Route Optimization Software is Here to Increase the Revenue of Your On-demand App!

What is route optimization software?

• It is a software that plans the sequence of stops in a way that the driver can cover all the stops in the best possible time to improve his efficiency.
• Main purpose behind route optimization software is to provide a time-efficient and cost-efficient route that covers all the stops very efficiently.
• The route management system digitizes the permit details, route details including waypoints, locations and time schedules of stage carriages.

Our technical team has studied the Uber app and its route optimization techniques to know how Uber always gives the perfect ETA: Uber Case Study

The estimated time of arrival(ETA) was one of Uber's first features when Uber just started in 2011.

For ETA, Uber used many routing algorithms including OSMR(Open Source Routing Machine)

Uber did not have any In-app navigation at that time. They called this service “Goldeta” and it worked pretty well for a shorter period of time.

But as the network and customers of Uber started increasing, the “Goldeta” was not able to give accurate ETA as they do not have enough data for a new city.

After facing problems with “Goldeta”, Uber decided to have an in-house routing engine for Uber. 

As a result, Uber developed its all-in-one routing engine called “Gurafu”.

Gurafu represented the real word model in the terms of nodes and edges. After deciding on the data structure, Uber chose the Dijkstra algorithm as its foundation. 

Uber tried 3 different solution for real-time updation of the route:

1. Making contraction hierarchies dynamic
2. Sharding
3. A* algorithm

But none of them gave proper response to real-time data and traffic situations.

In April 2015, Uber launched its new routing engine called Flux which was based on Gurafu.

Uber’s first historical traffic system based on GPS data. To measure ETA accuracy, Uber built a tool called “Kafka” which logs in real time to retrieve the actual time of arrival(ATA).

Uber measures ETA accuracy by comparing it to ATA. So this is how Uber was successful in building its in-house routing engine.

As a result, everybody knows that Uber shows the most accurate ETAs to its customers.

We have studied some top apps and identified the key areas where route optimization software can be helpful!

Instacart:

Instacart is an American company known for grocery delivery and pick up services in the United States and Canada.

Instacart is ruling the online grocery store all over the United States and Canada. 

How can route optimization software help Instacart and its delivery partners? 

When a delivery partner has been assigned to three different delivery locations, then the delivery partner needs to think about how he can deliver all the orders in the best possible time?

Not only best possible time, choosing the cost-efficient and fuel-efficient route is also equally important. 

Google Maps provides the fastest route but if your route contains more than 10 stops then Google Maps won’t show the fastest possible route.

In such cases, A custom route optimization software integration can be a deal breaker. A custom route optimization software can help instacart in delivering multiple orders on the same route in a cost & time efficient manner.

By integrating custom route optimization software, Instacart can deliver 10000 more orders a day. 

This is how by integrating route optimization software, Instacart can scale its business and revenue.

Blinkit:

It is an Indian instant delivery service such as groceries and other essentials which are ordered through its mobile application/browsers by customers.

How does Blinkit use route optimization?

• Blinkit uses Google Optimization Tools to solve combinatorial problems for route generation and Open Source Routing Machine(OSRM) for distance calculation between two coordinates and geocoding.
• Based on the routes generated, the orders are sorted and segregated at the aggregation center to ensure easy dispatch. Orders are stacked in the sequence of actual deliveries.  Once loaded in the van, they are stacked in a LIFO manner i.e. creations of the first customer to be delivered are stacked at the end. This saves crucial time in servicing a customer as per delivery slot.

But What if 3 orders are on the same route, then LIFO is not the most efficient way to deliver, LIFO algorithm would not generate the cost-efficient and time-efficient route.

How can custom route optimization software help Blinkit?

Blinkit uses Google's route optimization algorithm tool to optimize routes.

The limitation is Google will let you add a maximum 10 stops for route optimization.

Based on the reviews, Many people have experienced that Google Maps is only efficient when you add 2 to 3 stops for route optimization. It is not well-suited for more than that.

Custom routing delivery software can help BlinkIt in

• Maximizing the orders and revenue from its existing fleet.
• The automated scheduling and delivery planning will be optimized.
• It will help increase revenue per driver and reduce the cost.
• It will help delivery executives distribute orders more effectively and will also help company to improve employee retention.

Besides this, there are many fields in which last-mile delivery or route optimization software can help.

How can route optimization software help on-demand apps?

Take any on-demand app or any business which needs to deliver or transport goods can benefit from route optimization software.

Better Delivery Executives Management

The best route plans won’t give businesses successful outcomes if the delivery executives won’t follow the route. 

A custom route optimization software not only optimizes the routes but also helps operators to see if delivery partners are actually following the optimized route or not.

Custom route optimization can help in diverse route planning which also helps in fuel efficiency, speediness and much more.

Businesses can integrate customized route optimization software as per their needs and requirements.

