Cost-Based Routing for Field Service, Distribution, and Delivery Fleets

What this means for distribution businesses

Sending a 7.5-tonne truck to deliver three small parcels is expensive overkill. Cost-based routing factors driver and vehicle costs into every optimization decision so the engine picks the cheapest combination that gets the job done. A courier operation with a mixed fleet of bikes, vans, and trucks can let the engine decide that three cheaper vans are more cost-efficient than one expensive truck. Wholesale distributors can assign per-kilometre costs by vehicle class so heavy diesel trucks are only used when the load justifies it. For furniture retailers, the system weighs the cost of a two-man crew truck against splitting the load across two smaller vans, choosing whichever option costs less overall.

What this means for field service businesses

Dispatching a senior engineer in a fully equipped service van to a simple meter-reading job wastes money. Cost-based routing factors in driver hourly rates, vehicle running costs, and per-kilometre expenses to pick the cheapest qualified resource for every route. HVAC companies can ensure apprentices handle routine inspections while senior technicians are reserved for complex installations. Electrical contractors running both cars and vans can let the optimizer assign the smaller, cheaper vehicle when the job does not require heavy equipment. For telecoms providers, the optimizer can determine that spreading jobs across several lower-cost drivers is cheaper than loading one expensive contractor.

How it works

• Set driver costs: per-hour rate, per-day fixed cost, or a combination of both
• Set vehicle costs: per-hour, per-day, per-kilometre, and per-dimension (e.g. cost per kg carried)
• Enable "Include Driver/Vehicle Costs in Optimization" so the engine factors costs into routing decisions
• The optimizer evaluates whether fewer expensive vehicles or more cheaper ones minimise total route cost
• View a cost breakdown per route on the planning screen after optimization