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The best delivery mapping software features of 2018
Effective delivery mapping software can help you to:
- Increase productivity
- Track progress
- Improve efficiency
- Cut costs
- Improve customer service
Here are some of the best delivery mapping software features of 2018.
Track your drivers
Useful for: organising a delivery fleet
Using delivery mapping software to track your fleet of drivers can give you a greater understanding of what is going on in the field so you can dispatch more efficiently, improve customer service and reduce time spent calling drivers for updates.
For example, Verizon Connect shows you how delivery mapping software allows you to track a fleet of delivery drivers. The Verizon Connect maps increase the visibility of your operations.
Verizon Connect map for tracking a fleet around the USA.
Verizon Connect gives you a view of your fleet’s daily operations. Features of their advanced fleet tracking software include:
- Fast web-based maps, accessible from any device with an internet connection. This feature allows supervisors and drivers out in the field can see the same view a manager has back in the office.
- High-resolution maps with clustering and detail on demand. For example, the map above groups vehicles together so that the map does not become crowded. By clicking on each circle, the user can display the detail of each cluster, such as how many vehicles are moving, which are idle and which have stopped. These maps allow you to view the near real-time activity and current status of your vehicles, workers and mobile equipment.
- Dashboards - to see trends by team, department or across the entire fleet. This might include the number of speed violations or fuel efficiency. This feature allows you to review your progress towards KPIs or budgets with up-to-the-minute fleet analytics.
Optimise sales routes
Useful for: travelling salespeople
You can use delivery mapping software to solve a common algorithmic problem, known as the travelling salesman problem. The travelling salesman problem asks the following question:
Given a list of multiple locations, what is the shortest possible route to visit every location?
TravelTime Analytics calculates the optimal routes for a team of people to visit multiple locations each. If there are two salespeople and a list of 10 customers, for example, you can use TravelTime Analytics to:
- Calculate which clients should be assigned to which customers
- Calculate the optimal route for each salesperson
- Calculate travel times for each route
- Determine the appropriate mode of transport for each journey
Notify customers
Useful for: courier services
You can use delivery mapping software to update your customers about the status of their delivery.
For example, Descartes Order Notification™ - Delivery Notification Software sends customer notifications to improve customer experience while cutting customer service costs.
Features of the delivery notification software include the ability to:
- Notify customers of scheduled delivery times via email, phone call, or voice message. This feature helps to improve service levels while reducing customer service costs.
- Communicate adjusted delivery details to your customers. This feature improves customers’ perceived value of your service.
- Reduce the time that your customers spend waiting for their delivery. This feature helps to provide a considered service for customers.
- Reduce the number of queries by maintaining constant communication with the customer.
Analyse delivery times
Useful for: selecting areas for food delivery
Using a travel time heat map helps you to assess whether it makes economic sense for you to deliver to certain areas.
The example above shows you how analysing travel times can help you select delivery catchment areas to maximise profit.
Area colour | Travel time to this location |
---|---|
Yellow | 15 minutes |
Pink | 30 minutes |
Blue | 45 minutes |
Grey | 60 minutes |
Outside the area |
Using a TravelTime Analytics heat map, the restaurant owner can see which addresses they can deliver to within certain time periods by driving. The owner might use this information to determine:
- Where they will deliver for free
- Where they will deliver for a fee, or for above a certain order cost
- Where is too far to deliver to
Using a travel time map instead of a distance radius map allows the user to create a unique shape based on travel time, which can be utilised to draw a unique catchment area for delivery.
The TravelTime Platform also allows users to change the mode of transport and time of day, to ensure the data is accurate and that users are employing the most efficient routes. This is especially relevant in cities, such a London, where cycling can be faster than driving at particular times of the day.
To learn more about delivery mapping software visit our TravelTime Analytics resource page.