La logística última milla es un negocio de céntimos y segundos, cada céntimo cuenta, cada segundo importa. Hacer la vida de tu repartidor más ágil, sencilla y eficiente tendrá un impacto más importante del que quizás seas consciente.

Seguramente estés buscando una app, y sólo de pensar que tendrás que explicarles a todos los repartidores como instalar, si funcionará en sus teléfonos, sobre todo el de los repartidores externos que cada día cambian, entre muchos otros problemas… pensarás que el papel no es tan mala solución.

Quizás haya otras alternativas que no sean una app que requiera instalación, que serán aun más rápidas y convenientes que entregar un papel. Vamos a ver las grandes diferencias entre una App nativa, una webapp y por último el papel.

En cualquier cambio, es importante identificar los principales aspectos que marcarán el éxito del cambio. En la adopción de una solución digital para repartidores es importante reflexionar sobre 3 aspectos:

• La instalación de la herramienta
• La formación de la herramienta
• La adopción de la herramienta.

Instalación de la herramienta

Antes de decidirse por una herramienta es importante estudiar bien el proceso de instalación de la herramienta elegida. Una app nativa requerirá de conocimientos por parte del usuario en la instalación de apps. Navegar por las diferentes stores de apps, hasta encontrar la correcta. Por último compartir con el usuario sus credenciales (usuario y password) para poder acceder a su cuenta. Este proceso se deberá repetir con todos los repartidores, y seguramente tengas una alta rotación, por lo que será un proceso que se deberá hacer de forma habitual.

La webapp de Routal permite agilizar todo este proceso con el simple acceso a un link enviado por correo electrónico, WhatsApp o cualquier otro medio. Es un sistema muy sencillo y conveniente, especialmente en empresas que trabajan con servicios tercerizados para sus operaciones y estos pueden cambiar diariamente.

Además, uno de los riesgos de las Apps nativas es el soporte en los diferentes modelos. En el mercado existen más de 24.000 modelos diferentes y es virtualmente imposible dar soporte para todos ellos. Por el contrario, una webapp como la de Routal, está basada en código estándard HTML soportado por todos los dispositivos en su navegador nativo. No hay nada peor que escuchar a un repartidor decir, en mi móvil no funciona.

Formación

La formación es un paso clave para el uso de cualquier herramienta. En general, todas las herramientas de movilidad suelen ser fáciles de usar por parte de los trabajadores de campo, repartidores o cualquier empleado.

En este video podrás ver como de sencillo es la aplicación de Routal. Nuestros clientes no tardan más de 3 minutos en enseñar como funciona a sus repartidores.

Adopción

La adopción de las herramientas es la tarea más difícil en cualquier empresa. Cambiar el status quo (La forma habitual de trabajar de la compañía) puede ser un gran reto. Para tener éxito en este tipo de proyectos, hay un secreto: Generar más conveniencia a los usuarios con el nuevo proceso.

La aplicación debe ahorrar tiempo, ser más sencilla que la solución actual y sobre todo debe hacerle la vida fácil al trabajador.

Por ejemplo, en la webapp de Routal, dispones de un botón de acceso directo a Google Maps o Waze que rellenará la dirección y guiará al repartidor hasta el punto de entrega en un sólo click. Ahorrando unos segundos de copiar la dirección, con los posibles errores que pueda cometer.

Una de las tareas que más hacen los repartidores es atender el teléfono. Realizar llamadas a clientes, recibir llamadas de su responsable para conocer el estado de las entregas, y un largo etc. Poder ahorrar 30 segundos copiando el número de teléfono de un cliente, puede parecer insignificante, pero si esa tarea se repite decenas de veces a lo largo del día, podemos estar hablando de ahorros de más de 20-30 minutos. Tiempo que se puede dedicar a realizar más entregas, o evitar un accidente.

Otra de las ventajas de la digitalización es el poder compartir información en tiempo real de forma asíncrona. Por ejemplo, el estado de las entregas, o las propias fotografías permiten a clientes y responsables estar al corriente del estado de su entrega y todo lo sucedido en el momento que lo necesitan. Sin molestar, o tener que estar a la espera. Información en tiempo real, mejores decisiones y servicio más conveniente.

Como conclusión, una herramienta sencilla, que mejore el rendimiento de los repartidores y sea más conveniente que la solución actual son las claves para lograr el éxito de un proyecto de monitorización del reparto.

