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This article will show you how to:
Add loads to a Trip and see how each one adds up to the total distance and revenue
Try different configurations of stops and loads to maximize your revenue
Fill up your empty spots to minimize the loss of potential revenue per mile
Keep track of your trips' progress and overall performance.
How to Create a Trip Builder Plan
Trips can be created from both the Loadboard and the Carrier Dashboard. There are two options:
You can create a trip by starting from the load order, clicking on Add to Trip, and then "Create Trip", or
You can start by first creating the trip, and then proceed to add loads to the trip. To do this from the Loadboard, you have to make sure the Trip Mode is on.
Adding loads to a trip
There are no limitations on what type of loads you could add to a trip. They could be:
Orders you've booked
via Ship.Cars
from other boards. All of them you can import and get right on your trip.
Or postings that you haven't booked yet:
from the Ship.Cars Loadboard, or
from any other place, you could get a dispatch.
Learn more about Load Candidates and how to add them here.
Trip Vault and how to use it
Now we've come to the best part -- making up a good Trip Build.
ℹ️ What is the Trip Vault?
It's a pocket where loads could be stored but their stops are not part of the Trip Builder.
Only the first load added to a trip gets planned automatically. Every further load added is stored in the Vault until its stops get manually planned by giving them an order of execution. To do so, just drag a stop from the Vault, and drop it where you see fit.
Removing loads from your Trip Builder is a two-step process. If you remove a planned stop, it first gets into the Trip Vault, in case you want to temporarily add another load in its place. However, removing a load from the Vault removes it from the Trip altogether.
💬 Tip: By utilizing the Trip Vault, you can easily set aside loads and experiment with different load combinations to optimize your trip.
You can learn more about re/moving loads in this article.
All planned trip stops are always available to the left of your Trip Details screen. To make changes, simply drag a stop and drop it where you see fit. The Trip Chart will recalculate the distances between each stop, and it will show you how your truck's capacity is getting utilized along the way.
Filling up empty spots in a trip
Once a Trip Chart is generated, you may find out certain rows show empty spots. As you know, each row is a spot on your truck, and the length of an empty spot represents the distance your truck will travel underutilized.
ℹ️ Note: Ship.Cars will start looking for loads for each Empty Spot automatically until you turn off the LoadScout from the designated button on the Trip Map.
Should your Trip Chart show an empty spot that you have filled with a load from another board, click on the "Add Load" button, then select the "Add from Booked" option. There you will see a list of your booked loads in Ship.Cars, and the option to "Import Order" if you haven't done it yet.
Tracking the progress of your trip
Each pickup and delivery stop shows the load's status in the Trip Builder, so a dispatcher could track the progress from the Trip Details screen.
Postings could have the following states:
Posted on Ship.Cars - still available for you to send an offer;
Offer sent - for when you have an active offer sent to the shipper;
Reply to offer - for when there is an offer waiting for your reply;
Unavailable - for when a posting has been removed from the load board.
Once loads move in your Carrier Dashboard, they get through the following states:
Booked - New and Accepted loads you have in your "All Orders" section;
Then the well-known: Assigned, Picked Up, Delivered, and Archived.
Load Candidate is a state for loads you add to simply test their compatibility with the rest of the loads in a trip.
💬 Tip: Consider promoting Load Candidates to "Booked" loads or removing them from your Virtual Trip Builder on time, so it could always show live data accurately.