeps running after you close the tab
Packing now runs on our servers, so it no longer depends on your browser. Press Pack and do something else. The plan keeps building whether the tab is open or not, and when you open the project again you land in the finished plan, or in the run still in progress.
The run belongs to the project, not to the person who started it. A colleague who opens the same project sees the same progress and can stop it too. If anyone changes the cargo, a vehicle or the packing settings while it runs, the run stops and offers to start again, so you never get a plan built from old data.
Load what did not fit, without starting over
When a plan leaves items out, a red Load Remaining button now appears in the corner of the 3D view, with the number of items still waiting. Press it and CargoDuo looks for room around and on top of the cargo already loaded, vehicle by vehicle. Nothing that is already loaded moves.
You can also load only part of it. In the cargo list, every line that still has unloaded items has its own small load button: load all of them, or type a number and load only that many. Group headers load a whole group the same way. If it takes too long, Stop packing keeps every item that already made it in. If there is really no room, you see No room found and a suggestion to pack again from scratch.
Delivery groups pack tighter
If you group cargo by stop, customer or order, every group loading mode now packs shorter and finishes faster. On a 13.6 m trailer with 144 items, Separate Compartments used 600 cm of length instead of 640, in about half the time, and still loaded every item.
Sequential (Side by Side) now does what its name says. Groups share the length of the truck and sit next to each other across the width, instead of each group getting its own block. No group is ever placed between an earlier group and the door, so you can unload a later stop without touching the one behind it.
Axle loads, left and right
Open any calculated truck plan and the results panel shows an Axle Loads card: each axle's load against its limit, the percentage, and a bar that turns amber and then red as it fills. The left and right figures under each row are now more precise: every item counts on each side according to how much of its footprint sits there, including pallets sitting across the middle of the trailer, so the readout matches the real load.
If your vehicle has its axle limits entered, you can also ask CargoDuo to keep every axle within its limit while it packs, and that now works for group-loaded plans too. Anything still over the limit is listed as a warning, biggest first, so you see it long before the weighbridge does.
Everything else in 1.3
- Move any box by hand. Drag any box to where you want it. Move or delete a box and the boxes stacked on top of it come along, so nothing is left floating.
- Your company's front door. A colleague who signs up with your company's email address now finds your workspace and asks to join, instead of starting an empty one. Approve or decline from your members list, or let anyone with a verified company address join automatically.
- Invitations in one place. Invitations sent to you now have their own page, with a count in the sidebar. You see the organization, your role and the expiry date before you accept. Invitations you sent are listed in Settings, on the Members tab, next to the invited member, where you can copy the link, resend it or cancel it.
Where to find each change
| Change | Where it is |
|---|---|
| A second loading plan | 3D workspace, Alternative plan card under the fill and weight bar |
| Same load, fewer trucks | Automatic. Packing setup, Vehicle Mode on Auto-add |
| Packing keeps running | Automatic. The counter sits above the Pack button |
| Load what did not fit | Red Load Remaining button, and the load button on each cargo line |
| Delivery groups | Cargo panel, Group Settings → Group Routing Mode |
| Axle loads, left and right | Results panel, Overview → Axle Loads |
| Move any box by hand | Drag any box in the 3D view. R rotates, G toggles snap, Esc cancels |
| Company front door | Settings → Members → Pending join requests |
| Invitations | Invitations in the sidebar; Pending invitations under the member list |
Questions
Does the alternative plan change my load plan on its own?
No. It only replaces your plan when you press Apply this plan. Looking at it, turning it around and closing it again changes nothing, and nobody else on the project sees anything change.
Why do some plans not show an alternative?
It only appears when the second plan is really different from yours: more items loaded, one vehicle fewer, or a better fill. A plan that would need more vehicles than yours is never offered, and some loads only have one sensible way to be built.
If I apply the alternative, can I go back?
Yes. Your old plan is kept and the card turns into Alternative in use with a Switch back button. It stays there until the load itself changes: packing again, loading the remaining items, or moving a box by hand.
Can I close the tab while a plan is calculating?
Yes. The run belongs to the project, not to your browser. Close the tab, come back later, and you land in the finished plan or in the run still in progress. A colleague on the same project sees the same progress and can stop it too.
Does Load Remaining move cargo that is already loaded?
No. It only looks for free space around and on top of what is already loaded. If there is no room, it tells you and suggests packing again from scratch.
Do I need to turn any of this on?
No. Everything in this release is already on for every workspace. Just open CargoDuo and pack a load.
Every change in this note is listed line by line, with its date, on the changelog. If something here does not work the way it reads, write to me at ashley@cargoduo.com.