We are excited to announce the redesign of Route Planning! This redesign aims to enhance the user experience and increase flexibility for users of all levels. With a focus on intuitive navigation and advanced features, our new Route Planning tool will make it easier for you to create, modify, and optimize routes, and even improve employee management.
If you’re new to Vendon Route Planning and want to learn how it can enhance your vending or coffee business, we encourage you to check out our blog article, “The Vital Role of Route Planning for Vending and Coffee Businesses.”
1. Whole new design
The standout change is our fresh design, which not only presents information in an appealing way but also greatly improves usability and the overall interface. Key enhancements include intuitive data visualization through multiple filters, enabling operators not only to streamline route planning processes, but also customize them to fit specific needs. Additionally, you can now see when a task was completed or when was the last visit for a particular machine in the “Last visit” section.
2. Reassigning Routes and Customizing Picklists
The Route List now provides operators with a clickable overview of generated routes, including detailed information on each route, responsible employees, and status (ready, in progress, completed). This allows operators to swiftly track the status of each route, ensuring deadlines are met and facilitating efficient resource management throughout the process.
Reassigning routes, locations, and machines has also been improved and simplified. Now you can make quick adjustments in the Route List section by scheduling and reassigning specific routes or the entire location to another performer. Simply checkbox the route, click “Change employees” to make these adjustments.
For the convenience of all Route Planning users, we have introduced the option to download Picklists (PDF or XLS) providing structured information and flexibility for daily task management such as restocking, inventory control, and route planning.
Another improvement which was highly requested from customers is an option to customize what is displayed on the Picklist and Pre-kitting lists (previously called Pack List). The customization panel you will find in Route List under Settings button above the list of routes. Here, users can change the content of the files and even the sizing and sorting of text to fit their needs.
3. Route Visibility on The Map
Previously, the Route Planning map only displayed single locations on a map, without a generated route. Now, after selecting locations and machines to visit, a route will be generated for each employee. Please note that currently the route shows the shortest distance between the locations, and the sequence is determined and adjusted by the user.
However, as you might have heard, this year we are planning to introduce AI-powered dynamic Route Planning with significant enhancements, including:
- Automatically generated routes considering stock and employee availability, or user-selected triggers;
- Dynamic route planning considering traffic information;
- Predictive learning from historical data;
- Recommendations based on customer behavior and preferences;
- Employee performance dashboard;
- QuickFix routing – route adjustments for time-critical issues.
Stay tuned for more information!
4. Default and Customized Filter Templates
Until now, the Route Setup section has allowed users to create custom filter templates, greatly benefiting the whole route planning process by saving time and streamlining operations.
To improve the usability of the Route Planning section even more, we’ve added a set up of Default filter. You can set it up in the Route Setup section under “Settings”. After setting up, in the Route Planning section, machines will automatically appear based on the settings of your chosen Default filter. If you haven’t selected a default filter, the machine list in Route Planning will be empty until you choose a template or select any other triggers.
5. OCS Warehouse support
This Route Planning release introduces a significant enhancement for OCS operators allowing for more efficient planning. Previously, routes were generated based on individual machines, even if they were located within the same building. With this update, OCS operators can now plan routes based on the entire OCS Warehouse stock located in one warehouse, rather than on individual machines.
Read more about OCS Warehouse solution here.
