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FAQ: What is Robotic Process Automation?
Descartes' Background Optimizer uses this technology to make every planner as good as the best planner.

Background Optimization Transforms Route Planning by Applying Robotic Process Automation to the Planning Process


Background optimization allows companies to take their best planning practices and automate them with bots. The background optimization bots can manipulate data, invoke optimization, and interact with other systems without human intervention.

The benefits of background optimization are: 

  • Consistently superior plans across all planners

  • Plan continuously to produce better results 

  • Plans are “ready to go”, reducing planning review time 

  • Allows planners to focus on higher value tasks 

  • Streamlines the planning process to be more agile and responsive 
  • Deploy multiple bots simultaneously to scale for large or highly complex problems 

  • Communicate with execution systems for better coordination and control  

  • Reduces the number of planners required 

  • Foster centralized planning 

Features

Real-Time Planning

Planning can start once orders begin to flow into the system.

Better Results

Extended optimization time means that more plan options can be evaluated for improved results. 

Model Complex Planning Processes

Create and automate multi-step planning processes. 

Invoke Multiple Optimization Approaches

Use continuous and batch optimization in stages to produce the best results.

Schedule Background Optimization Timing

Invoke planning based upon business events such as cut-off times.

Dynamically Scale Bots

Programmatically increase number of bots based upon events.

Fleet Resource Center

Expand Your Routing, Mobile & Telematics Knowledge

Additional Resources


Customer Success: Brook Furniture Rental 

Brook reimagines furniture rental through digital transformation.
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Customer Success: Pioneer Landscape Centers

Pioneer Landscape Centers optimizes commercial and residential distribution operations with Descartes' routing solution.

Background Optimization FAQ

What is background optimization in route planning?

Background optimization is a form of robotic process automation that allows route planners the ability to take multi-step optimization processes and automate them to run without human intervention.

What are the benefits of background optimization?

Background optimization allows best practices for route planning to be automated to improve the quality of every planner, reduce the number of planners required and accelerate the planning process.

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