Method and control unit for managing loading and/or offloading of a vehicle

A computer-implemented method performed by a control unit for managing loading and/or offloading of a vehicle, the method comprising:

• obtaining, by the control unit information indicating one or more of:
• which vehicle that is to be loaded and/or offloaded, a target time for vehicle departure from a location and a vehicle capacity;
• initiating, by the control unit loading and/or offloading of goods to and/or from the vehicle using one or more loading and/or offloading assets;
• receiving, by the control unit real-time information about an amount of goods that has been loaded and/or offloaded to and/or from the one or more loading and/or offloading assets;
• determining, by the control unit, based on the real-time information, that the loading and/or offloading of the vehicle will be finished before, at or after the target time for vehicle departure;
• and
• when the loading and/or offloading will be finished before or after the target time, providing, by the control unit, information indicating that the loading and/or offloading will be finished before or after the target time, wherein determining that the loading and/or offloading of the vehicle will be finished before, at or after the target time for vehicle departure is based on, for each time the loading and/or offloading asset picks up and/or delivers goods to and/or from the location, then the remaining goods to be picked up and/or delivered from the location is located further and further away from the vehicle or closer to the vehicle such that travel distance of the loading and/or offloading asset changes for each time it picks up and/or delivers goods to and/or from the location;
• in response to determining that the loading and/or offloading will not be finished before the target time, automatically initiating, by the control unit, at least one of the counter-actions selected from:
• (i) transmitting instructions to additional loading and/or offloading assets to participate in the loading and/or offloading of the vehicle,
• (ii) reallocating tasks among the loading and/or offloading assets,
• (iii) adjusting operational parameters of the loading and/or offloading assets, and
• (iv) modifying a timetable for vehicles waiting to be loaded and/or offloaded at the location,
• wherein the control unit transmits control signals to the loading and/or offloading assets to implement the initiated counter-actions.