Lytton Freight Company — Route Optimisation
A freight company cut fuel costs by 28% with an AI-powered route optimisation system and driver tracking portal.
TL;DR
- Challenge:
- A Lytton freight company running $18K/month fuel costs with paper run sheets and dispatch guessing on ETAs.
- Approach:
- AI route optimiser, driver GPS app + e-POD, customer portal with real-time tracking.
- Result:
- Fuel costs cut 28% ($5K/month), deliveries per driver +36%, customer enquiry calls down 60%.
Key Results at a Glance
-28%
Fuel costs
+36%
Deliveries per driver/day
-60%
Customer enquiry calls
Client Context
Business Type
Freight + logistics (B2B pallet + parcel)
Founded
2005
Team Size
48 drivers + 12 dispatch
Market
Brisbane metro + SEQ regional
Revenue Tier
$14M annual revenue
Stack Before
Paper run sheets, TomTom navigation, Excel dispatch board
The Challenge
Drivers planned their own routes using paper run sheets and Google Maps. Fuel costs were $18K/month and climbing. The dispatch team had no visibility into where drivers were or when deliveries would arrive.
Goals & KPIs
North-Star Metric
Cut fuel costs 20%+ and deliver 15+ more per driver per day
Supporting KPIs
Monthly fuel cost
Target: Under $14K
Deliveries per driver/day
Target: 18+
Customer enquiry calls
Target: Under 40/day
On-time delivery %
Target: 95%+
e-POD capture rate
Target: 99%+
Discovery & Research
Audit Findings
- •Paper run sheets = zero visibility
- •Drivers planned their own routes
- •No proof of delivery beyond signature slip
- •Customers called dispatch 85x/day
- •Fuel costs rising 8% YoY
Baseline Issues
- •$18K/month fuel
- •14 deliveries/driver/day
- •85 customer calls/day
- •Paper-based operations
Competitor Insight
Top AU logistics operators ran AI route optimisers + driver apps with GPS/e-POD/customer portals — cutting fuel 20-30%.
Audience Insight
Freight customers want tracking transparency without calling; drivers want tools that make their jobs easier, not micromanagement.
Strategy
Core Hypothesis
“If we build AI route optimiser + driver app + customer portal, fuel costs drop and dispatch pressure eases because visibility eliminates variance.”
Positioning Shift
Repositioned as "SEQ's tech-forward freight partner — track every parcel in real time".
Channel Mix
AI route optimiser · 40%
Fuel + efficiency
Driver app (React Native) · 30%
GPS + e-POD
Customer portal · 20%
Enquiry reduction
Dispatch dashboard · 10%
Ops visibility
Our Approach
AI route optimisation
Built a route optimisation engine that factors in delivery windows, vehicle capacity, traffic patterns, and driver hours — generating optimal routes each morning.
Real-time driver tracking
Deployed a driver app with GPS tracking, electronic proof of delivery (e-POD), and real-time ETA updates pushed to customers via SMS.
Client portal
Created a client-facing portal where customers can track shipments, view delivery history, download PODs, and lodge new consignments — reducing phone enquiries by 60%.
Phased Roadmap
Months 1–2
Discovery + Design
- →Route data audit (12 months)
- →Driver + dispatcher shadowing
- →AI model design
- →Portal wireframes
Months 3–5
Build
- →Route optimisation engine (Python + OR-Tools)
- →Driver app (React Native)
- →Customer portal (Next.js)
- →Dispatch dashboard
Month 6
Rollout
- →5-driver pilot (Week 1)
- →Full 48-driver rollout (Week 2-3)
- →Customer portal launched
- →ETA SMS notifications to customers
What We Built
The Results
Monthly Fuel Costs (AUD)
Before vs After — 6 Months
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel costs | $18,000/month | $12,960/month | -28% |
| Deliveries per driver/day | 14 | 19 | +36% |
| Customer enquiry calls | 85/day | 34/day | -60% |
“The system plans better routes than my best driver of 20 years. And customers love tracking their deliveries in real time.”
Greg A.
Operations Director
Key Insights
- →AI route optimisation beat the best driver of 20 years — data + math wins
- →e-POD ended customer disputes overnight — proof of delivery is high-value
- →Real-time ETA SMS eliminated 60% of customer enquiry calls
- →Drivers accepted the app fast once they saw fewer complaints reaching them
What's Next
Adding electric vehicle route optimisation, launching a same-day service tier, and expanding into Gold Coast + Sunshine Coast.
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Services Used
Representative case study. Figures illustrate the type of outcomes achievable through these strategies for Australian businesses; individual results vary based on market, budget and starting position.