The Complete Delivery Journey:
Route Planning to Customer Engagement

Explore Descartes' comprehensive delivery management software.

Begin your journey with our ‘Build your own solution’ tool or delve into specific offerings like route planning, execution, performance management, mobile applications, telematics, and customer engagement.

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FAQ's

• 1. What is delivery management software?

  Delivery management software will improve delivery density and productivity. The planning process is faster with delivery schedules and routes being optimised quickly, making the best use of vehicles and drivers.

• 2. How does delivery management software work?

  The software uses a combination of clever algorithms and machine learning, integrated with historic traffic data and real-time vehicle tracking to provide a planning and monitoring solution for your deliveries. 

• 3. What are the benefits of using delivery management software?

  The main benefits are reduced costs and improved efficiency, but this can come from many areas of the whole delivery process, such as reduced planning time, better optimisation of vehicles and drivers and driving fewer delivery miles. However, some of the unexpected benefits can be an improved delivery rate and customer satisfaction due to shorter and accurate delivery times. 

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• 4. Can delivery management software integrate with existing systems?

  Yes, Descartes delivery management software will integrate with many ERP systems for the order input and most GPS Tracking systems for monitoring vehicle locations, while modules for customer notifications and delivery tracking can also be added. 

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• 5. What features should I look for in delivery management software?

  As well as checking whether the solution will meet your specific business requirements, you should ask if it will smooth deliveries over multiple days and geographical areas, whether the number of delivery slots per vehicle can be altered or set automatically by the software. Ensure that your entire fleet can be used across all of your depots and that the software will cope with returns or depot transfers. A good analytics package will help ensure you get the most out of your software.

• 6. How can delivery management software improve customer satisfaction?

  Providing narrow delivery windows and accurate delivery times which you can be confident of meeting eliminates potential customer anxiety as deliveries arrive on time. Customer satisfaction can be further improved with Descartes’ Customer Engagement software to provide automated customer delivery notifications, customer self-delivery tracking and feedback options and driver communications.

• 7. What is the cost of delivery management software?

  Cost will vary depending upon the number of vehicles and features required. Contact Descartes for a free 30-minute discussion to explore the options. 

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• 8. How can delivery management software reduce operational costs and increase profitability?

  Shorter delivery scheduling and planning times and higher delivery density, resulting in fewer delivery miles will be the main area of cost reduction, however other less obvious areas of potential savings are lower vehicle maintenance costs due to fewer miles, improved driver retention due to reduced driver stress levels and improved customer satisfaction leading to continued or increased future orders.

• 9. What industries can benefit from delivery management software?

  Any industry with their own fleet of delivery or service vehicles can benefit from optimising the routes and schedules for their vehicles.

• 10. How does delivery management software handle real-time tracking?

  Descartes’ solution tracks vehicles either from a driver’s hand-held mobile device or from integration with telematics GPS devices. Descartes’ software will integrate with all well-known telematics solutions, providing a monitoring tool for location and providing accurate ETA’s. 

  Vehicles can be monitored and located on the planned route, displayed on a mapping screen, delays are highlighted, and remedies can be put into action. 

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• 11. Can delivery management software manage multiple delivery routes?

  Yes, the system can cope with multiple delivery routes and multiple delivery drops on each route. The Descartes system can be used to plan routes over more than one day, giving an optimal and efficient solution for deliveries.

  Machine learning is used to identify otherwise invisible patterns and exceptions that can be improved upon in future deliveries. 

• 12. What kind of reporting and analytics does delivery management software provide?

  Delivery management software will monitor all aspects of delivery performance, showing planned v. actual for timeliness, success rates, driver productivity, and route efficiency, helping identify future areas for improvement. 

  Machine learning is used to identify otherwise invisible patterns and exceptions that can be improved upon in future deliveries. 

• 13. What are the key differences between various delivery management software solutions?

  Differences may include feature sets, the number of parameters that can be set for delivery models and deployment options, scalability, and integrations with other systems, but also consider how the licences work. 

• 14. How does delivery management software handle delivery exceptions or issues?
  • Managers can be alerted of possible late deliveries before delivery times and Descartes’ software will enable rerouting and reordering of deliveries live, while the vehicle is on the road. 
  • If Descartes’ customer notification software is part of the solution customers can easily be informed and kept abreast of any delays, while also allowing for communications with the driver if necessary. 
  • Customers can also track the progress of their driver on a map via a portal. 
• 15. What kind of support and training is available for delivery management software?

  Descartes provides a comprehensive and full training package at the start of every deployment, with 24/7 support for the reporting of  any user issues. 

• 16. Can delivery management software integrate with e-commerce platforms?

  Delivery management software should integrate with a company’s ERP solution, as information on orders and deliveries will be supplied by the ERP to the delivery management software. Over the years Descartes’ delivery management software has been integrated with all the main ERP systems, and many of the lesser-known ones too.

• 17. How does delivery management software optimise delivery routes?

  It will consider factors that include but are not limited to, delivery locations and addresses, traffic conditions, vehicle type, power train and capacity, delivery time windows from the customer and the goods or additional services required for the delivery in order to create the most efficient delivery routes. Descartes’ solution can also consider the depot where the goods will be collected from, so that more than one depot can be factored in for the collection of goods. 

  Collections can also be factored in at the planning stage making for a powerful delivery management planning tool. 

• 18. How scalable is delivery management software as my business grows?

  Descartes’ delivery management solution is scalable to businesses as they grow.  

• 19. What are some common challenges in implementing delivery management software?

  Common challenges include data transfer from existing systems, user adoption and training. A reliable internet connection is essential for users due to the solution being cloud based so that it can be accessed anywhere there is an internet connection. Descartes will work through all of these with you, having already setup many customers over the years. 

• 20. How does delivery management software enhance communication with drivers?

  Features like mobile apps and two-way communication tools allow drivers to receive updates, report issues, and communicate with dispatchers and end customer. The latter enables delivery information such as directions for hard-to-find locations or security gate codes to be sent directly to the driver. 

  Using the Descartes’ Customer Engagement solution also enables drivers to send messages to customers warning of late deliveries or asking questions for delivery information. 
   

• 21. What mobile features are available in delivery management software?

  Electronic proof of delivery can be added, with pictures and signatures being collected via a driver’s mobile device. This eliminates paper and printing while also shortening time to invoice and reducing damage claims from customers. 

• 22. Can delivery management software help with compliance and regulatory requirements?

  Delivery management software can monitor driving times, ensuring breaks are taken and a driver’s hours not exceeded, while the right/best vehicle can automatically be selected within the software for deliveries into Clean Air zones (CAZ) and Ultra low emission zones (ULEZ).