Automated Route Management Lowers Your Cost Per Stop (CPS)

In the world of logistics, profitability often boils down to a single, critical metric: Cost Per Stop (CPS). For every service call, delivery, or sales visit, CPS represents the total expenditure (labor, fuel, vehicle maintenance, and overhead) required to successfully complete that single stop. The objective is simple: the lower your CPS, the wider your margin.
While CPS can seem complex, it is largely driven by two primary variable inputs that are entirely within your control:

1. Labor Costs (Time)
2. Fuel Costs (Miles)

This is where advanced route management, and effective tools like the MyRouteOnline route manager, stop being an operational luxury and become a financial imperative.

The Fuel Cost Fallacy: Why Guessing Miles is Too Expensive

The greatest drain on CPS comes from unnecessary mileage. When dispatchers or drivers plan routes manually, they invariably rely on trial-and-error, missing the mathematically shortest path.

The Problem: Wasted Miles Multiply

A dispatcher planning a 50-stop route manually might choose an order that seems “logical.” However, if that route is just 5% longer than the optimal route, those extra miles compound quickly.
Based on a vehicle driving 200 days per year and averaging 20 MPG, these are the expected costs:
With 50 Stops per Day, Extra Miles (5% Loss) of 5 miles, the Annual Cost of Wasted Fuel ($4/gallon, 20 MPG) would be $1000.
With 100 Stops per Day, Extra Miles (5% Loss) of 10 miles, the Annual Cost of Wasted Fuel ($4/gallon, 20 MPG) would be $2000.

The MyRouteOnline Route Manager Solution: Mileage Reduction

Route optimization software applies complex algorithms to analyze all possible stop combinations, an impossible task for a human dispatcher. MyRouteOnline’s Route Management system shows the shortest route, often delivering a proven mileage reduction of 20% compared to manual planning. This optimization directly shrinks the “Fuel” component of your CPS by eliminating wasted gas.

The Labor Cost Drain: Wasted Time is Unpaid Overtime

Labor is often the single biggest component of your CPS. Any time a driver spends on the road unnecessarily is valuable payroll time that is not generating revenue.

The Problem: Labor Time Multiplier

Inefficient routes cause drivers to spend extra time driving, sitting in traffic, or fixing routes manually. This inefficiency pushes drivers into costly overtime and reduces the number of stops they can complete each day.
A field service company with 10 technicians, each earning $25/hour, that saves just 30 minutes of driving time per day, saves over $1,250 per week in labor costs alone.

The MyRouteOnline Route Management Solution: Optimizing Time and Efficiency

MyRouteOnline attacks labor costs from two angles:

1. Front-End Savings (Admin): It eliminates the hours dispatchers spend manually planning and splitting routes, freeing them for higher-value work.
2. Back-End Savings (Drivers): The fastest, most efficient route ensures drivers meet daily stop quotas faster, cutting overtime and maximizing paid time. By accounting for Service Time and Time Windows, lost time waiting for appointments is also eliminated.

Conclusion: Route Management as Financial Tools

Route optimization and route management are more than efficiency tools—they are critical cost-control mechanisms. Positioning MyRouteOnline as the premier route manager solution to lower Cost Per Stop (CPS) through labor and fuel cost reduction is the clearest way to demonstrate immediate ROI.
If widening your profit margin matters this year, the real question is not whether you can afford route management software, but whether you can afford not to use it.
Ready to start calculating your real savings? Contact us today for a free analysis of your current CPS potential.