How SimpliRoute Solves Fleet & Logistics Challenges with TomTom Location Insights
Kenneth Clay·May 07, 2020

How SimpliRoute Solves Fleet & Logistics Challenges with TomTom Location Insights

Kenneth Clay
Sr. Marketing Manager
May 07, 2020 · 5 min read

SimpliRoute, a fleet and logistics solution provider based in South America, provides a powerful last-mile logistics tool tailored to the fleet and logistics industry. Their flexible and dynamic platform allows users to efficiently manage multiple delivery routes with real-time tracking, analyze delivery statistics, and reduce operational costs. SimpliRoute has partnered with location technology specialist TomTom to enhance their services through the TomTom Search API and its precise geocoding features.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a major role in most economies, representing about 90% of businesses and more than 50% of employment worldwide.

For these businesses to survive, they must be laser-focused on efficiency and cost management. This is especially true for companies focused on parcel deliveries, as they deal with everyday decisions that drive their bottom line.

For example: I manage a small fleet of 40 vehicles.

Do I have the right number of drivers?How can I save on fuel costs?How do I improve customer satisfaction by getting packages delivered more quickly?

SimpliRoute, a fleet and logistics solution provider, gets it. They hear these concerns every day. And through their work with TomTom, the leading independent location technology specialist, they now have answers.

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The Problem – Costs and Satisfaction

For fleet and logistics providers to thrive, they must have tools to provide key insights that lead to cost efficiencies and improved customer satisfaction. They need visibility into required staffing levels, the number of vehicles deployed or sitting idle, and drivetime statistics. Staffing typically represents their largest cost impact, so managing the right number of drivers is critical. Providers need to know:

  • How many vehicles are actively making deliveries versus those at the dock waiting in the job queue?

  • Once a driver leaves the dock, how do I know they’re using an optimized route?

  • Are traffic congestion and road incidents being factored into their route assignment?

  • Are they conforming to restricted road regulations?

  • How can I give my customers a better idea of when their package will arrive?

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Compounding the Problem

In and of themselves, these questions are challenging to address. Compounding the fleet and logistics issue is traffic congestion. Knowing the optimal route for your fleet drivers to take is key - picking the wrong route can lead to hours of wasted time in traffic, increased delivery costs and frustrated end customers.

Traffic congestion is a global issue, of which South America, where SimpliRoute is based, is certainly not immune. According to the recently released TomTom Traffic Index, Bogota, Columbia has seen a 5% year-over-year increase in congestion and now ranks as the third most traffic-congested city in the world. Lima, Peru ranks 7th and Recife, Brazil ranks 15th. Rio de Janeiro is ranked 20th, Sao Paulo is ranked 24th, and Santiago, Chile ranks as the 26th most congested city in the world.

SimpliRoute Leads the Way

SimpliRoute provides a powerful last-mile logistics tool tailored to the fleet and logistics industry. Their offering allows you to efficiently manage multiple delivery routes. Their platform is flexible and dynamic. If your clients need a package delivered during certain hours and your workers have a limited load capacity, SimpliRoute creates optimal routes which can be tracked in real time. They also provide delivery statistics, helping you to know when that package will be delivered.

Based in Santiago, Chile, the SimpliRoute solution identifies optimal delivery routes, minimizes the number of required vehicles, and reduces windshield time. Your driver just called in sick? No worries - because SimpliRoute will recalculate drivers and routing to ensure seamless delivery. Your costs are reduced, and your customers are happier.

SimpliRoute currently serves fleet and logistics customers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, and they support fleet operators with vehicle counts ranging from 10 to 1,000.

What's the Secret Sauce?

Two key factors help set SimpliRoute apart.

First, SimpliRoute is focused on academic intelligence. They achieve innovation through this intelligence. Many of the staff at SimpliRoute originate from the academic world and have leveraged their knowledge base to build and enhance a dynamic, powerful, last mile logistics tool.

Secondly, SimpliRoute has partnered with location technology specialist TomTom. This partnership represents a watershed event in the evolution of the SimpliRoute solution, due to TomTom’s extensive geocoding features and their Search API.

The Value of Precise Geocoding

Geocoding is the process of converting a postal address into a geospatial location on a map. SimpliRoute geocodes customer addresses and delivery locations. These locations are then used by the SimpliRoute route planner, providing optimized route planning.

Precise geocoding means a driver finds the right door to deliver to straight away, instead of circling around and asking for directions. It leads to less time wasted and improved operational cost efficiency.

Previously, SimpliRoute was experiencing issues with their geocoding engine: certain addresses were misspelled or could not be found; drivers were taken to the wrong side of the street or could not find the exact house number. The result was wasted time for drivers, higher operational costs, and customer frustration. SimpliRoute needed to find a better way.

After carefully benchmarking, SimpliRoute chose TomTom. With fuzzy matching, TomTom can geocode incomplete or misspelled addresses. The TomTom geocoder uses precise address points with entrances, which means drivers can be taken to the exact doorstep.

SimpliRoute found the TomTom Search API to be easy to integrate, easy to use, effective across a range of geographies and well-documented. Since integrating the TomTom Search API, the SimpliRoute solution has been more accurate and their customers have noticed the positive difference.

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What's the Future Have in Store?

SimpliRoute is on a growth curve. Today they are an impact player for the fleet and logistics industry in South America. Looking ahead, they aim to become the #1 player in Latin America. From there they have their sights set on geographic expansion into the U.S. and Europe.

SimpliRoute also continues to innovate. They are looking to further enhance their offering by incorporating TomTom’s leading routing technology. Ultimately, SimpliRoute fleet and logistics customers will be the beneficiaries of this innovation and spirit of continuous improvement.

Want to learn more?

TomTom's precise geocoding features and easy-to-integrate APIs can provide cost-efficient solutions for businesses and optimal customer satisfaction for end-users. Learn more about our fleet management & logistics products here, and contact us today to learn more about how TomTom location technology can supercharge your fleet management software!

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