How to Plan an Optimised Truck Route: Step-by-Step Guide

By IMPARGO · Updated July 2026

Truck route planning is more than connecting addresses on a map. The expensive mistake we see in dispatcher tours is rarely the road chosen between two stops. It is the stop sequence and the time windows: a tour that looks fine on the map runs into a two-hour wait at stop three and tips the driver into overtime. This guide shows how to plan an optimised truck route in the Planner Module step by step, so tours respect time windows, cut mileage, lower toll and fuel costs, and stay within real driver and vehicle limits.

Key fact: An optimised tour is not just the shortest one. It is the sequence that fits every delivery window, keeps the driver inside legal driving hours, and returns the truck to base with the fewest empty kilometres.

What Is an Optimised Truck Route?
How to Use the Map and Stop Tools for Smart Planning
Which Tour Type Should You Choose: Single-Day or Multi-Day?
How to Optimise Stop Sequence and Plan a Round Trip
How Loading Unit Details Improve Optimisation
How to Set Time Windows and Avoid Overtime
How to Fix Time Window Conflicts Automatically
How Total Tour Time Is Calculated
How to Share and Execute Your Optimised Tour

1. What Is an Optimised Truck Route?

An optimised truck route saves fuel, avoids delays, and fits within operational limits. It accounts for truck-specific restrictions (bridge heights, weight limits, environmental zones), per-country toll costs, and the driving and rest-time rules the tour has to obey, not just the distance between points.

IMPARGO full transport management solution for road freight

With the IMPARGO truck route planner, you build routes that factor in time windows, loading activities, stop duration, and rest breaks to create a realistic, profitable tour.

2. How to Use the Map and Stop Tools for Smart Planning

Start your tour planning inside the Planner Module. You can:

Manually enter stops via address fields
Click directly on the map to add locations
Import stop lists using Excel or CSV files

Importing a list of truck stops from an Excel sheet into the IMPARGO Planner Module — *Import or manually add stops in seconds*

Enhance your map view with live traffic, truck restrictions, environmental zones, and incidents. Learn more about map layers ›

3. Which Tour Type Should You Choose: Single-Day or Multi-Day?

Click the clock icon in the Planner Module to enable time-based routing and select a tour type:

Single-Day: All stops must be completed within one calendar day
Multi-Day: Stops are automatically deferred to the next valid time window if necessary

Selecting single-day or multi-day tour mode in the IMPARGO Planner Module — Choose your tour type after enabling time management

4. How to Optimise Stop Sequence and Plan a Round Trip

Click the "Optimise" button under the address fields to activate two tools:

Sequence Optimisation: Sort stops to minimise driving time, while optionally fixing the first or last stop
Round Trip Optimisation: Return to the starting location automatically, ideal for depot-based tours

Activating round trip and stop sequence optimisation in the IMPARGO Planner Module — *Activate round trip or sequence optimisation*

5. How Loading Unit Details Improve Optimisation

Click the (+) icon next to each stop to define what is being loaded or unloaded. You can specify:

Unit type (e.g. pallet, container)
Dimensions, weight, stackability
Quantity and loading metres

6. How to Set Time Windows and Avoid Overtime

You can add up to two delivery or pickup windows per stop. These time windows keep your tour realistic and aligned with customer expectations, and they are where most tours quietly lose money.

Example: A five-stop regional tour looks fine by distance, but stop 3 only accepts deliveries from 13:00. Planned in address order, the driver arrives at 11:10 and waits almost two hours, pushing the last drop past the customer's cut-off. Reordering the sequence around that one window removes the wait and keeps the whole tour inside the shift.

Setting delivery and pickup time windows and stop durations at each stop in the Planner Module — Set time windows and durations at each stop

7. How to Fix Time Window Conflicts Automatically

If a stop cannot be reached within its time window, it is marked in red. You can:

Reorder stops
Extend the stop's time window
Switch from Single-Day to Multi-Day mode for automatic deferral

Resolving a red time-window conflict on a truck tour in the IMPARGO Planner Module — Resolve time window conflicts manually or automatically

8. How Total Tour Time Is Calculated

IMPARGO calculates the full route time based on:

Driving time between stops
Stop duration (loading, waiting, paperwork)
(Optional) EU truck driver rest breaks
Buffer time per tour (manually added)

Total tour duration with a full breakdown displayed in the Planner Module results bar — Tour duration calculated with full breakdown

Learn how rest periods are included ›

9. How to Share and Execute Your Optimised Tour

After building your optimised tour, choose from these sharing options:

Send via DriverApp: Share live instructions and truck navigation with the driver
Export as PDF: Generate a professional tour summary
Create Tracking Link: Share progress with customers

How to send planned routes to drivers ›

Plan Your First Optimised Tour Today

Manual tour planning eats dispatcher time and hides its costs in overtime, empty kilometres, and missed delivery windows. The Planner Module builds optimised, cost-transparent, compliant tours in a few clicks, then hands them straight to the driver, so your team spends the day on planning and customer service instead of re-sequencing stops by hand. It fits carriers running 5 to 30 trucks who plan tours daily and want the toll, distance, and time cost of each route visible before the truck rolls.

Plan optimised truck tours with IMPARGO

See how the Planner Module sequences stops, respects time windows, and shows routes, tolls and ETA in one view. Book a 30-minute demo and we will plan one of your real tours together.

Book a Free Demo or open the Planner Module →