TL;DR Route planning software decides which outlets a rep visits each day and in what order, so more of the day goes to selling and less to driving. For field sales and van sales teams at consumer brands, pick a tool that plans visits on a fixed cycle from outlet data, takes the order at the visit and works offline. If you run parcel or last-mile delivery, most entries from number 4 on are built for delivery fleets, and each entry's “Best suited for” line tells you which.
Every route planner takes a list of places and gives back a route that cuts driving time and keeps the day realistic. What it plans around depends on who it was built for. Delivery tools plan around drop-off times and van loads. Field sales tools plan around outlets: which stores to visit this week, how often, and what each visit should achieve.
This guide is for sales, distribution and trade marketing leaders at consumer brands whose reps and van sales teams cover many outlets on a fixed cycle. In that work a route is a beat: the same group of shops visited every week or fortnight, with big accounts seen more often than small ones. If you mainly need those weekly beat plans, our page on visit planning software goes deeper.
We compare 16 tools below, with what each one does, who it suits, its pros and cons, and whether it offers a trial or a demo. BeatRoute comes first because it is our product and it was built for field sales. We say plainly where it fits and where a lighter tool will do the job.
How to choose route planning software for field sales
Start with who is on the road. If your people drop parcels at addresses that change every day, choose a delivery route planner. If your people sell to the same outlets on a cycle, choose a field sales tool with beat planning. Van sales sits in between: the rep sells and delivers on the same visit, so you need the beat plus van stock and invoicing on the phone.
For a field sales team, judge each tool on these points:
- Outlet data drives the plan. The tool should know each outlet's class, visit frequency and sales potential, so a busy supermarket gets a weekly call and a small kiosk gets one a month.
- Beats repeat on a cycle. Reps cover the same outlets again and again. Look for weekly or monthly beat plans that rebalance when outlets open or close.
- The route leads into the visit. Once the rep is in the store, can they take the order, check stock and photograph the shelf in the same app? If not, reps juggle two apps and one of them gets skipped.
- It works with weak signal. Many outlets sit where the network drops. The app should save visits and orders on the phone and sync them later.
- Managers can check the plan. You want planned versus actual visits, missed outlets and time spent in store, by rep and by beat.
- Orders flow onward. Orders should reach the distributor or your ERP without anyone typing them in again.
Route planning or route optimization? Planning decides which outlets go on which day and how often each is visited. Optimization takes one day's list and finds the shortest sensible order and path. A field sales team needs both, and route optimization software covers the second step in detail.
Free or paid? A free route planner is fine for one person with a list of stops. Once a team of reps shares a set of beats, someone has to own the plan, keep the outlet list clean and see what happened in the field, and that is where paid team tools earn their cost.
Why you need route planning software
Planning beats by hand works for a few reps. It breaks once you have dozens of reps and thousands of outlets. A manager with a spreadsheet tends to group stores by area name, then copy last month's plan forward. New outlets get missed, closed ones stay on the list, and stores near a zone border end up on the wrong route.
Here is what changes when software does the planning.
Less driving, more selling
Every hour saved on the road is an hour a rep can spend in an outlet. A tighter route means more calls in a day, or longer in each store to check stock, fix the display and take a bigger order. Route optimization sorts the stops so the day has fewer back-and-forth trips, which also means less fuel.
Coverage you can measure
A plan gives managers something to check against: which outlets were due, which were visited and which were missed. Coverage becomes a weekly number you can act on, beat by beat.
The right number of reps and vans
When beats are built from real visit times and travel, you can see where a territory needs another rep and where two thin beats could become one. You hire and deploy from what the beats show.
Fair workloads
Software can split outlets among reps by visit time and distance, so one rep is not handed twice the work of another. Balanced beats mean fewer skipped calls and fewer tired reps cutting the day short.
Top route planning software for field sales brands
The list starts with BeatRoute, our own product, and then mixes field sales tools with delivery and fleet route planners. Each entry says who the tool suits, so you can skip the ones built for a different job.