Te animo a probar nuestra solución Routal Planner de optimización de rutas, monitorización del reparto mediante webapp y la comunicación en tiempo real a tu cliente.

Move smarter. Algo tan sencillo de entender, pero a la vez muy complejo de hacer. Nos mueve elevar la eficiencia al máximo y reducir la complejidad al mínimo. Es momento de empezar una nueva etapa y cambiar para mejorar aún más. Y empezamos cambiando algo que nos identificó desde el principio, nuestro nombre.

Nuestra historia nace en el sector de la logística. Es un sector apasionante que no deja a nadie indiferente. O lo amas, o lo odias. No hay puntos medios. A nosotros, nos enganchó.

En la logística se lucha a diario, cada día es diferente, cada día hay nuevos retos. Pero para muchas empresas, llega un momento que esa complejidad se normaliza, es parte del día a día y llega la monotonía.

Trabajar en un entorno controlado, sin grandes sobresaltos, haciendo tu trabajo, es para muchos el mejor castillo que salvaguardar. Vemos a diario como empresas no quieren cambiar sus procesos, ni forma de trabajar. “Llevamos años así y no nos va tan mal”, dicen muchos. Seguramente puedan aguantar algunos años más en el mercado, la pregunta es cuántos más.

Cuando empezamos, luchábamos contra castillos inexpugnables. Creíamos, como buenos ingenieros, que la tecnología podía ganar a mil años de experiencia. Éramos jóvenes e idealistas. Y estábamos muy equivocados…

Humildad, trabajo y experiencia. Teníamos que aprender que las empresas no pueden permitirse el lujo de no entregar. Su negocio depende de ello, su plato en la mesa depende del éxito de cada entrega. Así empezó nuestra historia: en un entorno hostil, sin experiencia, pero con la convicción de que habían muchas cosas por hacer y grandes oportunidades.

Han sido 8 años, más de 20.000 horas de duro trabajo de todo un equipo y la confianza de muchas personas. Sobre todo, clientes que tenían la convicción de que las cosas podían hacerse de forma diferente, y que aquellos jóvenes tenían algo que podía ayudarles a mejorar su día a día.

Hemos dejado de ser aquellos jóvenes idealistas que sólo se focalizaban en la tecnología. Ahora, usamos la tecnología en beneficio de las personas. Trabajamos para hacer que el día a día de responsables logísticos, planificadores de rutas, repartidores y clientes sea más rápido,  eficiente y conveniente.

Nos hemos hecho mayores y nuestro producto está preparado para un gran salto. Nuestra mentalidad como compañía está dirigida por una nueva brújula: Reducir la complejidad al mínimo, aumentar la eficiencia al máximo y dar un soporte constante.

Esta es nuestra estrella polar, nuestra north star, que guía todos nuestros pasos en este camino.

Hoy, trabajamos para reducir la complejidad al mínimo.Hoy, nuestros clientes se mueven de forma más eficiente.Hoy, acompañamos a miles de clientes en todo momento.Hoy, crecemos como equipo y como compañía.

Somos una plataforma para el negocio local que será global.

Somos una compañía que está construyendo una solución integral, esencial y muy real.Hoy, somos Routal.

Movamos el mundo de forma más inteligente.

Move the World Smarter.

‍

Temperature-controlled logistics is an added challenge to the already complicated distribution of goods. The great challenge is to maintain a controlled, stable and safe temperature throughout the journey from the factory to the final consumer of that merchandise.

As logisticians, we must ensure the safety that this product has not been damaged due to an inadequate temperature, since surely.

There are many products that need temperature, from perishable foods such as foods (fruit, vegetables, or any type of fresh food), medicines, or even precision parts whose temperature could change their shape, to give common and not so common examples. Likewise, we can find different temperature levels:

• Without temperature: 15º-40º
• Controlled temperature:
  • Refrigerated: 0ºC → 8ºC
  • Frozen: 0ºC → -20ºC
  • Ultra frozen: Below -40ºC

Products that require controlled temperature are transported by vehicles specially designed to maintain the temperature inside. For this purpose, they are equipped with powerful cooling systems. Some in the form of an autonomous system with their own diesel engines, others connected to the vehicle that provides the energy, or even some are powered by passive cold (incorporating ice loads that preserve the cold).

What challenges do controlling cold in the supply chain entail?

