A new software extension from Paragon Software Systems Inc. allows carriers to plan more efficient routes for time-sensitive loads by avoiding scheduled road closures and detours, the company claims.
Clients can use Paragon Route Control to add time-sensitive restrictions to transport plans so their drivers can avoid delays such as school-zone drop-off times, parade routes, and city road restrictions during rush hours.
Paragon, of Dallas, provides truck routing and scheduling software designed to cut transportation costs and improve efficiency. The company's other products include daily route optimization, fixed-route rationalization, transportation resource management, strategic logistics planning, and home-delivery order management through dynamic routing.
The new app allows transportation planners to use a calendar to create routes that comply with time- and day-related local, state, and national regulations, and road closures resulting from major public events.
The tool helps minimize the impact of these restrictions on routing and scheduling, as drivers can deliberately avoid traffic snarls such as road congestion caused by the Boston Marathon or the Super Bowl, limited truck zones common in New York City, commercial construction areas, or vehicle-specific travel restrictions, such as a ban on 53-foot trailers along certain highways between midnight and 6 a.m.
"Our grocery-store clients have asked for this capability to make their day-to-day job easier—and we have delivered with Paragon Route Control," Paragon CEO William Salter said in a release. "Our customers can [now] create rules that automatically apply legitimate route deviations at specific times of the day, week, or month by truck type to their transportation plans, reducing the level of manual intervention required by the planner. Drivers can better meet delivery schedules while adhering to road restrictions and regulations, ensuring on-time deliveries and improving customer satisfaction."
