How to Select the Right Route Planner for Your Deliveries

Every route planner app provider claims to have the best route planner app for small and medium businesses, as we frequently see. Some companies tout their free delivery route planners, while others market their multi-stop route planner apps. Making such claims will only make your job more difficult.

So, how do you figure out which app is best for your delivery method? Consider the following factors before hiring a route planner for your business:

• What does your business entail, and what features do you require?
• Who are your route planner providers’ customers?
• What is the cost of the route planner app on a monthly basis?
• Do your fees increase as your business expands?
• How good is the customer service provided by the route planner?

While answering the preceding questions will give you a clear picture of your requirements, there are still a few things to consider before deciding on the best routing app for your business.

We’ve compiled a list of questions to assist you in determining what features to look for in a route planner app.

These considerations will undoubtedly aid you in selecting the most appropriate multi-stop route planner app for your delivery drivers.

Real-Time Tracking and Route Optimization

The best route planners provide dynamic route optimization. You can cover a wide range of addresses with the help of dynamic route optimization while saving a significant amount of money on fuel and labour. You can manage highly volatile operations with complex routing while meeting customer requirements without sacrificing efficiency.

Delivery tracking is another important feature to have in the delivery process. You can find out where your drivers are going with the help of real-time tracking. Customers will be dissatisfied if you promise deliveries at specific times and then your driver arrives later. With route tracking, you can keep track of your driver’s location and provide accurate ETAs to your customers, establishing a trusting relationship.

It's best to ensure that your routing app does not take too long to optimize the route.
It should be able to optimize the route in less than one minute. The routing app may also include various settings and features for drivers to use while driving. The service route planner should include a mobile delivery mode to assist you in planning routes and monitoring on-road activities while on the go. To assist your drivers in capturing and storing customer signatures on the app and encouraging proof of delivery, the delivery route planner app should include eSignature and photo capture features.

Ease of Use

You should avoid using routing apps that are difficult to use at all costs, because it will complicate rather than simplify your and your drivers’ jobs. When selecting a routing app, make sure it includes tutorials and guidance so that your drivers can quickly access them and get back to work if they’re needed.

Both your drivers and you should be able to use the delivery planning software with little to no training, so it must be simple to use. Furthermore, the route optimizer should not necessitate the acquisition of new hardware. It should also provide extensive training materials that use simple images and screenshots to walk users through each feature and process step by step.

Additional Features

You should think about investing in a scalable driving trip planner to help your company grow. Today, you might be able to get away with using a multi-stop route planner app that only plans a few routes, but what happens when your company grows and you need to plan thousands of routes for a hundred drivers?

It would be advantageous to look for routing apps that provide scalability, limitless route planning, and saved routes for future use. Consider whether the routing app can grow with your company, eliminating redundant routes and drivers as needed. This is only possible if the multi-stop route planner gathers and uses data from your on-the-road operations rather than relying on pre-compiled data. It will then be able to provide you with the best service possible.

Support

One of the most important aspects of the routing app to consider is customer service.
It must make customer service representatives easily accessible so that you can contact them whenever you need assistance rather than having to wait hours on hold for answers. Email, phone calls, and live chat should all be available as methods of contact.

If you have good support from the routing app, it can help you overcome any problem.

Conclusion

To help you choose the best routing app for your delivery process, we’ve compiled a list of all the important details. By referring to all of the preceding points, you can easily determine which one to use. Though choosing the best app is always difficult, the above points will help you choose the best routing app for your business.

At EasyRoutes, our goal has always been to provide the best service possible to our customers. We’re constantly working to improve our app, and provide a user experience that will streamline last-mile delivery. You will be able to better reach your customers and increase your profits by using our routing services.

EasyRoutes has all of the features that a multi-stop routing app should have. It also provides the best optimising algorithm for adding additional information to your stops.

Try EasyRoutes today

Transform your Shopify orders into optimized delivery routes that you can share with your drivers or personally deliver. Learn more about EasyRoutes at Roundtrip.ai, or install the app from the Shopify App Store to start streamlining your local deliveries today!