Paragon route planning software caters for limited range of plug-in vehicles

By Tim Campbell

21 February 2018

Paragon has enhanced its routing and scheduling software to address the potential challenges associated with planning for plug-in vehicles.

With a growing number of logistics operations now committed to low-emission, fuel-efficient technology, this latest development will enable transport planners to better utilise vehicles that have limited ranges, it says.

“Green fleets are firmly on the radar of many logistics operations as they look to minimise environmental impact by moving away from vehicles powered by petrol and diesel, while also contending with emissions-based restrictions in many urban areas,” said William Salter, managing director of Paragon Software Systems.

“With this in mind, we have added functionality to our software solution to simplify the planning process for fleets that combine both sustainable and conventional vehicles.”

Transport planners will now be able to define the actual range of a sustainable truck or van, ensuring that the Paragon routing and scheduling software restricts the distance of any trip to the vehicle’s maximum range. If any subsequent manual adjustments result in extra mileage beyond the range of a vehicle, a warning will alert the planner to the potential issue.

The importance of this update is underlined by the results of Paragon’s latest UK customer survey. The annual research found that the most significant transport development this year is expected to be around vehicle innovation, especially alternative power sources or autonomous technology.

In fact, it found that almost 20% of respondents already have electric or hybrid vehicles, with a further 26% expecting to adopt in the next two years.

“We initially developed this functionality to meet specific customer demand, but we believe it will become increasingly relevant for many types of logistics operations as they introduce greener vehicles over the coming years,” said Phil Ingham, support director of Paragon Software Systems.

“With a growing number of low emissions zones in town and cities, companies that handle urban deliveries will in particular face added sustainability challenges. We are committed to continually improving our routing and scheduling software to ensure it is best placed to meet these changing demands.”