Truck Route Planning
Truck route planning is an essential part of logistics. It enables efficient and cost-effective control of transportation processes by determining the optimum route for trucks. Not every road is suitable for trucks. If low bridges, narrow roads, weight-restricted roads, and roadworks, etc. are not considered in route planning, detours or risky turning manoeuvres can quickly occur, costing time and money.
What is a truck route planner?
A truck route planner is a planning system that has been developed to meet the requirements of truck drivers. It considers the special needs of trucks, such as vehicle size, weight restrictions and traffic rules that are not relevant for other types of vehicles. Planning refers to determining the optimal route that the vehicle should take from its starting point to its destination.
The aim is to make the journey as efficient as possible by taking traffic jams, fuel consumption, tolls, and other obstacles, like low tunnels and bridges inaccessible to trucks into account. Route planners are crucial for efficiency and safety in freight transportation. They help to find the best routes, avoid traffic jams, and comply with legal regulations. This saves time and money and increases safety on the roads.
What is the difference between route planning and tour planning?
While route planning focuses on determining the best route between two points, planning a tour considers the entire transportation process. It includes the optimization of several routes, the consideration of vehicle parameters such as height, weight and dangerous goods class, compliance with driving times and traffic regulations as well as the integration of loading and unloading times. Route planning forms part of planning a complete tour. However, the optimum route for a single leg is only one component in the complex task of tour planning.
Success factors of route optimization
Successful route optimization is based on several decisive factors that have a significant impact on efficiency and productivity in logistics. The focus is on the optimal use of resources in order to integrate as many orders as possible into a route. The aim is to minimize the number of stops and travel times. This requires intelligent solutions that are able to plan precise delivery times and fulfill customer schedules. This reduces unnecessary journeys, increases productivity and improves customer satisfaction.
What needs to be taken into account when planning truck routes?
Traffic data and forecasts
Up-to-date traffic information is crucial for planning. Real-time data helps to avoid traffic jams and select alternative routes if necessary. Forecasts make it possible to include future traffic conditions in the planning.
Toll calculator and costs
Toll costs can make up a considerable proportion of transportation costs. A toll calculator helps you to find the cheapest routes and keep an eye on the total costs.
Consideration of vehicle restrictions
Trucks are often subject to certain restrictions, such as weight limits or clearance heights. These must be considered during planning to avoid penalties and delays.
Route selection and alternative routes
Choosing the right route is crucial. In addition to the main route, alternative routes should always be planned to be able to react flexibly to unforeseen proceedings.
Would you like to find out more about how truck route planning software can support your company?
Solutions to problems and constraints
Many variables and potential problems need to be considered when implementing optimized route planning. These include not only traffic-related constraints, but also unforeseen events that can disrupt the supply chain. Good route optimization anticipates such obstacles and allows timely action to be taken in order to minimize negative impacts on delivery times and efficiency. Flexibility is crucial here: systems that allow real-time adjustments increase driver productivity and avoid bottlenecks.
The basis for efficient route planning: truck vehicle profiles
Every route calculation is based on the vehicle profiles stored in the software. These specify the vehicle characteristics, such as length, width, height, or weight. The PTV Map&Guide route planner provides standardized reference profiles for trucks (40 t, 11.99 t and 7.49 t), articulated lorries, vans, and cars, which leads to traceable and transparent billing. That makes them ideal for shippers and transport service providers. If required, the profiles can also be adapted to your fleet's vehicles.
Customer satisfaction and cost savings
Another important success factor is customer satisfaction. Punctual deliveries within the agreed time windows are crucial for companies to remain competitive. At the same time, route optimization offers cost savings, for example by reducing the number of kilometers driven and the decrease in resource consumption. The combination of precise planning and flexible adjustment improves both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. This makes route optimization an indispensable tool for long-term success.
Basic functions of a truck route planner
A truck route planner software offers functions such as the consideration of bridge heights, weight restrictions and specific traffic rules. Standard features also include real-time traffic monitoring, information on fuel stations with fuel prices, arrival time predictions and fleet management integration. Route planners must consider various legal regulations in different countries and regions, which can be complex and time-consuming.
Software and hardware requirements
Truck route planners require a robust software platform and often special hardware that can withstand the rigours of everyday driving. They must support mobile data connections and offline navigation capabilities.
Limited functions of free route planners such as Google Maps
Google Maps is a popular route planning app, but only offers limited functions for trucks. The app does not consider specific restrictions such as weight or height. Therefore, it is often better to use specialized routing software that takes these factors into account. If a driver follows Google Maps navigation, they run the risk of entering roads that are not suitable for motor vehicle traffic or are simply closed: Low emission zones, bridges, or underpasses. Then it is time to turn around. Delayed deliveries and a lot of frustration are the result. The driver may even exceed his or her statutory driving time.
Route planners with predictive analytics & connected vehicles
AI and machine learning are used to predict future traffic conditions and capacity utilization in freight transport. These predictions help with proactive route planning and the avoidance of bottlenecks. Adaptive algorithms learn from past data and adapt to changing conditions to continuously determine the best routes. Connected vehicles communicate with each other and with the infrastructure to exchange information. This leads to better coordination and more efficient use of the roads.
Multimodal transportation & real-time data analysts
The combination of different modes of transportation (truck, rail, ship) is integrated into multimodal route planning to increase the efficiency and flexibility of supply chains. The combination of special tools to optimize the last mile of transport takes urban challenges into account and enables more efficient delivery in cities. Real-time traffic data plays a significant role here. The use of this data makes it possible to adjust routes immediately to avoid traffic jams and delays.
