Multi-stop deliveries are an age-old operation nightmare in modern times. Dozens of stops scattered across the town, impossible time windows and drivers who have to make it happen without losing their minds. Unfortunately, multi-stop routing has been the bane of existence for logistics companies for decades. Fortunately, transportation management systems finally cracked the code on making multi-stop routes tolerable.
Intelligent Sequencing that Makes Sense
It’s all in the intelligent routing that makes sense of more than distance. The best transportation management system in place means that organizations are using superior software that examines traffic behavior patterns, time windows, vehicle capacity and driver schedules all at once to make the best decisions possible without frustrating the human mind.
Where a human operator might look at a map and try to make the best educated guesses with what has been previously discussed and already at hand, it’s easy to see how 10 or more stops would require so many variables to be assessed that a logical conclusion becomes implausible for a single mind to handle.
In real life situations, this means that drivers go back and forth across the same neighborhood multiple times. A box is too big or heavy for them to bring back to the warehouse, so they spend another 20 minutes driving across town to get re-armed. Fuel costs go up, customer satisfaction goes down, and driver satisfaction wanes tremendously.
Dynamic Adjustments
Where such systems shine most is when immediate changes become necessary. A delivery window opens but something must change. A client cancels their meeting for their delivery or they want to accept their delivery in a different location across the street. Traffic becomes unexpectedly congested. A delivery takes longer than anticipated.
Modern systems track these changes in real-time and recalculate efficiency virtually on the spot thanks to mobile apps. Drivers aren’t left without guidance; they receive a new plan as quickly as it comes down the pike and doesn’t look like it’s mired in chaos. They can adapt without slowing down.
Priority Handling
Multi-stop routing also requires varied priority handling; some deliveries must get to their locations by 10am while others have afternoon windows. This separates the important from the mundane. A transportation management system can prioritize important deliveries but also ensure that drivers don’t get stuck with routes that are impossible.
Systems find the proper balance to maintain efficiency while ensuring true time sensitive deliveries get where they need to go on time. Gone are the days where drivers are forced to make decisions about time frames, it’s all worked out in advance.
Over Capacity Avoidance
Nothing is more frustrating for a driver than going out for a day thinking all deliveries are accessible only to find out en route that three boxes were too many. Transportation management systems handle volume assessments before the routes are set to ensure what needs to be where can actually fit in the vehicle.
Furthermore, these assessments do not include simple box volume calculations, they consider loading whether something is needed at the first stop, meaning drivers won’t have to take everything off their truck and restock every time they make a stop because they have something that’s essentially on the bottom of the pile.
Break Times – and Law – Factor In
Driver wellbeing and legal requirements matter much in route planning. Where routes are ideally constructed, transportation management systems take into consideration regulatory mandated break requirements as well as maximum driving hours per day.
This means that drivers aren’t given arbitrary locations to rest, they have provisions scheduled for them that make sense based upon what they’re doing anyway. There’s a limit for how long they can drive without taking a breather, even if it’s merely just stepping out of their cab or changing form delivering to A as opposed to E.
This also helps companies avoid violations as compliance systems track what’s needed in order for appointments schedules and driver approvals when possible.
Communication is Key
Effective multi-stop routing means effective real-time communication between driver, dispatcher and customer. With modern systems, real-time visibility means dispatchers can monitor how far along a route is in completion status.
If they’re only halfway through when expecting it’s almost complete this provides room for gaps that can be filled, bad weather? High wind? No problem, we can get you back on track without wasting unnecessary resources.
The same goes for customers; if they know something has gone wrong, they’ll hear it directly from the horse’s mouth instead of relying upon a driver calling along the way.
The Bottom Line on Sanity
Transportation management systems are proven to make multi-stop routing bearable, even operable systems within real life frameworks. They take extensive calculations and regulations out of the hands of driver and dispatcher and put them into one system that’s charged with doing what’s right by everyone from load capacity down to stop optimization. The technology works better than human logic; now modern operations just have to catch up with it.
