Fleet management system guide

Route Optimization System: Are your clients irritated with late deliveries? Are you spending too much on fuel? And are your savings running out? Then you may have some problem with your route planning process. But what is route optimization anyway? Well, here is a glimpse into it. Route optimization or planning is the process of finding the best (shortest and cheapest) route for your fleet. Based on business constraints and goals the best route optimization tool can find the most effective routes to travel on. This also includes taking into consideration the number of required stops, their locations and time windows for deliveries. But it is not so simple. If you have a business then you might know that route planning also includes knowing: Customer’s location Time of service The perfect driver and asset to serve the purpose Intersections and divergences on the route Left-hand turns that is crossing the traffic line Traffic congestion Best reach to a destination But how can you overcome this problem? Well, you can simply use a route optimization system to do the drill. But what is route optimization software? Who uses software for route optimization? What are the features of a delivery route optimization software? What benefits can you derive from route planning software? And is a multiple route optimization system even used in the present industry? Moreover, what is the best route optimization software in the market? Well, if you need answers to these questions, then start reading this article! Why do you need Route Optimization? You might have faced some problems for improper route planning. But there are other challenges that you can face if you do not treat the matter seriously. So, let’s get a deep insight of these issues to understand why route optimization is important? Multiple pick-up and drop-off requests We live in an era where we want our packages to be delivered anywhere, we want. Moreover, handling multiple clients can increase your workload. Managing all these tasks single-handed may lead to severe errors and problems. Finding the right vehicle and person for the job A carpenter can never do the job of an electrician. People having the right skills can perform effectively and in less time. Similarly, vehicles are also made for specific jobs. Reefers are made for carrying cold items, trucks for heavy items and so one. Therefore, choosing the wrong vehicle can lead to an unsuccessful operation. Moreover, selecting the right driver who can easily communicate and complete the process is also an important and difficult task. Managing multiple time windows If you have multiple clients, then you must be aware that they have separate working hours. However, to keep a track of all their schedules is difficult. Moreover, keeping these in mind while planning the best route can lead to failure of delivering products on time. Calculating the service time The service time includes the traveling time and a fixed stop time per customer. Now these can vary from customer to customer. Moreover, this also might go as per your plan. So, it’s very difficult to determine which route and what time a driver takes to deliver the products. An average time might not be sufficient and this might lead to a time crisis. Accounting Keeping a track of all budget related details is extremely important. But gathering all these details can be difficult. While accounting you need to keep a track of each cost component of your company. Negligence on this part can bring your company to its knees. Managing multi-capacity limitations Your assets have their own capacity limitations. Volume, weight and load meter are a part of these limitations. For a single vehicle managing these limitations is easy. But when the number changes the task becomes quite tiring and difficult. Asset tracking For asset safety, asset tracking is extremely important. But how can you track multiple vehicles at the same time that too remotely? Calling up drivers is an impractical method. Moreover, this can generate a high amount of data which can be difficult to track. Updating new information in real-time New information can come up anytime. But updating that information to your drivers can be difficult. Moreover, a software for route optimization can change your whole route plan, forcing you to create a newer and better one. Yet you would have no guarantee about delivering your products on time. Rules and regulation maintenance Drivers should follow rules and regulations. But how do you know they are following it? This question in itself is troubling. Drivers can stop at unexpected places, extend their breaks and much more. And you won’t even know about it. Re-optimization of routes We often change the delivery destination at the last minute. This can be a serious problem for your logistics company. Since finding an optimized route at the last minute can be quite difficult. Moreover, there is a high chance of customer dissatisfaction if you fail to deliver your goods on time. So, how can you overcome all these problems? You can definitely manage all the above with the help of a route optimization software. If you want to know what a route planning software is then simply continue reading. What is a Route Optimization System? What is Route Optimization System If you run a logistics company, then you are probably aware of the fact that your destination may not be at one point. Delivery points can be multiple if not the pickup points. So how can you figure out the minimum route to travel to cover all these points? And how can you know about the road conditions remotely? Well for that you need a route optimization system. Also called a route optimization/planning software, a delivery route optimization software allows you to find the shortest distance between two or more