The International Road Transport Union reported that the cost of sending goods by road in Europe has reached an “all time high.”
Improving operational efficiencies, on and off the road, can help logistics companies control costs. One significant way to do this is to stop ‘empty miles’ journeys (when a vehicle travels with no cargo).
The number of UK vehicles completing ‘empty miles’ is on the rise, with up to one-in-three lorries on the road empty. And with road freight accounting for over 50% of transportation emissions, it is essential we all search for ways to reduce unnecessary journeys.
One simple way to reduce ‘empty miles’ is through optimised route planning. This can be done by understanding the weight of the items being delivered and final delivery location. Using this information can create the most efficient routes whilst optimising fleet loads.
ROUTD software utalises this information to generate routes based on drop location, cargo weight, and bespoke user KPIs.
In addition to route optimisation, sensible pallet stacking or a reduction in unnecessary packaging can create space within a vehicle to ensure greater vehicle capacity. Another way to reduce empty miles is through load consolidation or sharing.
A reduction in cost and carbon emissions are the results of reducing empty miles, which helps us all move toward more sustainable solutions for last-mile delivery.
Reach out to the ROUTD team to learn more about how our software solution can improve your ESG performance across your logistics operations.
