Optimization parameters reference

This is the full input and parameter dictionary the optimizer solves against — the one place this KB goes to field-level depth. Most operators never need it: for how routing works day to day, start with optimization strategies and optimize orders into routes. This reference is for power users tuning how routes are built.

Where these live. Most of these are configured on an optimization strategy (and on the contracts and store locations it draws from). Others are advanced — set through the API or solver_overrides, and not surfaced as a control in the strategy editor. Advanced fields are marked (adv) below.

Note

This is the modeling surface — the union of what the optimizer can represent across engines, not the vocabulary of any single engine. Don't expect every field here as a portal toggle. Availability varies by organization and engine; reach out to Nash about anything you want to use that you don't see.

The Nash field column gives the exact field name the optimizer uses. Sections below are grouped by what each parameter controls.

B1. Problem-level inputs

The top-level pieces of an optimization run.

Parameter	Nash field	What it does
Plan start / horizon	time_window_start	Reference anchor; time windows are absolute or relative to it.
Orders	orders	The demand (B2). Up to ~20,000 per run.
Vehicles / fleet	vehicles	The fleet (B3).
Depots & replenishment	depots / renewals	Start/end, reload, and recharge locations (B6).
Breaks & hours-of-service	breaks	Driver rest / HOS rules (B7).
Routing, map & geographic controls	map / solver_parameters	Provider, traffic, avoidances, areas, balancing (B8).
Inter-order relationships	paired_order, precedences, …	Pairing, precedence, sequencing, exclusion, compatibility, transitions (B5).
Objective / strategy	cost_params, objectives	What's minimized and how (B4).
Solver run controls	solver_parameters	Effort, time budget, quality, mode, seed (B9).
Units	units	Distance and duration units.
Re-optimization (locked / seed routes)	locked_routes / current_routes / injected solution	Preserve or warm-start existing routes.
Large-problem decomposition	cluster	Geographic chunking of very large problems.
Custom validation rules	validation_specs	Custom business-rule checks.
Custom travel matrix	od_location / matrices	Supply your own distance/duration matrix.
Advanced / engine parameters	solver_overrides	Pass-through for any specialized capability (B10).
Tags / scenario labels	user_tags	Traceability, scenario comparison, audit.

B2. Orders & demand

An order is up to two visits (a pickup and/or a dropoff). Common shapes: a paired pickup → dropoff transport, a depot-loaded delivery, a standalone collection, or a multi-source / alternative-location fulfillment.

Order-level

Parameter	Nash field	What it does
Order ID	id	Stable identifier across the plan and outputs.
Pickup / dropoff visit	pickup / dropoff	The collection / delivery stop (each optional).
Required capabilities	capabilities	Skills the serving vehicle/crew must (hard) or should (soft) have — e.g. home_theater_setup, washer_dryer_installation, liftgate, two_person.
Work type / shipment type	shipment_type	Classifies the order for compatibility & requirement rules (B5).
Load category	load_category	Goods category for co-loading prohibitions (B5).
Assignment priority / value	assignment_priority	Importance of serving it; low-priority orders are dropped or overflowed first.
Sequence priority / group	sequence_priority / sequence_group	Pull an order earlier/later; group orders sequenced together.
Forced position in route	position	First, last, or a fixed ordinal position on the route.
Cluster label	cluster_label	Pre-assign to a route/zone cluster (hard or soft).
Pickup → delivery time limit	pickup_to_delivery_time_limit	Max elapsed time between an order's pickup and delivery.
Detour limits	absolute / relative detour	Cap how far a pickup → delivery may detour vs. direct.
Max time on vehicle	max_time_on_vehicle	Max time goods may ride before delivery.
Custom cost metric	costs_by_metric / order_cost_metric	Order-specific cost values selectable per vehicle.
Metadata	metadata	Pass-through attributes (customer ref, SKU class, store, entitlement).

Visit-level (pickup and dropoff each)

Parameter	Nash field	What it does
Location	location (+ curb)	Coordinates; curb-side / side-of-street access hint.
Quantities (demand)	quantities (pickup_quantities / dropoff_quantities)	Load added/removed per dimension — e.g. [1 unit, 180 lb, 32 cuft].
Service duration	service_duration	On-site time (unload, install, signature); scalable by efficiency factors (B3).
Time window(s)	time_window	When the visit may occur — one or more windows supported (e.g. 9–11am or 2–4pm).
Soft time window	preferred bounds + earliness/lateness cost	Preferred earliest/latest with a penalty for arriving before/after (linear or quadratic).
Window enforcement	end_type	Whether the window applies to arrival or to service completion.
Lateness tolerance	max_late_time	Max lateness past the window before the visit is infeasible.
Max wait	max_wait_time	Max idle time the vehicle may wait before the window opens.
Parking / access time	parking_time	Fixed access time before service, separate from service duration.
Alternative locations	alternative_order	Interchangeable locations; at most one is served.
Co-location handling	merge_calc_for_colocated	Treat multiple orders at one address as a single visit.
Metadata	metadata	Pass-through stop attributes.

