Route optimization is the procedure of using software to determine the most cost-efficient route for your deliveries. However, it is not only about finding the shortest route between two points. A route optimizer is a tool that can help you reduce your transport costs while managing a complex environment with multiple stops for the drivers, customer time windows, vehicle capacities, driver schedules, and more.
Planning a route can be a difficult task, considering all the possibilities. A truck that has 10 stops, can have over 3 500 000 different possibilities when it comes to which route to take. Add four more vehicles to the equation, with 10 stops each, and the number of different routes options goes up to 37,267,043,023,296,000. To be as efficient as possible, you need a tool that can quickly narrow down the options, planning the quickest and most fuel-efficient route.
Let's take a look at what you can expect from using route optimization and what MIXMOVE can provide you.
Full overview
Having the overview of which driver is assigned to which route and understanding how a delay in delivery will affect all the other stops, can be a difficult task to perform manually. Doing it from a screen automates the planning job and you can react much faster because you have the full overview. Our MIXMOVE Deliver platform is designed to make it quick and easy to understand which as the best routes and make changes as you go.
Planner productivity
We use a routing algorithm to create optimized routes. This should give you the most cost-efficient route considering all your constraints, such as:
- Time windows
- Vehicle load capacities
- Number of stops
Also, a route optimizer provides you with a reliable estimated time of arrivals (ETAs) that can notify both you and your customers.
Mobile app
If your drivers don’t have access to the most cost-efficient routes at hand, the route optimizer cannot play a big difference in the operations. One of the features in our MIXMOVE Deliver solution is a mobile app that gives your drivers the full overview of where they are going. They can see if a customer needs any special assistance in the delivery and can easily collect proof-of-delivery through the app. This will help your company become paper-free- reducing bureaucracy and costs.
Tracking
Having visibility over where your drivers are can help your planner to reduce overtime and drivers’ distractions. If a delay occurs (like traffic) it will affect the driver’s next deliveries. With a proper optimizer tool, you can automatically notify your customers in case of delays or make adjustments to the route. This information will be sent to the driver within minutes. These proactive attitudes will increase customer service and satisfaction.
Conclusion
To summarize, here are just some of the benefits you can expect from using route optimization:
- Superior analytics
- Reduced planning time
- Lower costs
- Improved vehicle utilization
- Accurate information
Through the route optimization process, industries like retail, FMGCs, and 3PLs can cut costs and improve productivity by identifying the most efficient routes for delivering products to warehouses and direct delivery to homes.
By finding the foremost effective routes, no matter distance or number of deliveries stops, your company will save fuel costs and supply high levels of efficiency that improves overall customer service.
