Guide to Optimize Your Route Planning with Google Maps

Efficient route planning is vital for businesses relying on local deliveries.

Whether you run a small local courier service, manage a large-scale logistics company or your business relies on local delivery, optimizing your route planning can lead to significant cost savings, improved customer satisfaction, and increased productivity.

In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the best practices to enhance delivery efficiency using Google Maps as your route planner.

‍

Is Route Planning Important?

Efficient route planning is very much important as it directly impacts the success of your delivery operations.

It enables your drivers to cover more stops in less time, reducing fuel costs and carbon emissions.

Moreover, well-planned routes minimize the chances of missed or delayed deliveries, leading to higher customer satisfaction and retention rates.

And that is why an efficient Route Planner like Kosmo, is so important in the process.

Start Free Now with Kosmo!

By optimizing your routes, you can also reduce wear and tear on your vehicles, extending their lifespan and reducing maintenance expenses.

Once we understand how Google Maps contributes to route planning, we will further develop on this topic´s importance. You can also skip the details to continue reading along.

Leveraging Google Maps as Your Route Planner

Google Maps is a good tool for small-sized businesses starting with a low budget because it is free.

However, it is important to notice that Google Maps operates as a navigation tool and not a route planner, thus, it is only recommended in the first stages of a Start-up until sufficient funds can be allocated in a high-end route planner with more robust features aligned for deliveries.

By incorporating Google Maps into your route planning process, you can ensure that your drivers always have access to the most up-to-date navigation information, helping them avoid traffic jams and road closures.

When to utilize Google Maps to plan delivery routes?

Google Maps can be useful for scheduling deliveries and arrange delivery routes only in these given circumstances apply:

• There aren't many stops you need to make (10 or fewer is ideal as Google will not let you fit in more than 10 stops, including the starting point).
• You don't care about taking the most direct way but the most efficient one based on road conditions or other real-time disruptions.
• There is plenty of time for manual adjustments.
• You can only afford a free tool because your delivery firm is just getting started.

Now that we have looked into the pros of using Google Maps as a Route planner, let's take a look into the cons.

The limitations of Google Maps as a Route Planner

• Limited stops: Google Maps allows only ten stops, including the starting location, which can be restrictive for longer routes and especially for delivery businesses.
• No route optimization: It lacks the feature to optimize routes, requiring manual adjustments to reduce travel time.
• Time-consuming: Adding multiple stops and optimizing the route manually can be a time-consuming process.
• Not ideal for high-volume deliveries: If you regularly make more than nine deliveries a day, Google Maps may not be the most efficient option. It is best suited for short navigation paths only.

Does Google Maps always provide you with the fastest route?

When looking for the quickest route from one place to another, Google Maps is the greatest option.

Managing several stops along the way, though, is not so wonderful.

Google Maps does not reorder stops automatically for the shortest, most useful route. There is no need to arrange the stops in any particular order; just find the shortest path between each one.

Google Maps won't direct you on the overall shortest route if you enter your coordinates incorrectly.

For sporadic travel, it won't be a big concern. It might become a problem, though, if you plan multi-stop journeys for your business.

The 5 Steps to Plan a Delivery Route with Google Maps:

Step 1: Launching Google Maps

To get started, open Google Maps on your preferred device. You can access Google Maps through the web or use the dedicated mobile application, available for both iOS and Android devices.

Step 2: Initiating Route Planning

Once you've launched Google Maps, locate the search bar at the top of the screen.

Here, you can enter the starting point of your journey. Input the address, landmark, or name of the place you'll be departing from.

Step 3: Adding Multiple Stops

Now, it's time to add the various stops along your route. To do this, look for the three-dot menu icon (usually located in the top-right corner of the screen) and select the "Add stop" or "Add destination" option.

Input the address, name, or landmark of the first stop you wish to add. Google Maps will automatically update the route to incorporate this stop into your itinerary.

Repeat this process for each additional stop you want to include. Note that Google Maps will only let you add 9 more stops in addition to your starting point.

Step 4: Optimizing Your Route

To further optimize your route, you can manually adjust the order of the stops. Simply tap and hold on a stop, then drag it to the desired position in the list. This way, you can prioritize certain destinations or rearrange them based on your preferences or route efficiency.

Remember that without doing this, Google will just follow the order in which you inserted the stops, and hence not optimize your route.

Step 5: Reviewing and Navigating Your Route

Once you've added all your stops and optimized the order, take a moment to review your complete route. Google Maps will display the entire itinerary, including the estimated travel time and distance for each segment of your journey.

To begin navigation, tap on the "Start" button, and Google Maps will guide you through your route, providing turn-by-turn directions and real-time updates.

And that’s it! You may create a route with several stops in Google Maps with just a few touches and start traveling. So, feel free to give it a shot!

Tip: Google Maps allows you to share your route, thus, we encourage you to share this with your drivers so there are no errors with the route planning details of the deliveries.

To share your route details, follow these instructions:

• Unless you're the driver, your present location is the start point, and you're prepared to travel right away, disregard the "Send directions to your phone" link at the bottom of your route if you want to share it. 
• Instead, select "Share or embed map" from the "hamburger" menu at the upper left of your screen. This will provide a window with a direct link to your entire route that you may share. You can send the entire route to anyone by email or text by copying this link.
• Save the link in your spreadsheet or on another document if you need to generate a lot of short routes. When you're ready, you can share every path at once. 
• A separate spreadsheet copy of each driver's route should be created and shared. Drivers now have convenient access to delivery instructions and contact information anytime they need it.
• When a driver is ready to begin the trip, they can just open the link on their mobile device and utilize the Google Maps mobile app to get turn-by-turn directions.  

The Importance of Efficient Route Planning - That Google Maps is not aligning with

Every minute counts when you're on the road and making multiple deliveries.

This is why planning your journey as efficiently as you can is crucial.

By planning efficiently, you may reduce time, fuel use, and stress on the road without sacrificing the quality of your service.

Who wouldn't want to feel less worried by not working any more harder?

Additionally, by making quick and effective stops at each location, you can ensure that your goods arrive on time and in good condition.

Managers, clients, and reviews will reflect on this optimal performance as a result of this!

Poor route planning costs time and money

Tools like Google are a blessing while you're trying to concentrate on the road in front of you.

However, scheduling numerous pauses could drastically choke your pipeline with issues. 

Google Maps is therefore not advised for delivery companies.

Fortunately though, Kosmo is designed to circumvent these obstacles.

Include additional stops for each of your drivers, and Kosmo will calculate the shortest route.

Plan your stops to maximize time savings and minimize fuel consumption.

Start now with Kosmo

‍

‍