Tackling the Future of Logistics with Delivery Route Optimization Software

With the emergence of new technologies and industry challenges—like driver shortages and accelerated inflation—it’s time to rethink your transportation operations.

Whether you’re a distributor, wholesaler, delivery company or service provider, logistics is the backbone of your operations. And while it may feel like you have a good handle on your business, these present industry trends are likely to pressure your bottom line:

1. Rising Costs

2. Pressure for Sustainable Practices

3. Increasing Customer Expectations

Advanced routing software like Aptean Routing & Scheduling Paragon Edition can help you attack the future of logistics with an advanced approach to route planning, scheduling and tracking that has been proven to help companies like yours.

In this post, we’ll break down the intricacies of these present challenges, why Aptean Routing & Scheduling is the right solution and—most importantly—how your business benefits.

Challenge 1: Rising Costs

Driver shortages. Fluctuating fuel prices. Accelerated inflation.

Just one of these trends is enough to strain any company that uses a fleet. Unfortunately, it’s expected that each of these constraints will not only continue, but likely get worse.

Despite a slight easing of the pressure in 2022, the American Trucking Association has reported that there were still approximately 78,000 unfilled jobs. Although parts increases are slowing, the average truck maintenance cost is still estimated to rise by 10% between 2023 and 2024.

And lastly, fuel prices remain persistently high, standing at 50% above their levels from just two years ago. Each of these trends directly contributes to escalating costs that need to be effectively managed and mitigated.

Solution: Strategic “What-If” Scenario Modeling for Actionable Insights and Smart Decision-Making

Implementing Aptean Routing & Scheduling and its strategic "what-if" scenario modeling is a powerful solution to address the challenge of rising costs in the logistics industry. This approach allows you to optimize resource allocation, make better strategic decisions based on actionable insights and gain enhanced visibility into inefficient spending.

By harnessing the machine learning and forecasting power of our software, you can improve your ability to predict future costs. Moreover, simulations play a crucial role in evaluating the potential financial impact of decisions, enabling you to assess risks and benefits before moving forward.

One of the key benefits of this approach is its ability to provide enhanced data visibility and understanding of where inefficiencies lie. By analyzing scenarios and their corresponding outcomes, you gain valuable insights into areas where you are spending inefficiently. This newfound understanding can serve as a foundation for your strategic decision-making, allowing you to reallocate resources effectively and make data-driven choices to help you adapt to all those rising costs.

Challenge 2: Pressure for Sustainable Practices

The transportation industry carries a significant responsibility, accounting for approximately 17% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Without significant changes, it is projected that freight will become the highest emitting sector by 2050.

In response to this, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced the Clean Trucks Plan in August 2021. This initiative aims to reduce pollution levels from heavy-duty trucks by 2030.

To meet customer demands and comply with regulatory pressures, businesses are increasingly prioritizing emissions reduction as a key objective. A crucial aspect of this approach is the ability to accurately track emissions, for which you’ll need the right software system.

By implementing robust emission tracking capabilities, companies can effectively monitor and limit pollution, offering tangible benefits to their customers. This not only ensures compliance with regulations but also demonstrates a commitment to environmental sustainability.

Solution: Advanced, Proprietary Algorithms to Automatically Calculate the Most Efficient Routes

By leveraging Aptean’s advanced truck routing algorithms, you’re able to automatically calculate highly optimized routes and schedules within your logistics operations.

Since our algorithms continue to be refined, we’re constantly identifying ways to reduce latency, optimize stops/starts and cover larger areas with fewer miles driven and less fuel consumed. Most of our customers see a 5% reduction in their total fleet mileage just from using our solution. That means reduced emissions, less wear-and-tear on your vehicles and significant fuel savings over time, so you can invest where it matters most to your business.

With this logistics technology, you gain the ability to track and evaluate route optimization performance while setting key performance indicators (KPIs) that specifically target reducing fuel consumption and significant mileage positioning Aptean Routing & Scheduling in a compelling role to promote sustainable business operations.

Automatically calculate the most efficient routes to not only minimize your carbon footprint but also achieve substantial fuel savings while helping to ensure compliance with regulations.

Challenge 3: Increasing Customer Expectations

With the rising demand for faster and more convenient delivery services, customer expectations in B2B logistics have reached new heights. This has compelled companies to seek innovative solutions that can effectively meet and exceed these evolving customer demands.

To meet the increasing expectations, it is crucial to understand the specific requirements of your customers. Delivery windows, for instance, play a vital role in meeting time-sensitive needs.

Offering flexible delivery options and precise delivery windows can make a significant difference in customer satisfaction. Additionally, considering the specific requirements of each delivery, such as the type of truck needed for transportation, helps tailor the logistics process to customer preferences.

Solution: Accommodation of Business Rules to Increase Customer Satisfaction

The right routing software can help you accommodate your essential business rules or constraints—like delivery windows, type of truck, driver certifications, receiving dock opening times, driver schedules, load perishability and more—ensuring that your deliveries are made on time with the right equipment and personnel.

With Aptean Routing & Scheduling, you can:

• Mitigate the chances of misallocated loads and undeliverable goods by natively integrating business rules into your route plan without add-ons

• Effortlessly incorporate business rules, such as item duration in the truck and dock opening/closing times, into the solution without the need for manual workarounds

This customer-centric approach helps you maintain a competitive edge in the market, meet customer expectations and boost customer satisfaction—now and in the future.

Plan Ahead with Robust Delivery Route Optimization Software

To stay ahead in this competitive and ever-changing industry, it’s crucial to plan ahead and implement the best logistics software available. The challenges you face today aren’t going away. Really, it’s likely they’re just the tip of the iceberg.

But there is purpose-built technology that can help you overcome these obstacles and empower you to tackle the logistics industry head on—enter Aptean’s delivery route optimization software.

With decades of industry experience, flexible cloud deployment options and a collaborative approach to implementation, Aptean provides the winning combination of software and service to help your business address logistics challenges, today and tomorrow.

If you’re looking for more insight specifically on the future of fleet management, we’ve got you covered. In this downloadable guide, we break down why industry leaders are expected to prioritize investment in technologies that facilitate effective decision-making.

Ready to tackle the future of logistics with delivery route optimization software? Contact us or reach out for a personalized demo.