The ever-increasing reliability of all major sectors on large trucks and fleets for transportation creates a compelling effect on the environment. You can conclude that the transportation sector primarily contributes to climatic changes and air pollution. With the significant impacts of climatic change coming into the picture, teaching sustainable options in the transportation industry is necessary. According to a study, the transportation industry has contributed 28% to greenhouse gas emissions.

The GPS-backed smart routing system is the need of the hour. With the RFID technology, you can get a real-time location for every vehicle, thus providing an optimized route. You can plan the routes accurately and manage the routes efficiently, which leads to reduced transport costs. With GPS technology, you can not only avoid thefts with the drivers but also enhance their performance. Businesses can lower their carbon footprint and work in an eco-friendly manner. In this blog post, you will read about the various benefits of GPS route planning and how it contributes towards environmental sustainability.

What Is GPS Route Optimization?

GPS route optimization is a process used to plan delivery routes for businesses using GPS technology. It helps you determine the best route a driver must take while considering various factors like traffic, distance, and delivery schedules. The entire process allows the organizations to function smoothly and also saves time and money.

It uses satellite signals to give the exact location of the vehicle. With this technology, you can determine the most efficient routes. A GPS planning device can help you schedule, track, and optimize routes. You can customize your route based on your business’s specific requirements and the driver’s availability.

For example, You have a target of completing ten deliveries in the day but six to be delivered in the southern side of a region. So with the help of GPS, you will be able to figure out the fastest route to complete the six deliveries and also with less fuel emission. The system analyzes the customer orders and delivery route while drafting the fastest route for you.

Andrew from MatrackInc told us “the old logistics system not only harms the environment but also increases the operational cost of the businesses”. Inefficient and longer delivery routes lead to high fuel consumption causing a higher carbon footprint. Longer delivery routes also increase air pollution and wastage of resources. Since the vehicle travels more, they use more fuel and release more carbon dioxide along with other harmful pollutants. Air quality is affected resulting in many health problems too.

Such problems emphasize the need for sustainable route planning using the GPS.

How Is GPS Route Planning Beneficial?

Now that you have learned about GPS route optimization, let’s see how the system is redefining the logistics sector. The system allows the businesses to take command of the daily activities and keep an eye on the drivers. It brings in a lot of value for the businesses.

• It reduces total travel time: One of the major benefits of route planning is reduced travel time. A company can eliminate unnecessary time taken by drivers on wrong routes or traffic-jammed routes. Thus, it significantly reduces travel time encouraging more deliveries.
• It improves productivity: When the travel time of the drivers is reduced they are more relaxed as they can meet deadlines in less time. The GPS route planning system manages the overall schedule of the drivers and boosts their productivity.
• It enhances accuracy: By using the GPS routing system you can plan routes with greater precision and minute mistakes. Hence, the drivers follow the fastest and shortest possible routes without any congestion and roadblocks.
• It increases customer satisfaction: When the company uses GPS to plan routes it ensures timely deliveries and thus improves customer satisfaction. The drivers reach on time with the correct parcel or services and gain loyal customers for the company.
• It cuts down operational costs: The vehicle fuel consumption & other vehicle expenses decrease significantly by GPS route optimization. The wear and tear of the vehicle also reduces, thus promoting longer life of the vehicles.

Role of GPS-Based Route Planning In Reducing Carbon Footprint

You are well aware of the impact of vehicle emissions on greenhouse gasses and their significant contribution to carbon footprint. However, with the increasing awareness amongst companies about climate change, they have been adopting various sustainable practices to lessen the environmental impacts. All this is done while delivering their best to the consumers. GPS routing is easily one of the best practices.

In reality, the distance traveled is reduced and thus carbon emissions are reduced. It utilizes the fleets to their optimum level and lessens the idle time. The GPS tracker helps in increasing the stops per route. Factors like vehicle load, road conditions, and traffic patterns are considered to find the most efficient routes. This way your fuel usage goes down and carbon dioxide emissions too. By adopting GPS route optimizations businesses can definitely lower their carbon footprint.

Achieving Fuel Efficiency By Optimizing Routes

Route planning proves to be a success in cutting carbon emissions and also reducing the fuel usage. The GPS software shows you the fastest and most effective routes by calculating the distance, traffic, and road conditions.

It avoids meaningless detours, and packed routes and also cuts down the inactive time of the vehicle. The fuel usage goes down. When you take an empty route instead of a jam-packed one your vehicle can maintain a constant speed. It lowers the need for more acceleration and deceleration, which generally uses more fuel and produces more emissions.

According to Andrew from MatrackInc, “On average, a business can save up to 20% of the total fuel cost with the help of effective GPS route planning”. With low fuel usage, the maintenance cost reduces and extends the vehicle’s life.

GPS Routing Reduces Congestion And Idle Time

GPS trackers provide the most accurate data for planning the delivery schedule. It analyzes historical data for a particular route and predicts the current condition. In this way, the delivery drivers can avoid roadblocks and driving during the peak congestion period.

Real-time data is used to guide the drivers in choosing the routes in order to complete the maximum delivery. For example, traffic patterns are predicted so the driver can avoid wasting time. You can use weather projection to check the rains so as to avoid congestion due to severe weather. If you find congestion on one route, you can immediately take another one to avoid delay. Rerouting is only possible when you use GPS technology.

Conclusion

Sustainable transportation is now necessary for all businesses that want to become responsible and contribute to the environment. Smart GPS route optimization is one of the best methods to reduce fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions. It also helps save operational costs and improve driver efficiency. The overall image of the company is improved by meeting consumer expectations. When more and more logistics companies adopt such responsible practices, a greener future awaits the planet!