Fuel consumption

Refrigerated vehicles consume much higher than conventional vehicles. Refrigeration is a process that consumes a large amount of energy, and that translates into liters of diesel. The greater the temperature difference between the inside of the truck and the outside, the more work the cooling system must do, consuming more in summer.

Therefore, the products must be in the truck for as little time as possible. Efficient logistics management will try to minimize that time in loading.

Another action that has a great impact on consumption is the opening of doors. Every time a refrigerated truck opens its doors, outside heat penetrates the truck, increasing consumption. The solution is to minimize the opening of doors, and above all, to minimize the time they remain open. Good planning that allows the load to be ordered so that the unloading time is the minimum, will reduce opening time, reducing consumption.

Systems of route optimization that allow efficient route planning, reducing travel time and efficiently organizing vehicle loading are key to reducing consumption, costs and improving service.

Cold chain management and safety

Ensuring that the merchandise has not undergone heating and refreezing is critical. Many goods could be damaged, even becoming dangerous for human consumption. Examples such as fruit, which at high temperatures due to its high sugar content can cause the colonization of bacteria that damage the product, or pharmaceutical material such as vaccines or antibiotics whose effectiveness is reduced due to high temperatures.

Active monitoring of products and/or their transport is key to ensuring that products are transported with guarantees. Dataloggers and all kinds of temperature control probes are key tools for this type of logistics.

Conclusions

The cold logistics chain has a large number of challenges to face. We have dealt with some examples with the main challenges such as logistics optimization to reduce consumption or temperature monitoring to ensure the cold chain at all times. These are some of the main challenges in a key sector for many industries.

At Routal, we help all types of refrigerated transport companies to optimize their distribution, save time and fuel in just 24 hours. Try it here.

The market is demanding more every day sustainability. It is one of the great mega-tractors of the economy, as well as the conscious consumer. This fact is making big brands move towards that position. Out of belief, or out of necessity, the entire market is being forced to Transition towards production processes with lower environmental impact.

Unquestionably, logistics is a very important part of all companies' emissions and the market is beginning to transition to more sustainable and efficient methods. From the relocation of factories to points closer to their customers, to limiting air transport as much as possible or transitioning their own fleets to electric vehicles.

At the last ICIL Debates convention in Barcelona, two important retailers in our country such as Mango or Unequal showed the difficulty in finding carriers capable of offering sustainable delivery. They get together three important challenges when it comes to achieving the transition to electric vehicles: The large investment in electric vehicles (3x a diesel) Charging management of the vehicle (charging point, charging times, civil works, etc.) Operational Management of an electric fleet (range management, type of driving, etc.) If, in addition, we add that most of the fleets belong to small entrepreneurs or the self-employed, it makes that transition really difficult.

Investment in electric vehicles

Nowadays we find a multitude of brands with electric vehicle solutions on the market. Especially in light vehicles, we find the largest catalog of brands such as Citroën, Fiat, Nissan or Ford, among others. Brands with extensive experience in this type of traditional industrial vehicles that have focused on offering electrical solutions so that their customers can face the restrictions of cities such as Low Emission Zones. The problem appears when the operation requires larger tonnage trucks. Brands such as Jac Motors they already offer solutions that allow them to beat their diesel counterparts in a few years.

Charging management

The installation of a charging point itself can be an expensive installation and its optimization depends to a large extent on the needs of the operation. Points such as the number of vehicles to be recharged, charging times and other variables will determine the power needed, which may make the final cost of the installation more expensive or considerably lower. Specialist companies such as Circontrol and Bia Power make it possible to achieve a balance between installation and efficient loading of any fleet.

Operational Management

Many companies are not aware that the transition is not just about buying an EV and setting up a charging point. One of the advantages of an EV is that it requires much less maintenance, but new restrictions such as range management are key to getting the most out of this type of vehicle. Nowadays, fleet managers do not have the knowledge to plan routes with the precision required by this type of vehicle. To this end, companies such as Aigües de Barcelona, with one of the largest electric fleets, use route optimization technology such as Routal Capable of plan routes taking into account the range of your electric vehicles to maximize its use, even if it does not have 100% of the available load.

Conclusion

The electric vehicle transition It's not just a replacement for automotive technologies, if it does not involve other essential parts such as recharging or operational management itself. The challenge for companies, administrations and clients is to facilitate, promote and finance this change. The market is pushing hard towards more sustainable logistics. We already have the technology to address each and every one of the challenges, all we need is training and institutional support to finish facing this national challenge.

