How and Why You Need to Optimize Your Delivery Routes ASAP!

Customers today are impatient and, thanks to an unprecedented health crisis, quite anxious. Luckily, we have advanced technologies and business models to soften the under-the-belt blow that is 2020.

Still, there is a lot to account for. Customers must adapt to a new way of shopping (retailers report record online sales), employees need to adjust to working from home, and businesses are forced to innovate their processes just to stay afloat.

For instance, fast delivery services are in high demand nowadays. As such, one way to make sure your business will still be on the market by the end of this year is to make sure the delivery service works at its most optimum parameters.

For this, it’s important to understand the power of routes optimization. Since this can be confusing, especially for businesses that just start with delivery, we will have a look at the how and why of route optimization.

[Why] Help Drivers Become More Efficient

An optimized route can help reduce the drive time and save on fuel for up to 40%. Also, since the entire system is automated, it can make adjustments on the go based on proximity to a delivery location, traffic jams, and other factors.

Basically, a piece of optimized routing software will tell drivers where to go and when, while considering a wide range of factors. It’s like an AI brain that has access to all the important information for your business.

[How] Use The Right Data

The beauty of optimization is that it’s not a fixed, rigid process that doesn’t account for the human factor. A delivery route that’s fully optimized will consider factors such as high traffic time intervals, speed limits in the area, breaks, and delivery duration.

However, the software can’t provide the most optimum delivery system unless you feed it accurate and complete data. So, before anything, make sure your database is well populated and that the sources are not corrupt.

[Why] Happier Customers

As we already stated, customers are not a patient bunch. And they grow more impatient due to amazing delivery services from the likes of Amazon and other online retail giants that practice same-day or even express delivery.

In fact, studies show that unreliable delivery services are among the top reasons why customers leave and never return (especially in the online environment).

So how can small businesses compete in such a demanding market? By using the same systems the big guys use (route optimization) but at their level. When it comes to delivery route sequencing software there are lots of options out there, for businesses of all sizes and industries.

Overall, fast delivery is almost guaranteed to ensure customers’ loyalty and happiness.

[How] Be Smart About It

It is tempting to offer customers a wide range of options (same-day, next-day, express, specific times of day, and so on), but this also means a more complex management system on your part.

As such, it’s best to know your own limits and how much your business and your drivers can handle. Overtiring your employees won’t make delivery a more efficient process – in fact, it’s a sure recipe for disaster!

Optimization also works with fewer options and the customers will be happy to select from what you are offering. Also, you can use a discount system to incentivize people to accept deliveries in less convenient formats (for them) but extremely convenient for you (according to the suggestions made by the software).

Wrap Up

As each industry makes changes to adapt to the new reality, the delivery industry has to as well. And this is the main reason why optimization is a must!