Requirements for planning software with an electric fleet

You don't choose a new planning or transport management system on a demo alone. If you set down beforehand what the software must do, you compare suppliers fairly and avoid expensive surprises after implementation. With an electric fleet and AI in view, there are requirements that didn't matter five years ago. Here is how to approach it.

Step 1: Start with the current situation

Describe how planning is done now: which systems, how many trips and vehicles per day, which kinds of customers and time windows, and where things go wrong today. What takes the most time? Where do errors arise? Those are the problems the new software must solve.

Step 2: Look ahead

How many vehicles will be electric in three and five years? Will zero-emission zones be added in the cities you serve? What do truck tolls do to your routes? The software must fit the fleet of tomorrow, not just today's.

Step 3: Write the requirements per topic

Some example requirements, per topic:

Topic	Example requirement
Battery and consumption	Calculates consumption per trip, depending on load and season, and shows the charge after each trip
Charging	Plans charging moments at the depot and on the road, and combines charging with the driver's rest
Grid connection	Takes the available charging power per quarter hour into account, or links with the energy management system
Mixed fleet	Chooses between diesel and electric per trip, taking zero-emission zones into account
Rules	Checks every shift against driving and rest times and working hours, and prevents violations
Slack	Minimum slack per stop can be set; tight stops are visible
Adjusting	Drag and split trips and swap drivers, with immediate effects on costs, battery and rules
Costs	Shows the cost per trip and per stop, including energy, staff and vehicle
AI	Answers questions from planners and management in plain language and explains proposals; does not calculate itself, but lets the calculation method calculate
Data	Data stored in the EU, not used to train AI models without consent, compliant with the GDPR and the AI Act
Integrations	Orders from the order system, vehicle data from the on-board computer, charging data from the charging system

Step 4: Give each requirement a priority

Not every requirement is equally important. Use three levels: must (without it the supplier is out), should (weighs heavily) and could (nice to have). That stops a package from winning on extras while it doesn't do the basics well.

Step 5: Agree on key figures

How will you know after a year whether the new software does better? Decide beforehand what you steer on, for example: cost per stop, on-time delivery, utilisation of shifts, share of electric kilometres, number of tight stops and the time the planner spends on the daily plan.

Step 6: Test with a real day

Ask every supplier to plan the same real day, with your own orders, vehicles and a few tricky exceptions. Assess the outcome against your own requirements and key figures. Use the 10 questions for your supplier.

Learn it yourself

In the Certified E-Fleet Planner programme, participants write requirements or an improvement plan for their own company as their practical assignment. On the AI day you work with an AI route planner, so you know what you can ask of new software.