Why was a stop left off my routes? Reading unassigned-stop reasons
Short answer
A stop is left off the routes when the plan cannot place it without breaking one of your own rules: its time window, a vehicle’s capacity, drivers’ hours, a route limit you set, a required skill, or no driver working that day. Afi Planner leaves the stop off the routes and gives it a plain-English reason, for example “A driver can’t reach it within its time window (7:00 AM–7:10 AM) after starting work at 7:00 AM. Have a driver start earlier, or change its window.” Read the reason, change the one thing it names, and plan again.
How it works in Afi Planner
A missing stop is a decision, and the reason names it
A plan that quietly drops a stop shows up later as a customer call. Afi Planner keeps the stop visible instead, with the rule that stopped it, so “where did this order go?” becomes “which rule do I relax, or which driver do I add?”. These are the main reasons and what each points at; the app fills in your own numbers, times and driver names, so the exact words vary.
- “Too much for any van: 12 packages, the largest (Ana's) takes 10.” (or “Too heavy …” / “Too big …” in pounds or cubic feet): the order is bigger than the largest vehicle. Raise a vehicle’s capacity or split the order
- “A driver can’t reach it within its time window (7:00 AM–7:10 AM) after starting work at 7:00 AM. Have a driver start earlier, or change its window.”: no driver can arrive inside the window and still work their shift. The reason shows your own times; widen the window, start a driver earlier or add a driver
- “Address not found on the map”: the address could not be placed, so the stop was never planned. Correct the address and plan again
- “Too far to fit in a working day”: the stop is too far for any route to fit in a day. Let a driver work longer or move the stop to another day
- “Too far for the vehicles”: the stop is beyond a route’s distance limit. Raise the maximum distance in the planning setup or move the stop
- “No driver is working this day”: nobody is on the schedule for that date. Check shifts and time off
- “Didn't fit: the drivers ran out of time, and higher-priority orders went first.”: a normal order lost its place to higher-priority ones. Add a driver or hours, or raise its priority
- “Not planned yet: it was added after the last planning”: the order is new. Plan again
When your own limits are the cause
If you set route limits for the company, the reason names the limit and where to change it, so you do not have to guess. The same goes for skills.
- “Didn't fit: every route already has the most stops allowed ({max}). Raise "Max stops" in the planning setup (Rules and limits) or add a driver.” ({max} shows your number)
- “Didn't fit: routes can't be longer than the hours allowed. Raise "Max hours" in the planning setup (Rules and limits) or add a driver.”
- “Didn't fit: routes can't be longer than the distance allowed. Raise the maximum distance in the planning setup (Rules and limits) or add a driver.”
- “No driver in this plan can do: {types}. Add it to a driver’s skills, or add a driver who can.”: the order needs a skill no driver in this plan has
Fix one thing, plan again
Afi Planner is route planning and delivery management software for local delivery teams, made by Afi Labs. Read the reason, change the one thing it names (a window, a capacity, a shift, a limit, a skill, a day) and click Plan routes again. If drivers are already out, re-planning keeps the finished stops (delivered, failed, skipped) on the route of the driver who did them, in the order they were done, and drivers keep their route until you click Send updates. It does not promise that every stop fits: with tight rules some will not, and the point is that you see which and why.
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Route optimization
Optimize delivery routes for your whole fleet in seconds: time windows, capacity, shifts, breaks and skills, with every unassigned stop explained.
13 steps · 6 min read
How to optimize routes and adjust them by hand
Frequently asked questions
Does a stop that was left off disappear?
No. It stays off the routes and keeps its reason, so you can fix the cause and plan again.
Can a stop be left off even though nothing looks wrong with it?
Yes. A normal-priority order can lose its place to higher-priority ones when the drivers run out of time, and the reason says so.
Will re-planning move deliveries that are already done?
No. Finished stops stay on the route of the driver who did them. For orders that arrive after drivers have left, see the answer on adding orders after drivers left.
What if the order needs a skill?
The reason lists the skill types no driver in the plan has. Add the skill to a driver or add a driver who has it.
More answers
- How do I add new orders after my drivers have already left?
- How can I see exactly what happened on a delivery day, minute by minute?
- Is there one list of everything a dispatcher needs to act on during the day?
- Can my customers track their delivery with a live ETA and see proof of delivery?
- Does the driver app work without a signal?
- How do I import delivery orders from Excel or CSV without mixing up the dates?
- Does Afi Planner have an API with webhooks?
- How do I plan delivery routes for multiple drivers?
- How should a food and beverage distributor plan truck routes?
- How do I calculate cost per delivery stop?
- What route planning software works for a courier company?
- How do I replace spreadsheet route planning? A 1-day switch plan
- How can I reduce delivery costs? A dispatcher’s checklist
- How many stops per hour should a delivery driver make? And how to measure it
- Route planner vs route optimization software: what is the difference?
- What route software supports recurring weekly deliveries to the same customers?
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