With the exception of a few of our canine friends, we all love our local US Postal Service mail carriers. Especially with everyone spending more time at home doing remote work, seeing the iconic white truck pull up and hearing the sound of letters being placed in the mailbox every day has become a source of comfort.
The changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have also led to a boost in growth for USPS’s private sector competitors. More people are ordering more stuff more often—and companies like Fedex, UPS, and Amazon are always on the hunt for ways to boost the efficiency of their delivery systems. Is it possible for the USPS to adapt with the agility of these massive corporations, and boost the efficiency of their own system? Thanks to new breakthroughs in route optimization, yes it is.
USPS drivers are famous for going above and beyond when they are out delivering our mail. So it is only natural that they would also be on the lookout for ways to do their job better. That’s where route optimization tools like Straightaway come in.
Over 1000 USPS Drivers are already using Straightaway for a reason. With Straightaway, USPS can boost their efficiency, and drivers can finish their routes faster and easier. Straightaway helps USPS drivers in three key areas:
- It allows drivers to plan the optimal route to drive.
- It gives drivers the best navigation tools, so they can always stay on the fastest route.
- It lets drivers implement the smartest technology to help them get the job done better.
Plan Your Route Better
The USPS has been delivering mail since Ben Franklin’s time. They’ve had hundreds of years to develop their system for planning routes on which to send their mail carriers. With the advent of new technology, and with fierce competition from private sector delivery options like FedEx and UPS, USPS drivers are faced with an opportunity to improve how they plan their routes.
USPS drivers get to know their routes very well. The United States Postal Service uses approximately 231,579 delivery routes to deliver mail to everyone across the country. These routes keep things simple for drivers, as they deliver to addresses that are grouped together by location. But, there are still inefficiencies in USPS’s route planning tools. Luckily, it is within the power of USPS drivers to overcome these inefficiencies and plan out the best possible route.
Straightaway provides simple, easy-to-use tools USPS drivers can use to plan out the fastest route. The Straightaway app allows drivers to plan their routes in the amount of time it takes to snap a photo. The advanced image detection technology built into the app can detect addresses from any source—a driver can simply take a picture of their delivery manifest, USPS SCAN form, or shipping label, and the app will build the fastest route instantly. With Straightaway, not only is the route faster, but the process of planning the route is faster too.
Straightaway also has a birds-eye view feature that lets drivers overview their entire route. This way, drivers can continue to plan as they go, keeping an eye on their progress and assessing the best way for them to complete their route.
Being more efficient in the planning stage is the required first step to creating an overall more efficient delivery system. Tools like Straightaway can help drivers plan their routes better.
Navigate Better
Once a driver has figured out the fastest route, the next step is getting on the road. But what if the unexpected happens and your perfect route is interrupted? That is when it is necessary to implement better navigation tools.
The USPS started using GPS technology to track drivers nearly a decade ago. This way, USPS can see where its drivers are on their route, and can determine if they are encountering any delays. Likewise, USPS drivers use route-tracking apps like Waze, Apple Maps, and Google Maps to help them navigate while they are driving on their route. However, many of the top USPS drivers have found that the currently available maps apps don’t cut it when it comes to the complex, multi-stop routes that they drive.
That’s why many USPS drivers are seeking out more sophisticated navigation tools, like the kind they find in the Straightaway app.
The best navigation tools use the most up-to-date data to adjust as traffic conditions change. Straightaway analyzes over 130 data points, including weather and road conditions, to provide the most accurate information to drivers while they are on the road.
Straightaway is also able to implement the data it collects in real time, always adjusting to the fastest available route on the fly. And with turn-by-turn navigation built in, drivers can spend less time worrying about how to get where they are going and more time focused on making deliveries.
Because the navigation system is built-in, Straightaway features a navigation experience tailored for delivery drivers. For example, drivers see the final delivery address at all times during the navigation process so that they always know where they are going. Once drivers reach their destination they can simply tap “Next stop” to start turn-by-turn navigation to the next stop rather than going back, selecting a stop, and then clicking navigate. There are also special features like building highlighting that are in the works and will be available soon.
Using the best possible tools to navigate while driving is critical for drivers to boost their efficiency.
Use Better Technology
USPS has implemented route optimization technology to keep pace with their competitors in the private sector. But for drivers, these technological tools don’t always provide the fastest routes, the smartest navigation tools, or the best user experience. That’s why thousands have adopted route optimization apps from third parties rather than dealing with the headaches caused by in-house software.
Straightaway provides solutions to all of the technological pain points that USPS drivers encounter with their in-house softwares. Straightaway provides a streamlined, beautifully designed app that is easy for drivers to use. It also lets drivers access all of the features they need, from the route planning stage to navigation, without leaving the app.
With Straightaway, drivers can upload their destinations once, rather than stopping to scan parcels and packages throughout the day. This lets drivers spend more time driving and delivering, rather than getting bogged down in repetitive tasks.
Allowing their drivers to implement better, smarter technology, like the kind in the Straightaway app, will boost the efficiency of USPS’s delivery system—and let them keep pace with their technologically-inclined private sector competitors.
Key Takeaways
There are three ways USPS drivers can boost their efficiency:
- Plan their routes better.
- Use better navigation tools while they’re on the road.
- Implement smarter technology to optimize their routes to the highest level.
With Straightaway, drivers can implement all three of these efficiency boosters—all in one app. Join the over 1000 USPS drivers who have already started using Straightaway today!
