Tugou, a scheduled delivery company, was looking for a solution to optimize its home delivery routes in Peru. They found SmartMonkey, tested the platform, and stayed with us. Discover the benefits and savings they achieved with SmartMonkey.

Tugou was born in 2020, in the midst of a pandemic to meet a need that entrepreneurs had. The starting point was to migrate from a trusted taxi service to a professional service, with transparency and confidence that your products will arrive in a timely manner. They sought solutions that would allow them to differentiate themselves from the competition as an added value and for that they explored digitization and route optimization tools. They tried two or three alternatives, and after a few months they found SmartMonkey on the market, tried the solution and stayed with it.

There are several reasons why they decided to choose Routal. First of all, in terms of user, administrator and end customer it is easy to use and friendly, therefore the learning curve of anyone who comes to work is short, and this It helps to reduce costs also in the case of staff turnover. On the other hand, it is competitive in the market in terms of investment. The Gorilla license offers in one what other companies offer in separate modules at a higher cost.

Daniel Campos, operations manager at Tugou, comments: “It's a platform that we use 24/7, which has been very supportive, and that in a very short time we have gotten to know thoroughly. It's a very webapp Intuitive and this is very important for someone who uses it on a daily basis.”

As for the tool, they believe that it is relevant to versatility in the planning modules to add restrictions: weight, volume, and distinctive load characteristics. Also important to them is the agility in route planning and visibility in real time, being able to see where the vehicles are located and at what times the deliveries are taking place.

The ability to have simultaneous access to the platform to see the programmed route is something that stands out: “We are 4 people who have access and we review the routes daily. It is one of the differential characteristics and very important to us. Also the fact that for the driver it is a webapp (and not an App) and it is easier for them to view it. Apps sometimes need minimal capacity on mobile phones, next-generation phones, use more battery and data. It's something that drivers value a lot,” explains Daniel.

Email and SMS notifications and alerts build trust with the customer and thus reduce failed deliveries substantially. Thanks to the platform, customers can be sure that their products will arrive at their destination.

“The speed of planning daily routes allows us to look at other business opportunities, for example, adding more customers or outsourcing to other companies.”

Regarding this time savings, Daniel comments: “It is something that we have found that the ease and usability of the platform is opening up the field for us to create an additional line of business to create routes for other customers, other companies that don't have the time or prefer to outsource the service. Otherwise, without this extra time, it would be very difficult for us to venture into other types of businesses.”

Tugou found a solution for their route planning and optimization that provided them with concrete savings in costs and time. This translates into improved productivity and business expansion.

See the results they obtained by optimizing delivery with SmartMonkey:

• -15% fuel: effect of savings on travel
• -25% reduction in unit travel
• -60% planning time
• -33% fleet: thanks to the optimization of the platform that allows you to make the same deliveries with fewer vehicles
• -55% investment: lower platform cost for the same benefits or features. (in a single module, without having to pay extra).

If you too want to reduce costs and save fuel Try SmartMonkey free for 10 days.

Watch the video of the case told by his operations manager Daniel Campos and his business manager Henri Malleux:

If you want to know other success stories, I recommend reading A La Casa Delivery in Chile.

From entrepreneurs to SMEs: how A La Casa Delivery began distributing its own products out of necessity and today it has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs from all over Chile. From market need to a growing business.

In 2019, Angela and Ignacio moved to Chile and began selling their products. Little by little they grew and came to make more than 20 deliveries per day. At that time and after trying different transport companies, they discovered that they were not satisfied with the delivery services available in their region. They didn't offer the service that their products required and saw the possibility of differentiating themselves by offering a better delivery service, so they decided to hire a person to make their own deliveries. The birth of a business out of its own need.

Over the months, they began to offer other entrepreneurs the service of home delivery with their delivery person. Thus, almost in the midst of the 2020 pandemic, it emerged A la Casa Delivery, a last-mile courier/delivery company for entrepreneurs and SMEs in Chile.