1. BeatRoute
BeatRoute is a field sales and distribution platform for consumer brands. Its route planning starts from your outlet list: each store's location, class, visit frequency and sales history. Head office uses that data to draw territories and build beats, then each rep gets a daily visit list on the sales force automation app. Visit cycles can be weekly, fortnightly or monthly, and the visit planning tools rebalance beats when outlets open or close.
How a rep's day works. In the morning the rep opens the app and sees today's beat: the outlets to visit, in order, each with a reason such as an order that is due, low stock or a new scheme to explain. The Scheduling AI Agent ranks those visits from live sales data and tells managers which stores need their own visit rather than the rep's. At each outlet the rep takes the order, checks the shelf and logs the call, even with no signal, and the app syncs once the phone is back online. Managers see planned versus actual visits the same day. With the Scheduling AI Agent, productive visits rose from 45% to 78%.
Results on the BeatRoute platform. Perfetti Van Melle Indonesia saw a 3x increase in outlet coverage with BeatRoute route optimization and SFA (read the Perfetti Van Melle Indonesia case study). Perfetti Van Melle India increased outlet reach by 15% with route optimization (read the Perfetti Van Melle India case study).
Who it fits. BeatRoute suits brands whose reps or van sales teams visit retailers on a fixed cycle and sell through distributors, and who want beats, visits, orders and distributor stock in one system. It is the wrong choice for inside sales teams, ecommerce-only brands or a courier fleet that only needs stops in order. A delivery route planner is a better fit for them.
How to test it. Run a pilot on one or two beats for a full visit cycle or two, and keep a similar beat on your old plan as the comparison. Track outlets visited against outlets planned, calls per day, time in store and orders per visit. If the pilot beats do not move on those numbers, you have learned that cheaply. To set one up, book a demo.
Features
- Territory and beat design from outlet data
- Daily visit lists ranked by the Scheduling AI Agent
- Weekly, fortnightly and monthly visit cycles
- Order taking, stock checks and shelf photos during the visit
- Offline use, with sync when the signal returns
- Planned versus actual visit reports for managers
Best suited for: FMCG, consumer goods, building-materials, and manufacturing
Pros: Beats, visits, orders and distributor data on one platform, works offline in zero internet areas, 96% customer satisfaction
Cons: Not suitable for inside sales, not for ecommerce brands
Founded: 2016
Free trial or demo: Demo (no free trial)
2. Badger
Badger claims that brands increase sales by 20-25% with Badger Maps. Sales reps are able to set their daily priorities in minutes and filter out prospects as per schedule and location. Badger also allows for in-time follow-ups to ensure brands are in control of their sales pipeline. Additional features include check-in, notes, and setting up the next follow-up date.
Badger also has data specialists to set up your data and the ability to locate drop-in customers nearby after a cancellation. Sales reps can search for and find leads with keywords such as operational hours and phone number.
Features
- Route optimisation
- Filtering for cross sell and up sell
- Custom check-in reports
- Easy lead detection
- 100% encrypted
Best suited for: Apparel, technology, manufacturing
Pros: Live traffic, multiple mapping software support, follow-up reminders, CRM support
Cons: Built around the individual rep's map and route, so a distribution team with hierarchies and beat plans needs a separate execution layer
Founded: 2012
Free trial or demo: Both
3. SalesRabbit
SalesRabbit provides a route planner to help field agents plan their day, cover more ground, and bring down travel expenses. It’s great for brands who are losing money because their sales reps are unable to close the optimal amount of deals per day. Best used with SalesRabbit’s lead tracking software, this is a powerful tool that can support strategic profiling of potential customers.
Lead filtering helps in prioritising leads that consequently presents the best optimised route based on designated areas and appointments.
Features
- Sales territory mapping
- Lead generation
- Lead management
- Gamification
Best suited for: Real estate, solar, home security, pest control
Pros: Easy-to-use interface, real-time and easy monitoring of sales rep activities, customer details are readily available to sales reps before they visit a store
Cons: Aimed at door-to-door selling rather than retail distribution with distributors and beat plans
Founded: 2013
Free trial or demo: Free demo
4. Onfleet
Onfleet allows you to create travel routes that are optimised for time, location, capacity and traffic. Drivers get real-time updates about changes to their routes. Onfleet is designed for easy integration to a brand’s existing software, making it easy to execute a delivery operation.
