Running multiple delivery routes sounds like it should be easy, but anyone who’s done it knows different. Sure, the planning aspect exists, but so do constant changes, driver inquiries, customer calls inquiring as to the whereabouts of their items and attempting to ascertain if jobs are even worth it financially. One day, every courier company will reach a stage where it recognizes its current operations no longer cut it.
Yet not all software features are created equal. Some look good on a demo screen but are entirely useless once deployed. Others look like simple features but save hours on a daily basis. Here’s what actually makes a difference when many routes are at play.
Route Optimization with Real-World Consideration
Route planning seems easy, order the stops, send the drivers. Anyone who’s ever had to do it knows better. There’s traffic, customer windows, varying speeds of drivers and vehicles, and different capabilities of vehicles handling deliveries. The best courier management software won’t just connect some dots; it will also factor in all the windows and vehicle capacity, breaks, and expected traffic patterns when deciding to disperse 50 stops between multiple drivers, and then, better yet, will explain how it came to such conclusions.
Furthermore, the ideal system will accommodate changes on the fly. If a customer decides to cancel service at 10am, the manager shouldn’t have to replan an entire day manually, like a newly developed plan had never existed hours earlier to begin with. Instead, it should merely reroute with an explanation as to why it still made certain decisions with the now-cancelled stop. This is the difference between helpful software and one that adds to an already complicated situation.
Real-Time Updates That Actually Are Real-Time
Tracking seems so simple, sure, we can see where the truck is, but there’s a huge difference between “we can see” and usable visibility. Drivers can’t stop in the middle of a job to text dispatch what their job status is. Dispatch shouldn’t have to call in for routine updates every 20 minutes and neither should customers waiting at home for their packages.
The best systems allow a driver to hit a button upon arriving at each stop, delivered, delayed, customer not home, etc. That information should instantly populate in the office status and automatically ping customers if their driver has passed but was unable to complete a task. When dispatch sees Driver 3 is delayed 30 minutes at Stop A while Driver 5’s down the street finished early, reallocation of tasks can begin without fail.
What about the other way around? Systems must also offer visibility to drivers as well, their entirety of routes for the day complete with notes, if any exist, along with any new assignments or changes made along the way. When everyone works from the same information in real-time, much confusion is avoided.
Job Assignment That Doesn’t Require an MBA
A job assignment sounds like the simplest thing in the world until software presents it with so many options and suggestions that it’s impossible to figure out what’s best unless one possess a PhD. Great systems allow for easy toggling, a drag and drop from one route to another with instant assessments of adjusted time windows, and can gauge how much work remains for each driver.
Some systems can even automatically tell management who should take which job based upon location, vehicle type, and existing workload. The longer it takes dispatchers to assign jobs, the less likely they’re going to use any of the systems’ other features well because they want each job inputted ASAP.
The hardest part about manual assignment is it entirely relies upon whoever’s at the helm of creation (the dispatcher) knowing the nuances of every driver, vehicle and assignment involved, which works great for small operations but once those routes start overlapping with multiple drivers running multiple jobs simultaneously creating an increasingly heavy volume of data makes it impossible to keep all things straight.
Proof of Delivery Customers Will Accept
Failed deliveries cost money, someone has to attempt it again, customers become annoyed on second delivery attempts and oftentimes businesses eat costs for services never rendered. Great proof of delivery features eliminate most of these issues before they start, it’s helpful in ensuring that everything gets done the first time by avoiding these situations in the first place.
Therefore, drivers need to get signatures but also photos of delivery conditions, if necessary, notes with any required information, and said information should be instantly accessible by both office and customer, not awaited until after end-of-day uploads when no one remembers what happened four stops ago.
Certain businesses require more detailed proof than others; medical deliveries need temperature logs, but high-value items require ID verification so long as it doesn’t make drivers fill out three forms at each stop for three separate pieces of documentation!
Reporting That Will Actually Influence Plans
Here’s where most people assume reporting is overrated until they need some reporting data, they need a way to understand what’s happening over all these jobs. Which ones are profitable? Which customers consistently delay work? Are certain routes always running over time?
Without proper reporting companies are guessing, they’re playing blind men’s bluff; maybe Driver 4 seems slower than everyone else but is he or does he just get assigned the hardest jobs that take time? Maybe downtown deliveries seem unprofitable, but is it traffic or poor pricing?
Software must enable diagnosis of nuances and patterns from problems so that companies understand what’s costing money (or where they’re missing out) and how; not just once a month when companies realize it’s too late to do anything about it, but real-time when there still exists an opportunity for change.
Communication Tools that Keep Connections Open
When routes overlap and drivers take on multiple jobs simultaneously they still need communication on point, drivers need access to getting messages to dispatch without having to take phone calls while driving; dispatch needs a means to send information without incessantly interrupting drivers; and at the same time customers who have questions or needs should be proactively forewarned without everyone constantly texting back and forth.
Systems that connect everyone make operational success a sound opportunity; customers get notifications when they’re nearby. Drivers get reminders about changed jobs or traffic blips. Dispatch gets red-flagged when something needs attention.
The Bottom Line
Running multiple delivery routes isn’t about having more trucks and more drivers; it’s about implementing systems that can cater to complexities that would otherwise bring everyone down. The right features don’t only make life easier, but feasible in ways that otherwise wouldn’t happen. When software accurately assesses complicated matters automatically, it’s up to the human teams to do what they do best, get deliveries done efficiently and effectively while keeping customers satisfied.