Excerpt from the article published in the Supply.net magazine in May 2023

We can summarize 2022 in three words, a great year. In a sector where every second and every cent counts, and where if you don't measure it you can't improve, numbers come first: We have doubled our turnover again, we are now close to half a million euros. Thanks to our more than 250 customers who trust their processes every day to our route optimization tool. Without your trust and without your demand to make a better product, we wouldn't be here. But we still have a long way to go together. And to add to many more.

Our mission:

“Provide affordable tools that improve the experience and efficiency of logistics processes for any company.”

It's always good to check if we're on the right track and I think that our mission is more current than ever. As a good logistician named Bezos said, “Work based on something that won't change in the next 10 years.”

The experience of most companies that operate in the last mile can be improved. From the internal decision-making processes, to the planning itself, management with the distribution or the end customer experience can be improved. Highly upgradable. That's why we're here and our customers share the same mission. Improve every day, be more efficient and provide a more convenient service.

The economy is at a time of maximum uncertainty, and that causes logistics to suffer. We live in an interconnected chain where if someone in China sneezes, we feel it in Barcelona, Lima and Reykjavik. Last-mile logistics, as the last link in the chain, also notices this. What to do? Adapt, be more efficient and flexible. There's no other one left.

Logisticians know a lot about adapting to unexpected changes, it's in our DNA. To adapt, you need to evolve, improve your processes and that's where companies find us. We are with them to make this transition as fast as possible (Congratulations Prio Energy for deploying in 24 hours 👏🏻) and simple (Cabify Logistics has assured us that they have tried all the platforms and none as easy to use as Routal).

Our present is to continue the great work we have been doing for the last 3 years. Better products, easier to use and more powerful. This is why we have released a new version. More intuitive, faster and more collaborative. With one goal: To make your life easier, more flexible and efficient.

We believe in our way of working, we know what is different from the rest, and we understand that if we want to be the reference we cannot set our sights on today or tomorrow, but rather think about the coming years and working from now on. For this reason, we invest a lot of efforts in improving product, value and customer communication processes. We still have a lot to do.

The future will bring us better products, solutions that improve the experience and efficiency of logistics processes. That is our mission and we work every day to get closer. All our work is based on some principles (and our clients share them):

• Continuous improvement: Nothing is perfect, everything can be improved and anyone (including customers) can propose improvements
• Transparency: We are transparent (we publish any incident with the service openly), we all make mistakes, but we assume our responsibility.
• Listen to customers: Understand the needs of each customer, improve the product for everyone and have the courage to say no, for now.
• Persistence: It's hard for things to work out the first time, we can't give up, so we have to keep fighting

2023 will be an even bigger year.

All that's left is Christmas. Breathe, there's less left. We all have the same feeling, a terrible storm has taken hold of our email, TV and shop windows. With a single motto: Black Friday.

The feeling that everyone has of is one of exhaustion, tiredness and deception. Everything related to Black Friday is predictable, irrational and in some cases generates unethical behavior. From the famous pushes in American department stores, to raising prices the days before.

This negative perception is taking hold of all consumers. I'm not saying that, but different studies that try to analyze the perception of this day and arrive at the same coincidence, people are tired. Consumer Emotions on Black Friday: Antecedents and Consequence, Are Black Friday deals worth it? Mining Twitter Users' Sentiment and Behavior Response.

We all know that to sell in the B2C world, the best strategy is to attack the reptilian brain. Moving the customer to make irrational decisions, the urgency, a reduced time and a price that will never be repeated, will make you lose THE opportunity to buy what you wanted so much. With all this push, it's obvious that people can't do anything other than go crazy with their credit card.

A second after the purchase is the moment when you realize that you probably didn't need it (nor could you afford it). The offer wasn't as good as you thought and on top of that you'll have to suppress your desire to party due to lack of funds. You feel used by marketing departments and you start to distrust.

The following year, you look months in advance at the price of what you really wanted to buy (waiting for the big day) to make sure you're not being fooled, and you end up delaying the purchase you would have made months before. When the big day comes and after 3 failed delivery attempts by the courier, you end up thinking about the environmental impact of your purchase. You are not alone. Brands are also evolving.

One of the demonstrations that Black Friday is at a time of exhaustion is Google Trends. We can see a clear setback in the Number of Google searches of the term Black Friday.

