"As Mapon's local partner, we regularly share insights and best practices from their international expertise. This article is based on their original publication and adapted for our market."
Route planning and optimization is a solution used by many businesses worldwide. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about major changes in the retail and e-commerce landscape. This further increased the demand for this solution. Companies needed it to ensure high efficiency of transportation and delivery and maintain good customer satisfaction. Now the latest research from Global Newswire says that the route planning software market is expected to have a compound annual growth rate of 10.9% through 2025.
Meanwhile, some of our customers have already tried the solution and discovered the benefits it brings to the business. Read on to find out how Scandinavian household goods retailer JYSK used route planning to manage deliveries from its online stores to customers.
COVID-19 accelerated plan to offer in-house delivery service
JYSK operated an online store for many years and outsourced delivery services completely, until 2020. The company grew steadily each year, but when the global pandemic began, with the direct result of rapid growth in the e-commerce market (by 15% in Q2 2020 compared to Q1 2020, according to OECD data), the company had to look for new ways to maintain and increase their delivery capacity.
"We were already thinking about having our own fleet to ensure a better quality delivery service, but the pandemic caused us to accelerate our plans and we ended up launching the project within a few months, where under normal circumstances it would take us a year," says JYSK Parcel Delivery Network Manager Artūrs Meisters. "Once we started working on the project, it became clear that we also needed GPS tracking, fuel monitoring and route planning solution to track the performance of our fleet," he adds.
All necessary functions to start in-house delivery
JYSK's fleet consists of multiple delivery vehicles that deliver online orders to 40-60 addresses daily, both from the company's warehouse and stores. When choosing a fleet management solution provider, the company looked for a digital solution that could plan routes with multiple delivery points and time windows, track route progress and obtain accurate delivery information - the most essential data for an online retailer .
"After conducting market research and meeting with the company's representatives, we decided that Mapon's offering best suited our needs - both in terms of function and cost," explains Artūrs Meisters, adding
"Route Planning was only recently launched, but it had enough functionality to start using it. In addition, we saw that plans for future development of the solution included some features that we would like to have for our fleet as well."
From route planning to communication tool - features that save company resources
Route planning is one of the key solutions JYSK uses to manage their delivery operations. "Currently, we use route planning and optimization with multiple delivery points, as well as additional loads and deliveries. In addition, we plan routes in three different delivery times, regularly track route progress and planned time of arrival (PTA). With this data, we can get information about schedule deviations, which allows us to provide our customers with more accurate delivery information," explains Artūrs Meisters.
According to a company representative, JYSK also benefits from a variety of fleet management solutions such as reports, an all-in-one communication tool, etc. He says fuel reports, for example, have saved the company a lot of time collecting all fuel receipts, recording them in internal systems and filling out route reports for the tax authorities.
Artūrs Meisters also says, "We use the management application as a communication channel between our couriers, the transportation department and the warehouse workers. Having a unified communication platform allows us to ensure transparency and stay informed about rescheduled deliveries of orders, as well as any problems that arise in the delivery process."
A platform that solves business challenges
The company representative shared that, in their opinion, both the fleet management platform and the mobile apps are well thought out and can be easily adapted to the needs of the business. "You can see that the solutions are designed to solve business challenges and facilitate many of the day-to-day business activities. So far, you have not only helped us improve customer service by providing accurate calculations of delivery times, but also to schedule precise working hours for our employees, "he says.
Route planning is just one of the solutions that can help companies improve their fleet management and achieve business goals. To find out what solutions can help your business thrive, schedule a free appointment with one of our team members or contact us using the form at the bottom of the page.
Do you also want to improve your company's fleet management processes?
Contact us and our team will send you an individual quote based on your company's needs.