As quarantine restrictions in Chile increased more and more, the demand for delivery due to online purchases increased considerably, and deliveries per day became almost 600. Ignacio planned routes every night so that he could have it ready in the morning, and this required several hours. That work became unsustainable, inefficient and created a lot of problems. For that reason, they looked for a tool that could simplify their route planning work, which Ignacio did manually every day. After analyzing several alternatives, they discovered Routal.

After a demo, they started using the platform and solved their doubts thanks to the videos and articles from Routal. In just a few days they implemented the tool and started using it on a daily basis. Planning routes became a job of just a few minutes for Ignacio. In addition, I could obtain all the information in real time about the vehicles on the road and thus be able to resolve any incident that arises.

With the new addition of direct communication with the customer through SMS notifications, they were able to give more visibility to the recipient and thus reduce the number of failed deliveries. This directly influenced customer satisfaction, improving the score in the surveys that are sent after each delivery made.

Como A la Casa Delivery, hundreds of SMEs that benefit from the implementation of a digital solution for route planning and optimization, offering a better, more efficient and environmentally friendly service. If you are in charge of logistics for a small, medium or large company, we can help you digitize your operations in a few minutes, so that you can use your time on other more important tasks to boost your business.

Click here if you want to try SmartMonkey's Planner free for 10 days

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Do you want to switch to an electric vehicle but are not sure yet? We can help you make the transition easier than you think

By December 2023, all municipalities in Spain with more than 50,000 inhabitants must have Low Emission Zones (ZBE). This presents a challenge for all logistics companies that carry out daily distribution work in the country's cities. Many of their vehicles will become obsolete and their routes will have to be modified, they will have to adapt their fleet and migrate to more efficient vehicles such as electric vehicles.

“If low-emission zones are going to be mandatory and logistics are being sought to become increasingly sustainable... why aren't companies yet adopting electric vehicles for their operation?”

The answer is “the costs”. At first glance you may think that the purchase price of the new vehicle is much higher, but the main reason that prevents the adoption of these vehicles is the cost of changing the way you manage your company's daily operations. Making management changes is always complicated, especially when we have been doing things the same way for many years.

When companies decide to switch to an electric fleet, their distribution routes can no longer be the same. Why? For the autonomy of electric vehicles and their refueling. The routes must be adapted to the new limitations that these cars have together with those of the business. A new restriction added to the already complex route planning that makes many electrification projects dismissed a priori.

Another important point is the charging time of the batteries. Unfortunately, it is not possible to charge the vehicle at the same speed as the liters of diesel flow. You'll think of Tesla SuperChargers, but something little known about EVs is that they have a very limited amount of the number of fast charges they can do over their lifetime. For example, a Tesla Model 3 can only do 200 fast charges over its entire battery life. Therefore, planning charging times will be just as important as another variable to consider.

In situations of maximum availability, 24-hour shifts or continuous work, it will be more difficult to fit this type of vehicle (with current technology), but the vast majority of companies will be able to overcome these limitations and manage them perfectly, as long as it is done in an intelligent way.

A route optimizer may be the solution to this problem. With SmartMonkey you can plan your routes in seconds, incorporating vehicle mileage restrictions and working hours in order to obtain the most efficient routes adapted to electric vehicles (and other fuels). In addition, the optimizer will tell you when you can use fewer vehicles to achieve the same deliveries, and thus make your operation even more sustainable.

A success story is the Palliative Care Team (C2P2) at the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu. This equipment has electric vehicles and combustion vehicles. Because of their operations, they visit patients more than 200 km from the hospital, but the large volume is concentrated in a relatively short radius of ~50 km. Being able to limit routes according to the vehicle's range is allowing them to avoid being “strapped” or to greatly limit the use of electric vehicles when in doubt, with the increase in CO2 emissions. One less problem to consider. Now we plan routes in minutes with total confidence and from the hospital's control center they can track operations in real time.

Let us help you with the change: try Routalkey for free for 10 days and you'll see how you can improve your operations by introducing electric vehicles to your fleet (and drivers will thank you).

