Route planning software exports: getting stop and delivery history out

What stop and delivery history can you export?#

Route planning software usually holds four kinds of delivery history: the routes that were planned, the stops as they actually happened, the proof that a delivery occurred, and the notes drivers and dispatchers added along the way. Each tends to live in a different part of the product and comes out through a different export.

Standard reports in route planning tools often summarize by route or by day. That is enough for a dashboard but not for an archive. Look for stop-level exports, API access or scheduled data feeds, and confirm what each one includes before relying on it.

Planned versus actual: why both records matter#

Planned versus actual is the comparison that gives delivery history its meaning. The plan records the stop sequence, estimated arrival and service times, the vehicle and the constraints the optimizer used; the actual record shows when the driver arrived, how long the stop took, whether the delivery succeeded and, if not, why.

Some tools overwrite the plan when a dispatcher re-sequences a route mid-day and keep only the final version. Ask whether original plans and route versions are stored and exportable. Without the original plan, late deliveries look like driver problems when the cause was a change made at the dispatch desk.

Service time is the other field worth protecting. Actual time on site by customer, by day of week and by product mix is what makes future plans realistic, and it is often the first thing lost when only route summaries are exported.

Export checklist: what to pull and what to confirm#

The export checklist below lists each data type, the fields to confirm in a sample export, and the problem most likely to surface later. Run a small date range first, check it against the screen, then run the full history.

Proof of delivery: files, not fields#

Proof of delivery is usually stored as images and signature files rather than as fields in the stop record, which is why it is the part most often missing from an export. The stop export may show a link or a file ID; the files themselves need a bulk download, an API call or a request to the vendor.

Check how long the vendor keeps those files. Some tools apply shorter retention to photos and signatures than to stop data, and plan tiers can affect what remains available. Recipient names, signatures and photos of homes, people or vehicles are personal information, so store the archive with access controls and a clear owner.

Steps for a clean export#

A clean export follows a fixed order, so nothing is lost when a subscription changes. The steps below assume the old tool stays active until the last one is complete.

• 1Read the vendor's documentation and your contract for history limits, export tools, API access and the data window after termination.
• 2Decide the date range, and pull stop-level data in monthly batches if large exports time out.
• 3Export planned routes and route versions separately from actual stop events.
• 4Download proof-of-delivery files in bulk and keep the file IDs that link them to stops.
• 5Pull driver and dispatcher notes in full and check a long note against the screen.
• 6Reconcile stop counts by month against the ERP's delivered order counts.
• 7Store everything with a data dictionary listing reason codes, statuses and time zones.

Keeping delivery history joined to the ERP and WMS#

Delivery history is far more useful when each stop can be joined back to the order, the customer and the items in the ERP and WMS. Route tools often create their own stop and customer IDs, so make sure the export carries the ERP order number and customer account on every stop.

Record the time zone for every timestamp and keep the driver-corrected geocodes, because those corrections capture real delivery locations that the address file never had. If customers were renumbered during an ERP migration, include the crosswalk in the archive so old stops still match current accounts.

Illustrative: a foodservice distributor switches routing tools#

Illustrative: a fictional foodservice distributor delivering to restaurants and institutional kitchens decides to replace its route planning tool with the module bundled in its new ERP. The IT lead learns that the current vendor keeps photos for a limited period and that the standard report shows only final routes.

The team pulls stop-level history through the API, exports planned route versions separately, downloads proof-of-delivery files in monthly batches and maps every stop to the ERP order number. After reconciling counts against delivered orders, it cancels the old subscription.

The archive later explains a run of failed early-morning deliveries. The original plans assumed dock hours that several restaurants had changed, the driver notes recorded the new hours, and the new routing setup now uses them.

How SourceX approaches delivery history#

SourceX treats stop-level delivery history, especially failed attempts, reason codes and driver notes, as a record of how real logistics work gets resolved. When a distributor or last-mile company asks SourceX to assess it, the SourceX five-step transaction starts with a metadata-only fit check, and customer names, addresses, signatures and photos are removed or excluded during Preparation.

Customer contracts and the routing vendor's terms are reviewed in the Rights step before anything is prepared. The company approves each step and keeps ownership, and any approved package is licensed, not sold.