How to know if your Route Optimization software is truly delivering good Return on Investment (ROI)? And is it working the way you imagined at the time of investment?
We all know what route planning softwareis, but do we know how to measure its success?
For many sales and distribution leaders, dynamic routing looks like a simple logistical upgrade – a way to move field reps more efficiently from outlet A to outlet B. But in FMCG and CPG businesses, it goes much deeper.
Route optimization is not just a cost-cutting tool or a logistical upgrade. It is a business multiplier technology that drives:
- Higher sales productivity
- Better retail coverage
- More outlet penetration
- More order value
- Faster revenue growth
- Improved customer satisfaction
- And most importantly, manpower efficiency
Yet, many organizations fail to measure the complete ROI. They continue to treat AI Routing as a convenience feature instead of a strategic growth engine.
This article explains how to calculate the true ROI of route optimization and the right metrics to track. But first, let us revisit the basics.
What is Route Optimization?
In very simple words, route optimization means planning the best and most useful way for salesmen or delivery vans to travel around the market. It helps to remove extra kilometres, save travel time, and make every shop visit more useful.
Some modern route optimization software does more than just show directions. It also looks at:
- Where the shops are located
- Road and traffic conditions
- Which outlets are more important
- How many orders does each shop give
By joining all this, it makes sure your sales team can visit more outlets in less time, catering to more stores with the right amount of SKUs.
Route Optimization Example
A big cold drink bottling company was facing two main problems in city markets – late deliveries and very high fuel costs.
When they started using route optimization, the delivery plans were changed in a smarter way. Shops were grouped properly, and vans were sent through better routes instead of just going in a straight line one after another.
With this new system, in only three months:
- Fuel cost came down by 12%
- Shop coverage went up by 18%
This shows how route optimization can save money and also grow business at the same time.
Key Benefits of Route Planning Software
The benefits of route planning software are directly linked to better outlet planning, achieving wide market coverage, and stronger brand positioning (for their prime SKUs) in urban and rural markets. These are a few of the many reasons why CPG and FMCG businesses prefer to have routing software integrated with their SFA and DMS. Some more major benefits include:
- Reduced Operational Cost – By calculating the shortest and most efficient route daily, route software reduces fuel costs, travel time, and unnecessary detours. Sales reps can focus on selling more rather than figuring out which outlets to visit first.
- Improving Delivery Capacity – Some Route Optimization Software, like FieldAssist RO, also comes with AI capabilities such as Visit Prioritization based on Outlet Performance, Automated Workload Distribution and New Market Focus. This ensures more outlets are covered with the same resources, boosting market reachability and efficiency.
- Enhanced Retailer Experience – When orders are delivered on time and visits are consistent, retailers gain more trust in the brand. This leads to stronger relationships, better order fill rates, and higher loyalty for priority SKUs.
- Improved Delivery Capacity – When orders are delivered on time and visits are consistent, retailers gain more trust in the brand. This leads to stronger relationships, better order fill rates, and higher loyalty for priority SKUs.
- Data-Based Decision Making – With every route captured digitally, managers gain insights into coverage gaps, missed calls, travel time, and delivery efficiency. These analytics help brands take quick, data-backed decisions to improve execution on the ground.
How Route Optimization Algorithms Work?
An algorithm is just a step-by-step method to solve a problem. In route optimization, the algorithm helps plan the best way to travel when there are many outlets to cover and many places to visit.
Route optimization algorithms work like a smart brain.The route algorithm looks at real details like the location of each outlet, how much time it takes to cover each outlet, how much load a vehicle can carry, and the promised delivery time. In the background, it processes thousands of calculations and gives the best route that saves fuel, covers more shops, and ensures on-time delivery of goods.
The best thing about the route optimization algorithm is that it can adjust at any time. For example, if a shop is closed, the retailer is not available, or a big outlet suddenly needs urgent delivery, the route software algorithm quickly changes the route.
In the same way, when business priorities shift, like adding a new shop, removing a low-performing one, or expanding to a new market, the algorithm automatically creates a fresh plan. This way, salesmen and delivery vans always stay productive and never lose time, even when the market keeps changing.
Why CPG Businesses Can’t Survive without Route Optimization?
FMCG and CPG businesses cannot work well without route optimization. It helps them save money, reach more shops, keep shopkeepers happy, grow the business, and deliver on time. The route planning software is important to keep profits high and stay ahead in the market.
Without routing software, field reps will often write routes on paper and will do manual planning. Some will even follow their instinct instead of data. The result is the same everywhere, i.e.:
- Too much travel time cuts into productive selling hours
- High-value outlets are missed because of poor planning
- Visit discipline is low, so campaigns fail on the ground
All these gaps together mean lost sales, weak market coverage, and unhappy customers.
How to Calculate ROI of Route Optimization Software?
The ROI of Route Optimization Software can be measured by looking at clear business improvements, such as: 1. Cost Reduction per Outlet Visit, 2. Increased Beat Adherence, 3.More Productive Calls Per Day, 4. Expansion in Outlet Coverage, 5. Reduced Travel Time and Distance, and 6. Higher Revenue per Rep.
Now let’s discuss each point in detail.
1. Cost Reduction per Outlet Visit
Goal:
The main goal of route optimization is to save money during shop visits. It helps reduce fuel use, reduces operational costs for vehicles, lowers travel costs, and saves time by avoiding wrong routes.
