The majority of fleet managers can sense that something has gone wrong. Orders are delayed. Fuel expenses continue to climb. Drivers are frustrated. Nevertheless, no-one can really place smart routing systems a finger on why, until someone analyzes the routing data and finds that half the team are crossing the same suburbs as many times as they are drawing the scribble of a toddler on a map. The optimisation of the routes is not a buzzword. It defines whether a company struggles or performs as intended. 
Here’s what often gets overlooked, shortest route and fastest route are not one and the same. The commuter who goes to work at 8 AM during peak time with a short route can take 45 minutes to travel an equivalent distance that a workmate completes in 20 minutes or even turn left rather than right. Smart optimisation software takes into consideration the traffic flow, delivery time frames, load capacity of vehicles and driver shift restrictions simultaneously. No dispatcher, even the most experienced one, will be able to retain all that in his head over a fleet of twenty vehicles. No criticism there, it is just arithmetic. The financial benefits are hard to argue with. Fuel savings of 15 to 25 percent are common with the right routing systems. Scale that across an entire fleet annually and the savings become significant. Other than fuel, less kilometres translate to reduced wear and tear of vehicles, reduced servicing expenses and increased life of assets. One courier firm in the UK claimed it recouped the investment in just six weeks. Six weeks. It’s not a long-term gamble but an immediate payoff that continues to benefit. There is also a human factor often overlooked. When drivers avoid congestion, they are less stressed, more accurate, and more punctual. Retention improves. Training costs drop. The customers receive improved ETAs and this implies that there are fewer "where is my delivery" calls clogging your support line. An efficient route does not only represent a logistical success, but it silently enhances nearly all the downstream measures that a business is interested in. Think of it like pulling one thread and the entire system improves in harmony.
Here’s what often gets overlooked, shortest route and fastest route are not one and the same. The commuter who goes to work at 8 AM during peak time with a short route can take 45 minutes to travel an equivalent distance that a workmate completes in 20 minutes or even turn left rather than right. Smart optimisation software takes into consideration the traffic flow, delivery time frames, load capacity of vehicles and driver shift restrictions simultaneously. No dispatcher, even the most experienced one, will be able to retain all that in his head over a fleet of twenty vehicles. No criticism there, it is just arithmetic. The financial benefits are hard to argue with. Fuel savings of 15 to 25 percent are common with the right routing systems. Scale that across an entire fleet annually and the savings become significant. Other than fuel, less kilometres translate to reduced wear and tear of vehicles, reduced servicing expenses and increased life of assets. One courier firm in the UK claimed it recouped the investment in just six weeks. Six weeks. It’s not a long-term gamble but an immediate payoff that continues to benefit. There is also a human factor often overlooked. When drivers avoid congestion, they are less stressed, more accurate, and more punctual. Retention improves. Training costs drop. The customers receive improved ETAs and this implies that there are fewer "where is my delivery" calls clogging your support line. An efficient route does not only represent a logistical success, but it silently enhances nearly all the downstream measures that a business is interested in. Think of it like pulling one thread and the entire system improves in harmony.