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Top 7 Best Route Planning Apps for Small Businesses in 2024

Highlighting the importance of delivery route planning apps, outlining their key benefits and the top seven apps, including EasyRoutes, designed to streamline delivery operations.

Your all-in-one local delivery app for Shopify

There is a multitude of routing planning software on the market that outputs optimal routes. Businesses, on the other hand, require more than just route maps and navigation. Small businesses are looking for delivery route planning apps with cutting-edge features like driver tracking, proof of delivery, and extensive customer support.

Table of Contents

  • What is the purpose of a Delivery Route Planning App?
  • The 7 Best Delivery Route Planning Apps for Small Businesses
  • Route Planning Features Your Business Needs
  • The Advantages of Using a Route Planning App for Delivery
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
  • Use a Delivery Route Planning App Like EasyRoutes to Do the Heavy Lifting For You

What is the purpose of a Delivery Route Planning App?

Routing software is used by businesses with sales reps, field service employees, or firms that provide goods delivery services to organize and optimize deliveries. It simplifies delivery route planning, dispatching, fleet management, and daily delivery schedules.

Routing software is often known as delivery management software or delivery route planning optimization software. It provides you with optimum routes and manages delivery operations using complex algorithms and digital mapping.

The 7 Best Delivery Route Planning Apps for Small Businesses

For small enterprises who provide delivery services, here is a selection of the finest delivery route planner apps:

#1 EasyRoutes

EasyRoutes is a Shopify-powered delivery route planner that enables businesses to quickly and simply construct effective delivery routes that they can deliver themselves or share with drivers. EasyRoutes was built with a human-centered design approach that puts the user’s experience and usability first.

#2 Badger Maps

Badger Maps is a delivery route planner tool designed to assist field sales agents in performing their work more efficiently. It creates a mapping system that connects client accounts to sales channels. It has some of the same features that field service management software or a field sales and service platform would have.

#3 Circuit

Circuit Route Planner is a multi-stop route planning and optimization software that aids delivery operations management by delivering best-in-class route optimization, accurate ETAs, and driver tracking. Circuit is a platform that lets people to exchange video, audio communications, screens, and data all in one place.

#4 OptimoRoute

With OptimoRoute, a cloud-based route planning software, service personnel can plan optimal routes and manage work orders. Just a few of the features include live tracking and ETA, RealTime Order Tracking, and Proof of Delivery.

#5 WorkWave Route Manager

WorkWave Route Manager is a web-based delivery route planner that allows you to construct the most efficient and fastest routes instantly. Planning, routing, and GPS are made easier with features like violation notifications, drag-and-drop scheduling, and allocating last-minute orders.

#6 OnFleet

OnFleet is a cutting-edge delivery management solution that makes local delivery tasks easier to plan and execute. It provides drivers with a real-time web dashboard as well as a simple mobile app that includes features such as automated SMS notifications and driver tracking.

#7 Route4Me

Route4Me is a simple route planning solution for small and medium-sized enterprises that helps them manage delivery drivers and build daily delivery schedules. Every day, Route4Me saves time and money for the field sales team, repair professionals, and delivery personnel.

Route Planning Features Your Business Needs

Ability to Plan for Multiple Stops

One of the most crucial aspects that every small business may expect from routing software is multi-stop route planning. Users may easily adapt and add modifications to routes with dynamic multi-stop route planning instead of having to redo the entire route.

ETAS & Scheduling (ETAS & Scheduling)

Scheduling and ETAs are tools that make it much easier to create delivery routes and change delivery timetables. As a result, route optimization and planning become a more involved process.

Customer Notifications

Customers must be notified in order to improve customer service and the overall customer experience with your company. Customers are notified about the status of their orders on a frequent basis via customer alerts, including whether they have been delivered, are in route, or have reached at their final destination.

Proof of Delivery

A valuable feature is proof of delivery in the form of photographs, client signatures, driver remarks, and other forms. It informs the company that a product has been successfully completed or delivered. It can be saved and retrieved at any moment from the backend.

Ability to use Software on Multiple Platforms

It’s critical to have an app that works on various platforms, including the web, Android, and Apple devices. It’s all about flexibility and ease of use. A multitude of systems are used by various industries. All common systems must be supported, and the software must be flexible enough to accommodate them.

