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

0 %

Reduction in CO2 emissions in the supply chain

Up to

0 %

more efficiency in route planning compared to standard solutions

Up to

0 %

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.

GPL_Whitepaper_CO2-Tax_Mockup_ENU_600px

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.

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.

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