How To Use Google Maps As A Delivery Route Planner

Most local delivery businesses start off with small budgets, so it makes sense to use a free tool like Google Maps to plan your delivery routes. 

In this article, we’ll cover:

1. When to use Google Maps as a free delivery route planner
2. Exactly how to plan a delivery route with Google Maps, step by step
3. The limitations of Google Maps as a route planner
4. What to do when you outgrow Google Maps

Note: If you’re not making any deliveries but you still need to plan a route with multiple locations for another reason, like running errands or planning a road trip, check out our article on how to use Google Maps as a multi-stop route planner. It’s much simpler! 

💡Looking for delivery route planning software rather than a Google Maps tutorial? Check out our comparison of the best route planning apps for deliveries.

💡 Are you a delivery driver looking to plan your own routes on your phone? This tutorial is designed for dispatchers planning routes on desktop. For mobile-first route planning, check out our guide to route planning apps for delivery drivers.

When to use Google Maps as a delivery route planner

We’ll be blunt here: Google Maps was designed as a navigation app, not a route planner, so it’s not the best tool for the job. But if you’re still in the startup phase where time is easier to find than money, it can be useful. 

Use Google Maps for planning delivery routes if:

• You need a free solution.
• You only have a few stops to make (10 or fewer is best, 20 stops is pushing it).
• Finding the most efficient route is not important to you.
• You have time to make a lot of manual adjustments.
• You don’t need features like proof of delivery.
• Keeping fuel costs low is not important to you.

You will need to put in a lot of effort, though, and you won’t get the most efficient routes. 

💡Did you know Routific is free for up to 100 orders a month, with per-stop pricing to keep things affordable as you grow? Start with the right tools! Check out our free trial for 7 days.

If you’re not ready for proper delivery route planning software yet, Google Maps can still be a good-enough way to get the job done. Let’s see how to do actual route planning! We’ll start with a quick guide that gives the basics at a glance, then follow with a detailed step by step tutorial.

Quick guide: How to create a delivery route with Google Maps

1. Sort your delivery addresses by zip/postal code or neighborhood to create logical groups.
2. Open Google Maps and enter your starting point (depot/office).
3. Click "Directions" then "Add destination" and enter your first delivery address.
4. Continue adding destinations (up to 10 stops maximum).
5. Drag and drop stops to reorder them for a more efficient route.
6. Click the ≡ menu, select "Share or embed map" to save and share your route.
7. Repeat with a new map for each group of up to 10 stops.

Step by step tutorial: How to plan a delivery route with Google Maps 

1. Collect all your delivery route information in one place

Start with an Excel or Google Sheets spreadsheet containing all the information you need for each delivery stop. You will need at least an address and some contact details, but you may also want to include information like special notes, a time window, how long you expect the delivery to take and possibly a load size.

Notice that in the example above we have created separate columns for city/suburb and zip code/postal code. This makes it a lot easier to sort your stops.

If you don’t already have a spreadsheet going, you’re welcome to use our free Google Sheets delivery route planning template to get started!

2. Group your delivery addresses

Google Maps has a limit of 10 stops, so you’ll need to work in batches of 10 deliveries at a time. 

First, sort your spreadsheet by zip code/postal code, city or suburb — whichever makes sense for your needs. Now you can add a column to create delivery zones. In the video above, we’ve created four different delivery zones. 

Remember to check your notes for delivery time windows and any special instructions. If one delivery has to be made before 9am and another after 2pm, they may need to go in separate routes even if they are close together. 

Creating zones like this is especially helpful if you use the same regular drivers. If each driver is assigned to one area, instead of all the drivers criss-crossing the city, they’ll drive shorter distances and use less fuel. They’ll also have the chance to build up their knowledge of the area so they can navigate it more efficiently. 

Even if you only have one delivery driver (or you’re the driver!), creating territories or zones can help you deliver more efficiently. For example, you could visit different areas on different days of the week.