We have overcome the peak, and we are going down in what can be sensed as a tendency to flatten the curve. It probably won't go away, but it shows clear signs of exhaustion. Like any acquisition channel, the beginnings tend to be explosive, at a point where it becomes mainstream, and from there performance declines rapidly to a point of exhaustion. Tap Find New Things. Innovate in new strategies.

How are brands attacking this Black Friday exhaustion problem? Green Friday

With new proposals such as Green Friday. Turn around an exhausted concept and associate positive values with the brand. A clear trend in all ecommerce is sustainability. At the last ICIL Debates event in Barcelona, important brands such as Mango or Desigual publicly demonstrated their commitment to sustainability throughout the chain. From sustainable manufacturing to transport with the lowest possible CO2 footprint. Eliminating the plane as much as possible from its logistics, as a practical example of its actions.

A pending issue is the sustainable last mile delivery. Companies such as Beeasy or Geever they deliver the last mile by scooter or on foot with a delivery network that allows last-yard capillary delivery with 0 emissions. These are alternatives that will grow more and more strongly in cities.

For heavier products, or greater geographical dispersion (less dense areas), it will be essential to use electric vehicles. One of the biggest brakes is the operational management of this type of vehicle. They don't behave the same way and the fear of”Stay strung out” is a brake on their transition. Technology such as Routal allows plan routes and make sure you don't run out of battery increasing vehicle productivity by more than 30% and facilitating the management of this new way of distributing.

Without a doubt, this transition will not be easy. But if we can turn a date as relevant to commerce as Black Friday into Green Friday, we will help generate that momentum that the sector needs to make the transition to last-mile logistics more sustainable. It's for the good of all.

Los KPIs (KKey Performance Indicators) as their name says, are numerical performance indicators that allow us to identify possible positive or negative developments in our operations in order to measure and compare them. It also allows us to act accordingly to improve performance, creating planning and process optimization strategies.

In the case of the logistics sector, these indicators help to have knowledge of the company's processes and operations in order to work on the continuous improvement of the entire logistics chain, from warehousing to distribution.

These indicators help to make decisions about processes and to be clear about how the company's operations are working. That's why they are very relevant to the sector. They also allow us to make comparisons with certain historical moments or with reference metrics (for example from other companies) when carrying out a Benchmarking. Also they make it possible to reduce errors, reduce costs, optimize processes, enhance profitability and improve productivity.

There are different classes or categories of indicators:

Performance: they provide information on whether the execution of the scheduled activities is being carried out

Productivity: they allow us to compare real values with the objectives that were expected to be achieved, in a certain period of time.

Utilization: they allow us to measure how we use our resources. For example: number of used vehicles

To establish the KPIs we want to measure, we must take into account what the company's objectives and these indicators are. The process that is used for the operation must also be taken into account. On the other hand, reasonable and attainable objectives must be established, in order to then be able to make comparisons that work for the company. For this purpose, the SMART theory (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Based) is used, meaning that objective KPIs must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant or realistic, and timely. As an example, we could say that “making more shipments” is not as SMART a goal as “increasing shipments by 5% in 6 months”. Objectives should be part of a planned strategy to achieve larger goals.

What are the KPIs that we should consider in last-mile logistics?

For the last mile sector, there are many indicators to consider. We'll tell you which are the most relevant to us:

Number of deliveries/stops made and canceled: can be measured per day (total), by zone or per driver.

Reasons for cancellation: establish the most common ones and measure the quantity of each one. Then you can analyze how to avoid these cancellations.

Delivery attempts: How many times was the visit carried out until it was completed

Used vehicles: quantity per day

Kilometers traveled: amount per day or per vehicle

Road time (hours): amount per day or per vehicle

Customer Satisfaction: it is measured through evaluation surveys sent to the customer

Staff/driver satisfaction: is measured through assessment surveys through the system used by drivers

Cost per km or delivery: can take into account different factors such as the price of fuel, the price of outsourcing the service, etc.

All of these KPIs can be analyzed day by day to improve operations and correct errors that may be happening in deliveries. In addition, many of them can be improved by optimizing routes such as the kilometers traveled and the number of vehicles used per day. This makes it possible to considerably reduce costs and also CO2 emissions.

