What is Tour Planning?

Tour planning is the process of grouping transport orders into tours and putting the stops in the best sequence, usually for a single driver or vehicle. It is what turns a list of orders into an efficient working day on the road.

Tour planning vs route planning

Route planning finds the best path between stops. Tour planning goes further: it decides which orders belong on which tour, in what order the stops are served, and which vehicle runs them, taking account of capacity, driver hours and vehicle restrictions such as height or weight.

What tour planning takes into account

• Allocation of orders to individual tours and vehicles
• Efficient loading of each vehicle
• Live traffic and driving times
• Constraints such as vehicle height, weight and access restrictions

Done well, tour planning cuts empty kilometres, keeps delivery promises and lowers cost per stop, which is why dispatchers plan tours in a TMS rather than on paper.