Route planner vs route optimization software: what is the difference?
Short answer
A route planner puts the stops of one route in a sensible order and shows the way; route optimization software decides which stop goes to which vehicle, and in what order, while respecting rules such as time windows, capacity, shifts and skills. Vendors use both terms loosely, so check what a product does with your rules. With one driver and a few stops a route planner is enough; with several drivers and rules you need optimization.
How it works in Afi Planner
Two terms, one overlap
There is no standard that separates the words, so read what a product does with your rules rather than what it calls itself.
- Route planner: usually one route and one vehicle. You enter stops, it orders them and gives directions, often as a map tool
- Route optimization software: many stops and many vehicles at once. It assigns and sequences stops under constraints
- Many products say “route planner” and optimize underneath, or say “optimization” and only order one route
What separates them
Four questions tell the two apart in practice.
- Scope: one route, or all drivers at once
- Constraints: delivery windows, service time, capacity, shifts and breaks, skills
- Changes: how a late order or a sick driver is handled
- Dispatch and driver side: sending routes to phones, tracking, proof of delivery and measuring afterward; some tools stop at the plan
How to choose
Match the tool to your day, then test it on one real day with your own rules and compare with your own routes. The answer on planning routes for multiple drivers has the how-to.
- One driver, few stops, no windows: a route planner is enough
- Several drivers, windows or capacity: route optimization software
- If dispatchers send routes, answer customers and measure results: also check the delivery management features
Where Afi Planner fits
Afi Planner is route planning and delivery management software for local delivery teams, made by Afi Labs. It plans a whole day for every driver in one run with your windows, capacity, skills and shifts, and it explains stops that do not fit. It then sends routes to drivers in Afi Driver or by text link, gives customers a tracking page and measures results in analytics. It is free for three months with no credit card.
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Route optimization
Optimize delivery routes for your whole fleet in seconds: time windows, capacity, shifts, breaks and skills, with every unassigned stop explained.
13 steps · 6 min read
How to optimize routes and adjust them by hand
Frequently asked questions
Is a route planner the same as route optimization?
Not always. Check the scope (one route or all drivers) and whether your own rules are applied.
Do I need route optimization for one driver?
Usually not, unless windows, capacity or many stops make the order hard to work out by hand.
What does route optimization software need from me?
Your stops, your drivers and your rules: windows, service time, capacity and shifts.
Does Afi Planner do both?
Yes. It orders the stops of a single route (“Optimize this route”), plans many drivers at once with your rules, and covers the dispatch and driver side too.
More answers
- How do I add new orders after my drivers have already left?
- How can I see exactly what happened on a delivery day, minute by minute?
- Is there one list of everything a dispatcher needs to act on during the day?
- Can my customers track their delivery with a live ETA and see proof of delivery?
- Does the driver app work without a signal?
- How do I import delivery orders from Excel or CSV without mixing up the dates?
- Does Afi Planner have an API with webhooks?
- How do I plan delivery routes for multiple drivers?
- How should a food and beverage distributor plan truck routes?
- How do I calculate cost per delivery stop?
- Why was a stop left off my routes? Reading unassigned-stop reasons
- What route planning software works for a courier company?
- How do I replace spreadsheet route planning? A 1-day switch plan
- How can I reduce delivery costs? A dispatcher’s checklist
- How many stops per hour should a delivery driver make? And how to measure it
- What route software supports recurring weekly deliveries to the same customers?
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