Many educational entities choose to provide a school shuttle service for their students. This service can be performed by themselves or outsourced to personnel transport companies. If you are the logistics manager of a student transport company, you will know that in Spain the Real Decree 443/2001 of April 27 points out that the maximum length of travel by school transport cannot exceed one hour, so it is essential that students spend as little time as possible on transport, and that routes are efficient in terms of costs, time and distance.

They have recently been Published studies which correlate long trips to get to school with worse academic performance. Mainly because of reduced hours of sleep and less exercise to get to school. Sometimes the distance from children's homes to school makes it impossible to walk or ride a bicycle, so reducing travel times as much as possible is a priority.

The best way to plan transportation stops and minimize travel times is to use a route optimizer. An optimizer allows you to plan your routes in minutes, and thus achieve a significant reduction in travel times and even reduce the number of vehicles to be used.

It is also essential to have visibility of your operations, to be able to see in real time where the vehicles are located and obtain reports of the number of canceled stops, with their reasons, number of kilometers traveled, duration, etc.

Although school routes tend to be recurring, day by day there are changes in the number of students who demand the service, either due to a change in extracurricular activities or due to absenteeism. The number or size of vehicles to be used for the route may also vary. That is why it is necessary to suppleness and a platform that is plain easy to use and easy to implement.

3 ways to make school transport management more efficient:

• Optimize routes
• Get real-time information about the operation
• Reduced costs, time and distance

In SmartMonkey we help public transport companies with a quick and practical solution in planning student transport routes. In minutes you will have the route optimized, you will be able to view the operation in real time, inform families continuously, obtain reports on important metrics for your operation.

Its implementation is very fast, you only need the data of your vehicles and the directions of the stops, and the optimizer will suggest the most effective routes for you in just a few minutes.

Let yourself be helped and try Routal free for 10 days at routal.com

Numerous studies show that it is up to 7 times more expensive to attract new customers than to keep existing ones. Therefore, taking care of the relationship with our client base is a better investment for our company, according to the specialized agency. Demandforce.

And how can we keep our customers? If your company is part of the logistics sector, keep reading, because we have a lot to tell you that will interest you.

Delivery times: the great logistical challenge

Surely it has happened to you too: you buy something online that you need immediately, but delivery times are a real nightmare.

It is nothing new to emphasize that the logistics sector is one of the most competitive and most competitive considering the operations of large companies, who offer increasingly shorter delivery times, of even hours. For this reason, offering an agile delivery service is currently one of the biggest differentiations and the main objective for any logistics company.

And now surely you have doubts: and how do I do it? Below we will explain the 3 essential techniques to optimize and improve your delivery times.

Techniques to reduce delivery times

Optimize routes

Route optimization will be your best weapon to reduce delivery times to a minimum.

For the route optimization prior planning will be essential: defining the total number of stops to be made, establishing a specific schedule or even detailing restrictions such as weight or volume in each vehicle. All these characteristics of our delivery route, if we take them into account at the time of planning, will help us to result in a customized route adapted to the operational needs of our company.

Once we have strategic planning, it will be time to optimize our route. We understand that a route is optimal and, therefore, is optimized, when the result is efficient in terms of time and mileage. Incorporating route optimization software in this step will be essential to have efficient routes, since using artificial intelligence it will effectively calculate in a matter of seconds what is the best route we can take. All of this will help reduce delivery time by more than 30% with respect to other routes.

Incorporate technology into your operating process

Digital logistics transformation is already a reality and, therefore, it is essential not to be left behind and incorporate it into our operations.

In order to be able to adapt to the needs of our commercial activity together with the technological requirements that are increasing at the social level, it is essential to include specialized software that not only improves the efficiency of our daily activities but also increases the level of competitiveness of our company compared to others.

An example of technological inclusion is the incorporation of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) in our company. CRMs are software specialized in a set of practices, business strategies and technologies aimed at fostering an efficient relationship with our customers.

Communicate with your customers

In relation to the above, with regard to incorporating specialized software into our operations, it is also essential to have specialized programs in the direct communication with our users.

