When you manage over 1,800 route salesmen and more than 200,000 customers, being able to efficiently plan sales territories is critical. That's why Lance, Inc. turned to UPS Logistics Technologies to balance territories and reduce transportation costs.

Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, Lance is one of the largest producers and distributors of snack foods. They manufacture, market and distribute a variety of products including: sandwich crackers, chips, popcorn, nuts, cakes, cookies, and meat snacks.

A direct store delivery operation (DSD), Lance licensed Territory Planner to automate their re-route process. They wanted to make territories easy to drive and profitable, since their drivers are paid on commission. "If there is too much drive time between stops, then we experience increases in turnover," stated Michael Johnson, project manager for Lance.

Territory Planner, a proprietary software tool from UPS Logistics Technologies, is a strategic planning tool that analyzes historical transportation information to create and balance territories and routes. Initially, Lance used Territory Planner to recreate driver sales routes to reduce mileage and travel time. Today, they utilize Territory Planner to automate re-routes to improve overall operational efficiency and increase sales revenue.

Lance, a long time customer of UPS Logistics Technologies, has seen excellent results. In addition to the amount of time saved on re-routes, they also report:

• 27% savings in travel time
• 20% reduction in mileage
• 16% increase in serviceable accounts per driver
• 11% annual business growth

Additionally, when Lance acquires a new chain of accounts, it becomes a priority to get these stores routed to an existing territory. They have been able to use Territory Planner to put the accounts on the most cost effective route in a matter of minutes. "We have been very impressed with the amount of versatility that Territory Planner provides to expedite a number of projects," said Johnson.

"It would be inconceivable to operate without Territory Planner. The thought of going back to using pushpins is mind-boggling," stated Johnson. "I would definitely recommend that any distribution company invest in it."