If you are already using a route planner or looking to use one for optmizing delivery routes – Congratulations! For taking a step towards saving time and money for your business.
What if we told you that you can optimize delivery routes for even better efficiency using different features of Zeo route planner?
5 Ways you can optimize delivery routes with our route planner:
- Add delivery time slots
- Add ‘Stop Priority’ status
- Add stop duration
- Assign drivers as per skills
- Add ‘Stop Type’ and pickup linked deliveries
Let’s have a look at each of these in more detail:
1. Add delivery time slots
While adding stops to the route, you can add specific time slots for delivery as per the customer’s requirement. The route will be optimised considering the time slots. Adding the delivery window ensures that your driver doesn’t reach a customer only to find that the customer is not available. It will be inefficient for the driver to visit the same stop multiple times.
2. Add ‘ Stop Priority’ status
In case there’s a delivery or a client service request that has to be fulfilled on priority then you can update the ‘stop priority’ status accordingly. You can set the priority status as ‘Normal’ or as ‘ASAP’. If the status is marked as ‘ASAP’ then while optimising the route the stop will be given priority. If the status is marked ‘Normal’ then the optimisation will happen as per the usual process.
3. Add stop duration
When planning a route, it’s important to consider the time that will be spent at each stop. The driver may be required to spend more time at a stop depending on the number of boxes or the load to be delivered. Correct estimation of stop duration will help in correctly determining the delivery time for each customer on the route. If the stop duration is not estimated correctly, then it will lead to delayed deliveries for the subsequent customers.
4. Assign drivers as per skills
Make use of skill-based optimisation if you are in such an industry that requires different drivers to have different skills. For example, construction & maintenance, utilities, healthcare, etc. In Zeo route planner you can update the skills of your drivers. While updating the stops, you can add the skill requirement at each stop. It will then optimise the route by matching the skills of the drivers as per the skill requirement at each stop. This ensures that the correct driver goes to each stop on the first go. Read more about skill-based job assignment in our blog.
5. Add ‘Stop type’ and pickup linked deliveries
You can further optimise the route by adding details like stop type – pickup or delivery. You can also use the pickup linked deliveries feature which is exclusive to Zeo. The deliveries can be linked to the corresponding pickup address. This helps the driver to efficiently track which picked-up parcel is to be delivered at which address. Learn more about pickup linked deliveries.
To create the most efficient routes book a demo call now or sign up for a free trial of Zeo Route Planner!
In a nutshell
Each and every minute that you save leads to savings in costs as well. Using features like delivery time windows, stop priority status, stop type, pickup linked deliveries and skill-based job assignment help in optimizing delivery routes with the best efficiency. Adding stop duration is important for arriving at the correct ETA for each stop in the delivery route. Route optimization helps in improving the bottomline of your business!
