Walden Local Expands Home Delivery With Intelligent Route Optimization

Walden Local delivers 100% grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork, lamb, and chicken, plus wild-caught seafood from small East Coast farms directly to customers' doors through flexible subscription shares.

The problem: Inefficient routes and wasted time

Walden Local's previous routing software created a mess. Overlapping routes sent drivers crisscrossing around town like tangled spaghetti. The team spent hours manually rearranging stops, but the inefficiency remained.

Fed up with the constant route fixing, Walden Local searched for a better solution and discovered Routific.

The solution: AI-powered forecasting and route optimization

Demand forecasting became possible when Jackie Andrews joined as Demand Planning Manager. Her job: optimize routes, scale operations, and deliver the analytics needed for growth.

For three years, she's relied on Routific's accurate ETAs for delivery planning.

"Routific takes into account historical traffic, so it builds routes that are more efficient than we could ever build," Jackie explained. Reliable routing now enables accurate forecasting.

"I wanted the ability to look into the future, to have this reliable output," she said. "Routific enables me to predict how many drivers we need in a day, and how their day is going to look on the road."

This forecasting lets Walden Local maximize fleet capacity while minimizing drive time and mileage.

Mobile app streamlines driver operations

Driver efficiency improved dramatically with the Routific mobile app. Instead of manually entering addresses into Google Maps, drivers follow optimized routes with built-in accountability features.

"That's been huge," Jackie said. "It's easier for the driver to use instead of typing in all the addresses in Google Maps. They can upload photos after they complete a delivery. There's a lot more accountability."

Live tracking helps the team handle unexpected issues.

"There were times when drivers had to deviate from the planned route due to road closure or other unexpected circumstances," she explained. "With Routific, we can see if the driver is in the wrong place, and get in touch to see what might be going on."

Route density enables profitable expansion

Since switching to Routific, Walden Local has more than doubled their driver team while growing from 30 deliveries per route to over 100 stops per route in their densest areas.

Higher density cut their cost per delivery and made expansion profitable to remote locations.

"It's worth it for us to send a driver to the tip of the Cape. With density there's leeway," Jackie noted.

​​Customer success partnership

Routific's dedicated support includes regular check-ins and personal attention from a Customer Success Manager.

"The Routific team has really good customer service," Jackie said. "I'm always feeling connected and I can raise my hand if something doesn't look right. I'll tell you guys, 'I wish we could have this feature' and to have you guys take that seriously, it makes me feel very special."

Supporting sustainable local agriculture

Walden Local's mission centers on reviving local agricultural economies through their network of sustainability-focused farmers. Routific supports this environmental impact with shorter routes and reduced carbon emissions on every delivery.

Learn more: waldenlocalmeat.com