DISCUSSION: Logility NDO affords users the ability to generate lanes composed of Activities either from Logility's (or an Enterprise user's) own reference database or from a user's own data via Import or input via the interface. The behavior of lanes and the activities on those lanes will depend on whether that lane has any "user-defined" activities vs. strictly "system-defined" activities.
Note, having a properly configured or calibrated reference database can save users the hassle from inputting each lane's costs, durations, and distances altogether!
User Activities
User activities can be generated in one of two ways:
- Import
A user can import their own activities via the "Activities" sheet in the import file (example rows shown below).
Activity Type should be set to "Transport" if the user wishes to override the default reference data-based activity. Else, if set to any other type, the activity will be additive with respect to the reference data values.
System Generated:
1 - Any row where the "system generate" value is 1 will be recalculated upon import
0 - Any value in a row where the value is 0 will supersede any system generated value/blank fields will revert to system generated.
EXAMPLE: In the table below, the variable cost of 0.25 and Time of 2.5 will be used for that lane and all other values (Fixed, Distance, CO2) will be recalculated based on reference data.
- Modifying a Lane in the Interface
A lane can be selected in the interface itself and users can create user activities by:
Altering a system activity's cost (values with green arrows). This action will convert a system generated Transport activity into a user generated Transport activity
System Activities
System activities are of type Transport by default will similarly be generated in one of two ways:
- Import
If a user specifies no activities for a Lane created in the import file, then system activities will automatically be created for the lane's specified mode.
- As mentioned above, system activities will also be generated via import for incomplete activity data. If a product can flow on a lane based on the construction of the model, then there will be an activity for that product.
- Creating a Lane in the Interface
A lane can be created in the interface itself via right-clicking on a node and selecting "Connect" as described here. The resulting lane will automatically have system activities that will be created for it, and the user has the ability to modify those activities.
System activities will also be assigned to lanes that do not currently exist in the model but which are created upon invocation of a solve:
A solve will consider all possible lanes from all service facilities of the designated type to all customers which can be accessed by the designated modes. Therefore, any lanes which the solver will consider which are not currently in the model will be created by the solver and therefore have system activities by default.
At the conclusion of a solve, any lanes with only system activities on them and 0 flow going across them will be deleted. Lanes with user activities and 0 flow will be disabled by default and re-enabled automatically for a solve. Disabled lanes will not allow flow across them for actions such as drag and drop, so they will need to be re-enabled if the user wants them to be considered via a non-solve action.
Dragging and dropping a node will result in new Transport activities being generated for all the lanes currently connected to that node. However, the non-Transport activities will be preserved as they are.