With Routal Planner not only can you plan and optimize your routes in minutes, you can also view them in the Analytical all the KPIs relevant to your business, to be able to work on the continuous improvement of your processes and reduce your operating costs.

Try Planner free for 10 days doing click here.

The logistics industry is constantly changing, both in processes and in the way of proceeding. These changes are due, to a large extent, to technological advances in the sector, which evoke different modalities in logistics processes, such as reverse logistics.

What is Reverse Logistics?

Reverse logistics is the set of practices and processes responsible for managing the returns and returns of those products purchased by users.

These returns or returns are managed from the points of sale of the products to the manufacturer itself (to carry out the repair, recycling or disposal of the product at the lowest possible cost).

In addition, reverse logistics is already another process and of vital importance when planning the supply chain for the satisfaction of the end customer.

Reverse logistics is one of the main challenges faced by the industry and the main objective is to avoid high costs and manage returns in the shortest possible time.

8 tips to improve your reverse logistics

Customer Centric: It responds to the customer-oriented strategy through which an organization places the customer at the center of the company with the objective of focusing all processes and operations on users.

The implementation of the Customer Centric strategy increases the satisfaction of our users, since we focus all our efforts on knowing their needs and concerns regarding our activity. Knowing the desired delivery and return times or a maximum price per service will help increase your satisfaction and, therefore, carry out a satisfactory reverse logistics process.

Strategic Planning: Perform measured and analytical planning to ensure the correct management of operations taking into account parameters such as mileage or travel time. With the right software, this will be an autonomous task, in which a large amount of time is not required and with an optimal result, since it will always offer the most efficient route.

Optimization of resources: The optimization of resources when it comes to transportation is essential for the success of your company's reverse logistics process; it will help control the traceability, trajectory and tracking of shipments. In addition, planning delivery routes efficiently and optimally will result in significant economic and time savings. Therefore, the use of specialized software for route planning will be a key element in increasing the efficiency of your company's reverse logistics process.

Use of metrics and KPIs: To evaluate the productivity and performance of the reverse logistics process, the use of KPIs is essential (Key Performance Indicator). These indicators will help measure and quantify your company's performance and compliance with established objectives. It is recommended that when defining the logistics KPIs, they are developed based on the S.M.A.R.T. (Smart, Mmeasurable, Achivable, Realistic and Time-Bound) model.

Shorter return times: As mentioned before in relation to the Customer Centric strategy, it is essential to know not only the limits of our company in terms of acceptable delivery or return times, but also the “deadlines” or desired deadlines of our customers. For this reason, and in general terms, it should be prioritized that collection and return times are as short as possible and without the need to increase the amount of resources associated with reverse logistics. Thus, specific efforts should be made to improve this particular process.

Proactive monitoring: Proactive monitoring is the live monitoring of the daily planning of services and deliveries that warns of possible failures and errors while allowing us to react and adapt operations in a satisfactory manner.

Good proactive monitoring must have the possibility of monitoring the operation in real time and thus be able to view the progress of the operation live at all times. In addition, and in relation to the real-time monitoring of operations, it is essential that it incorporates sufficient functions that allow a timely reaction to possible failures or errors.

Smart Warehouses or Smart Storage: Smart warehouses are specialized logistics centers that make use of technology to increase efficiency in all their processes, such as the reception, preparation or storage of goods.

An example of the use and benefit of implementing intelligent warehouses in the reverse logistics process is the case of Amazon, a company that has included artificial intelligence in its warehouses in order to quickly determine, based on the costs of each product and its associated return costs, if it accepts to pick up the product in question by activating the reverse logistics process or, on the contrary, makes the refund without the collection of said merchandise.

Logistic software: Investing in technology and digitalization can help you improve your reverse logistics efficiently. Choose specific software that includes route optimization, real-time operational monitoring and analysis of important metrics for your continuous improvement.

If you want to guarantee the success of your company's reverse logistics process, you can do so now with specialized software. Routal Planner. Try it now for free by 10 days.

One of the main fears and brakes faced by SMEs in the face of digitalization is Integrate technology. The dichotomy between choosing an all-encompassing solution, or specific solutions for each problem. The benefit of the first option is that you're dealing with a provider, everything is talked about, and you shouldn't have too many problems. The problem is that it probably doesn't solve your processes in the best way and you have to make a lot of effort to adapt your business to the solution. The other option, small experts, usually provide a better solution for each process, but there is a difficulty in getting applications to talk to each other. This means that two companies collaborate, integrate and that can be a challenge.

