The fleet industry is ever-expanding. In recent times, the market for fleets has exploded with great acceleration. As things are getting online and delivery services expanding, fleets are the ones to cover for everything.
It is difficult and requires a lot of skill to manage fleets and other fleet-related operations. In times before the technological revolution, it was very tough for a fleet manager to control everything.
Recent times have changed everything in the fleet industry. It has become efficient to control fleets and manage all fleet operations at your fingertips.
The coming of technological tools like fleet management software, dashcam truck, fuel monitoring system, vehicle tracking system, GPS tracking systems, and route optimization software has solved issues for fleet managers.
How Does Route Optimization Software Work for Your Fleets?
The route optimization software is an interesting program that brings efficiency and innovation in designing and bringing out route maps.
It is a cost-efficient tool that can offer you alternative paths to traced destinations in less time and with high efficiency.
A set of structures and codes are used to assist fleet managers by providing different optional and most efficient routes. A number of parameters and systematic programming are used to final out routes for your fleets.
Fleet capacity, size of the goods, services, real-time trekking, GPS services of a particular area, safety standard, and a lot more things goes through the AI-dependent route optimization software, the route that stands tall is suggested to perform fleet operations.
Parameters Used by Route Optimization Software
The software keeps a lot of things in check while suggesting routes to a fleet. Some of the parameters that a fleet’s route optimization software uses are:
- The first and foremost thing is to ensure that the roads are smooth and of higher quality. The software will eliminate routes that are not smooth and have patches. Good quality roads allow fast travel and secure accidents and damage to fleets.
- The second parameter for suggesting a route used by route optimization software is vehicle density on roads. Heavy traffic causes a lot of problems for fleets, it is one of the major reasons for delayed deliveries. The software provides a route with minimum traffic during execution hours.
- It can also predict routes that generally have less traffic using past GPS analysis and recent travel histories on specific routes.
- The route optimization software ensures that the weather forecast in regions of the route is stable and safe. Routes that fall in regions of bad weather conditions for the upcoming 24 hours are eliminated to increase vehicle and driver safety.
- Time windows for delivery and cost of delivery are kept in algorithms to suggest routes that can provide timely and efficient deliveries.
What Methods of Planning are used for Route Optimization?
Route planning is an important aspect of fleet business. Your fleets and drivers must drive on a good route.
The selection processes adopted in different fleet houses can vary according to the needs and demands of different situations.
- Most companies follow three practices to plan their routes. The first is long-term planning. In this method, companies select the best roots for a specific period of time. The time period is usually one year or six months.
- Another way to plan a route is on-spot default planning. In this method, routes are selected and changed every day depending upon the destination and traffic problems. In case of other emergencies, routes are also altered.
- The most adopted and practiced method for route planning is live dynamic route planning. Here routes are decided and changed according to route optimization software. It provides maximum efficiency and great results.
Properties of Route Optimization Software
The route optimization software is becoming an integral part of fleets in major fleet industries across the globe.
The properties of route optimization software give it an edge over the past methods of planning routes for fleets.
Let’s have a look at some of the interesting properties of route optimization software!
Allow You to Stop in Between
One of the major USPs of route optimization software is the property that allows you to stop in between. It creates a dynamic route after every stop and calculates the time for the next drop.
This feature is very essential for vehicles that deliver door-to-door essentials and need to stop here and there many times. It makes the life of delivering people easy and efficient.
The software creates slots for stopping and delay in deliveries. It comes up with short routes and systematic directions for deliveries after every stop. The delivery man can easily meet up the deadlines and orders with the help of route optimization software.
Realtime Route Planning
The next big plus of route optimization software is the property of real-time route planning. This dynamic property makes the process of carrying out fleet operations super easy and highly efficient.
The route optimization software is designed in such a way that it will suggest new efficient and time-saving routes in real-time save time and fuel. This helps you to meet all your deadlines.
This system is efficient and helps you to manage time for your stops and delays due to any emergency. It also helps you by giving shortcuts while delivering in cities and towns.
Live Customer Feedback
Route optimization software keeps in check the inputs of the customers to make things easier for the fleet drivers.
It allows customers to provide feedback and information regarding their location and delivery options.
This helps a delivery person to know if customers are available to receive orders or not. Even they can change their delivery options and time by getting customer feedback and other information.
This real-time feedback makes the process efficient and fast.
Smooth Navigation and Planning
The fleet drivers face a lot of difficulty in navigating through unknown areas and places. Delivery persons and packages delivered in unknown cities and towns become a hassle as streets and places are unknown to fleet drivers.
Route optimization software helps the drivers to navigate easily to all locations without experiencing any difficulties.
It saves a lot of time and energy for the driver and helps in timely delivery. Deadlines are matched easily with fast and efficient navigation.
A lot of time is wasted in searching different locations and oftentimes drivers get lost in cities and towns leading to delays in other deliveries. Everything can be prevented with the use of route optimization software in your fleets.
Pros of Using Route Optimization Software in Your Fleets
There are innumerable benefits of using route optimization software for your fleets. In recent times many fleet houses have adopted technological tools to make their execution of services fast and efficient.
Let’s have a look at the pros of having route optimization software installed in your fleets:
It helps you in building trust with your customers. Companies earn a customer base and increase customer retention to a large extent with the use of route optimization software.
The software helps fleet drivers to reach customers within time and ensures delivery within the deadline. This helps immensely in building trust between the customer and fleet house.
Satisfied customers will cling to your services for future needs and help you to make a profit and expand our market.
Fleet houses operate with the help of many fleets. A fleet company includes several types of fleets having different carrying capacities. Fleet optimization software ensures that each and every fleet is used in the best way possible.
Fleets are assigned by the software for different tasks as per the requirement of size and distance. It helps you to use all your assets in a planned way.
Regular and optimal uses of each and every fleet ensure that no fleet is standing for a long time. This prevents loss and degradation in the fleet in the long term.
Route optimization software also ensures that you have a track of each and every of your fleet. This helps you to calculate probability and makes you fluent to give delivery dates to your customers.
You can also decline orders if all your fleets are busy. So route optimization software helps companies to plan out their upcoming days and work easily.
A major number of insurance companies invest in fleets that are relatively safe and follow all safety precautions on the road. Installing route optimization software gives your vehicle an edge over many others.
Companies can easily invest in your fleets at a lower cost and low interest.
A route optimization software will ensure maximum safety for your vehicles. It prevents fleets from going on bad roads and hence there is very little damage to your vehicles.
You can save a lot of capital that otherwise goes into the maintenance cost of your fleets.
Summing it up!
Fleets carry a thousand things up to different and unknown places. Drivers and owners suffer a lot due to bad roads and sick weather conditions.
A lot of accidents to fleets are caused because of dangerous roots. Traffic leads to delays in delivery and a lot more.
The route optimization software is the tool that will help your fleets by suggesting good roads. It helps you to increase the efficiency of your fleet.