Key benefits – business value

SmartRouting covers the whole range of planning horizons, from strategic planning to disruption management on the day of operations. The key benefits of this dynamic planning and optimization solution are:

• Reduced transportation costs

Our experience in the field shows that mileage is reduced up to 10-15%., leading to a 3-5% reduction in transportation costs.

•  Improved delivery performance

By experience, customer satisfaction improves measurably due to improved ETA accuracy.

• Improved transparency & control

SmartRouting improves company-wide transparency in operations, reporting and analytics significantly, leading to improved efficiency across the organization.

A solution tailored to your needs

SmartRouting, provided as a cloud managed service (MSaaS) is a perfect fit for transportation companies managing the utilization and routing of assets.

The Ab Ovo SmartRouting solution delivers customer value quickly with:

• Intuitive UI/UX – optimized visualization and user-friendly click paths
• Industry standards configured
• Tailored to your specific requirements
• Managed by Ab Ovo
• Usage based pricing model
• Swiftly guided deployment + training. Go-live in weeks rather than months
• Always-on web-based support and dedicated support personnel

Let’s take a look at how a day in the life of a planner could look like when using the SmartRouting solution. Planning in action. To look at the full details of the solution, please check out our solution sheet.

1. Checks order status and current KPI’s

Day in the life

• On his way to his desk past the warehouse, the planner sees an unusually large number of boxes piled up at one of the docks. Once in his office, he checks his system and discovers that, due to a breakdown, loading has fallen behind schedule.
• Quickly, he identifies the status of the boxes and replans orders where possible. For any orders that will still be late, the planner informs customers of the delay and of the new ETA.

How the planner is supported

• KPIs immediately identify the problem.
• Direct visibility to delays as a result are highlighted and instantly recalculated.
• Real-time order updates are available through the Mobile App (or customer mobile app).

2. Accepts new order

Day in the life

• A rush order comes in which must be collected today and delivered tomorrow.
• The system splits this order into a pick-up and a delivery shipment. It suggests routes to fulfill them.
• The overall plan is optimized with this new information.

How the planner is supported

• The planned orders KPI immediately shows there is an order which needs attention.
• Suggest functionality generates several options so the planner can choose the best with his soft-knowledge. The system displays a score and the impact on cost, distance and affected constraints
• Continuous optimization can support the planner to plan new orders automatically within the existing plan.

3. Receives, responds to and solves a delay

Day in the life

• The planner gets feedback (automated, via the app or a call from the driver) indicating a driver is stuck in traffic.
• The planner obtains suggestions from the system on how he can fulfill his plan and accepts suggestions.
• The new plan and routes are communicated to the drivers.

How the planner is supported

• The driver can send his delay messages through the Mobile App, or chat with the planner.
• The delay is immediately visible in the planning system which indicates that the delay will cause additional delays later.
• Suggest functionality generates several options so the planner can choose the best with his soft-knowledge.
• The planner can send the routes to the driver on the Mobile App (or customer app).

4. Checks data

Day in the life

• During a bit of quiet time, the planner checks the automated geocoding on accuracy of generated addresses of the new customer.
• Whenever information is updated, the system automatically considers how this will impact the plan and calculates the best new routes with the shortest distance and travel time.

How the planner is supported

• The system automatically geocodes all addresses based on available information (like city, street name, country).
• The system indicates how likely the location is correct and shows the match percentage while displaying the possible locations on the map to support the planner.
• If address details are incomplete and the system cannot geocode automatically, the planner is alerted of these issues in the planning screen.
• When the planner finds a location for the address that is different from the one provided by the system, he can update it by selecting the different location or update the address itself. The system recalculates all planning automatically.

5. Analyzes issues and start optimizing

Day in the life

• As the planner does a visual check of some routes, he notices that the utilization is a bit low. Thanks to the intuitive graphic user interface (GUI), he figures out why: there is one truck with very utilization rate.
• The planner clicks ‘optimize plan’ to see whether it can generate a better plan.
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How the planner is supported

• The user interface is intuitive and can be easily configured to how the planner likes to work and the information they want to see. 
• Plan details are provided visually so that planners can easily see where they need to focus allowing them to perform exception based planning.
• Images can be used to visualize information relevant for the planner.

6. Applies personal expertise

Day in the life

• The optimizer finds a better solution but the number of deliveries for one trip is still very low due to a requested narrow delivery time window.
• For that set of deliveries, the planner happens to know this customer in person. He calls her to ask if it is okay to deliver a few hours earlier. She agrees and he consolidates some orders. By applying his soft knowledge to the existing plan, he has come up with an even better plan delivering even more savings.

How the planner is supported

• The optimizer creates a plan given the available data and makes trade-offs between priorities such as costs and on-time delivery.
• The planner is in complete control for all planning. He can accept the plan provided, or can modify the plan to leverage his soft knowledge for optimal decisions at any time.
• By entering the adjusted details, the system immediately recalculates the effects in the overall plan.

7. Confirm and publishes next shift’s plan

Day in the life

• The planner confirms and publishes the plan for the next shift.
• Routes are sent to each driver’s mobile app.

How the planner is supported

• The system records release plans. Plans can still be changed right up to the execution of a pickup.
• The Mobile App displays the complete route to the driver and the driver can update all statuses in the app as well.

8. Mid-term and what-if scenario’s

Day in the life

• With short-term planning completed, the planner turns his attention to a longer planning horizon.
• He knows that a significant increase in volume occurs during the holiday season and he performs some what-if scenarios to explore possible options.
• He compares the various options by looking at their KPIs.

How the planner is supported

• The planner can create multiple scenarios (without interfering with the current planning), with different settings, resources and orders.
• The planner can compare these scenarios all at once using the scenario KPI comparison.

9. Checks performance

Day in the life

• At any time during the day, the planner or manager can check the current performance, as well as the KPIs from e.g. yesterday, to see how the planning supports the overall goals.

How the planner is supported

• The KPI dashboard displays key performance indicators in intuitive gauges, which directly display whether values are in a green, yellow or red zone.
• Various statistical charts can be configured by the planner, key user or manager. They will be able to monitor any KPI in a single dashboard suited to their needs.

Customer satisfaction

Ab Ovo is focused on delivering customer value.  Our in depth experience and expertise ensure that our customers are delighted.  And support both during implementation and beyond is provided by our team of experts who know your business.  We continue to keep you informed about solution software roadmaps, releases and the value this brings to you and your company. If you require additional training or adaption of the solution, we are ready with our team of industry experts to assist you.