Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85369
GET YOUR KICKS WITH OPTIMIZED ROUTING SOFTWARE CONSIDERS ALL POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS OF SCENARIOS TO YIELD THE BEST SOLUTION ith diesel prices above $4 per gallon and average fleet operating costs at more than $1.60 per mile, any opportunity to reduce mile- age is worth pursuing. Technology has the ability to consider all possible combina- tions of options to eliminate miles without losing customers. One year ago, Red Ball Oxygen Co. began using routing software from Appian W "It creates a lot of opportuni- ties. The more information you have, the better decisions driv- ers can make." – Mike Zupon, Ward Transport director of information technology Logistics to improve efficiency in delivering its compressed gas products. Some orders are delivered with scheduled "milk runs," while others are called in by cus- tomers a day or two before they expect delivery. All orders, about 250 per day, are sent to the Appian server in the afternoon. Within minutes, Red Ball Oxygen has its next-day routes planned for all of its 24 locations. The routes consider product types, quantities, delivery time windows and other details. With the technology, the company has increased the number of large trucks on local routes and the number of smaller vehicles on more distant routes, a practice that has decreased fuel consumption and maintenance costs. Mileage has decreased by more than 5,000 miles per week, revenues have grown, and net income is up by 12 percent, says Kate Treadwell, chief technology officer. As with most technology, routing software is becoming more advanced and easier to use. Four specific features are giving fleets a faster return on investment: Usability, real-time compatibility, driver workflow and performance monitoring. BY AARON HUFF Usability Implementing routing and scheduling technology once required advanced degrees in engineering and computer science. With today's technology, any user can upload order information, accounting data, customer service requirements and other details into routing software to obtain instant opti- mized results. "In all of the data setup and prepara- tion, you are dealing with something that people have familiarity with," says James Stevenson, vice president of sales for Appian, a division of TMW Sys- tems. "Anybody who can use a spreadsheet can use routing software." The more time- consuming and difficult process is to balance cost sav- ings with customer service requirements. The technology might reduce total miles and hours by 10 to 15 percent, but implementing all of those changes at once always is not feasible. Besides using the technology to find ways to operate more efficient- ly, the software can help analyze the impact of prospective business and seasonal volumes in terms of cost and service. RoadNet Technologies offers a suite of route optimization software. A "what if" decision support tool, Territory Planner, uses a fleet's existing route COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | APRIL 2012 51