Onfleet provides the ability to import files in CSV or Excel format or the use of Zapier to connect to third-party applications like Google Sheets without writing any code. For best results, brands should integrate with Onfleet’s API that is completely developer friendly.
Features
- Real-time data
- Proof of delivery
- Driver chat
- Predictive ETAs
- Real-time tracking
- Automatic status updates
- Key metrics monitoring
- Comprehensive reports
- Easy integration
Best suited for: Retail, apparel
Pros: Real-time features, user-friendly
Cons: Built for last-mile delivery, so test its offline behaviour if your team works in low-signal areas
Founded: 2015
Free trial or demo: Free trial
5. Route XL
RouteXL enables you to plan multi-stop routes for deliveries, pickup services and more with the help of a smart algorithm that minimises route duration. This contributes to savings on fuel and time in the long run and also leads to less greenhouse emissions. The route is instantly calculated as soon as you enter your departure location and other stops to the map; you can also import locations from spreadsheets or emails with simple copying and pasting.
Apart from viewing the route on device screens, drivers or field agents can also take a printout of it or export it to satellite navigation devices or related applications.
Features
- Multiple stops supported
- Routes can be printed out
- Routes can be emailed, exported to satellite navigation devices or shared on social media
- Manual route reordering
Best suited for: Logistics, transportation
Pros: Smart algorithm to minimise duration of route, can add multiple stops and locations
Cons: No free trial, and it is a stop planner without a sales execution layer
Founded: 2009
Free trial or demo: No
6. Speedy Route
Speedy Route sets up the most optimised route by reordering the locations you enter for delivery drivers, sales reps, etc. It always advocates for the fastest and shortest route while providing directions between stops. The route planning can be done for a single or a fleet of vehicles and the software is capable of checking if the optimised route can be achieved with fewer vehicles. Speedy Route has a location limit of 500 for its routes although this may go up in the future.
Features
- Mileage monitoring
- Routing & scheduling
- Fuel management
- Computer support for dispatch
Best suited for: Delivery, various industries requiring route planning services
Pros: Automatic route optimisation, timeboxing of locations, drag & drop function, multiple locations may be imported
Cons: Works with a capped number of stops per route and no sales execution layer
Founded: 2013
Free trial or demo: No
7. Routific
Routific brings effective route optimisation and 5-star delivery experience together on one platform, making route planning profitable. Routific claims routes are about 40% shorter than when planned manually. Users can track drivers in real time and also receive proof of successful delivery in the form of photographs.
Routific’s ETAs are supported by AI with the software incorporating historical data such as traffic, tunnels, and highways to produce the best route for drivers. Brands can take advantage of Routific’s API integration feature for order fulfilment and customers will be made privy to the order status via SMS and emails.
Features
- Import customers
- Route adjustment
- Live GPS tracking
- Delivery proof
- Updating customers
- Analytics
- Link for delivery tracking
Best suited for: Beverages, florists, home deliveries
Pros: User-friendly
Cons: Built for last-mile delivery, with the end customer rather than the sales visit as the focus
Founded: 2012
Free trial or demo: Free trial
8. TruckRouter
TruckRouter is a free online Truck Routing & Mileage Software that calculates state mileage, toll expenses and truck warnings while creating an optimised route for drivers.
Features
- Optimised routes for trucks
- Trip cost calculator
- Preferential routing
- Hazmat compliance
- Directions
- IFTA reports
- Trip report in XML
Best suited for: Delivery and transportation
Pros: Free registration
Cons: N/A
Founded: N/A
Free trial or demo: No
9. My Route Online
With My Route Online, you can map multiple locations, plan visits and get efficient routes for your purposes. Best utilised by PC, tablet, or iPad users, the route can also be exported to Android or iPhone. Delivery solutions are also generated to help brands enhance their bottom lines by reducing planning time, fuel cost, and on-road duration.
