Fleets leverage route management systems to cut costs, improve service

Schneider National is using Maptuit’s NaviGo in-cab navigation system on the Mobile Computing Platform 200 (MCP200) Series from Qualcomm.

Improving customer service and lowering delivery costs are key objectives for any commercial or private fleet, but these two goals often are at odds. Accomplishing both requires using advanced technologies to plan, execute and analyze routes. To this end, fleets increasingly are integrating separate technologies for route management.

The process begins with route planning software to find the least-cost routing solution to meet all service constraints, such as customers’ narrow time windows for pickup and delivery. Route navigation tools then provide fleet planners and drivers with accurate, efficient and safe directions to each stop.

Onboard computing and mobile communications systems add real-time visibility to ensure these plans are executed. They also send real-time alerts when exceptions happen and capture data for post-trip analysis of route performance.

Drafting a plan

Complexity, not size, is the main reason for using route planning software. Some operations such as less-than-truckload have complex scheduling requirements. Advanced software systems will consider the location, size (weight and volume) and product type of each shipment, as well as the time windows for pickups and deliveries. The systems also consider equipment capacity, driver availability and other constraints. Software systems that analyze and resolve these requirements are valuable to organizations that need to route large batches of orders from their warehouses and distribution centers quickly to customers in a just-in-time environment.

Argix Direct moves merchandise for retail customers from the source to the store. The Jamesburg, N.J.-based company operates 41 distribution centers and delivers to more than 3,500 retail stores nationwide. Its customers have narrow time windows for delivery. Since 1990, Argix has used Route Planner RS from Descartes, and the company now uses a newer version of the software to route about 200 trucks each day. The company’s on-time delivery reached 99.8 percent.