Now let’s take it to Google Maps!

3. Create your routes in Google Maps route planner

Now that you’ve done all the prep work, actually creating routes is relatively easy. Just open up Google Maps and your spreadsheet, and deal with the stops one by one! 

Watch the video to see how it works in real time, or skip to the text if you prefer to read.

1. Add your first stop. Copy and paste your first address from your spreadsheet into Google Maps. Then click on “Directions”. 
2. Add a second stop. You’ll notice that the address you just entered is the second stop, and the first is blank, with an option to choose “Your location”. Enter your starting point, like an office or depot, into the search bar, and Google will create a route for you. Now click “Add destination” to continue. 
3. Add all remaining stops. Keep copying and pasting stops from your spreadsheet into your route plan, then clicking “Add destination”, until you reach the limit of 10 stops. 
4. Adjust your route plan. If the first version of your route doesn’t seem to make sense, you can drag and drop stops into a different order until you feel you have the best route. Keep an eye on Google’s estimate of the total route travel time — then reorder your stops to create a shorter, faster route.

💡 Pro tip: There IS a workaround if you need to plan routes with more than 10 stops. If you’re willing to take some extra steps, check out our article on route optimization with Google Maps.

4. Share your Google Maps delivery route with drivers

To share your route, ignore the “Send directions to your phone” link at the bottom of your route (this only works if you’re ready to drive immediately). Do this instead:

• Click on the ≡ “hamburger” menu at the top left of your screen 
• Then click “Share or embed map”. This will pop up a window with a direct, shareable link to your whole route. 
• Copy this link and save it. 

Now you can come back to your route on the Google maps app on your phone whenever you want, and send it to anyone by text or email.  

If you need to create a number of short routes, save the link to each one in your spreadsheet or a separate document. Then you can share all your routes at once when you’re ready. 

It’s a good idea to make and share a separate spreadsheet copy of each driver’s route. This means drivers can easily see delivery instructions and contact details, whenever they need to. 

When drivers are ready to start their routes, they just open the link on their mobile device and use their Google Maps mobile app to get turn-by-turn directions. This is where Google Maps is most useful, especially with real-time traffic updates and Street View to help drivers find parking and building entrances.

The limitations of Google Maps as a free route planner

As you can see, planning a delivery route with Google Maps has some serious limitations:

• You can only add stops one at a time.
• The number of stops is limited to 10 per route. 
• Google Maps doesn’t do route optimization, so you won’t get the fastest route. 
• The process is complicated.
• It’s easy to make a mistake and delete your whole route accidentally. 
• It takes a long time to plan and make changes. 

That’s why route planner apps like Routific exist! You could probably optimize and dispatch a day’s worth of routes using Routific in less time than it takes to read this article.  We encourage you to try it out – you get a 7-day free trial, no credit card needed!

If you’d like to try some other apps as well, check out our review of the best route planning software for deliveries.

What to do when you outgrow Google Maps as a delivery route planner

When your business grows, route planning with Google Maps will become a bottleneck eventually. These are some signs to look out for:

• You’re spending more than an hour planning and dispatching your routes.
• You only find out about late or missed deliveries when a customer contacts you to complain.
• Your customers keep calling you to ask about the status of their order.
• Your customers want to know delivery ETAs, and you don’t have an easy way to tell them.
• You’re spending too much on fuel and driver wages.
• Your delivery operations feel messy and inefficient.

If you’re seeing these symptoms: Congratulations! You’ve reached a business milestone. It’s time to upgrade and automate your delivery operations with proper delivery route planning software like Routific.  This will give you the ability to: 

• Automatically optimize your routes to save time and money. 
• Easily plan deliveries with more than one vehicle.
• Offer your customers delivery time windows.
• Easily dispatch routes to drivers using a mobile app.
• Track delivery progress in real time.
• Get delivery management functionality like being able to collect proof of delivery.
• Send automated customer notifications with ETAs and delivery confirmations.