"Route planner" and "route software" get used like they're the same thing. They aren't, and picking the wrong one is expensive either way: you either pay for a system you don't use, or you end up running the business on a planner and three spreadsheets.
What a route planner does
You give it a list of stops. It gives them back in a good order, with directions, a driver app and usually proof of delivery. Most are quick to set up and many publish their prices. For a courier or a small delivery business, that may be all you need.
What route software does
Route software knows why the truck is going there. It knows the customer, what's due, what's on the truck, what got signed for and what gets billed. The route is one part of it.
Five questions that settle it
- Do the same customers repeat? If stops come from a schedule instead of today's orders, you want the software to build the list.
- Do you need to know what's on the truck? Gallons, drums, tanks and compartments aren't something a planner keeps track of.
- Does the stop create paperwork? Signed receipts and manifests need to go somewhere you can find them later.
- Does the pickup become an invoice? If someone retypes it, that's the job the software should be doing.
- Do customers call to change the day? If so, the phone and the route need to be close together.
Mostly no? Use a planner and save the money. Mostly yes? You've outgrown one.
The third kind
There's also software built for one trade, and route accounting software for delivery businesses. Our comparison lays out all three next to PiqMax.
Where PiqMax fits
PiqMax is route software. Google Route Optimization handles the stop order, and around it sit pickup cycles, drums and tankers, receipts and manifests, invoices, phones and maintenance. See route optimization software.