Is Roadnet Training Worth It?

Looking for Roadnet training? We’re not surprised, Roadnet’s routing and other functionality is notoriously complicated—most users need binders full of information to do what they need to do. In spite of this fact, the actual training and support offered by Roadnet (aka Solera/Omnitracs) are fairly limited.

In the very short term, looking for training from a third party might be a decent bet (if you came here from a Google search there’s a good chance there are plenty in the search results). After all, you need to find a way to get the right goods on the right routes at the right time to keep your customers happy. 

But in the medium to long term it might be worth looking for a solution that doesn’t require you to seek out external training options; a solution that empowers you to create more efficient routes in less time, without requiring your people to essentially go back to school to learn the system.  

Do You Need Roadnet Training Just for Basic Functionality?

Omnitracs has put a lot of Roadnet users in an awkward position. They are strongly pushing everyone who still uses an on-premise deployment of Roadnet to their ostensible cloud platform Roadnet anywhere. 

With this migration potentially looming you have to ask, “Is Roadnet training worth it?”

Why don’t we flip the script? What seems like a major challenge could actually be an opportunity for your last mile team to migrate to a future-proof platform.

Many users who have switched say that Roadnet anywhere isn’t nearly as feature-rich as what they migrated away from. Some Roadnet users are planning to continue running their on-prem deployments to avoid migrating to Roadnet Anywhere.

Of course, that doesn’t solve the problem that the system is difficult to use, and businesses are often reliant on third parties for getting the software to do what they need it to in order to ensure route efficiency and keep up with the changing needs of their business. 

Roadnet Alternatives That Can Save You Time and Money

We’re not too worried about showing our hand in this post. From our experience, Roadnet training might not be worth it. Why? Because there are Roadnet alternatives out there that are much easier to use and don’t require extensive training simply to get your routes to do what you want them to. 

In fact, there are Roadnet alternatives where your route engineers can be up and running within a matter of hours or days, and you can rely on 24/7/365 support to ensure that the solution keeps running smoothly and adapts to your needs. 

DispatchTrack offers one such solution.

Our platform does more than just optimize routes and create  strategic plans. It actually combines the entire last mile into a single solution, from the moment an order is created to the completed delivery and beyond. This includes:

• Optimized shuttle routing to get goods from DCs to hubs or cross-docks efficiently (with full tracking throughout)
• Strategic planning in minutes, rather than days, thanks to an intuitive, fast planning console that can boost route efficiency across the entire week
• Daily route planning that leverages a hybrid of static base plans and dynamic routing for last-minute and one-off orders
• Delivery execution via automated dispatching to a driver mobile app
• Real-time delivery tracking via a single-pane-of-glass dashboard
• Backhaul support
• Robust proof of delivery and reporting capabilities
• Straightforward implementation with an eye towards smooth change management

Why do DispatchTrack customers love our platform?

• Faster routing: Luis Porto, Director, Operations Development at Quirch Foods, affirmed that the daily routing exercise at his food distribution outfit was done in half the time thanks to DispatchTrack.
• Cost savings: Another client (the VP of Operations at Freedom Fresh) said: “DispatchTrack has helped us save more than $120,000 in 2 years—and that’s before we even put a number on the time savings...”
• Top line growth: Alvaro Celis of Wismettac Asian Foods, Inc.  noted, “Dispatchtrack has enabled us to grow our business 10%  per year.”  

Simply put, our platform is designed to make it easy for distributors and other businesses to take control of the entire last mile and find new efficiencies. Rather than grappling with disconnected systems that are so complex that rerouting is incredibly painful and time-consuming, we enable route planners to adapt routes as needed in a matter of hours at most. 

The best part is that there’s no need to pay for professional services, outside training, or anything of that ilk. DispatchTrack offers training as part of the onboarding process, 24/7 support, and a platform that’s designed to make life easy for users. 

SaaS vs On-Premise Software Deployments: Which Is Better for the Last Mile?

One thing we’ve glossed over in the article so far is this: many users are reluctant to switch to Roadnet Anywhere because it’s a cloud solution, and yet we’re offering up our own cloud-based last mile solution as an alternative. What gives?

Simply put, SaaS solutions are increasingly a better fit for last mile operators and others who don’t want to deal with all of the challenges that come with on-prem software:

• SaaS solutions automatically get new updates rolled out to all locations simultaneously, which means your various branches will always be running the same version (i.e. the latest version) of the software
• Solutions that are hosted in the cloud are comparatively future proof. Not only will they be continually updated to ensure connectivity with other solutions, they’ll also get new features and updates on a regular basis to ensure that you can meet the changing needs of your marketplace
• SaaS solutions are faster. Since they can access computing power as needed, rather than relying on a fixed amount of on-site processing power, they can generate complex delivery routes in minutes, even during busy periods where you might be routing more trucks or deliveries. 
• Integration and implementation are much easier. The process of setting up an on-prem solution can be extremely cumbersome and have requirements that are hard to grapple with in-house, whereas cloud solutions reduce your internal IT needs for implementation significantly. This results in easier change management as well. 
• Faster incident response. When something goes wrong, the onus isn’t entirely on your team to deal with it. That means that you’re likely to have more uptime, better security, and better business continuity management across the board with a SaaS option. 

Of course, this isn’t to suggest that any old cloud solution will do. But if you have qualms about being forced to migrate from your current on-premise routing or last mile management solution, it’s worth noting that many of those issues are not inherent to the cloud. 

If you’re contemplating migrating anyway, you may as well think about migrating to something that’s future-proof, that works closely with its customers to ensure successful training and rollouts, and that’s constantly innovating to ensure that users have the capabilities they need to keep up with a changing market. 

Having issues with Roadnet? The answer might not be more Roadnet training. It might be finding a new solution that can improve your routing and boost efficiency and profitability throughout the entire last mile delivery journey.