A guide to fleet route optimization: how it helps businesses

Published: September 18, 2024

If you’ve ever missed a turn at the end of a long day and had to take the long way home, you know how important the right route is. Ending up on a longer or slower route can be bad enough when it’s just one trip. For businesses with a whole fleet of drivers to manage, the stakes of choosing the right route for each one every time are much higher. That makes fleet route optimization an important strategic concern.

What is route optimization?

Route optimization is the practice of finding the most efficient, cost-effective route by considering a variety of factors like distance, traffic conditions, weather predictions, and fuel use. Individuals practice route optimization every day when they open Waze or Google Maps, and businesses use it on a wider scale with fleets of vehicles and drivers to optimize routes for.

The importance of route optimization for businesses

For businesses with many drivers and trips to manage, route optimization is much more complicated than determining the best way to get from point A to point B. You may be planning routes for dozens of drivers who each make multiple stops a day.

In that context, route optimization only becomes more valuable. Investing in fleet route optimization can produce a few main benefits:

Saving money: When you optimize routes, you can cut down on unnecessary driving and reduce how often vehicles sit stalled in traffic. That can substantially lower fuel costs and reduce wear and tear on vehicles.
Saving time: Efficient routes can help drivers get where they’re going faster. That saves them time, which saves the company even more money in labor costs.
Improving the driver experience: Commercial driving is hard work. Better routes that involve fewer stressors (like construction and traffic) make the job easier, which can considerably improve the experience of driving.
Improving the customer experience: For e-commerce businesses, route optimization can help provide more accurate ETAs (estimated times of arrival) and get deliveries out faster. The delivery experience is directly related to customer satisfaction—a recent Uber Eats report found that 94% of consumers are more likely to order again from a brand after a good delivery experience.
Reducing your environmental impact: Route efficiency helps minimize fuel consumption, shrinking your environmental footprint and aiding in any sustainability goals your company has made.

Route optimization software: an overview

With all the complex considerations that go into route optimization, trying to map out routes manually is an uphill battle. Route optimization software can simplify the work of route optimization while improving results.

What is route optimization software?

Route optimization software is a type of technology product specifically designed to help businesses identify the best route. The technology can analyze the many factors—from road conditions to weather concerns and current construction projects to a city’s rush hour—that you want to weigh when mapping out the best routes for the day.

The benefits of route optimization software

For small and big businesses alike, route optimization software has a lot to offer. The right product:

Works fast, even at scale: A person analyzing conditions and mapping out routes will need a lot of time for the task. And the more drivers and stops they have to factor in, the longer route planning will take. Software can tackle the same challenge much more quickly, even when optimizing routes for large fleets.

Enables flexible planning: That speed comes in handy when something changes suddenly. When a driver calls in sick, new deliveries get added to the schedule at the last minute, or an unexpected traffic jam forms, the software can quickly and easily make updates. Some route monitoring products can even recognize these challenges and make updates in real time, when a driver is already on the road.

Offers real-time monitoring: Some route optimization products will let you track drivers on a map as they move. That keeps dispatchers and managers in the loop, and it helps make sure you can step in quicker if something goes wrong.

Features to look for in a route optimization software product

Businesses interested in fleet route optimization will want software that offers powerful enough features for your needs. Some of the top functionalities to search for include:

Scalability and customization

Part of what makes business route optimization so complex is the number of drivers and stops you’ll need to manage. Look for a software product that can handle route planning for not just the number of drivers you have now but also the number you may grow to have in the months and years to come.

Also consider the variables that are most important to you in route optimization and make sure the product can satisfy your needs. Some businesses may consider their top priority getting deliveries out within a specific time window, while others may want to weigh sustainability factors higher. Make sure the product you choose can accommodate your priorities.

Real-time traffic and weather updates

The best-laid plans (or best-planned routes, in this case) are always at risk of going awry due to unforeseen circumstances. Many route optimization products can track traffic and weather conditions in real time and update routes accordingly. Live updates can make a huge difference in how often drivers no longer get stuck in traffic jams or surprise storms—improving their experience and reducing your costs and environmental impact.