The Advantages of Using a Route Planning App for Delivery

Route Optimization Management

A small firm can fill more work orders and make more deliveries per route when they use a delivery route planner tool. Small firms will save time and money on operations by employing correct route optimization, and they will be able to transfer that time and money to company processes that demand immediate attention.

Fulfill More Orders

Drivers will be able to fill the time saved with more work orders if routes are adequately optimized. Drivers will be able to quickly manage new work orders or even urgent amendments to work orders if routes are correctly planned utilizing a delivery route planner software. Business management can keep track of how long it takes for a delivery to be completed and fill in any gaps in the drivers’ schedules.

Automate your Delivery Planning

Manual delivery planning takes a long time and necessitates a great deal of focus. In a matter of minutes, routing software automates all of the intricate computations and modifications. One of the most valuable assets we have is our time. Businesses cannot afford to squander time on things that can easily be completed by an algorithm. You can better utilize the time saved by placing additional orders or replying to client concerns.

Reduce Operational Costs

The drivers are best handled with routing or delivery fleet management software. It results in significant cost reductions in terms of operations, gasoline, and payroll. Routing software will lower operating costs while increasing per-driver revenue. Route optimization can help small firms lower their high operational costs without affecting service quality.

Manage Delivery Constraints

Apps for delivery route planners make it simple to accommodate and manage routes based on delivery limits such as the number of vehicles, the maximum number of stops per route, the maximum distance per vehicle, and the route time. Routing software optimizes your routes based on the delivery limitations you define for each route plan.

Increased Productivity

Inefficient drivers or routes can be identified using routing software. The use of delivery limits on routes, as well as better stop planning and organization, maintains a close check on how the drivers perform and fulfill their daily deliveries. Because of real-time driver tracking, this is possible. The driver’s total productivity improves as a result.

Improved Customer Happiness

Amazon and other delivery behemoths aren’t the only ones with great customer reviews and service. Small businesses must recognize that a favorable or unfavorable client experience has a financial impact. Customer experience is enhanced by email notifications, SMS notifications, real-time ETAs, promptly resolving customer issues, synchronizing mapping data with customer data, and timely deliveries.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the main function of a delivery route planning apps?

An innovative algorithm is used by a delivery route planner app to establish an optimal route sequence that takes a driver to all required stop in the most efficient way in the least amount of time.

What can be done to make a delivery route more efficient?

Finding the shortest distance between two points is only one part of the equation when it comes to route optimization. When choosing a route, think about things like speed, real-time traffic, and time windows.

Which approach for routing several places is the most efficient?

Route planning software that uses real-time data to discover the shortest distance between stops and save time and money is the best approach to construct an effective route with several locations.

Use a Delivery Route Planning App Like EasyRoutes to Do the Heavy Lifting For You

If they have the correct delivery route planning tool, small business owners will be able to capture a major piece of the local market. Small to mid-sized firms that conduct logistics duties, whether in e-commerce, food delivery, or field sales, can surely profit from routing software’s route management and optimization features.

We hope this post has assisted you in determining which tools appear to be more appropriate for your business and how they meet your specific requirements.

Learn more about EasyRoutes at Roundtrip.ai

Get EasyRoutes on the Shopify App Store by clicking the button below:

About Roundtrip

Roundtrip's mission is to equip every business with the software tools they need to deliver products to their customers in a delightful way. Thousands of Shopify merchants worldwide choose EasyRoutes to power their local deliveries across dozens of product categories, from meal kits and groceries to coffee, cupcakes, kibble, and so much more. Our easy-to-use route planning and delivery optimization app is certified Built for Shopify, a two-time Shopify staff pick, and the top rated local delivery app on the Shopify App Store.

"The app has simplified our delivery workflow significantly and allows us to be significantly more efficient in our delivery and also reduce human error thanks to its direct integration with our Shopify Store. We deliver to a large geographical area and the routing works well with our large list of delivery locations. The drive app that pairs with this is simple, clean and easy to use. Our customers have already expressed how much they love having tracking information and estimated arrival times."
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