B3. Fleet & vehicles

Parameter	Nash field	What it does
Vehicle ID / count	id / count	Type and how many identical units.
Profile	profile	car, van, truck, bicycle, scooter, pedestrian, or straight-line/geodesic. Drives speeds, road restrictions, truck routing.
Truck attributes	dimensions + restrictions	Height / width / length, gross weight, weight-per-axle (& axle group), axle count, trailer count, hazardous-goods class, tunnel category. Used for truck routing and access feasibility (e.g. a 16-ft box truck on height/weight-restricted roads).
Capacity	capacity	Max simultaneous load per dimension; a peak-load constraint along the route. Can be soft with an over-capacity penalty.
Alternate capacity sets	alternativeCapacities (adv)	Vehicle may switch capacity profile between trips or at a stop.
Start/end load interval	startLoadInterval / endLoadInterval (adv)	Require load to be within a range at route start/end.
Separate pickup / dropoff capacity	max_pickup_quantities / max_dropoff_quantities	Independent caps on accumulated pickup vs. dropoff load (e.g. limited haul-away room).
Max distance	max_distance	Max distance per route (hard, or soft via an over-distance penalty).
Max route time (on-duty)	max_total_time	Max total elapsed shift time.
Max travel (driving) time	max_travel_time	Max driving time, distinct from on-duty time.
Max orders / stops	max_orders_per_route / max_waypoints_per_route	Caps on orders / unique stops; separate pickup-only / dropoff-only caps.
Min orders per route	min_orders_per_route	Minimum before a vehicle is used (avoids tiny routes).
Max trips / dispatches	max_num_dispatches	Multiple trips per shift (return to depot and reload).
Start / end depot(s)	start_depot / end_depot	Begin/return points (can differ, be open-ended, "any", or "none").
Breaks / HOS	break_ids	Which rest / hours-of-service rules apply (B7).
Capabilities / equipment	capabilities / equipment	What this vehicle/crew can do; matched to order requirements.
Earliest dispatch / latest dismissal	dispatch_after / dismiss_before	Shift start/end bounds.
Speed	speed_factor / average_speed / constant_speed / travel_duration_multiple	Scale modeled travel speed or set a fixed/average speed.
Service-time efficiency factors	order_service_factor / pickup_service_factor / dropoff_service_factor / depot_service_factor	Scale service durations per crew (faster crews) or stop type.
Extra service by visit type	extra_visit_duration_for_visit_type (adv)	Additional service time for specific visit/work types.
Geographic eligibility	allowed_polygons / disallowed_polygons / preferred_polygon / limit_to_single_polygon	Areas the vehicle must stay within, must avoid, should prefer, or be confined to.
Preferred location	preferred_location	Soft proximity bias for order assignment.
Territory	territory + priority (adv)	Restrict/prefer a vehicle's territory with a priority order.
Hard assignment	per-order vehicle pin / allowed_vehicle_indices	Pin specific orders to a specific vehicle/crew.
Unloading policy	unloading_policy (adv)	Last-in-first-out / first-in-first-out loading order (for physical load/unload feasibility).
Cost model	cost_params	Full cost structure (B4).
Minimize idle	avoid_wait_time	Prefer routes with less waiting.
Use-all flag / used-if-empty	use_all_vehicles / used_if_route_is_empty	Force every unit to be used (vs. as few as the objective prefers).
Metadata	metadata	Pass-through bookkeeping (contract, provider, display name, dimensions).

B4. Cost model (per vehicle) — cost_params

Every term is optional; together they form the objective. Threshold-plus-penalty terms express soft limits with escalating cost.