locations. Moreover, a truck routing software also analyses real-time dicey situations and business limitations like available vehicles and drivers, traffic conditions and much more. This provides you with a route in which you can deliver your goods in minimal time. Moreover, the best route optimization software follows three primary strategies. Those include: Static – Planning route based on quarterly or monthly requirements Dynamic – Daily development of new routes Real-time dynamic – Developing routes based on road and traffic conditions in real-time to help drivers working on the ground But who can use a route optimization system? Well if you want to know that you can check out the following section. Who can use a Route Optimization System? Who can use a Route Optimization System And you know what? A delivery route optimization system is not just for logistics and shipment industry only. In this fast-paced world, we all need to save time and money while providing the best service to our clients. Thereby, some of the major sectors are using route optimization systems. They include: Healthcare industry Retail industry Manufacturing industry E-commerce industry Transportation industry and others And what’s more? Since a multiple route optimization system is a cost-effective tool, start-ups can use this too! What are the features of a Route Optimization System? What are the features of a Route Optimization System But don’t you want to know how this truck routing software operates? How can a software for route optimization help to optimize your procedures? Well, then you definitely need to go through its features. Since it’s your one-stop destination to know everything about a route planning software. So, let’s get started! User Management One of the first features of a truck routing software is user management. A route optimization system allows multi-user access. This is a common feature. But a delivery route optimization software also allows you to manage the data flow for respective individuals. You can grant or restrict permission for a user to view or operate certain parts of your system. Driver/Worker Management A route optimization system allows you to log in every detail about your workers and drivers. The system can store the following details of a driver for future reference: Name Default vehicle used Vehicle type and number Worker’s address Team in which he/she works in Work schedule and much more Not only so, you can also check which driver is assigned to what task. Furthermore, you can also extract data about the status of the work that he/she is on. These details are available on the dashboard. All you need to do is view the tasks list. This allows you to monitor your drivers for better productivity. Team Management Teams are categorizing your drivers and assets to fulfill certain operations. From the drivers list you can easily select and assign drivers in a team for a certain operation. Hub Management Hubs are the physical location of a pick-up or destination point. It’s difficult to manage locations, especially when you don’t know where the place is. However, with the help of geocoding you can transform blurry addresses into exact geographical locations. You can also view and manage hubs. You can create a list of your hubs by simply importing a CSV file. Moreover, you can change their priority status as per urgency. You can also tag a task beside each hub (as a note) for better reminders. Task Management Even if you have multiple deliveries to make you need not worry about it. Since a route optimization system stores and analyses every order detail that enters it. Order details are traced from your email or messages. Then it is compiled into a list for better viewing and inspection. Moreover, you can enter your order details manually as well. All you need to do is import a CSV file. Or you can also enter your task details in the “Task” page itself. Route Planning and Management Managing and creating optimized routes is probably the easiest feature of a software for route optimization. All you need to do is enter your locations on the bar or pinpoint them on the map and enter the optimize button. And as soon as you do that, the system will provide you with the best route possible. Real-Time Location Tracking A route optimization system is GPS-enabled. Hence, you can check the location of each asset on the “Tracking” page on the dashboard. Moreover, the location is updated with each turn your asset takes. Hence, we can say that it occurs in real-time. Data analytics Since this is a data analytics-based software, a delivery route optimization software can easily review massive amounts of data automatically. Moreover, a route optimization system can easily inspect data (both historical and present) to provide you with valuable insights like: Knowledge, skills and expertise of drivers Delivery preferences Preferred time slots of customers and much more These can help you to make decisions in real-time and problem solving. User friendly Despite all the complex network that a route optimization system handles, a truck routing software is one of the easiest software to use. Moreover, you can use the best route optimization software on your mobile or computer. What are the benefits of a Route Optimization System? Benefits Did you hear that? The global best route optimization software market size is said to increase by 24.7% CAGR in 2024! Which is equal to 5.32 billion USD! And here’s an insight into the regions where this market has a high domination power! (Source: Fix Last Mile) Route Optimization System Market Size by Region But why are people running after to get the best route optimization tool? Does the best route optimization software have any benefits? Yes! A route optimization software also has its own benefits. Jump into this section to