Run the optimizer
By Nathan ColeUpdated
The Optimize page is where the optimizer builds the routing plan. Press Optimize: Routing24 computes the best assignment of orders to vehicles and the best visiting order for each. The result appears as route cards and colored lines on the map. This page covers what an optimization needs, the time budget, canceling a run, the sync badges, and what a re-run replaces.
What a run needs
A run needs at least two orders and one vehicle type. That is the only hard requirement. Below that, Optimize refuses the run with the message "At least two orders and one vehicle type required to start optimization". Add or import orders on the Orders page and vehicles on the Fleet page. The editors are documented in Adding & Importing Orders and Add vehicles and depots.
Everything else is optional. Orders without time windows, vehicles without costs, and a single depot all optimize on a first run.
What happens when you press Optimize
- Routing24 fetches a travel-time and distance matrix for your locations from its servers. This is the only network step. Privacy and data handling states what that request contains.
- The optimizer runs entirely in your browser, spread across several background workers. Closing the tab ends the run.
- The metrics strip shows TIME LEFT counting down.
Routing24 picks the time budget automatically from the size of your plan: around 10 stops optimize in about 3 seconds, around 1000 stops in about 5 minutes, and around 2000 stops in about 15 minutes. See Optimization tips for large datasets for what to expect at the high end.
To stop a run early, press Cancel (the Optimize button becomes Cancel while the optimization runs) and confirm "Are you sure to stop optimization?".
No optimizer settings
There is no objective picker, no balance slider, no time-limit field. Your data defines what "best" means, above all each vehicle's costs: fixed cost, cost per kilometer or mile, per hour, per stop, and overtime. The optimizer minimizes the total cost of the plan while respecting your constraints.
You control the optimizer by editing the plan, not a settings panel. For fewer vehicles, raise the fixed cost. For shorter driving, raise the distance cost. For tighter days, set shifts. See Vehicle costs and the COST metric.
The costs in your plan settle every trade-off: an extra van vs. a longer route, overtime vs. an unassigned order.
The sync badges
The sync badges appear next to the optimization name:
- IN SYNC: the routing plan matches the current input data.
- NOT SYNC: orders, depots, or vehicles changed after the optimization, so the routes on screen come from older data. The tooltip reads: "There were changes in input data after optimization was completed. Restart your optimization to see up-to-date results."
- EDITED: the routing plan contains stops moved by hand after the optimization, with the date of the last manual edit. See Edit routes by hand.
NOT SYNC blocks nothing: you can still read, edit, and export the stale routing plan.
Running it again
Pressing Optimize again starts a fresh optimization from the current input data. The new routing plan replaces the old one entirely.
There is no lock or pin on a stop or route. A full re-run discards stops rearranged by hand and builds routes from scratch. Export the current routing plan first to keep it, or use the per-route Optimize stop order action to re-optimize a single route without touching the rest.
Work in this order: correct the inputs, optimize, and edit by hand last, right before you export or share the routes. See Export routes to Excel and Drivers & the Mobile View.
Next step
Read the routing plan: ETAs, distance, load explains the result, from the plan-wide metrics strip down to per-stop ETAs and loads.
FAQ
What does an optimization need to start?
An optimization needs at least two orders and one vehicle type. Below that, Optimize refuses the run. Everything else is optional: orders without time windows, vehicles without costs, and a single depot all optimize on a first run. Orders are added on the Orders page and vehicles on the Fleet page.
How long does an optimization take?
Routing24 picks the time budget automatically from the size of the plan: around 10 stops optimize in about 3 seconds, around 1000 stops in about 5 minutes, and around 2000 stops in about 15 minutes. The metrics strip shows TIME LEFT counting down, and Cancel stops a run early.
Where does the optimization run?
The optimizer runs entirely in your browser, spread across several background workers, so closing the tab ends the run. The only network step is fetching a travel-time and distance matrix for your locations from Routing24 servers before the countdown starts. The privacy and data handling page states what that request contains.
Why are there no optimizer settings?
Your data defines what best means. There is no objective picker, no balance slider, no time-limit field. The optimizer minimizes the total cost of the plan under each vehicle's costs: fixed, per kilometer or mile, per hour, per stop, and overtime. For fewer vehicles, raise the fixed cost; for shorter driving, raise the distance cost.
Does re-optimizing keep my manual edits?
No. Pressing Optimize again starts a fresh optimization from the current input data, and the new routing plan replaces the old one entirely, hand-rearranged stops included. There is no lock or pin on a stop. Export the current routing plan first to keep it, or use Optimize stop order on a single route.