Features
- Reload and update routes
- Import contacts from Excel, Text, CSV
- Plan up to 1000 addresses every trip
- Evaluate routes and manually arrange stops
- Assign territories to balance workload
- Save as many routes as you need to
- Send routes via email
- Track your driver’s delivery drops
Best suited for: Delivery, distribution, FMCG (sales reps)
Pros: User friendly, customer services
Cons: A route and stop planner, so order capture and audits are handled separately
Founded: 2009
Free trial or demo: No
10. Route4Me
Route4Me makes customer visits easier and more frequent by saving time on planning manual routing. Route4Me claims that its users have successfully reduced their route planning time per day to under 10 minutes with also a 35% reduction in daily on-road time. Their built-in GPS navigation system helps brands with both an effective fleet-routing solution and sales route planning. Every on-road activity is tracked and captured for strategic use.
Features
- Know where your drivers are or were in the course of their day
- Access the routes on smart devices, anywhere
- Easily integrate with maps, GPS-tracking, and other mobile apps
Best suited for: Pharmaceutical, delivery, print media
Pros: Ease of use
Cons: Geared to fleet routing and route planning, without a beat plan layer tied to store data
Founded: 2009
Free trial or demo: Free trial
11. SimpliRoute
SimpliRoute provides route optimization services that considers factors such as time, load limits, available schedules, and territorial restrictions for highly efficient routing. SimpliRoute allows for real-time tracking of drivers and vehicles, from stops to whether deliveries are on track. Brands can also communicate with their customers to keep them apprised and satisfied about deliveries through WhatsApp, SMS or emails. Customers can live track their deliveries and report any issues in time.
Features
- Optimised delivery routes
- Real-time monitoring
- Proof of delivery
- Online tracking by customers
- Data-driven decisions
Best suited for: Logistics, retail, CPG
Pros: Good customer support, user friendly
Cons: Built for the delivery operation, with order tracking to the end customer as the core use case
Founded: 2014
Free trial or demo: Free trial
12. Mappr
Mappr by Jungleworks provides a vast directory of APIs and SDKs beyond maps, customised routes, location, live tracking, and predictive ETA. Brands get to choose routes that are to be optimised on priority and assign them to field agents based on availability and location. Mappr also has useful API and algorithms to route vehicles and provides users the capability to create a single task for a single pickup and multiple drop-offs. Mappr also considers busy traffic during route optimisation and has the feature of adding intuitive turn-by-turn navigation.
Features
- Dynamic routing
- Interactive dashboard
- Analytics
- Route sharing with one click
- Integration via API
Best suited for: Pharmacy, food and beverage, delivery
Pros: Performance metrics, GPS
Cons: Offered as an API and SDK directory, so your team builds much of the final product
Founded: N/A
Free trial or demo: Both
13. Google Maps
Google Maps boosts a brand’s business capabilities with updated traffic information for current trips and predicts future travels by utilising historical data on time of day and daily traffic. Google Maps generates detailed and reliable routes for users in over 200 countries and territories. Users have the option for 2-wheeled vehicle routes, visibility on traffic data on a real-time basis along segments of a route, and toll calculation for accurate route cost analysis.
Google Maps helps with:
- ETA accuracy by differentiating between a pass-through waypoint or a stop
- Less latency by optimising routes for traffic, data fields returned, etc.
- Fuel efficiency and use estimates based on engine type and live traffic
- A more sustainable future with reduced emissions
Features
- Real-time tracking
- Global routing
- Estimates fuel efficiency
- More ETA accuracy
- More flexible routing
Best suited for: Real estate, financial services, transportation, retail
Pros: Accurate, real-time, user-friendly
Cons: Navigation, not territory planning: it does not build beat plans or tie the visit to store data
Founded: 2005
Free trial or demo: No
14. Upper
Upper is a route mapping software that serves businesses of any size to simplify complicated processes with effective logistical and customer experiences. Primarily for delivery businesses that are suffering from inefficient delivery routes, Upper eliminates manual work such as using spreadsheets and saves time and effort.
