It is vital for a company who’s sole business is to deliver and transport goods to keep costs to a minimum and run an efficient operation. Route planning software is an important part of this process. This type of software is used to define, manage, and optimize delivery routes for multiple geographical regions and types of transportation.
Below, we discuss the benefits of route planning software versus the traditional manual route mapping techniques some companies may still adopt.
Why manual route planning should be a thing of the past
Your client base will most likely have varying needs and ever changing demands. They need different products, at different times which may not be able to go out in the same truck depending on vehicle capabilities and limitations. They may need things delivered to different locations too.
With all that in mind, how are your fleet managers and delivery truck drivers juggling everything? How are they planning their routes in the most advantageous way for the business and its customers?
UPS, a well respected delivery firm with a presence all over the world, wouldn’t be able to provide the service they do with manual route planning. To remain competitive, you need to implement the very latest cutting edge tools that your competitors may already be using.
When everything is done manually, things often get lost under the piles of unnecessary paperwork. Mistakes are often made when creating the documents too. Things are often overlooked or misinterpreted causing havoc within the organization. Think about all the time and energy you and your staff are wasting when a delivery truck driver is doing anything other than making deliveries and servicing customers.
Manual route planning also costs a lot of money.. Every year, companies lose 32.6 billion hours due to weather-related traffic congestion. 55% of customers said they’d stop using a company if there were 2 or more late deliveries. That number jumps up to 59% if the deliveries are incorrect. Poor planning can also cost lives. The risk of a head-on collision while driving a heavy-goods vehicle quadruples during dusk and sunset conditions. Too many truck drivers are caught in this dangerous situation because of poor routing.
Once your trucks are on the road, how do your delivery drivers prioritize the sequence in which they deliver each order? Without route planning software, your truck drivers have to manually input delivery addresses into a GPS causing delays and time wastage.
The answer to all this is route planning software that acts as your driving route optimizer.
How a driving route optimizer helps
You can revolutionize the way you do business by simply implementing effective route planning software.
With route planning software, you have the tools required to save time while reducing costs. With its sophisticated algorithms, you will enjoy better results while scaling and growing your business. By optimizing your routes and making your delivery team more efficient, you will benefit from reduced costs. Better routes means fewer miles driven, which means savings on petrol and long-term vehicle maintenance costs, but that’s not all, a route optimizer eliminates the need for drivers to text or call while on the road, this creates safer drivers. And that leads to lower insurance premiums. You can also optimize the use of your trucks by getting the most out of them. Rather than letting them sit idle, or using them unnecessarily to rack up miles, you can optimize your entire operation for success.
With route planning software you will not only cut costs, but increase revenue. When you make your existing team more efficient, you save time and money. What do you do with the time savings? You sell more. That time can be spent acquiring customers or nurturing relationships (i.e. growing business) with existing ones.
Sometimes, we all make mistakes. Some that can cause us to lose customers, others not so important. We are all human after all, with route planning software, you can eliminate the potential for as much human error as possible. By optimizing delivery routes, you ensure your customers get their deliveries on time. Leaving you to grow your business and securing your current clientbase.
Employee retention. According to the American Trucking Association, the turnover rate for truck drivers is 90%. Employee retention is important because an employee that stays put is a happy employee and a happy employee is a productive, accountable one. By taking your drivers availability and preferences into account,planning more efficient delivery routes, you take steps towards happier drivers who love coming to work.
Contact us to find out how Orbis can help you to optimize your operation.
