AI delivery route planning
AI delivery route planning your planner can check
A full delivery calendar still has to become a plan: which truck takes which order, in what sequence, arriving when. We set up a workflow where planning software does the load and road work, and a planner approves the result before anyone acts.
Where this time goes
Calendar to plan
The delivery calendar has to be turned into a workable plan for the drivers available that day.
Fitting loads to trucks
Every delivery is weighed against rack space, product load and stop limits.
Sequence and timing
Each route needs putting in order, and arrival times need working out on real roads.
The order that does not fit
One oversized delivery can undo a neat plan, and a person has to decide what happens to it.
How the workflow runs
- Supply the inputs. The operator provides the delivery date, a local calendar export, the customer and site files and the available drivers.
- Check the loads. The software checks each order’s product load against the rack space and stop limit of each truck, and an order that does not fit is flagged.
- Plan the routes. The planning software assigns each order to a truck and orders its stops on a local road map. Routes and times come from road travel times in that software, not from the AI assistant.
- A planner reviews. The planner checks the detailed workbook locally and decides how to handle any exception.
- Receive the draft pack. An Excel planning pack lists routes, arrival times, loads, review flags and any work that did not fit.
Example
Client example · Window manufacturing
The calendar is full. Now plan the trucks and routes.
A window manufacturer supplying carpenters and small installation firms wanted the delivery calendar turned into a workable plan for its available drivers. Their routing tool could order one route, but a person still decided which truck took each delivery, in what order and when it left.
We built a setup in three parts. The AI assistant is configured to run the agreed tools from a plain-English request and explain status and warnings. The planning software reads a local calendar export, works out each truck’s load, assigns deliveries to trucks and orders each route on a local road map. Customer addresses stay on the planning computer. People check the detailed workbook locally, resolve exceptions and approve the plan before anyone acts.
The output is each truck’s load, stop order and arrival times on real roads, plus a visible list of exceptions. An order that does not fit is flagged for review, never split or squeezed in.
You can click through the interactive example on the home page. It uses six fictional orders and two trucks, and it runs no AI or routing engine.
This describes what was built, not measured results.
Making things you deliver? See AI workflows for manufacturers.
What stays with your team
Approving the plan
The planner approves the plan before anyone acts. Calendar changes and sending are separate actions.
Exceptions
A person decides what happens to an order that does not fit. In the fictional example, the options are holding it for a separate vehicle or asking the team to check its load.
Customer details
A person checks customer details locally, on the planning computer.
Questions
Does the AI decide the routes?
Does it send the plan or change my calendar?
Where do customer addresses go?
Start with this task.
Build with AI sets up AI workflows, with practical lessons for the team, for owner-led businesses in Cape Town and across South Africa.