10 Benefits of Route Management for Foodservice Distribution

The ability to make quick deliveries is at the core of the success of a foodservice distribution company. However, there are many more moving parts involved beyond effective route management. Those that adopt technology to make all areas of operations more efficient save money, time, costs and maintain more happy customers. In fact, it’s a true game changer. Typically, key areas for improvement are controlling inventory and costs, projecting variable demand, managing accounts receivable, increase cross department communication and optimizing deliveries. In this blog, we outline 10 benefits foodservice distribution companies gain when they upgrade from manual to automated systems specifically regarding route management. Efficiency is especially critical in the foodservice distribution industry because many items are perishable.

Since a driver’s route usually consists of multiple trips it’s important to find areas to gain efficiency. Each trip consists with a stop with a transaction between the delivery person and the customer. Integrated and automated route management software helps speed up the deliveries and every transaction. So, how can improved route management and tracking help you save money, time, costs and maintain more happy customers? 

Foodservice distribution route planning software manages routes, trips, orders, and more…

1. Mobile app with GPS - Drivers get real-time notifications with GPS coordinates and detailed routing data
2. Detailed tracking - Track each route by assignment, day of the week and cut-off time
3. Reduce mileage and costs - Efficiently manage multiple stops to reduce time, distance, labor and fuel costs
4. Speed up delivery times – Avoid late deliveries and gas costs with efficient route planning
5. Flexibility to re-order or schedule any route as needed – Sales, scheduling staff or drivers can drag and drop a stop to change the order and route whenever needed
6. Integrate with your business - Integration with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) like the Acumatica Cloud ERP platform helps track ordering and inventory more accurately and improve overall efficiency.
7. Route scheduling automation - When new orders are processed and the shipment arrives, a trip is automatically created and scheduled on a route – planning the quickest routes is an important part of your business
8. Order processing at delivery - Record cash received, form of payment (credit card, check or cash) and process payment with the invoice
9. End of day processing – Reconcile the orders once the orders for the day are processes
10. Automation – Route optimization, order processing and inventory tracking

In our two previous blogs, we reviewed 10 common challenges companies face when using outdated software and the top 5 reasons to upgrade.

The solution: A modern foodservice inventory management solution with Acumatica, Prime FoodService Software and Dakota WMS

• Acumatica harnesses the advantages of the Cloud, giving even small to mid-size firms all the computing power they need without having to pay the high entry costs of hardware and infrastructure.
• Prime FoodService Softwareinterfaces with the leading cloud ERP Acumatica and foodservice warehouse management solution Dakota WMS. Prime is a complete food distribution ERP software that will help streamline inventory, quickly create orders, and improve customer communications.
• Dakota WMS by BFCprovides advanced selection and WMS tools with voice command or scanning. The built-in production control module makes Dakota WMS’ solution fully FSMA compliant. The Acumatica, Dakota WMS and Prime combination is an end-to-end solution.

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AKA Computer Consulting (AKA) is committed to providing customers evaluating ERP systems with the personal and professional guidance you need as part of your evaluation. can be reached at www.akaconsulting.com or 888-351-8355 or email.

AKA Computer Consulting

Since 1995, AKA Computer Consulting has established an outstanding reputation in the New York City Metro and Tri-State area for first-class implementation of business management systems, innovative and flexible custom software development and utmost dedication to customer service. AKA supports the leading Cloud ERP and WMS solutions Acumatica NY, PA, and the Northeast area local businesses who are growing and offers a wide array of services and solutions to manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, importers and exporters.