If you’re a business owner or fleet operator, you know the struggle of manually building the best route for multiple locations. There’s a lot to take into consideration, with the addition of human error posing a risk to your productivity. But what if your stress could be eliminated by one solution? 

This article will help you understand what route optimisation is and how it can create the most cost-effective routes for your drivers. This technology can help anyone, from small to large businesses wanting to improve their fleet’s performance whilst saving time and money. 

What Defines The Best Route?

Some might consider the order of jobs received and their destinations being the most reliable route for your delivery journey. However, this could result in going back and forth between locations and wasting time that could be spent completing additional bookings. 

Creating routes based on the schedule of your drivers, the number of stops and their locations are just a few of the many factors that must be considered when planning. Whilst this may seem like an extremely difficult task, route optimisation can do all that for you. 

How To Find The Best Route For Multiple Locations

Route optimisation plays a very important role in finding the best route for your drivers. This solution takes into account distance between stops, driver schedule, the type of vehicle, and traffic conditions to create the most time-effective journey. Route optimisation doesn’t necessarily translate to shorter routes, instead building efficient trips to reduce expenditure on tolls, fuel, vehicle maintenance etc. 

Google Maps is an example of a free route planner that doesn’t include a route optimisation feature, meaning you have to do your own calculations. You can access Google Maps from your smartphone to reach your destination. This platform is reasonable for single drivers needing to get from one location to another. It’s simple to use and offers traffic information, allowing drivers to avoid particularly dire conditions. Google Maps is also pretty up to date when it comes to road closures and detours. 

However, one of the biggest limitations of this route planner is that it only allows you to plan around 10-20 stops, making it troublesome for businesses who exceed this number. This is why route optimisation is the more practical option. Locate2u, a delivery management software, provides a reliable route optimisation engine that can ease the stress of planning and reduce time spent on the road.

If you’ve got over 20 stops, Locate2u allows you to pop them in and create time-efficient routes in only seconds. Less time on the road will lead to drivers using less fuel, cutting down on any unnecessary costs. Having optimised routes also improves your drivers experience as they won’t have to travel back and forth from each location.

Best route for delivery

Benefits Of Finding The Best Route For Multiple Locations & Deliveries

Route optimisation has become increasingly valuable for businesses and drivers due to its ability to save time and money, whilst improving the experience of your customers and drivers. 

Not knowing the whereabouts of your drivers could cause several issues that might impact the delivery process. Route optimisation offers real-time tracking that allows you to see the whereabouts of your drivers throughout the day. This gives you peace of mind that your team members are completing bookings productively and if any errors are encountered, you can easily contact the customer informing them of their item’s status. 

Another benefit of finding the best route is faster delivery times for your team members. Having a reliable route optimisation solution chooses the most suitable route for your drivers, resulting in less time spent on the road. Also, adding in last minute changes and stops is a far easier process, and can be effectively communicated to your team members. In doing so, allowing your operations to run without complication.

The unstable nature of fuel costs, especially in light of today’s global issues, have seen prices only increasing. This has forced businesses to look for alternative methods to reduce any unnecessary fuel costs to save money. By optimising your routes, your drivers spend less time on the road, minimising fuel consumption. Time-efficient journeys ultimately lead to less time spent going back and forth between jobs and less idling in traffic. 

Businesses That Need Multi-Stop Route Optimisation

The types of businesses that need multi-stop route optimisation include professional couriers, small businesses offering local delivery and larger delivery companies with a huge fleet. 

1. Couriers 

delivery business

Couriers are responsible for the transportation of commercial goods to a customer’s doorstep. Because of the nature of this business, having access to real-time tracking is crucial in knowing that every delivery has been successfully completed. Route optimisation does just that, allowing you to track the location of your courier in real-time, increasing the accountability of your team members and the goods they’re delivering. 

2. Small Businesses 

small business

For small businesses, it’s important to keep customers happy to increase the likelihood of ongoing purchases. Incorporating a route optimisation solution into your business means you can send a live tracking to your customers. This keeps them up to date with the status of their item and makes them feel a part of the delivery journey. Giving your customers a quality experience can encourage them to write good reviews online, drawing in future customers. 

3. Large Delivery Companies 

large delivery business

Larger delivery companies often include a large fleet which can be difficult for fleet managers to maintain organisation. Manually planning routes for the number of vehicles can eat up hours of precious time that could be spent elsewhere. A route optimising software can have time-effective routes planned in a matter of minutes, taking into account the number of stops, driver schedules, traffic etc. 

route otpimisation software management


The Importance Of Using The Best Route For Multiple Locations

Route optimisation is necessary for businesses of all sizes wanting to improve their overall performance and the experience of their customers.

If you’ve found yourself spending hours planning routes for your drivers and organising bookings, there is a better way. Route optimisation does all the hard work for you, creating efficient routes in a matter of seconds so you can focus on other business operations. Time is precious, and by optimising your routes, you can get the most out of your day. 

 Having access to live updates and visibility of your team through real-time tracking allows you to give your customers accurate ETAs. This reassures customers on the status of their delivery, instead of only receiving large time frames for anticipation. 

With this solution you can send customers a live tracking link through SMS so they can see the location of the driver and when they’ll arrive. In doing so, your customers have more control over their experience which creates a better delivery experience.

route optimisation app

Locate2u’s Route Optimisation

Locate2u’s route optimisation reduces time spent planning routes from hours to just seconds, not to mention the stress accompanied with the process. Creating efficient routes has never been easier! 

This software allows you to receive live updates from your drivers, where you can monitor their whereabouts and have peace of mind that they’re completing bookings productively. 

Click here to learn more about Locate2u’s route optimisation solution!

About the author

Marketing Coordinator at Locate2u having completed a Bachelor of Creative Arts, majoring in English Literature and Creative Writing. I have extensive experience in editing and proofreading, as well as creating content for a range of audiences.