Not having direct and effective communication with your customers and even with the drivers and delivery people themselves is one of the biggest mistakes in logistics. Being able to enjoy direct communication channels that allow our users to know when they will receive a package, to verify that a service has been carried out or what phase of the operation it is in is key to effective deliveries and also to the satisfaction of all parties.

With SmartMonkey Planner you can count on each and every one of the techniques that will reduce your delivery times from day one. Do you want to try it? Now you can do it and for 10 days for free!

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It might seem that in logistics there is only one path and that this is as simple as programming-deliver. Nothing could be further from reality, logistics encompasses a lot and since “a lot” is understood a multitude of types of operations, each with its own different requirements.

Next, we'll take an in-depth look at two of the most popular operations: on-demand deliveries and scheduled deliveries.

On-Demand Deliveries

On-demand deliveries, in English known as On Demand, are one of the most demanding operations in recent years, further boosting and strengthening the last mile.

On-demand deliveries cannot be planned, since they are operational and require a minimum of time from the time the order is placed until the delivery is made.

It's Friday night and you want to treat yourself with food Fast food. You call the restaurant and place the order. As soon as the food is ready, the delivery person will take your order home. This is an example of on-demand delivery.

With the example mentioned above, it is easy to see that at certain times when the restaurant has peak times when receiving orders, it will be difficult to cope with the growing demand, since making several deliveries on demand simultaneously is really complex.

Therefore, when delivering on demand, certain metrics should be taken into account, such as hours or days of the week if we follow the example of the restaurant (it will be essential to observe if orders increase on weekends and after 8:00 p.m.) and, on the other hand, on Mondays at noon they decrease). These metrics will help us manage our own resources, since this way we can predict if we will need to increase the number of delivery people hired on weekend evenings and decrease it during the week.

Scheduled deliveries

Scheduled deliveries are shipments scheduled in advance for a specific time interval.

In this case, and as an example, we could transport ourselves to our wedding day. We get in touch with a tailor to make us a tailor-made suit. After several tests our suit is ready. Now, we only have to tell our tailor what day and at what time we will pick up the suit so that it is ready for the link.

As seen with the example, in scheduled deliveries, a service is offered in advance with the customer so that the order arrives on a specific day and in a specific time slot. The customer selects the date and time interval in which he wants to receive his order.

This mode of delivery allows customers to monitor their shipment in real time, so they will feel connected at all times and will be able to control both the status of the order, its location and the exact time of delivery.

According to the portal Ibertransit, scheduled deliveries are an increasingly common service in large cities where deliveries are made within a maximum period of 48 hours and with a zero delivery cost for the customer. Despite the increase in on-demand deliveries, it should be noted that it is not yet an extended service, since they represent 20% of total deliveries.

Make deliveries on demand vs. scheduled deliveries

The way in which we operate on demand and scheduled deliveries is completely different. In fact, so much so, that it is very difficult for companies to be able to carry out both operations simultaneously, since the requirements are very different.

The main difference between on-demand deliveries and scheduled deliveries is that the latter allow you to add different customers in the same vehicle and, therefore, be more efficient in optimizing time and resources. On the other hand, in on-demand deliveries, it is so dynamic that it is very difficult to be able to add several deliveries on the same route.

As mentioned above, in on-demand deliveries, the planning process requires a predictive pretext on which to base these demand predictions with data from previous dates. With these predictions, an approximate number of vehicles needed or the minimum inventory level required will be established.

In the case of scheduled deliveries, companies give customers the flexibility to schedule their own deliveries. In this sense, the predictive element ceases to make sense, since the number of deliveries to be made is known in advance. In scheduled deliveries, the inputs that must be planned are the number of vehicles needed to carry out the deliveries, which orders to group (batch deliveries) or in what order the orders should be delivered (make optimized routes).

At SmartMonkey, we are constantly developing to empower the last mile. Our customers can more effectively determine where, when and how they want to receive their shipments. Decide for yourself with our free trial period.

