

Show HN: Route Optimization API - mck-
https://www.routific.com/developers

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randomdrake
I've never heard of Routific. Linking to your API, I was immediately intrigued
and went to go visit the home page[1] of your product.

I have to say: well executed. This is a really good representation of how well
Bootstrap can be implemented. From Retina display to mobile, the layout was
clearly well thought-out and considered.

Interesting product and well-done design. Stuck this in the file for not only
routing issues, but design and implementation inspiration.

[1] - [https://www.routific.com](https://www.routific.com)

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650REDHAIR
I work with a non profit that would benefit from this so much.

They employ 600+ staff serving over a thousand persons with disabilities and
are currently starting their own transit arm to support the agency. They
operate something like 2 dozen buses and large vans across 50+ recurring
destinations.

~~~
mck-
Sounds awesome! Would love to talk about doing this pro-bono -- shoot me an
email marc@routific.com

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Xorlev
"Research shows our routes are up to 20% shorter" shorter than what? Which
research?

You're lacking a lot of copy, but the idea is pretty good. Niche, but good.
I'm interested to see if people will pay for it.

~~~
mck-
Here's my thesis paper for reference [1]

[1]
[http://thesis.eur.nl/pub/6427/6427-Kuo.pdf](http://thesis.eur.nl/pub/6427/6427-Kuo.pdf)

~~~
dfc
I just started to skim your thesis so I apologize if this is covered
somewhere. Is it commonly understood that route optimizations for maritime
transport are equivalent to automobile transport?

~~~
mck-
Maritime transport, specifically Tramp Ship Scheduling, is very similar to a
taxi operation. Taxi logistics are known in literature as Pickup and Delivery
Problems with Time Windows (PDPTW) -- which is an advanced type of VRPTW --
which, in turn, is more complex than the classic TSP.

To answer your question: mathematically, Tramp Shipping is a more advanced
type of PDPTW, so they are almost equivalent.

We will support PDPTW on our API soon, but what I present here with Routific
is but a subset of what I cover in my thesis: Multi-Depot Capacitated Vehicle
Routing Problem with Time Windows and Heterogenous Fleet with Shift
Constraints (MDCVRPTWHFS -- so glad I did not pursue academia)

P.S.: in my thesis I also optimize the sailing speed of the ships, which -- as
my thesis goes -- can save millions a year on top of an already optimized
shipping fleet. The cubic relation between sailing speed and fuel consumption
does not hold for vehicles on the road though.

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impostervt
I'm curious: What's your target market? I assume FedEx-size companies already
optimize routes, and ver small companies may not understand the cost savings
your site offers.

Not being negative - seems like a very good and potentially very big
idea...but you'll have to prove its worthwhile.

~~~
mck-
You're right: FedEx and UPS are spending billions on route optimization. Must
mean they see an ROI. What about the rest who cannot afford that?

Routific makes route optimization accessible for SMEs, as well as large
enterprises who are risk-averse towards committing lots of capital to
consultants.

And you're right again. We'll have to prove it :)

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Maarius
Sounds like a great idea!

One small thing: It would be great if you can include a sample curl call on
the API dashboard screen (with my authentication token). It is not immediately
obvious that you cannot copy + paste the token displayed into the curl call
directly.

~~~
mck-
Great feedback - will do!

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fiatjaf
Do you account for current traffic? How would you do that? That's the single
most important element in routing, I think, and, although Waze was in the
right track for solving it, it doesn't use well all its data.

~~~
mck-
No we do not account for traffic. We're not in the business of getting from A
to B. We're about optimizing entire fleets (think 1000 orders, 100 vehicles).

Traffic delays are but a small factor, when we can cut 20 obsolete vehicles.
We do take average road speed into account though.

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LazerBear
I love the design, may I ask who did it?

Also, would have been great if you could drag & drop destinations on the map
(I also assume some of your costumers would prefer it that way, rather than an
API).

~~~
constantx
Axiom Zen Collective :) [https://www.axiomzen.co/](https://www.axiomzen.co/)

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diasks2
Site looks great and it was easy to understand the service. However, I went
looking for pricing and couldn't find it. My guess is that maybe you are
testing now to see what type of demand there might be? I think some type of
note on pricing would be helpful (even if it is somethings like "currently
free for beta testers but we plan to start charging from x date").

~~~
mck-
Currently free beta, plan to charge $29/vehicle/month

~~~
michaelt
What countries are supported? What will happen if I ask to route between two
places I can't drive between? What's the cap on number of vehicles/orders? How
long does optimization take? Have you ever driven one of your optimized
routes? How does your product compare to Eurobios, Descartes and oracle real
time scheduler?

~~~
mck-
1\. Global support 2\. The orders that cannot be reached will be returned in
an array: unserved 3\. No cap. $29/vehicle/month. 4\. Hard question; since
we're talking about an NP-hard problem: \- For ~20 orders, it takes ~1s. \-
For ~120 orders, an API call (from POST to response) is about ~20s. Just to
give you a few pointers of benchmarks. Having said that, given the nature of
our algorithms, you may run the algorithm for as long as you have time, to
keep searching for better solutions. 5\. No I haven't. But I always drive with
a GPS :) 6\. I used to work as an OR consultant. I haven't used the products
you mention, but I have used AIMSS, GAMS, Quintiq, and the like before. My
take-away is that those software packages are expensive, bloated, and clunky.
They require consultants and IT integrators. And workshops and manuals.
Routific is Simple. Straightforward.™

~~~
junto
You should include some of these comparisons on the site. You seem to know
your market really well and you should expand on the website copy with some of
this reaaly valuable information. Well executed BTW. Looks really nice on
mobile too.

~~~
mck-
I think that's a great idea :) thanks!

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peterius
Looks interesting! Does it work in UK?

We are using OptimoRoute ([http://optimoroute.com](http://optimoroute.com))
for planning our delivery routes. Like Routific it’s also priced per
vehicle/month, but it includes a web application.

~~~
mck-
Yes, it works globally. How are you liking OptimoRoute? Looks neat :) We have
a web application and mobile app on our roadmap

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dewey
Small bug: If you are searching for a route between two places in Europe the
map is still focusing on america and not moving to europe, you just see the
map pin moving on the right hand side of the map.

~~~
mck-
Fixed, thanks. Will be deployed in 3 min :)

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Tarang
I'm actually looking for something like this!

No mention of pricing yet, though. Are there plans which aren't per
user/truck, such as if we're putting it in our SaaS?

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dojomouse
This seems to be what I need. What map data are you using?

~~~
mck-
OpenStreetMaps

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jayvanguard
Just what I'm looking for, thanks.

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vsviridov
Vancouverites, by the looks of it? :)

~~~
mck-
Yep :)

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rectangletangle
The site looks particularly nice, and the service looks like it could be
useful.

