FedEx drivers need to use the latest and greatest tools so they can efficiently hit all of their stops, plan their routes, and optimize their time. Instead of spending precious minutes throughout the day opening and closing apps to find the quickest ways to get between delivery points, FedEx drivers should only use a few key tools that can help them remain productive even during the busiest of days.
The following list of products, software, and apps are helpful to drivers who are new on the job, veteran drivers who are looking to improve their efficiency, and fleet managers who want to run a smooth operation. The tools can help various positions within FedEx due to the focus on delivery efficiency by making the lives of delivery drivers easier and allowing transparency between managers and employees.
- FedEx Ship Manager Software
FedEx Ship Manager Software is an easy application that allows the management staff of specific delivery areas to seamlessly manage shipment activity across the board. Manager Software allows for quicker delivery of FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, and FedEx Freight packages as it simplifies the process from package preparation to distribution, to last-mile delivery.
This software helps FedEx branches create shipping defaults, allowing for automation so you can control labor costs. Automating this process reduces the need for manual input of each recurring route in the system.
In addition, this software creates shipment profiles to make the entire organization process and shipment steps quicker, faster, and smoother. A shipment profile is a settings that you can apply to items in one step, reducing the need to manually enter each setting individually.
Finally, the Management Software lets management staff within FedEx branches create custom reports for the shipments, providing the delivery drivers with important information. The difference between a pre-set standard shipping report and a custom shipping report is the ability of the user to create the dimensions (ex: city) and the metrics (ex: number of deliveries). By being able to create custom reports, management staff has an easier time evaluating delivery efficiency.
The benefits of using FedEx Manager Software include reduced daily costs, reduced data entry errors, and improved productivity. Avoiding the duplication of data entry ensures those using this FedEx manager software can optimize their delivery route and automate their daily tasks.
- Straightaway Route Planner
The second tool that is a must-have for FedEx delivery drivers is the Straightaway route planner app. This route optimization app makes drivers' lives easier by creating the fastest routes that are easy to follow. Fedex drivers can simply take a picture of their delivery manifest and the app will automatically recognize all the addresses and map stops in a route. Drivers can then optimize stops for the optimal route or just navigate to stops using built-in turn-by-turn directions. By uploading the entire manifest of all of the driver’s stops.
Instead of relying on other delivery apps that can be convoluted and time-wasting, FedEx drivers can use Straightaway to cut down on time in traffic, reduce fuel costs, and save time on their delivery routes.
So why do FedEx drivers need this app more than Google Maps or Waze? What do they love so much about Straightaway’s approach to route optimization?
- Add stops in seconds - Fedex drivers can add 150+ stops in less than 2 minutes using their phone’s camera. Straightaway’s AddressDetect feature uses complex image recognition algorithms to map out all the stops in a route. Drivers love this feature because they don’t have to add stops one by one in order to optimize and navigate their route.
- Delivery navigation - Straightaway has a navigation experience tailor-made for delivery drivers. With built-in navigation, drivers never have to switch apps to get turn-by-turn directions. When navigating, drivers see the final delivery address at all times so they know exactly where they are going. And when the destination is reached, drivers can simply tap “Next stop” to start the navigation to the next stop. The experience is built to make the delivery process as easy and efficient as possible.
- Clear Interface - Straightaway’s clutter-free screen helps drivers spot important details at a glance. Between deliveries, drivers can rapidly review the time to their next destination, number of stops remaining, and turn-by-turn directions.
- Onfleet
Onfleet is a route planning and delivery management software that helps increase customer satisfaction, reduce time spent in the car, and speed up dropoff times. Although this app was first created with delivery management in mind, it’s recent development of route optimization has made it even more popular.
The new route optimization features with Onfleet include the app factoring location, capacity, current real-world conditions, traffic, and time into account to create an optimized delivery route. Management staff can send real-time updates to delivery drivers to account for any requests in delivery changes or cancellations. Furthermore, Onfleet lets management use an auto-dispatch feature that automatically calculates the closest driver to make a delivery in their nearby location, reducing wasted driving time.
Drivers can update their profiles with their parcel capacity, shift schedules, and more so management staff can see where they are, at what time, and with how many packages whenever they're on a route. By including this information, delivery teams can easily evaluate the efficiency of individual drivers or the company as a whole.
- OptimoRoute
OptimoRoute offers a flexible and customized option when it comes to creating driver routes for your FedEx workers, letting you create driver profiles, include shift schedules, add start and end locations, mention driver skills, vehicle skills, and include the service areas of the specific drivers. By adding this detailed information, it paints a more detailed picture of the workday of each individual delivery driver in the FedEx company branch.
This route optimization software helps organize orders correctly to avoid overworking specific employees, using delivery priority, time windows, date range, and day of the week to calculate which driver needs to complete what deliveries. For delivery drivers, this route optimization software includes a mobile app for iOS or Android systems that displays the order route, order information, and navigation for all of the must-have data in one location.
- WorkWave Route Manager
A fifth tool that is useful for FedEx drivers to complete their routes quickly and efficiently is WorkWave Route Manager. This app has highly-detailed features that factor in multiple time windows, various parcel capacities, paired pickups, driver areas, and cost structures to minimize the daily expenditure of drivers and their fleet.
Although this app includes such features, there is a slight drawback - you can’t see your route clearly in the geographical area. Instead, you’ll see colored dots that represent each stop on your route. Despite this drawback, WorkWave is still a useful tool for FedEx drivers and management staff to add extensive driver information to other databases.
FedEx drivers will highly benefit from these easy-to-use tools
By including user-friendly tools in the daily lives of FedEx drivers, management staff is making a smart and educated decision on how to improve daily efficiency, boost productivity, increase employee morale, and better the customer service experience. Adding technology to the daily lives of the FedEx drives will not complicate the delivery steps, but instead, optimize the entire process.
Using FedEx Ship Manager Software can help reduce data entry errors, Onfleet allows drivers to provide real-time updates to their profile and delivery routes, OptimoRoute organizes orders to avoid overworking employees, and WorkWave Route Manager minimizes the daily expenditures of their fleet. However, Straightaway is the most effective option at tying all of the aforementioned benefits into one, concise app. By providing an easy-to-see screen, automatic update of the delivery manifest, real-time updates, and hundreds of stops, Straightaway is the most efficient route optimization software.
