RouteOptimiser.com “Significantly Outperforms” Human Route-Planning, Study Shows

Dec. 22, 2010 - PRLog -- A study of over 300 manually planned routes has shown that Worcester-based IT firm Postcode Anywhere’s commercial route planning software, Route Optimiser, “significantly outperforms” manual routing.

The study, which took the form of a “find the fastest route” competition, involved entrants visiting 20 waypoints and meeting two timeslot deadlines. A prize of £250, awarded to Mr Gabhin Hill, was offered for the fastest route plotted by hand.

Route Optimiser’s lead developer Richard Geary said: “Route Optimiser has significantly outperformed manual attempts to plot the fastest route. Taking real-world traffic data into account, over a third of entrants failed even to deliver to both timeslots punctually.

“Those that did ended up with routes that took, on average, eight hours and 17 minutes to complete – almost an hour and twenty minutes over the optimal answer. It goes to show just how difficult it is to plot efficient routes, even for a mere 20 waypoints!

“It would be a fair observation to say that for more complex routes, of the type typically encountered by hauliers and couriers, Postcode Anywhere's route optimisation can perform up to 20-40% better than traditional methods involving maps and pins when it comes to the length of the routes.

“But it’s also worth noting the time it takes to plan these journeys. Even if you were to finally achieve a relatively optimal route planning by hand, Route Optimiser will give a better or similar result, but in a fraction of the time.

“The efficiencies which this technology can bring to commercial route planning are considerable.”

Parshotam Showan, Managing Director of electrics retailer Sonic Megastore, said: “Since using Route Optimiser to plan deliveries, we’ve seen a 20% increase in efficiency, by reducing man hours, completing deliveries faster, and using less fuel.

“Taking the cost of the service into account, by our estimation this means we’ll save around £10,000 in the first year alone.”

A free trial of Route Optimiser is available through the website at www.routeoptimiser.com. Developers and technology resellers can access customisable route optimisation web services via www.postcodeanywhere.com.

ENDS

Media contact for Postcode Anywhere
Jim Williams – PR Manager, Postcode Anywhere
jim@postcodeanywhere.com
+44 (0) 1905 888 570

Press centre at: http://www.postcodeanywhere.com/press
Press Pack download: http://www.postcodeanywhere.com/assets/PDFs/press-pack-20...
Image: http://www.postcodeanywhere.co.uk/assets/Stock/map-pin.jpg

Notes to Editors:

About Postcode Anywhere

Postcode Anywhere has been providing address services for ten years and is the fastest-growing reseller of Royal Mail’s Postcode Address File (PAF®). A multi-award-winning organisation, it has also appeared in successive Deloitte fast-growth European technology company lists. Postcode Anywhere supplies software and services which improve the day-to-day operations of over 8,000 organisations worldwide. Best known as a provider of address auto-fill and verification software, the company offers a range of data-driven services, including route planning and customer profiling. For more information about Postcode Anywhere, please visit www.postcodeanywhere.com.

Recent Awards and Recognition for Postcode Anywhere

•   Deloitte Technology Fast 500 EMEA 2008/9, 2009/10 & 2010/11
•   Red Herring Top 100 Europe - 2010
•   Best Small IT Supplier of the Year - UK IT Industry Awards (finalist) – 2009
•   Dell Small Business Excellence Award (UK finalist) – 2009
•   Small-Medium Sized Business of the Year (regional finalist) - National Business Awards 2009
•   Orange Best Use of Technology (Midlands) - 2008 National Business Awards
•   Growth Business of the Year - Chamber Awards 2008
•   Small Business of the Year - Chamber Awards 2008
•   Customer Service Team of the Year (finalist) - National Customer Services Awards 2008

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Postcode Anywhere is a UK-based company best known for its market-leading “what’s your postcode” technology. Its services include route optimisation, international addressing, data cleansing, business information services and lifestyle profiling.