know about all of them. Invest less but get a greater return on it (Greater ROI) Reduces human-errors Provides you a clear insight of your overall work operations Saves fuel cost and manage your budget effectively Reduces traveling time for each journey Helps workers to complete their work on time Saves re-delivery costs and storage with first attempt deliveries Manages multiple pickups and drop-off points at the same time Get instant alerts on route divergence and uneventful happenings Replace your operator with a route optimization system to save labor costs Lesser distance means lower carbon emission and pollution Helps to provide effective last-mile deliveries for enhanced customer satisfaction What is Route Optimization in Logistics? Logistics firms face a lot of challenges everyday. But with a logistics route optimization system they can manage most of them as stated in the sections above. But what of last-mile delivery? This is an ultimatum on which your brand reputation and loyalty may hang upon. Since it involves directly handing over products to your customers from the transportation hub. Now this can be quite tricky. We have also collected some of the challenges which logistics companies face during this process: Failure in delivering Slackened customer communication and updates Managing many deliveries at the same time Hikes in delivery costs Now customers usually expect faster deliveries at cheaper rates. But with all the above challenges this can be quite difficult. And manual logistics route planning can often fail in such situations. Hence a route planning for logistics is important for ensuring effective last mile deliveries. Here’s a glimpse of what it provides. How does a Logistics Route Planning System help in Last Mile Delivery? A route optimization system ensures all the facilities that can help you to put a smile on your customers’ faces. These include: Enhances speed Improves convenience Increases efficiency Better conduct Streamlines communication mediums How Last Mile Delivery Benefits you can derive from a Logistics Route Optimization System? And we won’t have highlighted this part if it couldn’t provide any benefits. With a route optimization tool you can also: Compare planned and actual performance regarding deliveries Derive accurate interactive reports Get alerts on delays based on on-ground conditions Improve driver’s productivity Quickly analyze faults in deliveries Enable customers to select their desired delivery time Provide safer deliveries during this pandemic with ePOD Automate parcel sorting process removing traces of human-errors Generate the most profitable and safe route for an address with the help of geocoding Increase on-time delivery fulfillment as well as customer satisfaction Now that we know about how this system benefits the logistics firms too, let’s check out some of the real-life cases where a route optimization system actually helped organizations! Use cases of a Route Optimization System Use cases Now route planning software is used widely across the globe. Let’s check how some of the most famous companies have used and benefited from it! OTL Logistics OTL is a Malaysian based logistics company. It has over 250 branches all across the globe and operates more than 300 vehicles. The company faced two major challenges using an inefficient fleet management system. Let’s discuss them. Challenges: Service repetition of routes Unclear vehicle tracking After using a route optimization system, the company was able to solve these problems. Moreover, they also benefited massively. Let’s take a look at the solutions. Solutions: Optimized routes Fuel cost savings by 15% Reduction in the number of trucks since few trucks were enough for multiple destinations Crate & Barrel Founded in 1962, Crate & Barrel is an American based home-decor and furniture company. Presently, the store has over 160 stores, 7,000 associates and over 80 delivery trucks. The major distribution centres of this company lie in New Jersey, San Francisco and Chicago. Moreover, it covers over 300,000 yearly. But the company faced major delivery issues. The reason behind this was their fleet management system. Listed below are the issues they faced. Challenges: Improper vehicle and driver utilization Inefficient vehicle tracking system Failure to track data properly Improper data and process updates Poor customer experience So, they reached out for a route optimization solution. And the solutions they got were simply mesmerizing. Solutions: Enhanced vehicle tracking Real-time insight into delivery statistics Delivery time reduced by half Real-time delivery tracking Improved customer satisfaction The Foodery Based in Boston, The Foodery is a home delivery service. They deliver nourishing food to people. Moreover, their target audience consists of mainly working individuals who do not get the time to prepare food. Foodery was using a manual fleet management system. This created a lot of challenges for them. Let’s check them out. Challenges: Finding experienced drivers who were well-versed with the routes Delivering food on time However, as soon as they replaced their traditional software with a route optimization system, they figured out some amazing benefits. Solutions: Optimized routes Up to 28% of delivery cost savings Reduction of delivery time by half On-time delivery Conclusion Thereby, we can conclude that even though you have a fleet management system, optimizing your routes is essential for better performance. And what’s better than using a system which saves both your time and money? Route Optimization System has been largely used in different sectors all over the world. Moreover, you have got a clear insight into its features and benefits. So we can simply say that we need this machine to survive and prosper in this competitive world.