Our views on route optimization

Margins for transport companies are notoriously low, as the industry is highly competitive. In order to increase profits, companies must focus on reducing costs and increasing efficiency, without compromising service levels to their customers. In today's digital world, transport and logistics businesses are leveraging the most innovative and high-performing technologies to stay competitive. Route optimization software is one of those powerful technologies that can help transport businesses save time and money by creating fully optimized delivery routes.

When it comes to automatic route planning, a common misconception is that the role of a planner becomes less important or even obsolete. We are often confronted with this misconception at the beginning of implementation projects, when planners jokingly say things like: “Well, it looks like you don’t need me anymore”. Although these statements are usually laughed off, there lies a certain seriousness behind these words as well. So you might be wondering to yourself: is it true? Is automatic route planning really a threat to the planners’ job? Let’s first dive a bit deeper into what the role of a planner traditionally looks like, and then we’ll explain how this changes when automatic planning is brought into the equation.

Every day, managers of last mile delivery are responsible for getting goods from place A to B, effectively and efficiently. Quite simple right? Actually, there is more to it than meets the eye. Imagine having hundreds or even thousands of orders a day, with one hundred trucks at your disposal. How are you going to place each order on a route, taking into account all restrictions and time windows, while minimizing the total cost? This is exactly the question of a Vehicle Routing Problem.

The ball has started to roll. After years of talking about the importance of innovative solutions for sustainable transport, we are at a tipping point. More and more transporters are opting for alternative fuels, strategic hub locations, supply chain collaborations, and innovative technologies including route optimization software, to reduce their impact on the environment. In this blog post we’ll zoom in on the latter and how its use has a positive effect on our planet.