Route Optimization: A Complex Science

One of the most crucial steps you can take to expand your trucking or delivery operations is investing in a route optimization solution.

Relying on Google Maps and Excel sheets to plan your delivery routes might have worked for you thus far, but it will become next to impossible if you're planning for dozens of drivers with hundreds of routes. It will cost you a lot of time, effort, and money – resources that are better put elsewhere in your business.

So let’s take a look into what route optimization is and why it’s a crucial component of your delivery operations.

What is route optimization?

Route optimization is the process of finding the most cost-effective path to take from point A to point B. A lot of people think that this means finding the shortest route. This is true in some cases, but you'll find that this isn't always the case for the most optimized route.

The truth is that finding the most optimized route involves several factors beyond just distance. One of the most important is the traffic conditions of the route. During peak hours, the shortest route might often be the most congested. Sometimes, taking a longer, less crowded detour is faster.