United States - European Commission Urban Freight Twinning Initiative: Compendium of Project Summaries, Volume II
Overview of 2018-2019 International Urban Freight Roundtables

Research

Pilot

United States

UPS's ORION Route Navigation System

UPS's On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation software, or ORION, is a proprietary system used by the company to reduce miles traveled by 100 million annually. The software optimizes delivery routes with respect to distance, fuel, and time. The software's algorithms learn UPS routes over time and provide drivers real time information about the most logical and efficient routes they should take. Data is collected continuously via onboard data-gathering technology. The software learns and improves routes over time as it learns the particular nuances of a given path such as where and for how long a delivery truck idles. The software was developed over a more than 10 year period beginning in 2003. The final product is currently being implemented across the company.

Project Types

Research, Pilot.

Period of Performance

2013 - Present.

Project Sites

Deployed globally.

Contact

Jack Levis
Director of Process Management
United Parcel Service (UPS)
Atlanta, GA, USA
JLevis@ups.com
(410) 560-4295

Topics Addressed

• Air quality/environment.
• Last mile delivery.
• Logistics/distribution.

Key Outcomes

Vastly improved route navigation through innovative data analysis and spatial mapping to optimize routes and reduce miles traveled and costs exponentially. The improved route navigation also has fuel-savings implications: UPS estimates that ORION-optimized routes will save 10 million gallons of fuel annually and reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 100,000 metric tons. This results in up to $50 million in annual savings for the company

Stakeholder Involvement

UPS, academic research, and outside experts.