How Loop optimised delivery routes for a fresh produce distributor, reducing distance, fuel costs and travel time
CASE STUDY AT A GLANCE:
THE CHALLENGE:
A large South African logistics operation wanted to optimise its existing route planning approach as it was generating unnecessary distance, fuel consumption and time on the road for highly perishable fresh produce.
LOOP'S SOLUTION:
Loop deployed its advanced route optimisation algorithm to re-engineer the client's existing delivery sequences, running a rigorous performance comparison across 10 complex trips to eliminate inefficiencies and map highly optimised alternatives.
CUSTOMER OUTCOME:
The result was a significantly reduced travel distance of 432.54km across the test set, cutting driving time by 267 minutes, reducing fuel consumption by 33 litres, and lowering costs.
Customer and project overview
Managing logistics for fresh produce delivery is challenging. The product is highly perishable, temperature-sensitive and each time it moves across a partner or location, there are the added risks of cost and waste.
As fresh produce deteriorates as soon as it’s harvested, delays of even a few hours in transit or at depots can drastically reduce shelf life and lead to spoilage, shrink or write-offs.
To mitigate these risks, a large South African logistics operation wanted to optimise its existing route planning approach as it was generating unnecessary distance, fuel consumption and time on the road.
The challenge
Identifying the true cost of unoptimised delivery routes
CHALLENGE 1
Excess travel distance
The client's planned routes totalled 1,910km across 10 trips, which is an extensive distance across poor road and transport infrastructure that add an additional cost and admin burden.
CHALLENGE 2
Higher operating costs
Excess kilometers translated directly into avoidable fuel spend, which placed the company at risk of fuel price volatility and surcharges, complicating route optimisation benefits.
CHALLENGE 3
Lost time to travel
Inefficient routing added measurable time to every delivery run, which had a run-on impact on SLAs, customer satisfaction and fresh produce spoilage risks.
CHALLENGE 4
Limited visibility into savings
Without a direct comparison against an optimised alternative, the company had no basis for quantifying what inefficient routing was costing the operation across the key metrics of distance, fuel and time.
The primary objective was to compare the client's planned delivery routes against Loop's optimised alternatives across 10 trips, and quantify the resulting difference in distance travelled, time on the road, fuel consumption, and diesel costs.
Loop's solution
Algorithm-led route comparison and optimisation analysis
Loop took the company’s 10 planned route sequences and stop coordinates and ran each one through the route optimisation algorithm to generate more efficient alternatives. Each optimised route was measured directly against the original plan across four key metrics: kilometres travelled, driving time, fuel consumption and diesel costs.
The analysis covered trips ranging from three stops to eight across delivery areas that included Boksburg, Pretoria and Kuruman. Where the company's platform had sequenced stops in order of entry, Loop's algorithm recalculated the most efficient path between the same points.
The output provided the logistics company with a precise trip-by-trip comparison of current routing performance against optimised alternatives and the savings were quantified at both the individual trip and total network levels.
The process involved
Review of planned trips and stop coordinates as generated by the client's existing delivery platform
Route optimisation modelling using the same stop sets and delivery sequences
Distance and duration comparison across all 10 trips, from three-stop urban runs to 25-stop long-distance routes
Fuel and cost savings calculation based on standardised assumptions applied consistently across both route sets
Route-by-route performance analysis covering kilometres travelled, driving time, litres consumed, and diesel cost at both trip and network level
Performance comparison modelling
Loop analysed the client's planned routes against the optimised alternatives using identical delivery sets and stop coordinates.
This made it possible to isolate the savings achieved through improved routing decisions rather than any change in delivery demand or geography.
Customer outcome
Lower distance, lower cost, and more efficient delivery routes
The route optimisation analysis demonstrated that the client could materially improve delivery efficiency across its entire network, on every trip type from short urban runs to long-distance multi-stop routes.
As a result:
432.53 km total reduction in travel distance
267 total minutes saved
33 litres of diesel saved
Boksburg route reduced from 58.89 km to 57.84 km
Kuruman route reduced from 1664.86 km to 1033.21 km
22.63 percent average reduction in kilometres per trip
26.70 average minutes saved per trip
R793.98 reduction in diesel cost
Pretoria route reduced from 123.64 km to 111.04 km
Kuruman route delivered the largest single saving, with 631.65 km reduced, 397 minutes saved, and 48 litres of fuel recovered
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