Features
- Generates the shortest routes possible
- Least cost per delivery
- Saves on fuel costs with efficient routes
- Allows extra stops with simple file imports
- Takes into account on-road obstacles
Best suited for: Delivery, field services (maintenance, repairs, etc.)
Pros: User-friendly, customer support
Cons: Aimed at delivery businesses, so the selling cycle inside the outlet is outside its scope
Founded: 2019
Free trial or demo: Both
15. Circuit
Circuit creates routes that bypass traffic and efficiently lead to destinations, perfect for delivery drivers. Meet your daily targets efficiently and optimise last-mile delivery with the Circuit route management software, saving both time and money.
Features
- Delivery tracking
- Driver ETA
- GPS
- Mobile accessibility
- Delivery proof
- Alerts
Best suited for: Delivery and logistics
Pros: Great customer service
Cons: Focused on last-mile delivery for drivers rather than the sales visit
Founded: 2017
Free trial or demo: Free trial
16. Geopointe
Geopointe has the ability to plan your routes on a daily, weekly or even monthly basis which is excellent for regular store or other visits. This tool enhances productivity by reducing travel time. Once you set your preferred travel preferences, Geopointe will automatically schedule the most optimised route plan for you. Handle expansive territories making certain that while the best-performing or largest accounts are prioritised, smaller accounts aren’t missed out on.
Features
- Actionable data and visualisation
- Shape editor
- Calendar-based editing
- Routing and optimisation
- Heat mapping
- Demographic layers
- Check in and check out
- Filtering
- Exporting
Best suited for: Healthcare, manufacturing, financial services
Pros: Easy data visualisation, easy territory management
Cons: Runs inside Salesforce, so you need that platform underneath it
Founded: 2006
Free trial or demo: Free demo
Where route planning is headed for field sales
The route planning landscape is moving beyond simple distance optimization toward AI-driven prioritisation that factors in sales potential, payment recovery, and scheme execution. Pure delivery tools (Onfleet, Routific, Circuit) are built for last-mile logistics, while beat planning and rep relationship building sit on the sales side. Offline sync matters in low-connectivity markets, and most options listed here are online-only.
Resource management, visibility, and carbon footprint reduction are hallmarks of great route planning. You need something that is efficient, intuitive, user-friendly, and economical. For field sales teams selling through retail and distribution, BeatRoute combines both HQ-level territory design and daily field execution in one platform, delivering 7-10X ROI on the Business Pack.
While you decide, check out BeatRoute’s free demo for perspective on how the field sales app works in your specific industry.
Frequently asked questions
What should I look for in route planning software for field sales?
Look for routing that knows your outlets (class, visit frequency and sales potential), weekly or monthly beat plans, order taking during the visit, offline use, and a link to your distributor or ERP system. Delivery tools plan around drop-off times, while a sales team needs time in the store. BeatRoute’s Scheduling AI Agent ranks each day’s visits from these signals.
Are delivery-focused route tools like Onfleet or Routific good for sales reps?
Not really. They excel at last-mile delivery with proof-of-delivery, driver chat, and live ETAs for end customers. Sales reps need beat plans tied to store data, scheme information, and order-taking workflows. Pick tools by primary use case: delivery versus sales calls.
How much can route optimization save?
With route optimization on BeatRoute, Perfetti Van Melle India increased outlet reach by 15% and cut delivery cost by 10% (Perfetti Van Melle India case study). Your own saving depends on how good your current beats are and how dense the territory is, so measure it on your routes. Compare distance per call and calls per day on a pilot beat against a similar beat on the old plan. For most field sales teams the bigger gain is time, because hours off the road go into outlets.
Which route planning software works offline?
BeatRoute saves visits and orders on the phone when there is no signal and syncs them once the connection returns, which matters in rural or low-signal territories. Whatever you shortlist, test offline use on a real beat before you decide: switch the phone to flight mode, take an order, then reconnect and check that it arrived.
Is route planning the same as beat planning?
They overlap. Route planning finds a good order of stops for a day. Beat planning decides which outlets belong to each rep, on which day and how often, and repeats that cycle week after week. Field sales teams need beat planning first and route planning inside each day. Our visit planning software page explains how BeatRoute builds beats.