Parameter	Nash field	What it does
Fixed cost	fixed_cost	Incurred whenever the vehicle is used. Drives fleet size.
Cost per unit time	cost_per_unit_time	Labor/time per unit of route duration.
Cost per traveled time	cost_per_traveled_time	Cost per unit of driving-only time.
Cost per unit distance	cost_per_unit_distance	Fuel/mileage per distance.
Cost per order / pickup / dropoff	cost_per_order / cost_per_pickup / cost_per_dropoff	Per-stop costs by type.
Cost per unit quantity	cost_per_unit_quantity	Cost scaling with load carried, per dimension.
Overtime threshold + cost	overtime_start + cost_per_unit_overtime	Time beyond the threshold is penalized (linear; a quadratic option is available).
Over-distance threshold + cost	overdistance_start + cost_per_unit_overdistance	Distance beyond the threshold is penalized.
Over-order threshold + cost	overorder_start + cost_per_overorder	Orders beyond the threshold are penalized.
Earliness cost	cost-per-time-before-soft-start	Penalty for arriving before a preferred window.
Lateness cost	cost_per_unit_late_time	Penalty per unit of lateness (enables soft windows).
Waiting-time cost	per-unit waiting cost	Penalty per unit of idle waiting.
Makespan / span cost	global-duration cost-per-hour	Penalty on the total span (last route end − first start).
Adjacent-distance cost	over_adjacent_distance_start + over_adjacent_distance_cost	Penalize long legs between consecutive stops (compactness).
Distance / duration step costs	distance_step_costs / duration_step_costs	Tiered/stepped pricing.
Skip / unassigned penalty	penalty_cost	Cost of leaving an order unserved — the lever for drop/overflow decisions.
Per-vehicle order cost	costs_per_vehicle	Make an order cheaper/dearer on specific vehicles (steer to preferred crews).
Transition / changeover cost	transition attributes (adv)	Cost / delay / distance limit applied between consecutive stops of given tag pairs (e.g. crossing a boundary).

B5. Inter-order relationships, sequencing & compatibility

Parameter	Nash field	What it does
Pairing	paired_order	A pickup and delivery served by the same vehicle.
Precedence	precedences	One order completed before another (parts pickup before repair; delivery before install). Same-route or linked cross-route; optional minimum offset.
Requirement mode	requirement mode (adv)	Whether a required type must be on the same vehicle, present at pickup time, or at delivery time.
Mandatory successor	next_order	An order that must immediately follow another.
Sequencing groups	sequence_group	Orders visited together / in a fixed relative order.
Synchronization (meetups)	relations / sync	Two or more visits (delivery crew + install crew) arriving at the same location within the same window; first-of-day or most-optimal aligned time.
Mutual exclusion	mx_label / mx_order / disjoint_group	Orders that must not share a route / be consecutive.
Work-type compatibility	shipment_type incompatibilities / requirements	Which work types may or may not be mixed on a route (e.g. not same vehicle, not simultaneously).
Load-category co-loading prohibition	load_category + mixed-loading prohibitions	Incompatible goods categories that may not share a vehicle.
Transition / changeover rules	transition attributes (adv)	Tag-pair cost/delay/distance between consecutive stops.
Co-located consolidation	merge_calc_for_colocated	Combine service / minimize duplicate visits at a shared location.

B6. Depots, reload & recharge

Supports multi-depot fleets, distinct start vs. end depots, open routes, and node-level load-out rules.

Parameter	Nash field	What it does
Depot ID / location	id / geometry (+ curb)	Start, end, or reload location.
Time window	time_window	Depot open hours for dispatch/return (load-out windows).
Service duration / parking	service_duration / parking_time	Loading/check-in time.
Max adjacent distance	max_adjacent_distance	Max distance from depot to first/last stop.
Reload / replenishment station	renewals + renewal_params (capacity, consumption per order/distance/duration)	Mid-route restock — models stores that allow mid-day reloads and "flyby" inventory pickups, distinct from depots that don't permit reloads once a route departs. Supports a capacity change between trips.
EV recharge & range	recharge stations + max-range-before-recharge (adv)	Electric-vehicle range limits and en-route charging stops (for an EV fleet).

B7. Driver breaks & hours of service

A break can be window-driven, working-time-driven, or both; it's placed in its true mid-route position and counted in timing and shift limits.

