If you run a distribution company or a delivery fleet, this scene will feel familiar: first thing in the morning, Excel open, Google Maps on another monitor, and a list of orders to split across several trucks before drivers leave. That is manual route planning — and it consumes more time than it seems.
This article quantifies that time in hours and euros with an illustrative example. We do not promise a guaranteed savings percentage: every operation is different. You can calculate your own case with the route planning cost calculator or try LogIA route optimization with your data.
How much time is spent each day planning routes
In B2B delivery operations, a dispatcher typically spends between 1.5 and 3 hours a day on initial planning alone: assigning orders to vehicles, ordering stops, checking capacity and time windows. The exact figure depends on the number of vehicles, orders, customers, constraints and last-minute changes.
- 1–5 vehicles: 45 min – 1.5 h/day (usually done by a single person)
- 6–15 vehicles: 1.5 – 3 h/day (complexity grows quickly)
- More than 15 vehicles: over 3 h, often split between dispatcher and an admin assistant
These hours are only the fixed morning block. They do not include interruptions: an urgent order at 10:00, a driver who reports late, a customer who changes the address, or a delivery from the previous day that needs replanning. In practice, many operations add 30–60 extra minutes spread throughout the day.
Formula and numerical example
To estimate the cost of manual planning you need three data points from your operation: daily hours spent, operating days per month, and internal cost per hour (salary + employer costs for the person who plans).
Monthly cost formula
Monthly hours = daily planning hours × operating days per month
Monthly cost = monthly hours × internal cost per hour
Annual cost = monthly cost × 12
Example with a 4-vehicle distributor
Suppose a regional distributor with 4 vehicles, a dispatcher who spends 2 hours every morning planning, 22 operating days per month, and an internal cost of €18/hour (salary + social security for the admin/dispatcher role):
- Monthly hours: 2 h × 22 days = 44 hours
- Monthly cost: 44 h × €18/h = €792
- Annual cost: €792 × 12 = €9,504
Almost €9,500 a year in planning time alone — and this calculation does not include fuel for extra kilometres, operational delays, customer calls, failed deliveries, or the risk of depending on a single person who holds all route knowledge.
You can replace the example figures with your own in the route planning cost calculator. There is also a kilometre savings calculator if you want to estimate the impact of optimizing stop order.
Hidden costs that do not appear on the spreadsheet
The dispatcher's hourly cost is visible on payroll. These other costs are usually invisible until operations teams feel them every week:
- Unnecessary kilometres: a suboptimal stop order can add 10–25% km compared to a well-optimized route (illustrative estimates depending on complexity).
- Unbalanced routes: one overloaded truck and another half-empty generates extra hours and internal complaints.
- Delays: missed time windows → unhappy customers and rescheduling.
- Failed deliveries: a revisit without proper replanning = a full second trip.
- Customer calls: "What time will you arrive?" when there is no real-time visibility.
- Dependence on one person: if the dispatcher is absent, nobody can replicate their Excel method.
- Last-minute changes: redoing routes by hand without a fleet-wide view.
These costs do not replace the planning-hours calculation: they add to it. That is why many distributors compare only software cost with dispatcher hours, and forget fuel and time lost on incidents.
Manual planning vs optimization with LogIA
Manual planning with Excel and Google Maps works when there are few stops and few vehicles. As the operation grows, the same method produces different results each day depending on who plans and how much time they have. The comparison is not "human vs machine", but "repeatable process vs fragile process".
| Aspect | Manual planning | LogIA (optimization + review) |
|---|---|---|
| Typical daily time | 1.5 – 3 hours | Seconds of calculation + dispatcher review |
| Scope | One route at a time | Entire fleet in a single optimization |
| Constraints | Approximate (capacity, schedules) | Capacity, time windows, service times |
| Urgent changes | Partially redo by hand | Reoptimize and republish to drivers |
| Operational knowledge | In one person's head | Rules and routes in the system |
| Fuel / km | Depends on the day's judgement | Calculated stop order (VRP + OSRM) |
| Backup if planner is absent | Operation at risk | Any authorized user can launch routes |
Human review before publishing routes
A common mistake when evaluating route software is thinking the tool "commands" with no room for correction. In LogIA the flow is different: the optimizer proposes a solution with OR-Tools using real road times (OSRM), and the dispatcher reviews, adjusts and validates before publishing the route to the driver app.
That combines human judgement (difficult customer, complicated access, commercial preference) with mathematical calculation (stop order, load per vehicle). To learn more about the product, see the route planning or route optimization pages.
How to calculate your case with your data
- Estimate how many hours your team spends daily planning routes (include last-minute changes).
- Calculate the real hourly cost of the person who does it (payroll + employer costs, not gross salary alone).
- Multiply by your operating days per month (typically 20–23 in B2B delivery).
- Compare the result with the cost of a tool like LogIA and the time you would recover.
Use the planning cost calculator to get an estimate in under a minute. If you want to see how it fits your full operation (orders, delivery, invoicing), you can sign up for the 14-day free trial or request a personalized demo from this article.
Methodology note
The daily hours cited (1.5–3 h) are based on observation of delivery operations during LogIA onboarding and demos, not on a published statistical study. The numerical example (4 vehicles, 2 h/day, €18/h, 22 days) is illustrative: replace each variable with your company's figures. The site calculators show methodology and assumptions. No figure in this article constitutes a guaranteed saving or a contractual result.