Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/443069
30 COMMERCIAL CARRIER JOURNAL | JANUARY 2015 process. The company used the software to determine the optimal least-cost route plan for all orders in the system at that time. This dynamic routing process required a lot of adjust- ments afterward to keep its routes consistent. "The trouble with dynamic rout- ing is that we know that drivers and customers prefer consistent routes, but how do you get regular routes when half of the customer base is changing each day?" Peele says. The company continually was over- hauling its routes manually to make them similar to the previous week while including all new orders from the current week. This process took time and left its warehouses waiting on the logistics department to fi nalize route plans so they could start preparing boxes for delivery. Extending the deadline Door to Door created a process to elimi- nate the ineffi ciencies and errors caused by having to manipulate its routes manu- ally every day. The new "master route" planning strategy starts by importing the saved routes from the previous week into its routing software system. With the master routes for an area shown on a map interface, logicians can view all new orders. Next, they manually drag each order into the adjacent routes shown on the screen, Peele says. Although this process still has some manual elements, the company is able to strike a balance between the effi cien- cies of dynamic routing (using fewer miles and resources) and static routing (keeping drivers on the same routes). The outbound logistics department reopti- mizes its master routes about every six weeks, Peele says. With this process, the logistics depart- ment is able to complete about 90 percent of the route planning before order cutoff. The company passed the time savings onto its customers; it extended its order deadline from 8 a.m. to noon on the day before delivery. The customer service department has been spending less time on the phone and responding to emails from customers who otherwise would want to change an order past the 8 a.m. deadline. The new planning process also has improved the quality of Door to Door's routes. Shortly after noon on the day before delivery, the company's warehouses have the full route plan with the con- tents of each order and delivery sequence for each route. With this informa- tion, they can prepare and stage boxes for delivery. On the morning of delivery, the orders are packed on an assembly line and sent out the door to a fl eet of vans. Same-day delivery With its new route planning process, Door to Door is planning a new option that will allow customers to extend the order deadline even closer to the date of delivery for a small fee. This option is possible by putting the same-day orders on the same routes that were created the previ- ous day without having to rebuild or reoptimize the routes. Without the master routes strategy, same- day orders would be cost-prohibi- tive to the company and its customers, Peele says. Door to Door plans to introduce the same-day delivery option in an incre- mental fashion. The company will start by offering it to customers close to its warehouses. After building awareness of the same-day delivery option, it plans to build up enough demand and density to expand the service to an entire metropoli- tan area. The same-day delivery will work as long as a pre-planned route is scheduled to leave a warehouse after the order deadline, such as 10 a.m. on the day of delivery. "Hopefully, it will not cost us much more, if anything at all," Peele says. Charging a fee for same-day deliveries will help offset some delivery costs, but he anticipates it mostly will be a customer service tool. Door to Door recently closed on an- other round of funding, which brought in another $25 million to accelerate its growth. With its effi ciency gains and its curated subscription model for e-com- merce, the company has positioned itself as one to watch. This year, its revenues are on a trajectory to increase by more than 40 percent from $35 to $50 million and its customers to increase 20 percent, Peele says. CC J I N N O VATO R S profi les carriers and fl eets that have found innovative ways to overcome trucking's challenges. If you know a carrier that has displayed innovation, contact Jeff Crissey at jcrissey@ccjmagazine.com or 800-633-5953. By clicking on a featured recipe on Door to Door Organics' website, the main ingredi- ents are added to a weekly delivery box to go along with staples such as milk and eggs. Door to Door Organics eliminated the ineffi ciency and errors caused by having to manipulate its home delivery routes manually every day, says Aaron Peele, outbound logistics manager.