In the competitive landscape of logistics and delivery services, OnTrac's partnership with independent transportation businesses, known as Regional Service Providers (RSPs), presents itself as a great opportunity to run your own last-mile delivery business. An OnTrac RSP is in charge of running the entire show - which means they are responsible for handling everything - from planning daily routes, hiring drivers, and managing their operations to sourcing commercial fleet vehicles while maintaining brand and process guidelines provided by OnTrac. As a contractor, the two biggest cost items that eat into your margins are labor and fuel. A good last-mile delivery platform can help you bring down both these costs significantly, allowing you to run a profitable operation. Another key element of your delivery operation is service levels. Your delivery management platform can help you hit your higher service level goals by providing you with critical features like dispatch, route optimization, driver live location, and notifications.
Let's look at six key benefits of adopting a delivery management solution in addition to the fast-track console that OnTrac provides:
1. Cost savings: One of the primary reasons why OnTrac RSPs require route optimization software is the potential for significant cost savings.
The right route optimization software acts as the mastermind behind the journey of packages from point A to point B, starting right from the route planning stage. By figuring out the best path for deliveries, it minimizes how much time and distance vehicles need to cover. This means less money spent on fuel, and fewer repairs needed for the delivery vehicles, ensuring that cost savings are achieved at every step of the delivery process.
2. Time efficiency: Time efficiency impacts your business in two ways: (1) Efficient Dispatch which is getting your drivers out of the station as soon as possible. (2) Efficient delivery i.e. delivering every package, on-time. Both these efficiencies are critical for RSPs. Late dispatch can hurt your team morale and drive up costs in overtime and double overtime. Delivery windows, on the other hand, can make or break a customer's experience and are key to maintaining service levels. A route optimization system will allow the drivers to dispatch quickly while factoring in the kind of route they are on. It further helps you make sure that your drivers are not driving in circles and coming back quickly.
3. Increased productivity: Drivers want to be set up for success. They want to deliver efficiently and be done with their day. Optimized routes can help significantly reduce delays caused by road closures, accidents, or weather events helping employees complete more tasks or visits in the same amount of time. This leads to improved workforce productivity.
4. Real-time dispatch tracking: Through continuous monitoring, the appropriate TMS enables swift intervention to address any hiccups that might happen during delivery. By providing real-time alerts to dispatchers regarding any delivery failures it enables dispatchers to promptly reach out to the drivers and furnish them with the necessary information to complete the delivery. Whether it's rerouting the driver to an alternate path, providing updated delivery instructions, or addressing any unforeseen challenges, the TMS facilitates quick and effective communication between dispatchers and drivers.
5. Complex fleet management: For businesses dealing with multiple vehicles and deliveries, manually managing routes can be challenging and time-consuming. Route optimization software considers factors such as vehicle capacity, driver availability, and delivery priorities to automate this process ensuring that resources are utilized efficiently. This helps minimize idle time and maximizes the productivity of both vehicles and drivers making it easier to manage complex logistics. After all, RSPs are running a thriving logistics company. You probably already have other customers or are planning to expand.
6. Reduced Driver Turnover: Currently, the cost of backfilling for drivers due to turnover averages $6,000 to $12,000 per driver. Not having a good plan for routes and a system to send out deliveries efficiently often leads to package pileups, causing morning mayhem. This can stress out drivers who start their day bright and early. Implementing a Transportation Management System (TMS) helps your dispatchers streamline administrative tasks and drivers to focus only on making deliveries. Research shows that companies using advanced TMS solutions can drive up driver retention by up to 15% annually.
In summary, route optimization software plays a crucial role in improving efficiency, reducing costs, and enhancing driver satisfaction for RSPs. It simplifies the planning process, enables real-time adaptability, and ultimately leads to more streamlined and effective operations.
At Beans.ai we have built a powerful all-in-one dispatch and route planning solution for RSPs. If you are looking for a solution integrated with Ontrac Fasttrack and can help you run smoother operations, send us a note and our team will be happy to show you our platform.