What is Vehicle Routing?

What are the benefits of a Vehicle Routing System?

Essentially a vehicle routing system saves time, money and the planet! MJC²'s route optimization and journey planner software has saved our customers millions of kms while making their operations easier to manage.

This applies to many different types of logistics operation: examples include bulk dairy transport, parcel delivery networks, retail logistics and mobile workforce optimization.

Multidrop Route Planner: Increased Efficiency

Journey Planning Software Reduces Miles, Fuel and CO2

Vehicle route planning algorithms aim to minimise distance travelled, at three levels:

• Point-to-point routing: in general terms the system will aim for the shortest route from A to B, although of course travel time and other factors need to be considered, such as avoiding city centres even if it means a slight detour.
• Visit sequencing: given that the vehicle has to visit a certain number of locations (e.g. to make deliveries or collections or both), what is the best sequence? (This in itself can be a challenging problem to solve for the journey planner.)
• Job allocation: the multidrop route planner also decides which vehicle should do each delivery or collection, i.e. trying to group visits in a way that reduces the overall total cost.

MJC²'s vehicle routing software has helped large organisations save 10-15% of fuel and driving costs, and of course this means a smaller carbon footprint also.

Stop moving air!

Furthermore, route optimization allows vehicle fills to be increased, enabling better use of your fleet. This is particularly applicable to operations which move a range of different pallet or load unit types.

Dynamic vehicle route planning algorithms can also improve trailer fill by matching up part loads more effectively (while still keeping to agreed collection or delivery time windows and other operational constraints).

This in turn drives better utilization of vehicles and drivers, allowing the operation to do more with the same resources, and of course also reduces the total overall miles travelled.

Increased Service

Agility & Resilience

Daily planning and replanning in response to varying demands means that the business can offer more flexible service to clients, while responding efficiently to delays or operational issues in a way that is transparent to the customer.

Strategic optimization can also be undertaken, developing future plans and what-if scenarios to anticipate the impact of major new customers or changes to legislation. Sensitivity analysis allows the robustness of the delivery operation to disruptions to be quantified.

Compliance Management

Our vehicle routing software is designed to optimize large, complex networks. This allows transport managers to maintain compliance with the increasingly complex legislation relating to freight transport.

For example, compliance with ultra low emission zone, the London Lorry Control Scheme and drivers' hours regulations requires choosing the right vehicle and driver at the right time.

Electric delivery vehicles, Euro 6 vehicles, rigid trucks and even cargo-bikes are taken into account in the vehicle routing system. Driver shortages in many regions mean that making best use of available resources is more important than ever. Journey planning software helps make sure that drivers' hours are fully utilised within legal and contractual constraints.

Automated logistics routing software reduces the risk that errors are made, while still creating an efficient and compliant transport schedule.