Improved efficiency and customer service are driving fleet adoption of routing and scheduling software more than cost-saving gains.
That’s the finding of research carried out by routing and scheduling specialist Maxoptra, which also finds that new users of its cloud-based software put ‘growth of the business’ and ‘revenue generating improved productivity’ ahead of cost savings.
The firm said the findings are revealing as they show that rather than focusing on cost savings, most managers actually want something that will free them from the many cumbersome tasks that make manual route planning slow and difficult.
The research also highlights customer service as a key issue in line with growing recognition that ‘delivery experience’ is a key driver for repeat purchases and customer retention.
Jane Geary, marketing manager at Maxoptra, commented: “We are all working in a faster-moving world and customers expect their suppliers to respond quickly to their needs, whether it be an engineer service call-out or a fresh food delivery. This puts real pressure on fleet operators as they no longer have the luxury of planning operations in advance tofixed schedules. It’s increasingly a dynamic environment so anything that can relieve that pressure will be top of the agenda for those working at the sharp end of customer service delivery.”
“As customer requirements change minute by minute during the day, it’s impossible to manually adapt routing and scheduling plans in the time available especially where a whole fleet is concerned. The only solution is to employ software that will re-schedule and re-route automatically, with live input from vehicle tracking and data communications to the mobile worker, allowing those resources to be freely re-allocated.
“It’s clear also that costs have been driven down continually over the years and the scope for savings also diminishes. Businesses can no longer win on price alone especially where the customer is also in a competitive fast moving business. Arguably a fast and reliable service that is seamlessly integrated into the customer’s own business is becoming the key to success.”
