10 Tips For Delivery Route Planning

10 tips for delivery route planning

Regardless of the customers you serve, investing in and optimising delivery routes is crucial for efficient and cost-effective fleet operations.

In this post, we'll explore what delivery route planning entails and reveal Descartes' top 10 tips to streamline your fleet operations to ensure timely and efficient deliveries.

Our top 10 tips for delivery route planning

What is delivery route planning?

Delivery route planning involves the strategic organisation and optimisation of the paths taken by vehicles to deliver goods or services efficiently. Delivery route planning considers factors such as:

Delivery locations, addresses, postcodes and/or geocodes
Order details - what is being delivered, time allowed for making the delivery and any special requirements or priorities.
Vehicles capacity/capabilities - goods matched to vehicle.
Typical traffic speeds - based on day and time of week.

Delivery route planning software will reduce delivery costs by minimising miles driven and fuel used by optimising the routes and vehicles chosen for the deliveries.

How to plan delivery routes

To plan delivery routes efficiently, compile a list of all delivery locations with their time windows and specific requirements.

Important factors:

Package size/weight
Historical traffic patterns and speeds
Vehicles available in your fleet
Vehicle capacity and driver availability.

Utilise route optimisation and delivery route planning software to automate the planning process, generating optimised delivery routes based on input parameters like traffic conditions and delivery priorities. Decide whether shortest route, fastest route or most economical route is most important and review at regular intervals. Adjust parameters to accommodate changes and ensure optimal efficiency for on-time deliveries, reduced operational costs and enhanced customer satisfaction.

Choosing the right approach to route planning

The best approach for planning delivery routes depends on the size and complexity of your delivery operation. For smaller fleets with a manageable number of deliveries, manual planning might suffice. However, typically for fleets larger than 15 vehicles, or operations with complex delivery schedules, route optimisation software can significantly improve efficiency.

1. Map Data for delivery planning of routes

Using the latest road maps and traffic flow data is critical when planning your delivery routes. How often are your base maps updated and how current are they? Having the very latest map data will help ensure that the delivery times provided to your customers are accurate and that the best, most efficient delivery routes are planned.

2. Account for time at stops

When planning your delivery routes, where you stop and for how long will need to be taken into account. The availability of suitable parking is especially important for urban deliveries. Walking distance for delivery drivers from the vehicle needs to be kept to a minimum to reduce the time taken, but sufficient time also needs to be allowed for the type of goods being delivered. An effective delivery planning solution will allow you to have different stop times for each stop depending upon all these factors.

3. Use the right transport for your deliveries

Both the size of the vehicle and the type of drive train should be considered when planning your delivery routes. Clean Air Zones (CAZs) and Low Traffic Neighbourhoods are becoming increasingly important, so choosing the best delivery vehicles to enter these zones will minimise the associated charges.

4. Where are your depots?

Your depot locations are important when planning delivery routes. With multiple depots, you need to decide which will be used to make the delivery, so are you choosing the best depot based on the areas you deliver to? Effective delivery planning software will enable vehicles to be moved between depots depending on business needs.

5. Track your vehicles

Tracking your delivery vehicles in real time enables live updates and accurate ETA (estimated time of arrival) notifications to be sent to your customers.

6. What delivery options will you offer?

Are you offering your customers the delivery slots they really want? Allowing customers to select their preferred delivery options influences buyer behavior and helps reduce abandoned baskets at checkout.

7. Consider all your delivery orders

By considering all the deliveries in your system, it’s possible to identify potential deliveries that could be scheduled earlier or later, saving on fuel and optimising routes.

8. Postcode management when delivery planning

It is best not to assign deliveries by postcode areas as this might mean some drivers cover much greater distances than necessary. Selecting a routing solution that considers the exact location of properties and the time between deliveries will ensure optimal efficiency.

9. Delivery data

Detailed data about your deliveries is important. Collecting data as you make deliveries will enable future adjustments and improvements.

10. Choose the right software

Using the right software makes planning delivery routes easier and more efficient.

Is delivery route planning software a good investment?

In conclusion, delivery route planning software represents a valuable investment for businesses in the transportation and delivery sectors. By optimising routes, companies can improve operational efficiency and achieve cost savings, enhancing the customer experience.