Parameter	Nash field	What it does
Break ID / duration	id / duration	The rest and its length.
Max continuous working time	max_working_time	Trigger a break after this much elapsed/working time.
Break time window	time_window	Constrain the break to a clock window (e.g. lunch 11:30–13:30).
Paid flag	is_paid	Whether the break counts toward cost/time.
Driving vs. working vs. duty rest	rest-time rules (adv)	Separate limits for driving time, working time, and total duty before a required rest.
Regulatory HOS presets	working-hours preset (adv)	Named hours-of-service regimes (e.g. EU driving-time / working-time directives; US HOS, including short-haul and multi-day variants).
Daily rest rule	daily-rest rule (adv)	Minimum daily rest, with position (between trips / anywhere).
Carried-over logbook state	work logbook (adv)	Accumulated driving/working time since the last break/rest, carried in from a prior shift.
Driver availability windows	driver availabilities (adv)	When a specific driver/crew is available, independent of the vehicle.

B8. Routing, map & geographic controls — map / solver_parameters

Parameter	Nash field	What it does
Map / routing provider	map_provider	Road network and travel-time source. Determines travel times, road restrictions, truck routing.
Traffic model	traffic_time / here_params	Anchor to a departure time / day-of-week profile; live or historical traffic.
Travel-time / speed multipliers	market speed multiplier	Market-level adjustment to modeled travel times / truck speeds.
Avoidances	avoid_tolls / avoid_highways / avoid_ferries + tunnels, dirt roads, U-turns, car-shuttle trains, difficult turns, seasonal closures	Routing avoidance preferences (vary by vehicle type and market).
Country / area exclusions	excluded countries / areas (adv)	Hard exclusion of countries or bounding/polygon areas.
Restricted / priced zones	environmental / congestion / vignette zones (adv)	Avoid or account for low-emission, congestion-charge, or vignette zones.
Service / eligibility areas	zones / polygons	Serviceable geography per line of business; which fleets serve which areas.
Route-restriction areas	disallowed_polygons	Hard or configurable "avoid" zones (commercial-vehicle-banned roads, bridges/parkways), per vehicle type and market.
Geodesic / straight-line distances	geodesic mode	Bypass the road network with straight-line distance + assumed speed.
Search effort level	search_level	How hard the optimizer searches — trades solve time for quality.
Clustering level	clustering_level	How strongly nearby stops group into one route (compactness).
Route balancing	balance_routes	Balance work across routes (by stops / time / distance / load).
Minimize route crossing	minimize_crossing	Prefer clean, non-overlapping routes.
Soft cluster labeling	soft_cluster_label	Treat zone/cluster labels as a preference, not a hard partition.
Soft capabilities	soft_capabilities	Capabilities treated as preferences rather than hard requirements.
Merge overlapping windows	merge_overlapping_time_windows	Combine adjacent time windows on a stop.
Geocode resilience	snap_distance	Handle bad/ambiguous geocodes; snap unroutable points.
Side-of-street / stopover hints	curb / side-of-road / heading (adv)	Fine map-matching hints for arrival side and stopover behavior.
Reproducibility seed	seed	Fix the random seed so a run is reproducible.

B9. Solver run controls — solver_parameters

Parameter	Nash field	What it does
Search effort / quality tier	search_level / quality / search mode	Speed-vs-quality: return fast, or consume the full budget for a better plan.
Time budget	timeout	Max compute time before returning.
Stagnation cutoff	stagnation time (adv)	Stop early once no improvement is found for this long.
Solve mode	solve / validate-only / detect-infeasible	Full solve, validate the request without solving, or surface obviously infeasible orders.
Warm-start / injected solution	injected routes / current_routes	Seed with an existing solution (used for re-optimization).
Custom travel matrix	od_location / matrices	Supply your own distance/duration data.
Reproducibility seed	seed	Deterministic runs.

B10. Advanced & solver-unique capabilities — via solver_overrides

Specialized features beyond the standard model, reached through Nash's advanced / extensibility layer so a unique need is never blocked. These are set through the API, not the strategy editor. Cataloged here for completeness:

• Hierarchical / multi-objective tuning — ordered objective lists, equal-priority pairs, tie-break thresholds.
• Visual & territory objectives — visually-appealing tours, minimize tour overlap, serve-in-clusters, maximize territory/priority/value jobs.
• Eager-delivery shaping, stop grouping (density-based) with shared service time, PUDO / job groups (assign at first/last).
• Capacity change at a stop (not just between trips), alternate capacity profiles.
• Fuel / CO₂ modeling (reporting), micro-routing hints (side-of-road, heading, stopover).
• Custom cost metrics per order/vehicle; per-transition cost/delay/distance limits with tag selectors.
• Any future engine-specific parameter — supplied as a structured override, applied without changing the canonical request.

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For how strategies are built and scheduled, see optimization strategies; for running one against a set of orders, see optimize orders into routes.