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Question

Distribution Order Planning with Delivery Route and Internal Transport Lead Time

  • October 8, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 20 views
MCbra
Do Gooder (Employee)
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  • MCbra
  • Do Gooder (Employee)

Hello 

We are investigating the planning logic for an inter-site Distribution Order.

Setup

  • Demand Site: AB
  • Supply Site: ZX
  • Supply method: Inter-site Distribution Order
  • Route assigned in the Supply Chain Matrix: Friday only
  • Internal Transport Lead Time: 4 days
  • External Transport Lead Time: 0
  • Transport Lead Time: 0

Scenario

A Distribution Order is created with:

  • Wanted Delivery Date = 27-Oct-2026 (Tuesday)

The system automatically recalculates:

  • Planned Delivery Date = 23-Oct-2026 (Friday)
  • Planned Ship Date = 23-Oct-2026 (Friday)

We tested both:

  • Customer calendar with weekdays only
  • External transport calendar with weekends included

Neither setup affected the calculation.

However, the Planned Receipt Date is still significantly later than the Planned Delivery Date, indicating that the Internal Transport Lead Time is being considered somewhere in the process.

Planned Receipt date - 02-Nov-2026(Monday)

Question

Is it standard behavior that the route is evaluated first and the Planned Delivery Date is adjusted to the nearest valid route occurrence, after which the Internal Transport Lead Time is applied?

Or should the system backward-plan from the Wanted Delivery Date and use the route together with the Internal Transport Lead Time to determine the required shipment date?

In our example, our expectation was that the system would backward schedule from the requested delivery date and calculate a Planned Ship Date of 16-Oct-2026 (Friday) in order to satisfy the Wanted Delivery Date of 27-Oct-2026, rather than moving the Planned Delivery Date itself to 23-Oct-2026.

Could you please clarify whether the observed behavior is standard by design?

2 replies

Jinal
Sidekick (Partner)
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  • Jinal
  • Sidekick (Partner)
  • October 8, 2026

Yes, what you see is standard behaviour. The two lead times are used at different stages:

  • Route + Transport/External Transport Lead Time schedule the supply-site (shipping) side backward from the Wanted Delivery Date.
  • Internal Transport Lead Time is not part of that backward calculation. It is added afterwards, on the demand-site side, to get the Planned Receipt Date.

So the system does not combine the route and the internal lead time to pull the ship date earlier.

How your dates come out

  1. Planned Delivery Date and Planned Ship Date = 23-Oct (Fri).
    • The Wanted Delivery Date is 27-Oct (Tue).
    • Transport and external transport lead times are both 0, so the ship date equals the delivery date.
    • The route only departs on Fridays, so the system snaps back to the latest Friday on or before 27-Oct, which is 23-Oct.
    • This is already backward scheduling. It just uses zero transport time.
  2. Planned Receipt Date = 02-Nov (Mon).
    • This is the Wanted Delivery Date (27-Oct) plus 4 working days: 28th, 29th, 30th, then 2nd November.
    • It is not the Planned Delivery Date plus 4. That would give 29-Oct.
    • So the Internal Transport Lead Time is applied forward, on the receiving-site calendar, from the wanted date.

The customer and external transport calendars made no difference because, with a 0-day external lead time, there is nothing for them to schedule.

How to get the result you expected

If the 4 days are the real transit time between ZX and AB, enter them as Transport Lead Time / External Transport Lead Time in the Supply Chain Matrix, or on the ship via / route setup. Keep Internal Transport Lead Time only for handling at the receiving site, such as dock to stock. The ship date will then be backward scheduled with the route:

  • If the external transport calendar includes weekends: Fri 23-Oct + 4 calendar days = 27-Oct. The order ships on 23-Oct and still meets the wanted date.
  • If transport is counted in working days: 23-Oct + 4 working days = 29-Oct, which is too late. The order is pushed back to the previous Friday, 16-Oct, which is the date you expected.
    Piyal Perera
    Hero (Partner)
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    • Piyal Perera
    • Hero (Partner)
    • October 9, 2026

    Hi ​@MCbra,

       Superb explanation by Jinal, I am adding here just for further information.

    Core Calculation Logic & Behavior
     

    Backward Calculation Mechanism
             Backward calculation determines the required operational dates by subtracting lead times sequentially starting from the Desired / Wanted Delivery Date.
    The calculation steps follow this sequence:
              Planned Delivery Date: Derived from the Desired Delivery Date after applying the Delivery Lead Time.
               Planned Ship Date: Derived by subtracting the Picking Lead Time and adjusting for the connected Route Schedule.
               Supply Site Due Date / Planned Due Date: Derived by subtracting additional lead times, including internal transport/delivery lead times.

    Route Alignment Prioritization
       - When a Route is connected between sites or to a customer, the system evaluates valid route departure occurrences (e.g., Friday-only routes) to determine the Planned Ship Date.
        - If the calculated required ship date falls on a non-route day, the system adjusts to the nearest preceding valid route departure date.
         - Once the valid Planned Ship Date is anchored to the route occurrence, subsequent site lead times—such as Internal Transport Lead Time and Vendor/Internal Delivery Lead Times—are applied to calculate the upstream due dates and arrival/receipt expectations at the supply site.

     

    How to Achieve Your Desired Scheduling

    If your business process requires backward scheduling to calculate a Planned Ship Date of 16-Oct-2026 to satisfy a 27-Oct-2026 Wanted Delivery Date:

    1. Reclassify the Lead Time: Set the lead time duration under External Transport Lead Time (or Delivery Lead Time on the Supply Chain Matrix / Ship Via definition) instead of Internal Transport Lead Time.
    2. Behavior Outcome: With External Transport Lead Time = 4 days:
      • Backward calculation subtracts 4 days from 27-Oct-2026 first.
      • Route matching then searches for a Friday route on or before 21-Oct-2026 (Wed), correctly selecting 16-Oct-2026 (Friday).

    regards,

    Piyal

    www.linkedin.com/in/piyalperera
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