Reducing Fleet Fuel Costs: Real-World Examples from Distribution Leaders

Fuel costs are one of the largest expenses in fleet operations. For many distributors, fuel can represent a significant portion of total transportation spend, making it critical to find ways to improve fleet fuel efficiency and reduce consumption.  

One of the most effective ways to reduce fleet fuel costs is to minimize unnecessary miles through optimized routing, better planning, and improved visibility into delivery operations. Companies that move away from manual processes and adopt data-driven routing strategies can significantly lower fuel usage while maintaining high service levels.  
 
The examples below highlight how companies are reducing fleet fuel costs by improving route planning and delivery execution.

New Castle Building Products, a distributor of exterior residential and commercial building materials, operates more than 20 locations and manages a fleet of approximately 150 trucks serving customers from Baltimore to Boston. As the company expanded, routing decisions were handled independently by each location using manual tools. This approach led to inefficiencies, inconsistent routing practices, and unnecessary miles that increased fuel consumption. 

After implementing Descartes route planning and mobile proof of delivery solutions, New Castle centralized dispatch operations and gained real-time visibility into deliveries across its network. This allowed them to standardize routing practices and eliminate unnecessary miles.

• Reduced fleet mileage by 25,000 miles in the first year 
• Centralized routing and dispatch across locations 
• Improved visibility into fleet performance 
• Streamlined workflows for dispatchers and drivers 

By reducing unnecessary miles and improving coordination across locations, New Castle was able to significantly lower fuel costs while improving delivery efficiency. 

“The number one metric of success we use when implementing a new solution is asking six months later: would you want to go back to the old way? And I don’t think there’s anybody in the organization who would want to go back.”  -John Prenderville, Director of Information Technology, New Castle Building Products 

Read the full story: How New Castle Building Products cut 25,000 fleet miles with centralized route planning. 

Silver Eagle Distributors, one of the largest Anheuser-Bush beverage distributors, delivers approximately 36 million cases annually across the Houston area with a fleet of about 180 trucks. Previously, the company lacked visibility into planned versus actual route performance. Without this operational insight, it was difficult to determine whether routes were optimized or if excess miles were driving up fuel costs. 

After implementing a suite of routing and fleet performance solutions, Silver Eagle gained the data needed to analyze and refine delivery plans.  

• Reduced planned miles by 8-10 percent  
• Improved visibility into planned versus actual performance 
• Enhanced routing efficiency through data-driven insights 

With better data and route optimization capabilities, Silver Eagle reduced unnecessary travel and improved fuel efficiency across its fleet. 

“We now have data that tells us whether we’re making good decisions or if we need to pivot. The tools from Descartes are solid, but the real value comes from the partnership. If I call, I know I’ll get the support I need.” - Matt Fannon, Director of Routing, Silver Eagle Distributors 

Read the full story: How Silver Eagle Distributors reduced planned miles with optimized delivery planning. 

LifeLabs, one of Canada’s leading laboratory diagnostic service providers, operates a fleet of approximately 550 vehicles completing around 10,000 daily stops. 

With time-sensitive medical deliveries, operational efficiency and reliability are critical. Before implementing Descartes’ solutions, LifeLabs had limited visibility into fleet activity, making it difficult to monitor performance and leading to inefficiencies, missed pickups, and unnecessary time on the road.  

By implementing Descartes’ route planning, mobile dispatching, and fleet telematics solutions, LifeLabs gained real-time visibility into fleet performance, driver behavior, and route execution. This enabled the organization to optimize routes, improve asset utilization, and better manage delivery operations. 

• Reduced on-road time by 23.7 percent 
• Decreased miles traveled by 24.2 percent 
• Reduced repair, maintenance, and overall operating costs 
• Enhanced service reliability and customer satisfaction 

With better visibility and optimized routing, LifeLabs reduced both miles and time on the road, resulting in meaningful cost savings and improved service reliability.

“One thing that stands out to me is the people that work within Descartes, and how they're able to really provide a solution to whatever challenges and whatever industry that you happen to be in.” - Dave Kang, National Director of Logistics & Specimen Management, LifeLabs 

Read the full story: How LifeLabs decreases time on road through fleet visibility. 

Across industries, companies are finding that reducing fleet fuel costs starts with better routing. By replacing manual processes with data-driven planning and real-time visibility, organizations can eliminate unnecessary miles, improve efficiency, and lower transportation costs. 

As these examples demonstrate, even small improvements in routing can lead to significant fuel savings. With the right technology and strategy in place, companies can reduce transportation costs, improve operational performance, and build more efficient and scalable delivery networks.

Want to reduce your fuel costs?