Published on the 02/12/2009 | Written by Newsdesk

GeoSmart, the Automobile Association’s mapping subsidiary, has launched Route²GO, a software-as-a-service application enabling smaller businesses to carry out route optimisation planning.

“Often large companies are able to invest in expensive software solutions that will save vehicle operating expenses, allowing them to charge less for their services than SME companies,” says GeoSmart sales and marketing manager Luigi Cappel.

“They can afford expensive route optimisation software and the engineers to run it. There are plenty of stories of smaller companies that ended up going out of business or selling out to larger companies that were able to take business from them. We have seen this in many areas including freight and distribution, and field service.”

Cappel says route optimisation involves using a set of algorithms which looks at all the stops a vehicle has to make on a journey and calculates the most efficient order to do them in.

“This can benefit all sorts of businesses such as field service, couriers, meter readers or even a single furniture delivery truck. At face value this sounds simple, but in reality our solution takes into consideration factors such as road class, turn restrictions, one way streets, dual carriageways and more; things you can’t necessarily see on a map,” says Cappel.

“It takes the brain work out of it, leaving drivers to focus on their own skills. Sometimes there is also a difference in motivation between employees and those who contract or own their business.”