In this article, you will learn how Dispatch Connect can optimize your routes with the click of a button. You’ll get the fastest route available considering vehicle capacity and the delivery time window restrictions of each delivery.

Solution: Optimize My Route saves time manually planning routes, saves drivers time behind the wheel, prioritizes customer satisfaction by helping drivers be on time, and saves money on gas and maintenance.

Prerequisites:

Time windows allow you to specify the restrictions between when a delivery must be picked up or dropped off. This is incredibly powerful when a pickup must occur before the warehouse manager leaves for the day, or a drop-off must occur when a foreman is on a job site. This level of precision allows the routing algorithm to be more accurate when scheduling your routes.

Time windows are set in the Schedule the Delivery section of the New Delivery page. There are two time windows: one for pickup and one for drop-off. The pickup and delivery time windows can overlap, but the delivery time window cannot be before the pickup window.

After you have assigned at least one delivery to a vehicle, you can optimize your route by clicking the Optimize My Route button.

Once you click the button you will see an Optimizing wheel while the system calculates the best possible routes.

Once you review the proposed route you can accept it or undo it.

If you Accept the route, the optimization will be saved and the Optimize my Route button will be hidden until a change is made to the route.

If you Undo the optimization, your route will be reverted to the order it was in before Optimize my Route was clicked.

If a delivery doesn’t fit the set parameters with time frames or capacity restrictions, you will be notified after you optimize the route. These will display as suggested stops to remove from the route. Once Unassigned, you have the option to assign the delivery to another vehicle, edit the delivery, or send it to the Dispatch Marketplace for fulfillment by one of our experienced network of drivers.

Sometimes more than half the items on a vehicle will not be routable. In these rare cases you will see an error message saying Optimization Unsuccessful.

After an optimization has been accepted, you may drag and drop deliveries in any order you see fit if the returned route doesn’t fit your needs. As soon as a route is changed, the Optimize My Route button will reappear.

Once your route is all set, you can send it to your driver via the Send to Driver button. See this article for further details. Remember - a route must be assigned to a driver before it can be sent.

If you have questions, please contact us at connectsupport@dispatchit.com. A Dispatch team member will reach out to you for support.