Logistics
Routing and supply chain
The Logistics skill turns Nexma into a supply-chain and routing platform. It models warehouses, fleets, orders, and routes, then optimizes against time windows, capacity, and service level. This is the domain where the Nexma MathEngine earns its keep — vehicle routing is the canonical hard optimization problem.
What this skill models
The ontology captures a distribution operation with the entity types, link types, and constraints a logistics planner expects.
- Entity types.
Warehouse,DistributionCenter,Vehicle,Shipment,Order,Inventory, andRoute. Each carries typed properties — capacity, time window, cost per mile, dwell time. - Link types.
DeliveryRoute,InventoryTransfer, andOrderFulfillment. Routes carry sequence, cumulative load, and arrival-time estimates. - Key constraints. Vehicle capacity; delivery-time windows; driver hours-of-service; cost minimization; and service-level-agreement targets.
The ontology ships the reference data a planner needs: standard vehicle classes (van, box truck, semi), default loading and unloading times, and regional driver-hour rules (DOT in the US, EC 561/2006 in Europe).
What Jax can do
Jax reasons about routes because the Skill binds its capabilities to this ontology.
- Generate routes. "Plan tomorrow's routes for 12 vehicles out of this depot. Hold under 10-hour shifts. Honor every customer's window." Jax sequences stops and balances load across the fleet.
- Size the fleet — the trade-off between more vehicles and longer days, under SLA targets.
- Route pick-up and delivery with paired-stop constraints.
- Replan day-of-operations when stops are added, cancelled, or delayed.
- Validate capacity, time windows, and hours-of-service before dispatch.
The vehicle-routing solve (VRPTW) runs through the Nexma MathEngine, writing route sequences back to the world model so vehicles animate along their polylines the moment Jax finishes.
Tip: Lock the depot and shift length before solving. Route count is dominated by total available driving hours, so fixing the fleet's working day first keeps the VRP from oscillating between fleet sizes.
Constraints and standards
The skill enforces the rules a routing plan must satisfy to be dispatchable.
| Concern | Rule enforced | Standard |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Load within vehicle limit | Fleet specification |
| Time windows | Arrival within customer window | VRPTW formulation |
| Driver hours | Shift within legal limit (US) | DOT hours-of-service |
| Driver hours | Shift within legal limit (EU) | EC Regulation 561/2006 |
| Identification | Shipment labeling | GS1 SSCC |
Export targets include route sheets, TMS import files, and GeoJSON from Project to Export.
Out of scope today: long-haul freight network design (a separate skill, planned), cold-chain compliance simulation (temperature-class-aware routing only), and customs and cross-border documentation.
Where to go next
- Construction — scheduling under capacity for fixed sites.
- CRM and sales — field routing for reps instead of fleets.
- Skills overview — the full catalog.
- Nexma MathEngine — the VRP solver behind route generation.