Analytics

1. Cost Configuration

Before you can track savings, you need to configure your operating costs. BinRouter uses these to calculate the true cost of each route, so you can see exactly how much you're saving. Go to the Cost Config page and enter:

• Fuel price per gallon: Current diesel price. BinRouter can fetch this automatically from the FRED API (see next section), or you can enter it manually.
• Truck MPG: Average fuel economy for your trucks (e.g., 7 MPG for a roll-off truck).
• Driver hourly rate: Average hourly wage for drivers (e.g., $25/hour).
• Overhead cost per mile: Estimated overhead for maintenance, insurance, depreciation, etc. (e.g., $0.15/mile).
• Landfill disposal fee: Average cost per ton at your landfills (optional, used for total route cost calculation).

These numbers are used to calculate the total cost of each route: fuel cost (miles ÷ MPG × fuel price) + labor cost (drive time × hourly rate) + overhead (miles × overhead per mile) + disposal fees. The route optimizer uses these costs to find the cheapest routes, and the analytics dashboard uses them to track savings.

You can update these settings anytime. Changes apply to future routes but don't affect historical data (so your savings trends are consistent).

2. Auto Fuel Price Updates

BinRouter can automatically fetch the latest diesel prices from the FRED API (Federal Reserve Economic Data). FRED tracks national and regional fuel prices updated daily. Enable "Auto Fuel Price Updates" on the Cost Config page, and BinRouter will fetch the latest price every morning at 6am.

You can choose a national average or a regional price (e.g., Midwest diesel price). Regional prices are more accurate for local operations. If you prefer to enter fuel prices manually (e.g., based on your bulk purchase contract), you can disable auto-updates and enter your own price.

Auto-updates ensure your cost calculations are always accurate, even as fuel prices fluctuate. You'll see a notification on the dashboard when the fuel price updates.

3. Route Cost Tracking

Every optimized route has an estimated total cost calculated from fuel, labor, overhead, and disposal fees. You can see the cost breakdown on the Routes page: click a route to see fuel cost, labor cost, overhead, and disposal fees itemized.

Cost per stop: Total route cost divided by number of stops. Useful for comparing efficiency across drivers or days. For example, if a route costs $240 and has 12 stops, the cost per stop is $20.

Cost per mile: Total route cost divided by total miles. Tracks how efficiently routes use mileage. For example, if a route costs $240 and drives 80 miles, the cost per mile is $3.

You can filter routes by date range, driver, or zone to analyze cost trends over time. Export route cost data to CSV for deeper analysis or reporting.

4. Savings Dashboard

The Analytics page shows your savings compared to manual routing. BinRouter calculates savings in two ways:

Estimated Savings (No Historical Data)

If you don't upload historical manual routes, BinRouter estimates savings based on typical inefficiencies in manual routing. Industry research shows manual dispatch routes average 20-30% more miles than optimized routes due to backtracking, suboptimal sequencing, and zone violations.

BinRouter uses a conservative 20% baseline: if an optimized route is 80 miles, BinRouter estimates the manual route would be 100 miles (20% more). The difference (20 miles) is your estimated savings. This is multiplied by your fuel and labor costs to get dollar savings.

Actual Savings (With Historical Data)

For more accurate savings, upload your historical manual routes from before you started using BinRouter. BinRouter compares the actual miles and costs from your manual routes to the optimized routes for the same jobs. The difference is your real, data-backed savings.

For example, if your manual route for Tuesday's jobs was 120 miles and $360 total cost, and BinRouter's optimized route was 90 miles and $270 total cost, your actual savings are 30 miles (25%) and $90 (25%). This is more convincing for management or investors than estimated savings.

See the Import Data section for details on uploading historical routes.

Savings Metrics

The Analytics dashboard shows:

• Daily summaries: Miles saved, fuel cost saved, time saved (for today or any past date).
• Monthly aggregates: Total savings this month, average daily savings, trend graphs.
• Total savings: Cumulative savings since you started using BinRouter.
• ROI: Savings divided by subscription cost. Most customers see 5-10x ROI within 90 days.

5. Driver Efficiency

The Analytics page includes driver-level metrics to identify top performers and opportunities for improvement:

• Cost per job: Average cost per stop for each driver. Lower is better. If one driver has a much higher cost per job, investigate routing or performance issues.
• Miles per job: Average miles driven per stop. Tracks how efficiently drivers complete routes. Drivers with high miles per job may be backtracking or taking inefficient paths.
• Total jobs completed: Number of stops completed by each driver over a date range. Useful for balancing workload and identifying capacity issues.
• On-time rate: Percentage of stops completed within the scheduled time window (if time windows are used). Tracks punctuality and customer service.

You can filter driver metrics by date range, zone, or facility to compare performance across different conditions. Export driver data to CSV for performance reviews or bonus calculations.

6. Manual Route Comparison

For the most accurate ROI reporting, upload your pre-BinRouter manual routes and compare them side-by-side with optimized routes. This gives you real, verifiable savings numbers instead of estimates.

To upload manual routes, go to the Analytics page and click "Upload Manual Routes." Import a spreadsheet with columns for date, driver name, customer address, and stop order (sequence). BinRouter will calculate the total miles and cost for the manual route, then compare it to the optimized route for the same date.

The comparison shows: miles driven (manual vs optimized), total cost (manual vs optimized), savings percentage, and a map overlay showing both routes. This is powerful for proving ROI to stakeholders.

For example, if your manual route for March 15 was 140 miles and $420 cost, and the optimized route was 98 miles and $294 cost, you saved 42 miles (30%) and $126 (30%). Show this to your CFO and they'll never question the subscription fee.