More complex systems and technological solutions are increasingly required to optimize operations. The trend of one-fits-all (one solution for everything) is increasingly difficult to find and as companies grow they require more specific solutions, so integration projects are becoming more common, but above all, more necessary.

To give great examples, one of Inditex's great successes has been to have a single centralized stock between warehouses and stores, which allows us to have the status of each of the pieces of clothing in real time and achieve greater success in an omnichannel environment where the customer purchases online, is sent from several centers to be consolidated in the store and for the customer to pick up at the store buying an accessory that he found by chance. But something like that is not only available to large companies, SMEs also have a lot to say, and their scale makes them projects much easier, faster and cheaper to implement.

The benefits of integrating systems are direct improvements in productivity and in the quality of the service they provide, standardized and optimized operating processes, ease in internal processes, reduction of errors and also homogenization of data.

Why is it presented as a brake or challenge, or Why does it bring so many headaches for companies? Mainly because many companies do not have the experience, the resources to develop these projects internally or personnel with the knowledge to lead a project of this type. The solution, outsourcing these projects, and without good advice the project can be a big headache. For this reason, looking for a supplier who knows the business, the tools to be integrated and who has experience in similar projects are the key to success for an integration project to be successful, to develop quickly and on budget.

Unfortunately, sometimes digitalization brings high costs that companies don't want to face because of the doubt if there will really be a return on that investment. Digitalization with common sense, improving and streamlining processes undoubtedly generates great investment returns. For this reason, it is essential that companies have an orchestrator that understands the need of the business, the company's processes and those points that hold back the organization in order to optimize them through digitalization. The partner will actually implement that improvement, but it requires high-level coordination that will be the key to success.

Strategy, knowledge and execution.

Nowadays, execution is the easiest part of all. There are different types of integrations depending on the available systems and the objective. The most used are those of APIS (Application Programming Interface) where data is transmitted from one side to the other quickly and securely. It is the most used since it is simpler to perform and offers great performance. These are used to enter information to our platform. On the other hand, the most used to extract information is integration by Webhooks, in which the external system receives data when there is an event on the platform.

At Routal, we are constantly working to make integrations an opportunity to further streamline company processes, digitize and automate tasks that don't add value, and concentrate the work of employees on those points where a person actually provides the most value.

Quaker State Success Story: Integrating SAP

Quaker State is a leading company in the distribution of oils and lubricants for vehicles in Mexico. In 2020, they needed to standardize their merchandise delivery procedure and homogenize their operations so as not to rely on one or more people for the replacement of personnel. Faced with this situation, they implemented the Routal solution.

Thanks to the Planner intelligent route planner, they were able to unify processes into one, in addition to generating a single procedure that would be available to any worker regardless of their level of training.

Prior to the integration, the delivery routes were carried out manually, they spent hours daily in the planning process, there was little monitoring of the operation, and obtaining any report on performance metrics was an investment of tens of hours, which greatly limited the ability to make improvement decisions.

Once the integration of their SAP system with Routal was implemented, route planning began to be carried out in an automated manner and in minutes. The risk on the figure of the route planner and the dependence on that person was completely reduced. The creation of metric reports was also automated to improve the control and monitoring of their distribution processes, and most importantly: the data were reconciled and validated. Thus, the entire process was standardized and optimized.

”Routal Planner is essential to us. It saves us planning time and makes us more competitive against our competitors” Your Manager has your opinion.

Lácteas del Jarama Success Story: Integrating AS 400

Lácteas del Jarama It is one of the most important dairy companies in Spain, it was the first company to introduce mozzarella in our country and its history supports it as one of the main dairy companies in the food service sector.

The successful implementation of Routal was due to the successful integration of its ERP system, an IBM AS400, an extremely robust but difficult to integrate system. To be able to count on a partner like Nakima helped to be able to carry out the integration in just 3 weeks of work and thus reduce the start-up time to just over a month.

The internal leadership clearly identified the need to eliminate steps in the process that would focus logistics personnel on what really provides value: “Deliver quickly, with the lowest cost and offering the best possible service”.

The experience of working with professionals who are experts in this type of project means that companies can think further and want to improve other processes that seemed impossible to improve.

At Routal, we work to streamline integration processes through partners with a lot of experience in all types of technologies and businesses, achieving success so that projects are successful.

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