Vancouver startup Routific has launched its fleet management platform today to select cities around the world. Previously the company soft-launched in May, with service in Vancouver, San Francisco, New York City, Paris, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Routific provides optimization of delivery routes around the world, automating and optimizing routing and scheduling operations, taking into account the number of destinations and drivers, as well as time windows and capacity loads.
Typically the company said operations managers are forced to plan and scheduling their deliveries manually, often with pen and paper and a painfully complex spreadsheet. “It’s a time-consuming and cumbersome process, and many owners and managers are recognizing that their precious time could be better spent growing their business.”
The routing engine returns a series of optimized routes for each driver, which assists with timely deliveries, fewer trucks, less time spent on the road and a lower carbon footprint. The startup said “a wide variety of businesses” now use the tool for the delivery of packages and parcels, freshly-cooked meals and juices, and laundry, among others. Routific also works with moving companies, security teams, lawn care professionals and home inspection crews.
Cofounder Marc Kuo wrote his thesis on the vehicle routing problem and worked as an algorithmic trader at UBS, a global investment bank before starting up Routific. “At the bank, I felt there was something inherently wrong when I was using algorithms to help large multi-national companies inflate their already bloated portfolios,” Kuo said. “I wanted my work to create value and bring about positive change in the world; Routific is all about cutting waste and helping the world turn a little more efficiently.”
Routific previously won Vancouver’s 2012 Startup Weekend and the 2013 Novex Challenge for environmentally, socially and economically sustainable businesses.