Sustainability, green logistics & electric fleets
As the cost of CO2 emissions rises due to increasing CO2 pricing, sustainable route planners are becoming increasingly important. Route optimization considers factors such as traffic, topography, and vehicle type, reducing fuel consumption, CO2 emissions and transport costs. The integration of electric and hybrid vehicles means that route planning for electric fleet transportation is increasingly being adapted. The EV Truck Route Planner considers the specific requirements of electric and hybrid vehicles, including charging times and ranges.
What are the main advantages of a truck route planner?
Precise calculation of toll and transport costs
Reliable and precise route planning is crucial for the preparation of price calculations and quotations. In a competitive environment such as the logistics industry, every euro counts. If too few kilometer-referred details are specified in the offer, transport companies may end up paying additional costs. However, the number of kilometer-referred details should not be too high either, otherwise, the order will be awarded to a cheaper competitor.
With PTV Map&Guide, you can calculate the expected transport costs for a tour down to the cent. The software factors the cost for vehicles and staff as well as route and vehicle-dependent toll costs. The dispatcher simply adds the desired margin and can incorporate the calculation directly into the quotation.
Improved punctuality
A software solution for truck route planning can not only create an optimal route but also calculate an ETA, i.e., the expected arrival time. The system considers current traffic information, data on permanent roadworks and the prescribed driving and rest times. This results in a highly precise and reliable ETA that can be passed on to customers and stakeholders in the supply chain. Downstream processes can start on time, service-level agreements (SLAs) are kept and penalties for being late at the ramp are reduced. PTV Map&Guide also continuously checks the real-time traffic situation, suggests alternatives in the event of traffic jams and road closures and adapts the ETA to the new route.
Reduced fuel consumption
The calculation is very simple: fewer kilometers driven means less fuel consumption. PTV routing technology offers a range of functions to reduce mileage consumption: Truck route planning takes traffic data into account and avoids traffic jams. The calculated routes are feasible. This reduces time pressure and stress and encourages drivers to drive more consistently and fuel-efficiently. The automated ETA notifications ensure more successful first delivery attempts. Good planning also helps to avoid detours and unnecessary empty runs.
Adhering to the route
Adhering to the specified route is more important than you might think. Drivers who do not adhere to the planned routes face potential fines and other unexpected expenses, such as tolls or penalties for arriving late at the ramp. In addition, a deviation can lead to delivery delays and non-compliance with service-level agreements.
Reduce CO2 emissions
Truck fleets account for a large proportion of logistics CO2 emissions. At the same time, customer awareness of sustainability and the desire for more climate-friendly delivery is increasing. In addition, more governments are requiring logistics companies to produce CO2 emissions reports. By optimizing truck route planning, unnecessary trips are avoided and less fuel is consumed. With PTV's planning tools, you can reduce the emissions of your logistics operation and calculate the exact amount of emissions per trip.
Increase safety
If a truck drives into a tunnel that is too low or gets stuck in a narrow road, poorly planned truck routes not only cost time and money but can also become a hazard. For good reason, certain regulations and restrictions apply on highways, tunnels and bridges to protect drivers, other road users and the environment. Automated and optimized truck route planning ensures that these rules are adhered to and that drivers, vehicles and cargo reach their destination safely.
Which industries benefit from truck route planning software?
Tracking and confirmation of deliveries.
Monitoring of shipped products and stops.
Ensuring the timely completion and delivery of goods.
Real-time tracking and delivery notification of all parcel consignments.
These logistics companies boost their performance with truck route planning
The TMS provider used PTV developer components to integrate routing functions into their software solution.
Being one of the biggest logistics companies in Poland, Omega Pilzno needed a route planner that could perform highly accurate cost calculations.
The Lithuanian company has chosen PTV routing software to organize its 35,000 transports per year.
FAQs on truck route planning
What are the main advantages of truck route planning?
The main benefits are time and cost savings, increased efficiency and reduced environmental impact.
What do you need to consider when planning truck routes?
The most important factors in truck route planning are:
Efficiency: the route should be as short and as accurate as possible, avoiding traffic jams and congested areas to minimize travel time and fuel consumption.
Costs: Tolls, ferry costs and other route-related costs should be considered when choosing a route.
Time: It must be possible to reliably meet the arrival time of the recipient.
Safety: The route should be safe for traffic and not pose any unnecessary risks for the driver or the load.
Legal requirements: All traffic regulations and driving time regulations must be observed.
Vehicle parameters: The dimensions, weight and hazardous goods class of the truck must be considered when choosing the route to avoid transit bans and other restrictions.
What do free route planners offer?
Free route planners such as Google Maps or Bing Maps offer basic functions for route calculation and traffic information. They can be helpful to get an initial overview of the route. However, these tools are not sufficient for professional truck route planning with complex requirements.
Can you plan routes for trucks on Google Maps?
Google Maps is a popular tool for route planning but offers only limited functionality for trucks. It does not consider specific truck restrictions such as weight or height. Therefore, it is often better to use specialized route planners that take these factors into account.
When is truck route planner software worthwhile for your company?
The use of specialized route planner software is particularly worthwhile if you:
- Professionally calculate costs and need to calculate the profitability of vans
- Regularly have to plan several truck routes.
- Manage complex transportation tasks with several stops and different delivery addresses.
- Have to consider vehicle parameters such as height, weight, width and hazardous goods class.
- Need to ensure compliance with driving times and traffic regulations.
- You want to save costs and improve efficiency with optimized routes.
What advantages does a specialized truck route planner offer?
Modern truck route planners offer a variety of functions that make your work easier, including:
Route optimization: the software calculates the optimal route considering all relevant factors.
Toll calculator: The software calculates the toll charges for the planned route.
Traffic data: The software takes current traffic data into account and suggests alternative routes in the event of traffic jams.
Navigation integration: The software can be connected to navigation systems to guide the driver along the optimal route.
