For business owners, cutting back costs whilst saving time can seem like an impossible task. Using a free route planner might seem like the perfect solution if you’re wanting basic software to organise your team members journey for the day. However, in most cases it pays to have a quality route optimisation solution that not only plans but optimises your routes.
If you’re wanting to save time and money for your business, then this article will give you insight as to why route optimisation reigns supreme over free route planners. Not to mention the many benefits this software has to offer.
Free Route Planners
A free route planner is a platform that enables you to plan your stops to create and organise journeys. One of the most significant examples of a free route planner is Google Maps. This platform is suitable for single drivers needing to get from A to B. It’s easy to use and has traffic information so drivers can avoid congestion. It’s also pretty up to date in terms of detours and road closures. You can use Google Maps on your smartphone to get you to your destination.
Where Will A Free Route Planner Let You Down?
Free route planners are a great tool for drivers wanting to reach a limited number of destinations without any additional features. However, those wanting to use a more advanced software, free route planners unfortunately fall short.
If you’re running a business and wanting to save some money, using a free route planner might seem like the perfect solution. However, investing in a quality route optimisation software can end up costing you less and save you more time to work on your business.
One of the biggest limitations of these route planners is that you can only plan a number of stops, making it difficult for businesses with more than 20 stops to get the job done. This is why route optimisation softwares comes in handy as they can build the most time-effective routes in a matter of seconds. Less time spent on the road means drivers will end up using less fuel. Optimising your routes also increases driver satisfaction as they won’t be wasting time going back and forth from locations.
Free route planners like Google Maps don’t have the ability to add in more than 10 stops at a time, as well as add in last minute stops without corrupting your schedule. So if you’re wanting a basic experience without needing use of advanced tools, free route planners can sometimes do the job.
Route Planning Vs Route Optimisation
When it comes to logistics and routing, the terms “route planning” and “route optimisation” can appear as one in the same. However, they are two entirely different services. If you operate your own fleet, you’ll know how expensive and time consuming transportation can be for your business, especially if fleet operators are still using pen and paper or spreadsheets. In order for businesses to reduce unnecessary costs and ensure their drivers are on the most time-effective route is to find the appropriate routing solution.
Route planning is the process of organising routes on a map with a start and end point. On the other hand, route optimisation is not only the creation of a route, but additionally making it efficient for your driver. The main objective is to build as many stops whilst reducing time spent on the road. Another point of difference between the two is that route optimisation is equipped to handle modern organisation, unlike route planning.
Route planning doesn’t take into consideration the factors that create more efficient routes and events that can influence a driver’s journey.
Free VS Locate2u’s Route Optimisation Software
Using a free route planner can be an alternative for businesses wanting to reduce costs and utilise less resources to complete bookings. This may seem like the most affordable option, however, this software doesn’t offer multi-stop routes and unlimited stops. It also doesn’t plan well for multiple vehicles, making it impossible for larger businesses to carry out their deliveries.
Locate2u, a Delivery Management Software, provides users with a quality route optimisation software. It’s the perfect solution for businesses wanting to reduce stress, improve their fleet’s performance and save time. No more manually planning with pen and paper, this software can create the most time-effective routes in only seconds. Unlike free route planning technology, route optimisation lets you plan dozens of stops and modify routes to suit any last minute changes to your schedule. This increases your business’ productivity, allowing you to fit in as many bookings for the day.
Free route planning might seem like the better option, but sometimes it’s more profitable to spend the money and work on improving your business. With Locate2u, you can optimise your routes and arrange bookings to keep your operations running efficiently.
Why It’s Worth Investing In A Route Optimisation Software?
Investing in route optimisation software instead of a free route planner is extremely beneficial for your business. You can cut back fuel costs and improve customer satisfaction by giving them accurate ETAs and faster delivery times.
1. Faster Delivery Times
No matter the industry, time is money, so faster delivery times bring about many advantages for everyone in the supply chain. A quality route optimisation software chooses the best route for your drivers, creating quicker delivery times. Additionally, adding in last minute stops or making changes is an easy process and can be communicated to your drivers effectively. This keeps your operations running smoothly.
2. More Accurate ETA’s
Route optimisation gives you access to live updates and transparency of your team so you can give customers more reliable and accurate ETAs. This allows you to reassure your customers on the status of their delivery as they can anticipate when their order will arrive. It definitely beats the large time windows most third-party delivery services give their customers.
3. Improved Customer Service
Optimising your routes is guaranteed to improve the experience of your customers. This is because route optimisation leads to faster deliveries, more secure cargo and enhances business efficiency.
You can send customers a live tracking link via SMS so they can see the whereabouts of their delivery and know when it will arrive. This gives customers more control over their experience, giving them peace of mind in receiving reliable and quality service.
4. Reduce Fuel Costs
Fuel costs are constantly up and down and especially in today’s climate, the price is only increasing. Cutting back costs has never been more important for businesses. That’s where route optimisation comes in.
Optimising your routes results in your drivers spending their time on the road more efficiently, ultimately reducing unnecessary fuel usage. Time-effective journeys means there is less idling in traffic jams and less time wasted going back and forth between jobs.
Don’t Just Plan, Optimise With Locate2u
Locate2u is a Delivery Management Software whose quality route optimisation engine reduces hours spent on planning routes and organising bookings, saving you time, money and not to mention stress. This technology allows you to know where your drivers are at all times through real-time tracking, so you can give your customers accurate ETAs. In doing so this improves their overall experience and increases the likelihood of using your services again.
