3 steps for BFCM success with EasyRoutes

It’s that time of year again - Black Friday Cyber Monday 2023 is only a few days away, and EasyRoutes is here to help streamline your local deliveries on Shopify. Take advantage of EasyRoutes’ advanced route planning and driver tracking features to delight customers with every delivery - and leave the stress out of route planning.  

Here’s three steps you can take to ensure a smooth and successful BFCM 2023.

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1) Customize your EasyRoutes experience

Fine-tuning your route planning workflows and customer experience has never been easier!  Set up your favourite Route Options and filter views for one-click route creation, or customize your tracking links and order notifications to ensure customers stay informed with every delivery status update:

• Route Options (including maximum route duration, time spent per stop, or avoiding U-turns and toll roads) can be configured from the Add/Edit options button below the map on the Orders or Route pages, or by clicking any route option that's already enabled for a route.
  
  💡 Pro tip: Click the star icon on any enabled Route Option to add it as a favourite and access it directly from your Select Orders page.
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• Apply Filters from your Orders page to fine-tune which orders are available for route planning - for example, only orders that are unfulfilled, or those with specific order dates or postal codes.  
  
  💡 Pro tip: Once filters are applied, you can create a Saved View to quickly apply the same set of filters when planning any future route.
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• Customize your Delivery Notifications - via both SMS and email - to match your store's branding and allow customers to monitor the status of their deliveries every step of the way.
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• Configure Route Scheduling to automatically generate ETAs for all stops on a route, and include them on your Customer Tracking Links - which can also be customized to match your store's branding, or to include real-time driver location tracking!
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2) Plan routes like a pro

EasyRoutes offers a number of tools to streamline planning for routes of all sizes.  From creating multiple optimized routes at the same time to incorporating Driver Breaks into longer routes, level up your route planning with these tips:

• Use EasyRoutes’ “How many routes?” feature to quickly generate multiple routes, splitting orders between drivers to equally balance routes, or to ensure maximum item count or weight criteria are met for each route.
  Use "Create the minimal number of routes needed to deliver" and let EasyRoutes plan routes for all your orders while using the minimum number of drivers possible.
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  💡 Pro tip: Routes planned as a group can be simultaneously tracked live from a single Tracking tab!‍
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• Access the EasyRoutes Address Book to import and save customer information for stops your drivers visit frequently.  
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  💡 Pro tip: Stop notes, time window preferences, and time spent per stop settings can also be retained for any stop saved to the Address Book.
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• Give your drivers a break!  Configure EasyRoutes’ Driver Breaks feature to specify time windows for drivers to take a break between stops on busy routes.

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3) Monitor all your deliveries in real time

EasyRoutes gives you all the tools you need to monitor the status of your deliveries once they’re on the move, share that information with your customers in real time, and use historic route data to improve your local delivery workflows:

• Your EasyRoutes Dashboard provides at-a-glance information of recently planned and completed routes, as well as real-time updates of a driver’s progress on any active routes.
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  💡 Pro tip: Clicking any active route from your Dashboard will jump to the Tracking tab for that route.
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• Keep an eye on Proof of Delivery photos, notes, eSignatures and GPS delivery locations - they’ll be available to view in the Proof column of an active route's Tracking tab as soon as they’re uploaded by your drivers.
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• Use EasyRoutes’ export feature to download a spreadsheet containing all route and stop data for advanced route analysis - for example, to calculate total mileage for a route or route group.

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Questions or issues?  We’re here to help!

The EasyRoutes support team is here to answer any questions you may have, both throughout the Black Friday Cyber Monday long weekend, and in the days to come as your holiday orders are marked Out for Delivery.  We’ll be closely monitoring everything behind the scenes to ensure all your deliveries go off without a hitch.  If you run into any issues or have questions along the way, contact our team at any time - we’ll be happy to provide guidance and support to get your deliveries on the road as quickly as possible.  The EasyRoutes support portal is open 24/7 and provides answers to frequently asked questions and detailed information on all EasyRoutes features and functionality.

Happy BFCM 2023 from all of us at EasyRoutes! 🛒🚗✨