While finding the shortest path between two points has been the intrinsic need of humans to accomplish maximum efficiency due to the asymmetrical nature of geographical infrastructure with extreme diversity, it is an intractable and massive task to optimize the routes manually. For industries associated with mobility, transport/shipping, supply chain, and logistics, the routing framework must be near perfect to preempt certain situations and proactively approach uncertainties. Route optimizers/planners leveraged with advanced insights, machine learning, cognitive computing, and deep learning are ideal for effectively planning pathways. Route optimizers are extensively helpful for delivery services as well. They automatically schedule departures and arrivals at multiple stops to improve system efficacy.
Challenges Faced by the Customers
Traffic Overload
Traffic load has always been a coherent impediment for the mobility sector whether it be public transport, freight forwarding or other logistics areas. Real-time traffic data wrangling and imputation is therefore imperative to obtain futuristic visualizations of never-before-seen situations.
Weather Impact
Given how complex and subtle weather forecast can be, managing the routes w.r.t unprecedented climatic conditions is always a prohibitively tough assignment. Luckily due to availability of Big Data and sophisticated computational architectures, scheduled route optimization is a dynamic solution in such an unstable environment with so many variables to be considered.
Real-time inconsistencies
Real-time inconsistencies involve many undefined factors impacting the route from departure to arrival. These can involve multiple stops (based on upgrading customer requirements), unexpected cancellations, additional pathways, vehicle shortages, shortened time windows, etc. With an adaptive route optimizer, many unseen situations can be dealt with features like real-time tracking, region-based planning, intelligent dispatch management, and scheduling.
Clustering
For shipments involving multiple deliveries into the same distant regions, clustering is a possibility thereby significantly increasing shipping expenditures and ultimately impacting delivery timelines. In such a case accurate extrapolation is required prior to the dispatch of deliverables. Dispatching lines hence having advanced integration solutions of route optimization coupled with AI are able to cope with such situations. Load pooling or pool distribution is hence the preferred alternative course adopted in case clustering is foreseen by the AI enabled algorithms.
In a nutshell:
Resilient route planning adds value to the operational management of daily tasks. The workflow can become uninterruptable through a descriptive, diagnostic, and predictive approach enabled by AI for route selection daily.