According to Neil Menzies, a managing director at LEK Consulting, route-optimization software is not yet ubiquitous in the trucking industry. That said, for the organizations that have invested in the technology, cost savings is their biggest motivation. Less carbon is an added bonus.
“It just follows on naturally that, if you decrease the amount of miles, you decrease the amount of fuel burned and, therefore, the carbon. The incentives are perfectly aligned with respect to saving costs and being greener,” Menzies said.
Routing technology leveraging AI, optimizes long-haul and short-haul planning. Route optimization can help over-the-road drivers reduce deadheading, reduce last-mile inefficiencies, and improve truck utilization – in many instances reducing LTL and increasing FTL shipments. Efficient routing can also help navigate delivery windows, cut down on idling and misuse of resources, and help improve demand planning.
“In general, these solutions as a category are pretty high [return on investment]. But it depends on the individual set of circumstances around your particular business,” Menzies said.
Surgeship features best-in-class Route Planning & Optimization, through the use of our Multi-AIML optimization system. In 100 head-to-head comparisons with other popular route planning solutions, Surgeship AIML Optimization output resulted in a consistent 15-20% decrease in freight costs due to better optimized route plans.