Logistics & 3PL | Route Optimisation & Supply Chain Visibility
Reduction in total logistics and distribution costs
Improvement in average delivery turnaround time
About
Redline Logistics is a regional third-party logistics provider managing delivery operations across a network of 6 depots, 200+ vehicles, and approximately 1,800 daily delivery stops across three states. Serving FMCG, retail, and industrial customers with SLA commitments ranging from same-day to 72-hour delivery, the business was managing a growing network with tools designed for a much smaller operation.
Industry
Logistics & 3PL | Route Optimisation & Supply Chain Visibility
Company size
1,000 – 5,000 employees
Founded
2007
The Company
A regional 3PL growing faster than its planning tools could keep up
Redline Logistics is a regional third-party logistics provider managing delivery operations across a network of 6 depots, more than 200 vehicles, and approximately 1,800 daily delivery stops across a service area spanning three states. The company serves a mix of FMCG, retail, and industrial customers, with delivery commitments ranging from same-day to 72-hour service level agreements.
As order volumes grew, the gap between the business's operational ambition and its planning capability widened. Route planning was still handled by a team of five planners using a legacy routing tool that had not been meaningfully updated in years — producing routes that left trucks 17% empty on average and an on-time delivery rate that had slipped to 74%.
The challenge
Static planning for a dynamic delivery network
The legacy routing tool supported basic geographic routing but could not dynamically adapt to changing conditions — traffic, delivery window constraints, vehicle capacity utilisation, or the real-time addition and cancellation of delivery orders. The result was routes built at the start of each day that bore increasingly little resemblance to the actual conditions couriers encountered during delivery runs.
Fuel costs were running 18% above industry benchmark for comparable network density. Average delivery turnaround times had been creeping upward as order volumes grew without proportional network optimisation. On-time delivery performance at 74% was generating customer complaints and threatening service level agreements with key accounts.
The planning team was working at capacity — spending most of their time managing exceptions, rerouting vehicles in response to delays, and manually coordinating between depots when cross-depot load balancing was required. Strategic network analysis that would identify structural inefficiencies in the depot network itself was being deferred indefinitely.
The Solution
Multi-layer optimisation addressing both operations and network strategy
Seven Billion implemented a multi-layer optimisation solution addressing both operational route planning and strategic network design simultaneously.
At the operational layer, a Multi-Depot Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) solver was built using Google OR-Tools, integrated with real-time traffic and mapping data via the GIS API. The solver simultaneously optimised route assignments across all vehicles and depots, accounting for delivery time windows, vehicle capacity, driver shift constraints, and real-time traffic conditions. Routes were re-optimised every two hours during the operational day, with planners able to trigger manual re-optimisation when significant changes occurred.
At the strategic layer, GCP BigQuery was used to build a network profitability model analysing the full cost of servicing each delivery zone from each depot — incorporating fuel cost, driver time, vehicle wear, and service level performance. This analysis identified three zones being served from suboptimal depots and quantified the cost reduction available from reallocation. A dispatch dashboard was built for operational teams, providing real-time visibility into vehicle locations, route adherence, delivery completion status, and predicted delivery times.
The Results
35% cost reduction and a complete reversal of the customer relationship trajectory
Total logistics costs reduced by 35% — the combined result of route optimisation delivering a 23% fuel cost reduction, depot reallocation for three delivery zones, and the reduction in emergency rerouting costs driven by the improved planning process.
Delivery turnaround time improved by 2.1 days on average, with the greatest improvement on cross-depot deliveries where the lack of coordination had previously been most severe. On-time delivery performance improved from 74% to 91% — restoring service level compliance with all key accounts and reversing the customer relationship deterioration that had been building over the previous 18 months.
Planning team capacity was freed significantly, with routine route generation automated and exception management reduced. The team was able to take on strategic analysis work that had previously been deferred indefinitely — and for the first time, the business had a genuine understanding of its own network economics.
Seven Billion did not just improve our routing — they gave us the visibility to understand our network properly for the first time. The cost reductions were significant, but the improvement in customer delivery performance is what will matter most in the long run.
COO, Redline Logistics
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