Top Route Optimisation Software
Route Optimisation Software
Trusted by enterprise fleets to optimise routes and manage complex delivery operations.
Route optimisation is the process of generating a transport plan with ideal paths for delivery vehicles such as trucks or vans to travel.
However, if there are more than four stops on each delivery route and a fleet of more than ten vehicles, optimising delivery routes manually will be difficult, time-consuming, and ineffective.
Reduce operational costs
Increased delivery productivity
Include Multiple depots, and stops
Reduced planning time
Discover how continuous route optimisation can improve your transport operations efficiency, productivity and customer service.
Solve Your Fleet Routing Challenges
- Delivery location, distance, and traffic flow
- Transportation costs and driver hours
- Clean Air Zones, toll roads, and hazardous materials
- Route restrictions and optimisation factors
Manage, monitor and improve performance
- Shed light on what’s happening in the field with real-time context and insights.
- Refine delivery plans with machine-learned service times and geocodes.
- Compare planned versus actual performance to create more realistic routes.
- Identify unprofitable routes and expose cost leakage.
Route Optimisation Software Benefits
Optimised Deliveries
- More accurate and reliable delivery times and ETA’s
- Reduced driver hours
- Reduced vehicle mileage and lower CO2 emissions
- Increased productivity and delivery density
Improved Resource Management
- Improved utilisation of existing trucks, vans and drivers
- Improved customer service and satisfaction
- Reduced driver stress and fewer accidents
- Reduced costs
Proven Results from Existing Customers
- Increase delivery capacity by up to 35%
- Increased fuel efficiency >15%
- Up to 25% cost reduction
- Customer delivery satisfaction increased by 40
- Savings of £2m per annum
What makes Route optimisation so complicated?
Descartes’ James Holt and Noeleen Westland in Product Management explain some of the complexities solved with route optimisation software.
Route Optimisation Software Features
Continuous optimisation
Achieve more efficient transport route plans for your truck and van fleets over traditional batch-based optimisation techniques and provide costed delivery options at the point of sale in seconds to influence buyer behaviour.
Automated route scheduling
High density delivery routes are created, utilising the drivers and trucks or vans available to deliver more and reduce costs. Delivery routes can be based on the most efficient routes not just fastest routes. Automatically optimise final mile delivery routes to save fuel and money.
High-quality traffic data
Very accurate route and arrival times are possible using road speeds that are based upon the truck or van type, the day of the week, the time of day, the route taken and even the direction of travel, giving you confidence in the route schedule and your customers delivery times.
Cloud-based software
Our fleet route scheduling software is available over the internet wherever you have a connection, providing team access to our solution, working from any location in the world, at any time.
Accurate ETA's and delivery times
Improved customer satisfaction with on-time deliveries and a reduced office workload as the number of phone calls enquiring after deliveries diminishes.
HGV route planning
Generate optimised routes specifically for fixed or articulated HGVs that take into account the truck's height, length and weight, allowing for low bridges, width barriers, weight restrictions and vehicle turning circles.
Customer Successes
“We’re delighted with the solution and the service we have received from Descartes. Ultimately, Descartes is helping us minimise our operational costs through its route planning and optimisation solution and is actively contributing to our corporate and social responsibility and sustainability efforts.”
Simon Macdonald, National Transport Manager
Avg distance driven/delivery reduced 2%
Manual processes Replaced
Nationwide stores 300+
“Working with Descartes, we’ve saved 13% on annual fuel costs, which equates to approximately 354,000 fewer miles driven.”
Lee Holmes, Transport and Logistics Director
Annual Fuel bill reduced 13%
Productivity improved 56%
Annual savings £2 million
“With Descartes in place, our team of planners has automated and streamlined previous manual planning processes, allowing us to optimise our vehicle usage and minimise CO2 emissions.”
Rachel Hopkins, Chief Information Officer
CO2 Emissions Reduced
Sales Capacity Raised
Operational Efficiency Improved
“Descartes Reservations™ and Route Planner™ solutions were integral to our strategy of offering a more extensive, but unified delivery service. The advanced optimisation capabilities and architecture of the Descartes solutions were critical, bringing new delivery service options to our customers in an economically feasible way.”
Andrew Gay - Systems Manager
Fulfilment costs reduced £1.8m
Increased delivery productivity 35%
Delivery windows provided at POS
Route Optimisation FAQs
Explore our FAQs section, addressing common questions about this transformative solution in fleet delivery logistics.
What is route optimisation software?
Route optimisation software is a tool that utilises AI and advanced algorithms to select the most efficient path for delivery vehicles. It aims to minimise fuel consumption, reduce travel time, and increase overall operational efficiency. Examples of route optimisation software include Descartes' solutions, which streamline delivery routes for businesses.What is the best software for planning delivery routes?
While Descartes' route optimisation software is recognised for its advanced features and capabilities, determining the best route planning software depends on specific business needs and preferences.How does route optimisation software work?
Descartes route optimisation software calculates and compares several delivery routes using complex mathematical algorithms, AI learning, and the most recent map data from several major mapping providers.What is meant by route optimisation?
Route optimisation is the process of identifying the most efficient route a delivery vehicle can take in order to make its deliveries or complete its assigned jobs.How to optimise a delivery route?
There are several steps to optimising a route: collate the data, use technology, the optimisation process, refine and finalise, monitor and analyse.What is the difference between route scheduling and route optimisation?
Route scheduling involves creating the order of deliveries while route optimisation will consider the most efficient route for the deliveries taking into account real-world factors.How can deliveries be optimised?
When creating an optimised delivery route, several factors need to be considered, such as location of the deliveries, range and type of the vehicle, vehicle capacity, and product details.What are the challenges of planning delivery routes and optimising the solution?
One of the hardest challenges for route optimisation software is dealing with real-time traffic conditions. Complex Delivery Constraints are additional challenges when planning and optimising routes.