INSIDER SECRETS FOR SMARTER ROUTE PLANNING

Fleet Efficiency Webinar
for
Independent Laundry Companies

I've helped hundreds of companies just like yours reduce their fleet operating costs by 14-22% (or more!) without sacrificing on time deliveries or losing a single valued customer.

This system was developed specifically for uniform rental & linen supply companies. In this FREE webinar, you'll learn exactly how to eliminate inefficient routing, track driver performance and dramatically reduce fleet operating costs.

Chris Sciora is President & Founder of MobileIQ. His company has helped hundreds of companies implement route planning solutions over the past 15 years. In addition to the Headlight Route Planner, MobileIQ offers training, workshops and consulting services dedicated to helping small business plan and manage local fleets.

Signup for the next webinar: Thursday 2:00-3:00 MST

Date: From: Chris Sciora
Subject: Insider Secrets for Smarter Route Planning

Attn: Business Owners, Service Managers, Customer Service Managers, Fleet Managers (and everyone else who thinks there MUST be a smarter way to plan routes each day)

Almost every industrial laundry, linen supply, water delivery and coffee service company is driving 10 – 30% more fleet miles than needed to effectively service their customers.

With gas prices already approaching $4.00 per gallon, that's a tremendous amount of money literally being driven away every day.

Even with rising gas prices and shrinking profits, many companies put off making any changes to their routes because it's easier to simply ignore them. The trucks leave in the morning and return every afternoon. It might not be a great system, but it seems work well enough over the years.

Why Would Anyone Want to do Things Differently?

Let me tell you about a recent call I had with someone who owns a business exactly like yours. Dan's grandfather started the business almost 80 years ago, Dan's father took over and now Dan is the 3rd generation in charge. In many ways, it's the same business that grandfather started and some customers have been with them for decades.

But the business climate has also changed greatly over those eighty years. Independent companies are struggling with slow growth and lower profit margins. The competition is fierce and willing to sign new accounts with razor thin margins. The sales team is losing deals over pennies. Fuel prices hit a record high two years ago.

Granddad never worried about fuel prices.

Dan was frustrated about the routes. They were using the same system of route management that Granddad had started with.

After several years of monthly fuel cost creeping upward, drivers returning later and later in the day and having little to no idea of what certain specialty routes were costing, Dan was at his wits' end.

Something was most defiantly wrong but he wasn't sure exactly what the problem was or even where to start.

He was already suspicious of several of the drivers but had no way of knowing what they were really up to.

He also knew that there were some routes that appeared to be more trouble than they were worth and had growing concerns that they just might be costing more to maintain than they were earning from them.

Dan decided to start with the drivers.

Why Drivers Aren't Really the Problem

GPS units were installed in the vehicles so he could have some idea of what the drivers were doing. And it did a great job at doing just that.

The GPS system showed Dan exactly what the drivers were doing. It told him every time the vehicle went too fast or was left idling too long. He could even print reports showing daily miles and hours.

But there was still one BIG problem…

He still had no idea what the drivers were supposed to be doing!

GPS is an excellent tool for monitoring route performance, but a terrible tool for creating efficient routes or establishing route standards.

Dan's difficulties started with trying to understand how new accounts were being routed.

The sales or service manager would often choose a route or day based on personal familiarity with the routes. This was followed by the driver ultimately sequencing it and putting it on the route wherever it seemed to fit best. Handling new accounts with delivery time windows was even more challenging.

And that's just for routing one new account. Imagine ten years of the same process!!!

Because no matter how honest Dan's drivers were — or how well he tracked them — it didn't make up for the fact that most routing decisions were being made by different people without the right information. Many times it was simply guessing. Unbalanced routes, excess driving mileage, long days and overtime are common problems with manual route planning, which can't be solved by installing GPS equipment.

Take the Guess Work Out of Route Planning

By the time I heard from Dan had already modernized most aspects of the business. Besides the GPS, he'd purchased fuel-efficient vehicles, installed high-speed automated sorting systems, switched to RFID tags and was keeping customers informed with email newsletters. He was doing good things for the business.

But he couldn't find an answer to two simple questions about the routes: "What time should the driver get back to the plant?" and "How many miles should he be driving?"

No one knew.

Answering those two questions correctly is critical for making improvements and running efficient routes. It's the benchmark for measuring driver performance. Even fuel-efficient vehicles hurt profits when being driven 20% more than necessary.

It's easy to stick with the status quo and believe everything is being run efficiently by the service department. The single biggest objection I've heard over the past eighteen years is "That simply isn't possible. There's no way to reduce our mileage by 10%, 20%, pick a number…"

Without the proper tools, expertise and knowledge, that's certainly true. But I've yet to speak with any company that couldn't significantly reduce fleet mileage by following some basic steps.

How Much Can You Really Save With Smarter Route Planning?

Almost certainly more than you'd think possible.

Here's a short case study from a recent client…

Over $300,000 in additional profits

My latest project involved a 27-vehicle fleet servicing the hospitality and medical industry from three locations throughout Pennsylvania.

Phase 1 opened a new depot and eliminated 150,000 annual fleet miles. Phase 2 eliminated an additional 163,000 fleet miles. At $1.00 per fleet mile, that's over $300,000 in additional annual profits.

These results are pretty common. With the right adjustments you stand to cut 14-22% of your fleet costs.

How Do I Make this Route Planning Stuff Work?

If you are tired of spending hours on route planning wondering how to organize efficient route and having little to no idea what the drivers are doing once they leave in the morning you're not alone.

It's almost impossible to figure this stuff out with out help. And that's true for big companies, small companies and companies in between. If you are trying to organize sales calls service calls deliveries and pick-ups in your local area it is very time consuming and more than frustrating.

There's a better way and that's what this free workshop is all about.

I've helped hundreds of companies over the years improve their route planning process, written how to guides, completed several dozen major route planning projects and even invented the headlight route planner.

What I've learned will save you countless hours of frustration and help you to dramatically cut your fleet costs.

Valuable Lessons Covered in This Info-Packed Webinar

• What things are important in a route planning solution?
• How efficient routes provide a MAJOR competitive advantage for companies making sales, service or delivery calls in a local area
• Where does GPS fit into route planning? What about portable navigation units?
• How do I get the drivers to buy into this stuff?
• We're growing and would like to avoid adding new drivers. Is that possible?
• Are there better ways to handle will call/emergency/ASAP deliveries?
• Why the DRIVERS making deliveries and service calls really aren't the problem
• How will route planning integrate with our existing procedures and processes?
• One HUGE benefit of using commission based routes vs. hourly routes (and why hourly routes generate the biggest immediate savings)
• The SINGLE easiest way to improve driver performance (that you're definitely not doing)

Route planning offers tremendous benefits for almost any company, but it requires taking action. If you're interested in quickly reducing fleet mileage, sign up for the Fleet Efficiency Webinar for unbiased information from the leading industry expert.

Cheers,

Chris Sciora, President & Founder