How Roadrunner took a data-driven approach to revamping pickup and delivery

“Optym leads the industry in trucking enhancements, and we’re proud to partner with them to improve our service. With RouteMax, we’ll be able to improve inbound planning, customer satisfaction, and terminal performance while enhancing our Smart Long Haul Network.”

Tomasz Jamroz Chief Operating Officer

Background and challenge: 

Roadrunner, a service-first less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier, offers a nationwide presence with terminals across 37 metro markets, and more than 1,000 drivers in their network. Recently, Roadrunner underwent a major rebrand and overhaul of operations. 

“We have made a lot of changes to our linehaul, but on both ends there was pickup and delivery,” Roadrunner Chief Operating Officer Tomasz Jamroz said. “The importance of that experience is even more critical because this is the experience where the customer is interacting with Roadrunner.” 
 
To accomplish a pickup and delivery overhaul, Roadrunner needed an end-to-end optimization solution provider that could use all the data available to make the best decision quickly. As a technologist, Jamroz and his engineering team considered multiple vendors, looking at agility, features, ease of use, and intelligence of the solutions available. Roadrunner began and ended their search with Optym. 

Solution: 

When solving LTL pickup and delivery, carriers are faced with many different customer needs from shipment sizes and types to locations and appointment windows. By housing this information in RouteMax, Roadrunner can quickly manage inbound shipments and their data. This ensures they are more prepared to deliver the best experience for the customer. Whether it be a lift gate, specific delivery window, or location, RouteMax considered all variables not just for a single shipment, but for an entire network of terminals. 

“[What] really stood out was that you (Optym) were the only one that really offered end-to-end optimization,” Jamroz said. “It's really like press a button and you optimize by running millions of scenarios.”

Results: 

Based on decades of R&D, our proprietary optimization algorithm determines optimal truck routes and sequencing 500 – 1,000 shipments in less than a minute. This gives carriers optimality in a timely manner. 

Roadrunner uses RouteMax to empower their planners to take on larger planning roles with more accuracy and efficiency. Through shipment visibility and optimization, planners better understand the day’s needs and at the click of a button: 

• Reduce the number of routes  
• Lower miles travelled 
• Meet customer expectations
• Save planner time
• Meet driver preferences  

See for yourself