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Free is usually that word that has magical qualities, since it manages to attract anyone for whatever reason. Who hasn't ever seen a kilometer line of retirees because they were giving away “something”? Something, most likely absurd and useless, but free. And if something is free, we all want them.

The last mile is a process of increasing social relevance, especially considering the enormous growth of e-commerce in recent years.

The importance of the last mile delivery process is given not only by the rise of ecommerce as a more than widespread buying trend, but also because of the complexity that the process itself is gaining due to its success.

Logistics companies struggle to be increasingly outstanding in an increasingly competitive market: satisfactory and fast deliveries, contactless, flexible deliveries or with an efficient reverse logistics policy, among others.

In order to meet all these expectations, logistics companies are required to redesign their last-mile strategy in order to continue in such a changing market. It is therefore essential to consider new ways of proceeding with last-mile delivery, since traditional logistics models have become obsolete, since they will not be commensurate with the current expectations of users.

In this case, the scanning is the key piece of this puzzle, since it will be what will allow companies to keep up to date within the sector.

But is it possible to digitalize the last-mile process successfully and for free?

Google Maps vs. specialized last-mile software

Free tools, such as Google Maps, can be very useful on a daily basis as a support method for moving to certain locations, planning trips abroad or even organizing specific routes. But is it possible to use this tool as a last-mile delivery planner? Our opinion is categorical: no.

The limitations of free tools such as Google Maps are numerous. As mentioned before, the last-mile delivery process is far from simple, in fact, in recent years it has become an increasingly complex and professional process (all due to its success in terms of market buying trends).

Therefore, delegating such complex and important processes as route planning and optimization to tools that are not specialized in this regard is a big mistake. In the case of Google Maps, many of the above-mentioned needs cannot be met, such as exhaustive route optimization, direct communication with customers, real-time monitoring of operations or even delivery tests, among others.

Consequently, we must bear in mind that in order to be logistically successful, we must rely on specialized last-mile software. In the article ”The 5 features you should look for in a last-mile management software”, we tell you in detail everything you should look for in specialized software.

Where two fit, three fit

Greed is known as a cardinal sin, but can it really be considered as such if we speak in logistical terms?

As mentioned before, the logistics industry is very competitive and staying firm in it can be really difficult. For this reason, professional excellence must be sought and, in concrete terms such as last-mile deliveries, even more so.

Incorporating specialized software for the last mile for the organization and favorable course of our daily operations is essential. In addition, it is also interesting to consider the facilities provided by tools such as Google Maps (and not only because they incorporate the magic word: “free”); in the specific case of the Google tool, it will directly help in making deliveries, as a route guide for them.

At this point, why not consider working with both tools and simultaneously? This is possible, since some of the most developed route planning software on the market incorporate Google Maps as part of their services.

In short, incorporating a specialized route planner and having it connected to tools such as Google Maps will guarantee success.

See for yourself all the advantages of incorporating specialized software that also has Google Maps, such as SmartMonkey Planner. Plus, if you sign up now, you'll get a free trial period (for a limited time only).

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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.

7 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.

Non-intelligent 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.

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

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Society is constantly evolving and that is nothing new. However, there are changes that transcend much more than others given their relevance and impact on the population. One of these changes that has transformed and even saved lives in the future in recent years is healthcare logistics.

What is healthcare logistics?

Health logistics is the set of logistical and management procedures that provide the necessary health facilities in order to provide the population with health care.

Healthcare logistics encompasses numerous activities and services within the healthcare sector, such as the management and distribution of vaccines, visits by medical teams, patient transport, emergency services, drug distribution, management of biological samples and much more.

The health metamorphosis

As in any other field or sector, healthcare has undergone many changes over the years.

Trends such as home hospitalization, born in the late 80s, is now a preferred option in more and more cases: it is currently consolidating itself as a way of practicing medicine that improves in many aspects, since patients feel more comfortable at home, it is easier to follow up on treatments and, ultimately, satisfaction is greater on both sides.