‍Dynamic rerouting

With dynamic routing features, business staff will be able to set up the most effective routes under some uncertain situations like abnormal weather conditions, traffic situations and under-construction areas which come in between the routes.

Routing programs for multiple delivery locations are always a matter of concern as there are many factors behind it. Integrate a customized route optimization system within your on-demand application. 

Enhanced delivery experience

On-demands apps can integrate a customized last-mile delivery software that simplifies managing, dispatching and optimizing last mile deliveries and logistics.

This software not just simplifies processes at the business and delivery-executives’ end but it also helps in enhancing customers’ delivery experience.

Accurate ETAs are always appreciated by customers. The right ETA will also help customers in  getting approxed near-time in which delivery executives can arrive at their location. 

Increased number of delivered orders per hour

Delivery executives can accept more orders at once and can deliver each and every order on-time very efficiently with the help of custom route optimization software.

If a delivery person is delivering 3 orders per hour traditionally then with the help of last-mile delivery software, he/she is able to deliver 15 orders per hour.

Which results in 5x more deliveries per hour and 5x more revenue for your business.

Real-time delivery tracking

With the help of route planning software integration, order’s delivery status can be tracked. Also one can track down the delivery path of delivery executives if they are following the optimized route or not. 

With this feature, on-demand businesses are able to track all the important factors that will help them optimize the cost, time and fuel for delivering orders.

How does route planning software work?

Route planning software has been developed with advanced algorithms and technologies. These algorithms will take all the stops as input and then optimize and prioritize delivery stops based on multiple-factors such as traffic, weather, number of nearest stops etc. 

Algorithms such as Dijkstra algorithm, a* algorithm, DFS, BFS etc is used for route optimization.

Algorithms will optimize the route and result in the most time-efficient, cost-efficient and fuel-efficient route. 

Future scope for route optimization software

• As per the techcrunch, HyperTrack - Which provides the last-mile routing software has raised $25M.
• HyperTrack, a startup offering APIs for freight order planning, assignment and tracking, today closed a $25 million Series A funding round.
• The global route optimization software market was valued at USD 3,729 million. It is expected to reach USD 12,416 million by 2030, at a CAGR of 11.56%.

Increasing adoption of route optimization software by logistics companies has been the most driving factor for the route optimization software industry.

Rising popularity of online shopping is also a key factor to increase the market growth of route optimization software.

E-commerce businesses are highly focused on implementing route optimization software because customers are highly dissatisfied with late deliveries and inaccurate ETAs. To enhance the customer experience and to save cost, time & fuel - These businesses have started adapting route optimization softwares.

So, Future scope for route optimization software is really wide out there. There can be two possibilities if you want to leverage this market opportunity.

1. Develop a custom route optimization software for your own app 

If you own any on-demand business with an online on-demand application, you need to have good access to logistic and demand-supply chains.

The need of route optimization is not only for the customer delivery segment, but it is also important  for the logistic part of your business.

Shifting goods and products from different warehouses can also be cost and fuel optimized with the route optimization software.

When you think about developing a route optimization software, you need to hire a good development team which delivers the smart - efficient software for your on-demand business.

Analyze business requirements and target key areas in which the business needs to implement route optimization software and then design and plan accordingly.

This solution is well-suited for businesses who have to manage the large number of trucks, deliveries and related employees. 

2. Integrate a ready-made route optimization software in your app

If your business doesn't have a need for a separate route optimization software then you can integrate our route optimization API in your on-demand application.

If you own a small-sized e-commerce company then we recommend you to start by integrating route optimization API to your on-demand application.

Integrated route optimization API will work well for the small-sized companies and their on-demand applications.

How has our team at Coruscate worked on route optimization software?

Our developers are challenged to integrate the route optimization API to existing on-demand grocery app.

Requirements:

• Real-time delivery tracking
• Route optimization which delivers accurate results for more than 10 stops in a route.
• It should run smoothly along with the on-demand grocery app.
• Constant updation in DBMS too.
• A screen module in the on-demand grocery app to show the whole route optimization process.

Our Solution:

• Our developers first analyzed the requirements for the grocery business.
• We developed three different modules for route optimization screen.
• For truck drivers who supply all the grocery from the warehouses.
• For grocery business owners to manage all the delivery related activities.
• For delivery executives who deliver orders to the customers.
• Integrated a route optimization API which auto generates the shortest route with the necessary stops covered.
• Also, the integrated route optimization screen shows the accurate ETA for order deliveries.

Results:

• With our route optimization API integration, our client was able to reduce 10% cost on logistics.
• Customer satisfaction ratio with deliveries has also increased since the route optimization API integration.
• Delivery executives are also able to deliver more orders per hour with the help of route optimization.

Our team at Coruscate is ready to be a part of your success journey!

Want to integrate a route optimization API?

Want to develop a custom route optimization software?

Want to explore other opportunities with route optimization software?

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