Add And Manage Vehicles – Route4Me Last Mile Fleet Management Guide

With Route4Me’s last mile route optimization and fleet management software, you can easily create and coordinate a fleet of cars, vans, trucks, trailers, semis, heavy equipment, and any other vehicles.  Depending on your Route4Me account-level permissions, you can add vehicles manually, import telematics vehicles, dispatch routes to vehicles, and assign vehicle attributes and profiles. Use this guide to help you create and manage your last mile fleet vehicles.

Add New Vehicles – Create Fleet Vehicle Profiles

To add vehicles to your Route4Me account, you can either manually enter individual vehicle details or import GPS data from your telematics providers.

For manual entry, simply fill out the required fields with each vehicle’s details. To add multiple vehicles simultaneously, import telematics data directly from your telematics provider, enabling seamless integration and fleet expansion.

Create Vehicles – Manually Add Individual Vehicles To Your Fleet

To manually add a vehicle to your fleet, go to “Team & Equipment” > “Vehicles” in the Navigation Menu. Then, click “Add Vehicle”.

Fill out the vehicle’s general profile information, ensuring you set its status to “Operational” to make it available for route dispatch. When set to “Operational”, the vehicle appears in your list of assignable vehicles for routes.

Below, you’ll find further guidance on filling out general profile information.

Next, define the vehicle’s default profile, including its commercial vehicle settings, assigned user and facility, and custom attributes. These configurations ensure accurate, rule-compliant route optimization.

For specific details about each field, see the table below.

Finally, provide fuel details. You can use this information to manage and reduce fleet fuel costs and promote fleet fuel efficiency. Click “Add Vehicle” to finalize. See the table below for details about each field.

Add Telematics Fleet Vehicles To Route4Me Via Telematics Gateway

To bulk import multiple vehicles, start by establishing a telematics connection between your telematics provider and your Route4Me account. To do this, go to “Connections” from your “Organization Settings“.

Once you’ve added a connection, Route4Me will automatically sync your telematics vehicles and their data.

To activate these vehicles, go to “Team & Equipment” > “Vehicles” in the Navigation Menu. They will appear as “Pending” and “Non-Operational” in the Vehicles List. Check the box next to the vehicles you want to activate and click the “Activate” button.

Once activated, they will appear as “Active” and “Operational”. Then, you can assign your vehicles to routes. Learn more about the benefits of establishing telematics connections in your Route4Me account. 

Vehicles Map – View Fleet Vehicles On Map With Live Location Updates

You can view active vehicles on the map with live GPS updates. Click the Vehicles Map button in the top-right, then hover over a vehicle location on the map to see its identity and when it last synced with Route4Me’s dispatch and tracking software.

The Vehicles Map uses familiar Google Maps controls. Click the Gear Icon to adjust settings, switch between satellite and standard views, view real-time traffic, manage routing Avoidance Zones, and display custom Address Territories.

Assign Vehicles To Routes – Dispatch Routes To Vehicles

Once added to your account, assign a vehicle to a route. Do this before planning a route – manually or via Optimization Profiles – to have the route automatically dispatched, or assign it to existing routes via the Route Editor, Routes Map, or Routes List.

When you assign a vehicle to a route, the route is automatically dispatched to the vehicle. After dispatching the route, you can track the vehicle in real-time and view its GPS route tracking history.

Fleet Management – Manage And Edit Vehicles

To view and manage vehicles, go to “Team & Equipment” > “Vehicles” from the Navigation Menu. From here, you can:

1. Click the Down Arrow and select “Edit” to edit vehicle settings, “Assign Facilities” to manage the vehicle’s facility assignments, or “Archive” to remove the vehicle from the list.
2. Click the “Filters” button to filter vehicles by status and Telematics Connection.
3. Click the “Group by” button to group vehicles by their attributes.

Learn more about filters and grouping options in the table below.

Additionally, you can click “Open” next to a vehicle to access its Vehicle Snapshot. Depending on your account-level permissions, you may have access to different vehicles. Learn more about Vehicle Management Permissions by User Type.

Use the width slider to adjust the width of a column. Click the arrow next to a column heading to sort the list by that column.

To customize the columns shown in your Vehicles List, click the Display Columns button in the top-left. Then, check the boxes next to the columns you want to enable.

You can re-arrange columns on the right of the Display Columns panel by dragging column names. When ready, click “Apply” to save your Display Columns settings. Find more information about columns in the table below.

Assign Final Mile Fleet Vehicles To Facilities

From your Vehicles Page, you can assign vehicles to facilities. To do this, click the “Edit” button, go to “Facilities” under “Details”, and select “Assign Facilities“.

Select the specific facility you would like to assign to the vehicle, then click “Apply“. NOTE: You can assign a vehicle to multiple facilities for greater fleet management flexibility, allowing deployment from various locations as needed.

Assign Vehicle Attributes And Profiles

Route4Me’s route optimization software includes powerful features like Vehicle Attributes, Commercial Vehicle Profiles, and Capacity Profiles for efficient, reliable, and compliant last mile route planning.

Vehicle Attributes – Add Vehicle Attributes For Drivers Skills Routing

Route4Me’s Driver Skills and Vehicle Attributes feature optimizes routes by matching employee skills and vehicle capabilities to each location’s requirements. You can ensure the right team member and vehicle are always assigned to the right destination.

You can assign Vehicle Attributes when adding a new vehicle or when editing an existing vehicle already in your Vehicle List. When the vehicle’s attributes match an address’s requirements, it can be automatically assigned to that address.

Learn more about adding Drivers Skills and Vehicle Attributes for improved Mixed Fleet Route Optimization.

Vehicle Profile – Add Commercial Vehicle Profile For Commercial Routing 

Different countries and states enforce road restrictions for commercial vehicles, including limitations based on weight, size, hazardous materials, and bridge or tunnel access. Violating these rules can endanger public safety and result in hefty fines.

To mitigate risks and avoid inefficient commercial routing, you can configure a fleet with specific parameters for light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles.

When adding or editing a vehicle, you have the ability to define a Vehicle Profile for your fleet to ensure operational efficiency and safety. Learn more about commercial vehicles and truck routing with Vehicle Profiles.

Capacity Profile – Add Vehicle Capacity Profiles For Mixed Fleet Routing 

Large and medium-sized businesses often use mixed fleets of cars, vans, and trucks to meet diverse last-mile routing needs. Route4Me’s Mixed Fleet Route Planning Add-On optimizes routes for vehicles with varying load capacities and destination needs.

When adding or editing a vehicle, you can select for each vehicle a pre-defined Capacity Profile based on a vehicle’s load capacity for weight, volume, number of items, or maximum allowed revenue.

Learn more about mixed fleet route optimization with custom vehicle Capacity Profiles.