Route Planning and Optimization
Intelligent and Sustainable Route Planning for the Logistics of the Future
How can transport costs be reduced most effectively? This is a question that freight forwarders and transportation companies face, especially as energy prices rise. At the same time, they are tasked with consistently reducing the CO2 emissions of their vehicle fleets. However, dispatchers often lack the tools to consider factors such as time-dependent flow rates, dynamic district assignment, or fuel consumption optimization into route planning.
This is where our consulting services come in: we show you the potential of your current route and tour planning system. Our experts make costs transparent, analyze your processes, and collaboratively develop optimization opportunities alongside you. We combine decades of consulting expertise with intelligent software solutions.
Up to
Reduction in CO2 emissions in the supply chain
Up to
more efficiency in route planning compared to standard solutions
Up to
compliance with your agreed delivery times (ETA)
Marcel Wilhelms, General Manager
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Worldwide Implementation of Customer Projects in Transport Logistics
Data-Driven Decisions for Your Success
Customized Scenario Analyses
from A to Z
Customer Profitability
The analysis of customer profitability plays a crucial role in optimizing your route planning. To optimize the cost-to-serve ratio in your route planning, our experts evaluate your existing customer base. The results of our analysis provide a detailed overview of the impact of route changes on your cost structure. This allows you to strategically adjust your pricing and service offerings to enhance profitability while providing your customers with optimal services.
Our focus is not only on cost reduction but also on improving your service quality. By conducting precise time window analyses and considering specific customer requirements, you can maximize your reliability and minimize downtime—achieving gains in efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Center of Gravity
Whether you are planning a new distribution center, fulfillment center, or warehouse for finished products, a center-of-gravity analysis is crucial for the efficiency of your transportation operations. Logistics companies understand that strategic network design and determining optimal logistics locations significantly enhance supply chain efficiency while reducing transport costs.
At EPG Consulting, we utilize a proven cost model to evaluate potential new locations based on weighted factors and identify the site that offers the best balance in terms of transport costs, travel times, and service quality
Sustainable Transportation
Reducing CO2 emissions is a significant challenge that requires collective action. This poses a major challenge for the logistics and transport industry, as its CO2 emissions continue to rise in response to consumer demand. The goal is for the transport sector to reduce its CO2 emissions by 42 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
Significant emission reducation can be achieved today with optimized route planning that reduces financial and environmental costs by avoiding unnecessary trips, kilometers, and idle times in traffic. By employing the intelligent Greenplan algorithm, a company can save around 20 percent of its CO2 emissions.
Time Windows
Establishing binding time windows for deliveries often limits possibilities for route optimization. However, even slight extensions of these time windows can lead to significant improvements in efficiency and cost. Our experts identify these potentials and provide the necessary data foundation for renegotiating prices and service commitments.
Customer and Depot Optimization
Historically established structures can become inefficient with significant customer growth. When companies expand, reviewing and reallocating customers within the transportation network becomes essential. Our team supports you in assessing your existing customer and depot networks. By reassigning customers to depots and transshipment warehouses, we work together to optimize your utilization, reduce travel times, and lower your operating costs.
Dynamic Route Planning
With a fully dynamic planning approach, which doesn‘t rely on geographic boundaries, you can best utilize the loading capacities of your fleet. This allows for the optimization of delivery areas as a whole. The benefits for you include on-time deliveries, the shortest possible routes, and fully automated assignment of orders to tours. However, fully dynamic planning can increase handling times since drivers often navigate new territories. Therefore, a hybrid model with overlapping districts is often the best compromise for overall efficiency. We analyze your operations to determine the right degree of dynamic planning for streamlined dispatch that benefits your drivers, customers, and bottom line.
Time-Dependent Flow Rates
Our consulting takes into account all time-dependent traffic flow rates during planning, ensuring optimal stop planning and adherence to the designated time windows. Driving times can vary daily due to ongoing traffic. Our software tool calculates time-dependent travel times, utilizing realistic historical data at the segment level—collected in 5-minute intervals for a comprehensive view of minute-to-minute variations.
Transport and Mode Mix
Choosing the right transport and mode mix is a central component of logistics planning and significantly influences the efficiency, cost, environmental friendliness, and reliability of the entire supply chain. A well-thought-out transport and mode mix allows for leveraging the strengths of individual transport modes while compensating for their weaknesses.
WHITEPAPER
The New CO2 Tax – Nightmare or Unforeseen Competitive Advantage?
As a supplement to the amended Eurovignette Directive, another climate protection instrument in road freight transport came into force on December 1, 2023: the introduction of additional CO2 pricing as part of the truck toll system. Since December 2023, all commercial vehicles over 7.5 tons in Germany are required to pay a CO2-dependent truck toll, with similar regulations for 3.5-ton vehicles following in July 2024. In Austria, the new toll rates have been in effect since January 1, 2024.
In this white paper, let us show you how AI-supported, emissions-optimized route planning, taking into account overlapping delivery areas and relaxed time windows, can save you on travel distances, routes, and costs.
Frequently Asked Questions About Route Planning and Route Optimization
What is the difference between route planning and tour planning?
Route planning determines the driving route between individual stops, while tour planning combines orders, vehicles, drivers, and stops into executable delivery or transportation tours. In practice, the two are closely linked because an efficient tour depends on both the right stop sequence and realistic travel times. Delivery time windows and operational constraints must also be taken into account.
When is professional route optimization worthwhile?
Professional route optimization is worthwhile when large numbers of orders, vehicles, time windows, or different constraints can no longer be coordinated efficiently through manual planning. Rising costs, low vehicle utilization, fluctuating volumes, or demanding on-time delivery requirements are also common triggers. The potential value does not depend solely on fleet size, but primarily on the complexity of the transportation network and its planning constraints.
What data is required for route optimization?
Key data includes orders, volumes, delivery time windows, customer and depot locations, vehicle capacities, driver rules, costs, and relevant operational constraints. Depending on the use case, time-dependent travel times, tolls, driving and rest-time regulations, vehicle types, and load carriers may also need to be considered. Data quality has a major impact on how realistic the resulting plans are. EPG CONSULTING reviews and prepares the data so that realistic analyses and scenarios can be developed.
Static or dynamic tour planning: Which approach is suitable when?
Static tour planning is suitable for stable volumes, recurring transportation lanes, and largely fixed delivery structures. Dynamic planning is advantageous when orders arrive at short notice, volumes fluctuate significantly, or resources need to be deployed flexibly. A combination is often appropriate, with a stable baseline plan supplemented by day-to-day adjustments. The right approach depends on the network, service commitments, and operating model.
How can service levels and costs be balanced?
Service levels and costs are balanced through clearly defined planning objectives and rules. These may include delivery time windows, priorities, maximum driving times, vehicle utilization targets, vehicle restrictions, and the cost of individual tours or customer deliveries. The lowest-cost route does not always achieve the required delivery performance, while the highest possible service level is not always economically viable. EPG CONSULTING develops scenarios that make these trade-offs transparent and support informed decisions across cost, capacity, and service.
How can routes be tested before operational changes are introduced?
Routes and tour concepts can be tested before implementation using historical data and defined scenarios. This allows companies to assess how changes to delivery areas, vehicles, depots, time windows, or planning rules would affect costs, utilization, and service levels. Potential risks can therefore be identified before operational processes are changed. Scenario analysis provides a robust basis for phased implementation.
Route Planning and Optimization – Neutral and Independent
Any questions? We’re here to help! If you would like to learn more about our comprehensive and manufacturer-independent consulting services regarding route planning and optimization, please reach out to us! Our logistics experts are happy to assist you.