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How to use Google Maps Route Planner For Deliveries?

How to use Google Maps Route Planner For Deliveries?, Zeo Route Planner
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Getting deliveries from point A to point B sounds simple—until you’re managing dozens of stops, unpredictable traffic, and tight schedules. That’s where Google Maps Route Planner comes in. It gives drivers turn-by-turn directions, live traffic updates, and a clear view of every stop on the map. But here’s the catch: manually adding and arranging multiple stops can be a hassle.

That’s why businesses often pair Google Maps with a route planning app. This combination effectively optimizes routes, cut down on drive time, and keeps deliveries running smoothly. It’s a small upgrade that makes a big difference—saving time, fuel, and a whole lot of stress.

It’s time to find out how you can leverage Google Maps route optimization for delivery planning.

How to plan a delivery route with Google Maps

Many small and medium-sized businesses start with Google Maps Route Planner as their first step in mapping delivery stops.
How to use Google Maps Route Planner For Deliveries?, Zeo Route Planner
The optimized route planning systems by Google involve listing your key addresses and plugging them into Google’s platform. Then, you can share the directions with drivers.

It’s simple, but there are important details to watch for when creating routes.

Create Your Routes

When you begin planning a delivery route with Google Maps, the starting point is often a spreadsheet or a list of customer addresses. Enter each stop one by one in the route planner and arrange the order to fit your driver’s schedule. Now, you can use this process on a desktop browser or even a mobile app.

At a technical level, all you’re doing is sending address data to Google’s geocoding function in the background. It lets the system pinpoint the latitude and longitude, which Google Maps decodes to show you possible routes.

You can add up to 25 waypoints (including start and end). After you’ve set those points, you can view the estimated travel time and distances between stops.

Below are some quick tips for creating routes:

  • Break larger deliveries into smaller batches to stay within the waypoint limit.
  • Double-check every address for errors to ensure geocoding accuracy.
  • Use the “Add Stop” button to include each location in the correct sequence.
  • Tap “Directions” to confirm the estimated time and distance before starting the trip.
  • Keep an eye on live traffic data since conditions can change in busy areas.

Limitations

You can use Google Maps Route Planner to get the drivers from one point to another with efficient route planning. But there are a few drawbacks as well.

25-waypoint limit
The first hurdle is the 25-waypoint limit. Large delivery setups with dozens of stops might need a workaround or a different system. Splitting big routes into multiple segments can be time-consuming and complicate dispatch.

Lacks specialized route optimization tools
Some teams have also noticed that it lacks the deeper features seen in specialized Route Optimization tools. For instance, you can’t directly manage multiple drivers and their capacity.

A few more limitations include:

  • No capacity planning features for large fleets.
  • Limited scheduling options for time-specific deliveries.

These boundaries push many businesses to look for more robust software, such as Zeo Route Planner. This software offers automated route optimization that dynamically arranges stops. Also, you can add stops by typing to build it efficiently, considering real-time traffic conditions, driver shifts, and delivery constraints.
How to use Google Maps Route Planner For Deliveries?, Zeo Route Planner
Unlike Google Maps Route Planner, which requires manual adjustments, Zeo Route Planner automatically optimizes delivery sequences, reducing fuel costs, improving ETAs, and making multi-driver fleet management seamless.

Google Maps Route Planner vs Route Optimization

You may assume that Google Maps Route Planner takes care of everything related to planning trips. But that’s not exactly the case.

Route Optimization is a broader process that involves sorting through large address sets, considering driver workloads, and even factoring in delivery time windows.

But then, Google’s planner only gives you a series of directions and does not automatically decide the best sequence if you’ve got more than a handful of stops.

Route optimization solutions like Zeo Route Planner are therefore useful. They gather data from a Distance Matrix API (Google’s or another provider’s) and run advanced algorithms, such as the Traveling Salesman Problem or Vehicle Routing Problem.

These systems help assign the right stops to the correct driver and arrange them in the best order to reduce the number of miles traveled.

In other words, Google Maps Route Planner is great for quick and simple guidance, but it’s not designed to run a complex fleet.

Below are the major differences:

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Created Route 1 2, Zeo Route Planner

Aspect Google Maps Route Planner Route Optimization
Primary Focus Directions and basic trip planning Assigning stops, best sequencing, fleet management
Max Waypoints 25 Can handle far more, often hundreds or thousands
Fleet Management Not built-in Often includes driver scheduling and capacity rules
Custom Constraints Limited Handles time windows, vehicle load, driver breaks

Conclusion

That’s it! We’ve now covered the core steps and analyzed a few limitations of using Google Maps Route Planner. You can certainly use it to plan the trip and map the pit stops.

For a smaller set of stops, Google Maps Route Planner is enough. But if you’re juggling many drivers and loads of stops, then full Route Optimization software might be a better fit.

If your team needs a system that handles more stops, think of a more brilliant dispatch that keeps scheduling under control — with Zeo Route Planner. It helps deliver packages efficiently, including everything from importing addresses to recipients’ notifications to customer dashboards.

Book a demo to see how it can cut travel time, reduce driver strain, and keep your routes running smoothly.

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    How to Create Route?

    How do I add stop by typing and searching? Web

    Follow these steps to add a stop by typing and searching:

    • Go to Playground Page. You will find a search box in top left.
    • Type in your desired stop and it will show search results as you type.
    • Select one of the search results to add the stop to list of unassigned stops.

    How do I import stops in bulk from an excel file? Web

    Follow these steps to add stops in bulk using an excel file:

    • Go to Playground Page.
    • In top right corner you will see import icon. Press on that icon & a modal will open.
    • If you already have an excel file, press the “Upload stops via flat file” button & a new window will open up.
    • If you don’t have an existing file, you can download a sample file and input all your data accordingly, then upload it.
    • In the new window, upload your file and match the headers & confirm mappings.
    • Review your confirmed data and add the stop.

    How do I import stops from an image? Mobile

    Follow these steps to add stops in bulk by uploading an image:

    • Go to Zeo Route Planner App and open On Ride page.
    • Bottom bar has 3 icons in left. Press on image icon.
    • Select the image from gallery if you already have one or take a picture if you don’t have existing.
    • Adjust the crop for the selected image & press crop.
    • Zeo will automatically detect the addresses from the image. Press on done and then save & optimize to create route.

    How do I add a stop using Latitude and Longitude? Mobile

    Follow these steps to add stop if you have Latitude & Longitude of the address:

    • Go to Zeo Route Planner App and open On Ride page.
    • You will see a icon. Press on that icon & press on New Route.
    • If you already have an excel file, press the “Upload stops via flat file” button & a new window will open up.
    • Below search bar, select the “by lat long” option and then enter the latitude and longitude in the search bar.
    • You will see results in the search, select one of them.
    • Select additional options according to your need & click on “Done adding stops”.

    How do I add stops using QR Code? Mobile

    Follow these steps to add stop using QR Code:

    • Go to Zeo Route Planner App and open On Ride page.
    • You will see a icon. Press on that icon & press on New Route.
    • Bottom bar has 3 icons in left. Press on QR code icon.
    • It will open up a QR Code scanner. You can scan normal QR code as well as FedEx QR code and it will automatically detect address.
    • Add the stop to route with any additional options.

    How do I delete a stop? Mobile

    Follow these steps to delete a stop:

    • Go to Zeo Route Planner App and open On Ride page.
    • You will see a icon. Press on that icon & press on New Route.
    • Add some stops using any of the methods & click on save & optimize.
    • From the list of stops that you have, long press on any stop that you want to delete.
    • It will open window asking you to select the stops that you want to remove. Click on Remove button and it will delete the stop from your route.