Evidence:
A top water purifier company saved 19% on shop visit costs after using smart AI-based routing for its field team. This helped a lot, especially in big cities and far-away areas where travel is more.
Outcome:
The savings from this helped the company earn more money and made field operations more efficient.
How to measure:
CPOV = Total Sales Expense ÷ Total Shops Visited
As per FieldAssist Client Side Data: A 15–30% reduction is a realistic benchmark when AI-led route optimization replaces manual routing.
2. Beat Adherence
Goal:
Route planning, as we know, helps field workers follow the correct route and visit all important shops as planned. This stops them from skipping visits, missing orders, or delaying any planned actions.
Evidence:
A global beverage company used route optimization and improved its beat adherence from 48% to 60% in just one month. This means the field workers followed their schedule (Planned Journey Plan or PJP) much better, which made shops trust them more and helped the brand become more visible.
Outcome:
Higher beat adherence improves execution of marketing campaigns, reduces order leakage, and increases outlet satisfaction. You can measure it by calculating:
PJP Adherence (%) = (Actual Visits ÷ Planned Visits) × 100
A target of 95%+ adherence is achievable with intelligent routing and daily visit tracking.
3. More Productive Calls Per Day
Goal:
Another goal of route optimization is to help sales reps make more meaningful visits in one day by cutting down their travel time and route confusion.
Evidence:
After using AI-led routing system, one FMCG brand saw a 44% rise in scheduled calls per rep. That means more orders, more discussions, and more chances to upsell within the same working hours.
Outcome:
When reps spend less time in traffic and more time inside shops, they sell more. It also increases their motivation as they see higher conversions daily.
You can track this by checking: Average Productive Calls per Rep per Day before and after optimization.
4. Expansion in Outlet Coverage
Goal:
Another way to measure the success of route optimization is by tracking an increase in the number of unique outlets visited each month. This includes new shops or shops that were missed before.
Evidence:
A popular dairy company used route optimization to plan their delivery routes based on seasons. Because of this, they visited 13% more shops, especially in small towns and growing areas.
Outcome:
They covered more shops, reach more people with their brand, earn more money, and grew faster in new areas.
To measure this, calculate by using this simple formula:
Outlet Coverage (%) = (Unique Outlets Visited ÷ Total Mapped Outlets) × 100
5. Reduced Travel Time and Distance
Goal:
Another way to judge the return on route optimization is the total kilometers or hours spent on the road each day by reps, without affecting their visit count.
Evidence:
Most brands that use optimized routing see a 20–25% drop in travel time or distance. This saves money on fuel, improves rep energy levels, and makes the day more structured.
Outcome:
Less travel means more visits and reduced fatigue. Also, companies see lower TA/DA claims and better utilization of working hours.
To measure this, compare Average Daily Travel (Time or Distance) before vs after optimization.
6. Higher Revenue per Rep
Goal:
Another way to detect the ROI of route optimization is through total sales done by each rep or as a team.
Evidence:
Many brands have reported 10–20% revenue growth per rep after implementing smarter beat structures and prioritizing high-performing outlets.
Outcome:
This is the final and most visible return. When routing is optimized, reps make more productive calls, visit better shops, and close more orders.
To measure, use this formula: Revenue per Rep = Monthly Sales ÷ No. of Active Reps
If this number goes up, your routing strategy is working.
Tips to Maximize ROI with Route Optimization Software
One can maximize ROI with route optimization software with territory segmentation, by covering high-value outlets, balancing workloads, cutting travel costs, and adapting routes in real time.
- Prioritize High-Value Outlets: The first thing you need to do is to focus on high-performing outlets that drive the most sales. Use AI-driven prioritization in the Route Optimization System to give reps a smarter beat plan instead of wasting time on low-performing outlets.
- Balance Workload Across Field Teams: Don’t overload the same reps while underusing others. Use the workload balancing feature so every rep covers a fair number of outlets, which ultimately leads to more productive visits and lower attrition.
- Adapt to Market Dynamics in Real-Time: Another way to improve ROI with route optimization is by being flexible. As markets change, new outlets open, old ones close, and some underperform. In any case, priorities change. Thus, make use of dynamic adjustments and rerouting to stay aligned with business needs in the market.
- Boost Beat Plan Adherence: The software ensures reps follow their planned journeys (PJP). Higher adherence results in more visits, good retailer relationships, and stronger shelf presence.
- Use Data-Driven Analytics: Regularly refresh routes using sales data, outlet performance, and seasonal demand instead of sticking to static plans. This keeps distribution lean and focused on ROI-positive outlets.
- Get SFA & DMS Integration for Unified Visibility: When route optimization runs in isolation, you lose visibility. Integrating with your SFA and DMS ecosystem gives managers one view of orders, visits, and execution – driving both efficiency and decision-making.
Conclusion:
So that’s it. We hope this has given you a clear picture of how route optimization can transform day-to-day sales and distribution work. Real-Time routing is not only about cutting costs, but also about finishing work on time, increasing control over field operations, and creating discipline in every beat.
The real ROI of route optimization is seen when businesses start covering more outlets without adding extra cost, when every rep spends more time with customers than on the road, and when market expansion happens without confusion or delay. In the CPG business, where margins are thin and competition is tough, even a small saving in cost per visit or a small increase in beat adherence can make a big difference at scale.
Want to see how route optimization can transform your sales team? Experience with FieldAssist, Today
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