If your business makes deliveries or perhaps spends a lot of time on the road, having a reliable route planning software could be really important. This type of software can be useful for planning but also for figuring out how to get the best performance and timing for your routes.
What exactly is route planning software?
Route planning software is all about planning and understanding vehicular routes and schedules. Most of these are geared towards businesses or companies that may have delivery drivers or some sort of transport.
A really great route planning software will also have a route planning app that your drivers can take advantage of to know and understand the best routes for the job they need to do. From scheduling to knowing where your driver is at a certain time, this software is all about performance and planning.
Features to look for in route planning tools
Check out these features that you should look for when you’re considering various route planning options.
Accuracy
If you’re going to rely on software to help plan routes and improve efficiency, you need to know you can depend on the accuracy. You’ve probably used some sort of mapping software or maybe a GPS system at some point. It’s a pain when you find it to be outdated to road changes or maybe even take you right into heavy construction.
Relying on a route planning app means you need to know you can trust the information within that software to be accurate and truly be the best solution.
Live Tracking Features
We’re sure your employees are all trustworthy but you just never know what will happen. If they are out in your company vehicle or perhaps on company time, you need to be able to track their movements.
This is all about protecting the company but also about protecting that individual. What if something were to happen when they were on their route? Using live tracking features can help track the route and know that everything is ok.
Route planning app for delivery drivers can be beneficial for letting customers expecting an arrival to track where they are and get an estimated time of arrival as well.
Analysis
You want to be able to analyze the details of routes taken and make comparisons. Route planning software is meant to provide tracking and route suggestions but it also leaves you with the opportunity to review data and see if you can make any changes to improve your practices.
If the software you’re using has analysis tools, these are really great for you to be able to track data and know where or if you need to make changes as well. You might be able to find performance issues that need adjusted or even find a route that could be more efficient as well.
Budget
Chances are, you are going to have an out of pocket cost for a route planning software. It may be something like a monthly subscription or it may depend on the features you choose and how many licenses you need.
You should budget for the software and plan accordingly. Don’t be afraid to find the software that works best for your budget and will truly fulfill your needs in this area.
Other benefits for operations
- Information about the current traffic situation : Are there current construction sites that can influence the travel routes in the care area or are there sections of the route that should be avoided at certain times of the day due to the high volume of traffic?
- Planning in advance: Planning for the next week should take place in the middle of the previous week. If registration by telephone or in writing is required for appointments, it is advisable to move the planning forward by a few days if necessary.
- List all relevant appointments: All appointments for the week to be planned, including the places of visit, should be clearly listed. It also makes sense to record arrival and departure times as well as the expected number of kilometers traveled each day.
- Definition of must and can dates: Are there any dates that definitely have to be kept in the planning week or are there dates that can also be postponed to a later point in time? Must-dates should be attended first in the morning. If the meeting doesn’t work out, a second visit may be possible in the afternoon. Optional appointments can be used as backup appointments. Optional appointments could also be planned as online appointments in order to keep them in between.
- Plan telephone contacts: With which customers or interested parties should telephone contact be made during the planning week? For this, the times between two appointments can be used (e.g. in the hotel or while driving with a hands-free device).
- “Use dead times”: times early in the morning, around noon and in the evening can be planned for arrival and departure. 60 percent of a day’s appointments should be scheduled in the morning.
- Information for the back office: If a customer cancels an appointment for the field service with an employee of the back office, he should be informed where the field service employee is currently located. Optional appointments can then be scheduled as substitute appointments by the back office.
Conclusion
There are many ways to improve performance and efficiency when driving is part of your business model. Using a route planning software may be one such tool that you can put to great use for your business.
Learning to track and analyze routes and then making adjustments to improve them could make a significant difference in performance as well as save money on fuel and even labor hours in the long run.
