Choosing the Best Route Optimization Engine | Part 1

Route optimization engines are a dime a dozen, with quite a few famous open-source products out there. These proprietary solutions developed by last-mile techs from billion dollar companies and startups alike are typically built on top of open-source projects. With so many options already on the market, many development teams don’t necessarily see the need to build out a new route optimization engine from scratch. However, many of these popular products do not deliver the results companies need to see. That’s where LogisticsOS comes in. Keep reading to learn more about the best route optimization engine on the market.

What is Route Optimization?

Route optimization is the process of improving routes for better efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This process helps companies maximize completed orders or deliveries while incorporating criteria; driver schedules, available hours, total stops, fulfillment estimates, and legal requirements are all essential elements to establishing the most efficient routes. In general, when companies are seeking a route optimization solution, they are actually looking for a vehicle routing solution. By definition, the Traveling Salesman Problem is finding the optimal sequence for a single route. On the other hand, finding the optimal set of routes for a fleet of vehicles to traverse in order to deliver to a given set of customers is called the Vehicle Routing Problem.

Why is Route Optimization Important?

Whether you run a mom and pop business or a major company that operates internationally, investing in an advanced route optimization system is essential for the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of your business operations. Traditionally, businesses might use a spreadsheet to plot locations and determine the shortest distances from point A to point B; but this becomes extremely inefficient and laborious, especially as the number of orders increases. Add in unforeseen issues such as traffic congestion, adverse weather, and under-construction roads, and you’ll be wasting a lot of time and resources. An advanced route optimization software will help navigate these complexities.

Why Trust a New Software if There are So Many Options Out There?

A route optimization software can be broken down into three parts:

1. Solution quality
2. Scalability and performance
3. Feature availability

Most existing solutions claim that they provide high-quality solutions, are feature-rich, and that they save time for delivery drivers. But not all products are created equally and many companies don’t have the numbers to back up these statements so it’s essential to do your research. At LogisticsOS, we believe that the numbers speak for themselves. Stay tuned for our next blog to check out some of our academic benchmark data from CVRPLIB and talk about solution quality.

About LogisticsOS

LogisticsOS is the most powerful route optimization system on the market. Our flexible, hosted route optimization and planning/replanning APIs require no knowledge of optimization techniques. High-quality results are returned within seconds— even at scale. From time reduction and vehicle capacity to depot automation and cost customization, our feature-rich software can create the efficiency and cost-savings that you need. Contact us today for a free product demo.