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How to use automatic route calculation

How automatic calculation works, what the risks are and best practices.

Daan van Hal avatar
Written by Daan van Hal
Updated today

By default, Pickler lets you enter transport distances manually. This can require some work, therefor you can make use of automatic transport calculation in the product form or template. It’s fast and saves time.

In this article, you read how it works, and what the risks and best practices are.

How automatic transport calculation works

Transport over land

  1. If the route from A → B can be calculated over land, Pickler uses the Google Maps API to calculate the distance.

  2. Default transport method: truck + trailer.

Transport over sea + land

  1. If a direct land route isn’t possible (e.g., China → Germany), Pickler adds ports to the route:

    1. Location A → nearest port: truck + trailer

    2. Port A → Port B: container ship

    3. Port B → Location B: truck + trailer

  2. Sea routes use the top 50 global ports database.

To calculate the route between ports, Pickler uses a fixed database of top 50 ports in the world and the distances between them. Click to view all ports in Pickler

Ningbo

Shenzhen

Qingdao

Busan

Tianjin

Guangzhou

LosAngeles

JebelAli

Antwerp

Klang

Xiamen

TanjungPelepas

NewYork

Kaohsiung

LaemChabang

Hamburg

Taicang

Saigon

Tanger

TanjungPriok

Colombo

Mundra

Savannah

Rizhao

HaiPhong

VungTau

Lianyungang

Manila

Qinzhou

Colon

Valencia

Piraeus

Yingkou

Santos

Algeciras

Bremerhaven

Salalah

Dalian

Tokyo

AbuDhabi

Yantai

Houston

TanjungPerak

Jeddah

Jawaharlal

Felixstowe

Rotterdam

HongKong

Singapore

Shanghai

Risks & Limitations

Automatic calculations save time but come with limitations:

  • Responsibility: You must ensure the data is correct and verifiable.

  • Sea routes: Limited port data may not reflect your actual route.

  • Land vs. sea: In some cases, a route that should be by sea may be shown as land-based if the system detects a land connection.

Best practices

  • Always review the calculated distances and transport methods.

  • If calculations are off, consider using automatic mode only for distances over land.

  • Add intermediate locations if the route takes unwanted detours.

  • Use automatic mode first for quick initial calculations, then switch to manual to make precise edits.

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