Order sequences: strict visiting orderCopy link

Some work is a run, not a set of independent stops: survey the site, then install, then hand over the keys. Or a milk run: collect 5 crates at the warehouse, drop 3 at the shop and 2 at the kiosk. The stops belong to one vehicle and must happen in order, the goods picked up along the way feed the drops after them, and the driver may still serve unrelated orders in between. In Routing24 that is an order sequence. Sequences are a Pro feature; the free tier can use them within the free paid-feature optimizations.

This tutorial plan chains a three-stop installation run among unrelated orders:

Tutorial - Order sequences
PRO
A three-stop installation run that must happen on one vehicle, in order, mixed with unrelated orders that may interleave. Uses Order sequences, included in Pro.
Open in app

How a sequence is modeledCopy link

In the order editor, set Order type to Custom sequence, then give every stop of the run the same Sequence group name and a Sequence rank (the Sequence group / Sequence rank columns in spreadsheets):

  • Lower ranks run first; ranks only need to be increasing, not consecutive (10, 20, 30 leaves room to insert stops later).
  • Stops with equal ranks may run in any order relative to each other.
  • Unrelated stops may interleave between the members.

The Orders list with the three run members, each row carrying its Sequence chip with the group name and rank

A sequence is not a transfer

Routing24 has two ways to move goods between customer addresses, and they do not mix on one order:

  • A transfer (PUD) links exactly one pickup to one delivery through a shared Transfer id. The quantities must match, and there are no ranks: the solver only keeps the pickup before the delivery.
  • A sequence moves goods with the members' ordinary Pickup and Delivery amounts. A pickup at one member funds the deliveries of later-ranked members, so one warehouse pickup can fan out into several drops (5 up at rank 10; 3 down at rank 20, 2 down at rank 30), and several pickups can feed one drop. The ranks are the precedence.

Use a transfer for an independent point-to-point pair; use a sequence when the stops form a run with a fixed order. One order cannot be both: a sequence member is never a transfer end.

What the solver guaranteesCopy link

A solved plan: the crew van serves Survey site, Install rig and Handover keys in rank order, with other orders after the run

  • One vehicle serves the whole sequence, never split across routes.
  • Members appear on the route in non-decreasing rank order, across the whole route (reload trips included).
  • Capacity is charged for what the van carries. A run that picks up 5 crates and then drops 3 and 2 occupies 5 slots at its peak, not 5 out of the depot plus 5 back (see the goods rules below).
  • The sequence is served all-or-none: if any member cannot be placed, the whole group is left unassigned and reported once, with the blocking stop identified. That includes a run whose on-board peak no vehicle can carry: two 3-crate pickups feeding a 6-crate drop never fit a 5-crate van, even though each stop alone would.

Limits and behaviourCopy link

  • 2 to 16 orders per sequence.
  • A member is its own order type. The same order cannot also be a transfer end or offer alternative locations, and it has one service window. Its Pickup and Delivery fields work as on any order; the ranks are what let them fund each other (see the note above).
  • Each member keeps its own loads, address, time window, and priority; the group's value is their sum.
  • Goods move along the run. A pickup at one stop feeds the deliveries of the stops after it. A van collects 5 crates at a warehouse (rank 10), drops 3 at a shop (rank 20) and 2 at a kiosk (rank 30): it leaves the depot empty, never carries more than 5, and returns empty, so the run fits a 5-crate van. Only what the run's own pickups cannot cover is loaded at the depot: if the shop needed 6, the missing 1 would leave the depot with the driver. Only leftovers ride back: if the kiosk took 1, the spare crate would return.
  • Order matters for the goods too. A pickup only feeds stops ranked after it. Rank the shop's drop before the warehouse pickup and those 3 crates must come from the depot. Stops with equal ranks never feed each other: either could be served first.
  • Runs may span reload trips, even mid-run. Goods picked up along the run ride through a reload: at the depot the vehicle swaps only its depot loads, while the run's cargo stays on board and keeps occupying capacity in the later trips until it is dropped.
  • For a single pickup paired with a single drop of the same quantity, especially between two customers, in either stop order, a pickup & delivery transfer is the right model; a sequence is for whole runs with a fixed stop order.
  • Vehicle force lists cannot pin individual members. Use tags to steer the whole run to suitable vehicles.

Violations show as non-blocking warnings in the editor and on import; an invalid sequence is skipped at optimization so the rest of the plan still solves.

Editing by handCopy link

When you edit routes by hand, no sequence edit is rejected. Moving a member out of order, to another vehicle, or parking part of the run marks the affected stops with a sequence problem, and the plan reads as incomplete until the run is whole again.