Static, Seasonal, or Dynamic? Choosing the Right Routing Strategy

Not every fleet needs dynamic routing. But every fleet needs the right routing strategy.

Routing has never been more complicated — or more critical. Some businesses cling to static plans that haven’t changed in years. Others chase full-blown dynamic routing, only to find out that their sales team hates it, their drivers override it, and nothing runs quite like the simulation.

Let’s break it down.

Static, Seasonal, Dynamic: What They Really Mean

Static Routing

• Fixed routes assigned to drivers, rarely changing.

• Great for: Stable customer lists, fixed delivery days, legacy expectations.

• Common in: Beverage distribution, food service, parcel.

Seasonal Routing

• Routes adjusted a few times per year to account for volume spikes, holidays, weather, or labor shifts.

• Great for: Peak seasons, rural vs. urban load balancing, temperature-sensitive goods.

• Common in: Industrial gas, alcohol, and rental equipment sectors.

Dynamic Routing

• Routes generated daily based on real-time orders, constraints, and fleet availability.

• Great for: High variability, on-demand orders, large delivery zones.

• Common in: Parcel, pharma, some last-mile retailers.

Pros and Cons — Industry by Industry

What We’ve Learned From Hundreds of Reroutes

Most successful fleets don’t pick just one strategy. They combine them.

For example:

• A static base for anchor accounts or high-priority customers

• A seasonal layer to rebalance for summer peaks or territory creep

• A dynamic float to absorb overflow, same-day requests, or driver absences

Wise Systems makes this kind of hybrid strategy possible.

How Wise Helps You Execute the Right Strategy

With Strategic Planner, you can:

• Test multiple routing models side by side

• Simulate different territory shapes, frequency rules, or fleet sizes

• Lock anchor accounts and phase in new customers

• Sync with systems like Encompass or eStar to build accurate base plans

With Dispatcher + Driver, you can:

• Add dynamic logic (volume, weight, time windows) to daily routes

• Flex float routes around static ones

• Use real-time data to reassign tasks or resequence in-flight deliveries

• Track plan-vs-actual to improve next season’s plan

🛠️ Not Sure Which Strategy Is Right for You? Take this quiz.

🧠 Quiz: What Routing Strategy Is Right for You?

Title: “Static, Seasonal, or Dynamic? Find Out in 60 Seconds”
Subtitle: Take this short quiz to discover the best-fit routing strategy for your business — and how to start optimizing today.

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• 1. How often do your customer orders change?
  A. Rarely — we deliver the same products to the same customers each week
  B. Somewhat — volume shifts during peak seasons
  C. Constantly — we deal with lots of new or one-time orders

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• 2. How often do you currently reroute your fleet?
  A. Every 12–24 months
  B. Once per season or quarter
  C. Every day based on orders

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• 3. What is your top priority when planning routes?
  A. Keeping driver and customer routines consistent
  B. Matching route design to volume and resource changes
  C. Flexibility and responsiveness

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• 4. What causes the most disruption in your routing today?
  A. Route changes — my team resists them
  B. Volume surges — we’re not built for rapid scale
  C. Manual planning — we need more automation

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• 5. How do you currently manage seasonal shifts?
  A. We don’t — we just push through
  B. We create new routes manually each season
  C. Our system adjusts dynamically — or we wish it did

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• 6. What tools are you using today?
  A. Territory Planner, Excel, or paper-based systems
  B. A mix of software and manual planning
  C. A dynamic route optimizer or TMS with daily adjustments

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Results:

✅ Mostly A’s — Static Routing is your foundation.

You prioritize consistency and have relatively stable demand. Strategic Planner can help lock anchor accounts while modernizing your static plan — so you’re not stuck with legacy inefficiencies.

✅ Mostly B’s — Seasonal Routing is your sweet spot.

Your business changes with the calendar. You’ll benefit from reroute scenarios that rebalance volume across the year. Wise can help you test, compare, and roll out new plans — without starting from scratch.

✅ Mostly C’s — You need a Dynamic Routing layer.

You’re in a high-variability environment where speed and flexibility are key. Dynamic routing with built-in constraints will help you manage change, while Wise’s Strategic Planner can give you a smart foundation to build from.th? There is no one-size-fits-all answer. The smartest teams choose the right strategy for their business — and evolve it over time.

Talk directly with one of our routing experts to evaluate what’s working, what’s not, and where hybrid planning could give you the best of both worlds.