The order of the stops is the cost
A driver with 7 drops can visit them in 5,040 different orders, and the order they were entered in is rarely the best one. Every extra kilometre is fuel, time and one fewer delivery before the end of the shift.
Take a 7-stop round across Addis Ababa, starting and ending at Meskel Square. Driven in the order it was entered, it takes 310 minutes and 144 km. Route optimization finds an order that takes 203 minutes and 91 km: 107 minutes saved on one round, for one driver.
Dispatch from the right place
When an order comes in, the question is which depot, branch or driver reaches it first. One-to-many returns the travel time from one point to up to five others in a single call, so dispatch can compare the options side by side instead of guessing from the map.
Arrival times that hold up
Directions gives each leg its real driving time and distance, with turn-by-turn steps for the driver. Customers get an arrival time built from the roads the driver is actually on.