This is just one example of the resilience of healthcare in general terms. Despite suffering major economic and even health crises such as Covid-19, it manages to persist and adapt to changes, including the digitalization of its logistics.

The digital transformation in healthcare logistics

If there is one field in which digitalization has been key to the development and proper functioning of processes, it is that of the healthcare sector.

The recent inclusion of digital mechanisms in healthcare logistics not only helps but also enables the efficient carrying out of processes in the health sector. Proof of this is, for example, the management of patient transport, since thanks to the implementation of specific computer systems, it is possible to optimize health planning and make it more efficient.

Therefore, the digitalization of healthcare logistics is evident: a sector that implements technologies rapidly. This is due, in part, to the scarcity of public economic resources, which has led the health sector to search for effective and rapidly implemented alternatives that can fill the “technological hole” due to the lack of such economic resources. All of this leads to the lack of efficient tools and, therefore, to the search for alternatives outside the borders of their own sectors that help with the demand for health needs.

Some of the most common problems in healthcare logistics

Logistics management in the healthcare sector is one of the most challenging processes due to the large number of factors involved, in addition to the enormous social responsibility that it entails. Therefore, identifying the most common problems faced by this type of logistics is a key factor in determining possible effective solutions.

Use the technique of 5-Why Originally from Toyota, from the creators of the entire Lean methodology, it is a good way to identify those problems and their causes.

For example, the one that is probably the biggest and most widespread of your problems: obsolescence.

Digitalization is here to stay and that affects any sector, including healthcare. It is not necessary to delve into the innumerable advantages provided by technology in any of its aspects, but it is necessary to highlight all the problems currently faced by all those companies, sectors or even processes that are not digitized.

Not making use of digital tools such as specialized software leads to much slower processes, since they are carried out manually and not in an automated way. There is also a greater risk that unpredictable human errors may occur, the difficulty of maintaining a consistent process over time, or simply the risk that no one else knows how to do certain tasks.

The problem of obsolescence not only has an impact on slow and archaic processes, but also on consequences derived from it. An example of this is the case of a home care service: when carrying out daily planning manually, they are forced to invest a lot of time in the organization; in addition, the result of such manual planning will inevitably be inefficient, since it will be impossible to calculate distances and time intervals precisely. Wasting time on very scarce health resources, such as a doctor or a nurse, to name just a few examples. This is one of the big mistakes of last-mile management: an obsolete planning strategy.

Another very common derivative problem in correspondence with healthcare logistics is, precisely, the lack of traceability. Without mechanisms to ensure the necessary monitoring of our operations and to know the updates of the estimated arrival times, it will be very difficult to manage possible day-to-day unforeseen events and we will have to improvise, which ultimately generates inefficiencies, overdemand on healthcare equipment and an impact on the quality of care and the service provided.

Tools for the logistical planning of health routes: what you should keep in mind

As mentioned before, healthcare logistics has become very important in recent years, especially considering the current health crisis caused by Covid-19 and the difficulty with planning many processes in the face of an unexpected peak in demand. Therefore, having planning tools to meet each of the medical needs of each of the health activities is vital to obtain a better service at a lower cost.

Next, we'll guide you through the 5 key elements you should consider for the logistical planning of health routes:

· Route planning and optimization: Having a route planning service will 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 you will not have to invest time and with an optimal result, since it will always offer the most efficient route.

· Proactive monitoring: Monitoring the operations in real time will be very useful for you to be able to face changes or possible setbacks that arise.

· Communication: Transparency and direct communication with users is essential for their satisfaction with our service.

· Flexibility: It is necessary to have a tool that has sufficient flexibility to be able to make changes throughout the operating process, such as being able to modify delivery times according to the urgency or to transfer a service from one driver to another, among others.

· Easy implementation: Prioritize tools that are easy and quick to implement, which in a matter of a few hours you can use at 100%, without having to invest too much time in explanations or meetings. Choosing complex tools makes it harder for people who have to use it on a daily basis to be more difficult to adopt and tend to keep doing things as usual.