10 Tips for Streamlined and Cost-Effective Delivery Route Planning

• Implementing accurate map data, real-time tracking, and optimized depot locations significantly enhances delivery route planning and fleet efficiency.
• Choosing the right route planning solution, with advanced analytics and continuous optimization, maximizes operational savings and improves service levels.
• Delivery route planning is essential for logistics professionals seeking to streamline fleet management and improve delivery performance.

Meeting the demand for timely, cost-effective deliveries is a top priority for distributors and retailers. Efficient delivery route planning enables logistics professionals to streamline their fleet operations, from optimizing routes and vehicle selection to offering customer-friendly delivery options.

Using up-to-date mapping and traffic data is essential for effective delivery route planning. Accurate map data enables routing solutions to account for local traffic patterns, seasonal changes, and regional peak times, ensuring efficient route choices and reliable delivery times.

Are your maps up to date for precise delivery timing? The latest road maps and traffic flow data are crucial, as they allow your routing solution to factor in the time of day, direction of travel, and other dynamic elements that influence travel times. Having access to current map data means you can provide customers with precise delivery windows and plan the most efficient routes, ultimately improving service quality and operational efficiency.

Delivery routes range from busy urban centers to remote rural areas. Effective planning requires attention to each stop’s unique needs. Factors like driver rest breaks, available parking, and even the walking distance to the delivery point should all be part of the plan, especially in urban areas where parking is limited. Additionally, some deliveries demand extra time—such as multi-floor installations, bulky items, or services like packaging removal.

An effective delivery planning solution adapts to these specific requirements by allowing customizable stop times. This flexibility keeps schedules realistic, ensuring drivers have the time they need to complete each stop while keeping overall routes efficient.

Selecting the right vehicle based on route requirements is essential for delivery efficiency. Both the size of the vehicle and the type of terrain should be considered, as large trucks may be unsuitable for dense urban areas with narrow streets or tight rural lanes. Delivery route planning software that accounts for vehicle compatibility, road restrictions, and emissions regulations optimizes routes while ensuring compliance and efficiency.

Your depot locations play a key role in delivery route planning. Are all your deliveries managed from one central warehouse, or do you operate multiple depots across the country? With multiple locations, it’s essential to strategically select which depot handles each delivery to optimize coverage and efficiency.

Effective delivery routing lets you adjust routes dynamically, moving vehicles between depots based on demand and even allows drivers to pick up from another depot while on route. If you’re considering a new depot, analyzing its impact on capacity and route efficiency before committing can help you choose the best location.

Strategic routing lets you test potential site locations in a “sandbox”—a virtual, risk-free environment. Here, you can try different scenarios, fine-tune routes, and avoid costly mistakes before deploying them in live operations.

Using telematics to track vehicles in real-time enables live updates and accurate estimated time of arrival (ETA) notifications to be sent to your customers, enhancing overall customer satisfaction. This real-time data also assists dispatchers in making adjustments based on live traffic conditions.

Furthermore, tracking the routes your vehicles take helps assess planned routes against the routes traveled. This analysis can identify why certain deliveries, especially those critical last deliveries of the day, were not completed.

Tracking also allows for the easy re-routing of vehicles to avoid congestion or traffic accidents. Knowing precisely where a vehicle is makes it easier to plan and suggest alternative routes, further improving efficiency and service delivery.

Offering various delivery options helps meet customers’ expectations. This can include next-day or budget-friendly windows and eco-friendly options for the environmentally-conscious consumer. But it’s essential to consider whether you are offering your customers the delivery slots they truly want, what you think they want, or what you believe you can provide.

Struggling to keep up with the rising demand for next-day delivery? Recently, demand for next-day delivery has surged, with some retailers even offering same-day options. Yet not every customer desires this speed; when given the chance to select a narrow delivery window, some will opt for a lower-cost delivery with a wider time frame. Businesses must cater to the diverse needs of consumers, recognizing that some prioritize low cost, while others value speed, convenience, or security.

Allowing customers to choose their preferred delivery option can influence buyer behavior and reduce abandoned shopping carts at checkout. This level of choice is only possible with an automated delivery appointment scheduling solution that continually optimizes deliveries and considers each order at the point of sale.

Such a system ensures your fleet is never overcommitted, as delivery slots are only offered to customers if they are realistically achievable. Additionally, this approach allows for incentives, such as reduced-cost delivery slots, which can increase delivery density in specific areas by coordinating with a neighbor’s delivery.

Consolidating early or delayed deliveries to reduce fuel costs and mileage is a key element of efficient delivery route planning. By considering all the deliveries in your system, it is possible to identify potential deliveries that could be expedited—brought forward a day or two and delivered quicker—if the customer agrees. This approach allows these expedited deliveries to be completed alongside others in the same area, saving on fuel and avoiding the need to visit the same location on two different days.

Conversely, considering all deliveries can enable a retailer to move a delivery back a day to enhance efficiency for that later day. Some retailers are marketing this as their “green” or “environmental” option, allowing consumers to choose to have their goods delivered when another delivery is already scheduled in the area.

This optimization of deliveries can only be achieved through a real-time and continuous route planning optimization process. Advanced solutions continuously recalculate optimal routes, adjusting to incoming orders to improve overall delivery density. The ability to recalculate all deliveries as each order is taken requires complex algorithms and significant computing power, making it essential for maximizing delivery efficiency.

When planning your delivery routes, it is best not to assign deliveries solely by postal or ZIP code. A single code can cover a small number of properties in urban settings or encompass many properties spread out over a larger distance in rural areas.

This method of planning routes can result in some drivers having to cover significantly greater distances, which may prevent them from completing their scheduled deliveries. In some cases, this could lead to drivers violating driver’s hours regulations to fulfill their routes.

Selecting a routing solution that considers the exact location of each delivery point and accurately calculates travel times between stops is essential. This approach ensures a fair workload distribution among drivers, allowing them to complete their assigned deliveries within the required time while staying compliant.

Analyzing detailed delivery data is essential for logistics teams aiming to refine routes and proactively address delays. Collecting data from each delivery allows teams to compare performance across different days and deliveries, helping to identify recurring delays and understand their causes. By adjusting parameters based on these insights, logistics teams can improve the accuracy of future deliveries.

Choosing delivery route planning software with built-in fleet analytics, AI, and machine learning enables continuous improvement. This technology adapts to evolving conditions and helps teams analyze delivery data in real-time, making it easier to anticipate issues and implement adjustments for an optimized delivery process.

An advanced delivery route planning solution should integrate all key features, simplifying route planning by optimizing complex variables quickly and efficiently. Descartes’ solution is designed to handle multiple stops and depots, continuously optimizing routes as orders are received.

It helps reduce mileage, increase delivery density, and can seamlessly expand with additional tools, such as telematics to monitor driver behavior, electronic proof of delivery (ePOD) to reduce paperwork, and customer ETA notifications for enhanced satisfaction. Additionally, it ensures compliance with drivers’ hours regulations, supporting fleet efficiency and safety as logistics needs grow.

By applying these delivery route planning tips, distribution companies can boost fleet efficiency, achieve operational savings, and enhance customer satisfaction. Contact a Descartes solutions expert today to learn how our route planning, optimization, and dispatch solutions can help you streamline your operations to ensure timely and efficient deliveries.