Real-time monitoring

Monitoring in real time helps you not only adjust routes dynamically, based on current traffic conditions and other delays, but also keep your dispatchers and logistics team informed about where your drivers are at all times. Whenever a driver falls behind schedule, the team can take steps to address it right away to avoid disruptions. And for deliveries to customers, real-time monitoring helps you improve their experience by keeping them in the loop as well. In the Uber Eats report, 82% of consumers said they wish they could track their orders in real time better.

Integration capabilities

Anytime you add new software to your tech stack, you want to make sure it will work well with the products you already depend on. For a fleet route optimization tool, you’ll especially want to confirm that it will integrate with your fleet management system (if you have one now or plan to get one).

Fleet management software helps monitor vehicles and provide guidance and analytics on vehicle needs and driver performance. When the 2 product types are integrated, you can gain a fuller picture of how route options affect things like fuel use, vehicle conditions, and driver behavior. That can help you make more strategic decisions moving forward.

Strategies to reduce idle time

The moments when your cars aren’t moving are the bane of fleet efficiency, wasting valuable fuel and time and worsening a driver’s experience. Combining route optimization with these other tips can help you cut down on all that inefficiency:

Schedule efficiently: Route optimization software can help you schedule trips for times when drivers are less likely to get stuck in traffic or spend much idle time at lights.

Monitor in real time: Technology that collects live data can help you adjust routes and schedules dynamically as road and weather conditions change.

Offer driver training and incentives: Driver behavior has a key role to play here. Provide drivers ample training on best practices for safely reducing idle time, and consider incentives for maintaining efficient routes and driving habits.

Partner up: When it comes to commercial driving, balancing efficiency with safety can be tricky. You want to ensure that your drivers can get enough rest to do their jobs effectively without putting themselves (and your vehicles and others on the road) at risk. Partnering with Central from Uber to supplement some of your transportation needs and/or help get your drivers home at the end of a long day can reduce their time behind the wheel. That’s safer for them and helps you further improve the driver experience.

Optimizing fuel consumption

In a survey of fleet managers, Expert Market recently found the cost of fuel to be the biggest operational challenge facing fleets. On top of the financial cost, using fuel is also a factor in meeting corporate sustainability goals. Below are some tips to consider to keep fuel usage down.

Use eco driving practices: Train and incentivize your drivers to practice behaviors that reduce fuel consumption, such as smooth acceleration, keeping a steady speed, and minimizing braking. You can also reduce fuel use by using smaller vehicles for trips that don’t require large ones. For instance, drivers may need to use a big truck for deliveries, but you could hire them a ride in a small car to get home afterward.

Maintain vehicles: Proactive maintenance isn’t just useful to help avoid a vehicle breaking down in the middle of a trip; it can also improve fuel efficiency. Aim to stay on top of maintaining tire pressure and oil levels and performing regular tune-ups.

Plan routes for fuel efficiency: Strategic route planning to help avoid unnecessary driving, congestion, and detours can reduce fuel usage and save time and money.

Incorporate Central for enhanced efficiency

Taking an efficient, strategic approach to fleet route planning can reduce costs, improve your environmental impact, and boost driver job satisfaction. You can take those efforts one step further by partnering with Central.

This dashboard from Uber can help you supplement your current fleet with easy, eco-friendly local rides. For those whose main job is driving, giving them a break from having to drive themselves to and from their main workplace, home, training sessions, and/or lodgings is a meaningful benefit. It helps them get the rest they need to drive more safely and efficiently when on the clock. Plus, Central helps you tap into an additional network of cars and drivers you can use to supplement your own fleet. When your drivers are overwhelmed, outsourcing some rides and deliveries can help reduce the pressure on them.

Central makes it easy to schedule rides in advance, monitor trips in real time, and keep track of the environmental impact of your rides. Explore how to expand your fleet management options with Central today.