Abstract: A transportation arrangement center for drawing up an operations plan is arranged between shippers and both physical distribution centers and transportation bases. The transportation arrangement center is provided with a master data managing unit for managing cargo item data, physical distribution center data, and vehicle and garage data concerning vehicles managed by the transportation bases and their garages and with a route making unit for making routes, taking in consideration also priority vehicles, based on the data of the cargoes, physical distribution centers, vehicles, and garages. The route making unit sets the efficient routes satisfying the transportation orders from the shippers and the restraint conditions on operation, minimizing the number of vehicles dispatched, and selecting the optimum transportation bases. This gives a transportation arrangement system capable of improving the physical distribution efficiency while keeping down the total number of vehicles dispatched.

Abstract: A transportation arrangement center for drawing up an operations plan is arranged between shippers and both physical distribution centers and transportation bases. The transportation arrangement center is provided with a master data managing unit for managing cargo item data, physical distribution center data, and vehicle and garage data concerning vehicles managed by the transportation bases and their garages and with a route making unit for making routes, taking in consideration also priority vehicles, based on the data of the cargoes, physical distribution centers, vehicles, and garages. The route making unit sets the efficient routes satisfying the transportation orders from the shippers and the restraint conditions on operation, minimizing the number of vehicles dispatched, and selecting the optimum transportation bases. This gives a transportation arrangement system capable of improving the physical distribution efficiency while keeping down the total number of vehicles dispatched.

Abstract: A printing apparatus capable of feeding standard and non-standard sheets so that image data can be printed on various types of sheets with the need for increasing the number of internal components. One embodiment for achieving this includes a sheet setting unit that permits selection of one of a plurality of predefined sheets, a sheet width sensor unit that senses whether sheets in a sheet supply member meet a predefined width, and a controller coupled to the sheet setting unit and the sheet sensor unit. The controller is responsive to either the selected one of the plurality of predefined sheets or user input of dimensional data of the sheets in the supply member. Based upon the set sheet type or input dimensional data, the controller then adjusts the magnification of the image to be printed and prints the image on the sheets.