Quick Summary
- EZ Living Furniture replaced a largely manual delivery planning process that took 12 to 14 hours a day across multiple staff with an automated workflow that now takes about 40 minutes end-to-end.
- SmartRoutes reduced daily route planning man-hours by 85% by automatically grouping orders, building routes for each warehouse, and removing the need for manual zone allocation in Excel.
- Full webhook integration connected SmartRoutes with EZ Living Furniture’s ERP, so dispatches are now created automatically and closed within minutes instead of 2 to 4 days after delivery.
- Live tracking links sent by SMS or email gave customers real-time delivery visibility, which helped reduce delivery status and order location calls by 30%.
- First-attempt delivery success improved by 10 to 15%, helping the team cut failed deliveries, avoid unnecessary unloading and reloading of stock, and free up capacity for new orders.
Founded in 1998 by the Dilleen brothers in the West of Ireland, EZ Living Furniture began with a simple mission: to make high-quality furniture accessible to everyone. Starting from a single store in Galway, EZ Living Furniture’s focus on value and craftsmanship quickly earned a loyal following.
Over the years, EZ Living Furniture has grown into Ireland’s largest furniture retailer, now operating 22 stores nationwide. Alongside their physical presence, EZ Living Furniture has built a strong online platform, offering a wide range of products, from stylish sofas and dining sets to mattresses, home accessories, and seasonal items like garden furniture and festive décor.
Challenges faced by EZ Living Furniture
As EZ Living Furniture expanded, managing deliveries became increasingly complex. The company relied on a largely manual process that required four full-time employees each day to handle every aspect of order preparation and routing.
Staff were tasked with consolidating orders in Excel, prepping them, assigning them to geographic zones, planning delivery routes, optimizing the routes, preparing dispatches, and finally closing them. This process was not only time-consuming but also prone to errors and delays.
The route planning tool connected to their previous ERP had been designed more than 10 years earlier, and its capabilities were limited. It could only optimize the final leg of a route that had already been manually planned, meaning 90% of the work was still done by hand before the system was involved at all.
On top of that, customers frequently called the customer service centre to check on the status of their furniture deliveries, adding further pressure to the team and limiting their ability to focus on higher-value tasks.
EZ Living Furniture needed a solution that could streamline operations, reduce the burden on staff, and improve the customer experience without compromising accuracy or reliability.
EZ Living Furniture’s Goals
- Reduce the time spent on route planning and order preparation
- Minimize manual effort and free up staff for higher-value tasks
- Improve delivery efficiency and accuracy across all locations
- Enhance customer experience with professional live tracking updates
- Lower the number of customer service enquiries related to delivery status
SmartRoutes Route Planning Software
Streamline your entire delivery process, all from one platform
The Solution
To support its continued growth, EZ Living Furniture needed more than faster route planning. The business required a connected system that could handle routing, dispatch management, delivery updates, and proof of delivery in one joined-up workflow. SmartRoutes was implemented as a fully integrated solution, replacing manual spreadsheets and repetitive admin with a structured, automated process that works across the entire operation.
Delivery Route Planning
Delivery planning at EZ Living Furniture involves high volumes, multi-item orders, and activity across multiple depots. SmartRoutes introduced a smarter way to organize and schedule deliveries, automatically grouping orders by location and building efficient routes without the need for manual zone allocation in Excel. The system now takes all orders for a given day and warehouse, and generates optimized routes across however many trucks are needed, a process that takes approximately two minutes.
Furniture deliveries often include multiple items, and not every order is straightforward. SmartRoutes allows EZ Living Furniture to manage partial deliveries and partial failures clearly. If part of an order is delivered but another item cannot be completed, the system records this immediately. Teams can then plan follow-up deliveries accurately without reworking the entire route. This flexibility is essential in a busy furniture operation where stock, access, or customer availability can affect the day’s schedule.
What previously required significant coordination and manual oversight is now structured and controlled within a single platform.
Integration
A major part of the project was full integration through webhooks, connecting SmartRoutes directly with EZ Living Furniture’s internal systems so routing is no longer operating in isolation.
Once routes are planned, dispatches are generated automatically and sent back to the EZ Living Furniture ERP via bespoke webhooks, removing manual effort from building the dispatch. As deliveries are completed, statuses update in real time and dispatches are closed automatically in the ERP using the same webhook approach, eliminating another previously manual step. The impact of this is significant. Previously, dispatches were not being closed for between 2-4 days after items had actually been delivered. With the webhook-driven integration, dispatches now close automatically within minutes of the delivery being completed.
This automation covers key task areas that were historically time-heavy: prepping routes, optimizing routes, building dispatches, and closing dispatches at the end of the day. The integration created continuity between planning, execution, and reporting, giving the business greater clarity over daily performance.
Customer Notifications and Live Tracking Links
For a furniture retailer, the day the delivery happens matters. Customers are often waiting at home for large items, and uncertainty leads to frustration. SmartRoutes introduced live tracking links that provide customers with visibility into their delivery window and driver progress throughout the day, delivered via SMS or email.
Customers now receive professional, branded tracking updates that replaced what had previously been a basic, unpolished experience. The clarity and quality of the tracking links have significantly reduced uncertainty for customers and presented a far more credible delivery experience. Driver responses to controllers are also captured in the system, giving the team a clear, real-time view of what is happening on the road.
This visibility has changed the tone of delivery communication. Instead of calling to ask for updates, customers can see what is happening in real time. The result is fewer inbound calls to the customer service centre and a calmer, more informed experience for customers.
It has also strengthened the perception of professionalism across the delivery operation.
Proof of Delivery
SmartRoutes also brought structure to proof of delivery. Drivers now capture eSignatures, take photographs at the point of delivery, and scan individual items to confirm accuracy. Each delivery creates a clear digital record, including instant updates and images that can be viewed by customer service or store teams.
This provides accountability and speeds up issue resolution if questions arise. Teams have a full history and status overview for each order, allowing users to review order completions and related history in seconds rather than piecing information together from different systems. For EZ Living Furniture, it means stronger control over delivery completion and better documentation across every depot, with a single source of truth for order status.
With live tracking links and automation in place, customers have visibility into their deliveries without needing to call for updates, leading to a significant reduction in ‘Where is my delivery?’ enquiries and freeing the team to focus on more complex customer needs. By improving first-attempt delivery success, the team avoids unnecessary unloading and reloading of stock and cuts out the need to reschedule missed deliveries, freeing capacity to route new orders on subsequent days instead of revisiting failed ones.
The Outcome
The impact of SmartRoutes was felt almost immediately across EZ Living Furniture’s delivery operation.
What had previously required the equivalent of four full-time team members each day is now managed with just half of one full-time role. Route planning, dispatch preparation, and dispatch closure no longer consume hours of manual work. The daily workload has been reduced by approximately 85%, releasing significant time back into the business. To put this in perspective, a delivery workflow that previously involved 12 to 14 hours of effort across multiple people now takes approximately 40 minutes end-to-end.
This shift has changed how the team works. Instead of spending large portions of the day consolidating spreadsheets, allocating zones, and manually updating statuses, a smaller group of select users now oversees a structured, automated workflow. Internal operatives have more open clarity over what is happening across depots, and it is easier to see the status of each route and order at a glance.
The customer service centre has also seen the benefit. With live tracking links and automation in place, customers have visibility into their deliveries without needing to call for updates, leading to a significant reduction in ‘Where is my delivery?’ enquiries and freeing the team to focus on more complex customer needs. Fewer failed deliveries means less unloading/reloading of stock and fewer rescheduled drops, freeing capacity for new orders the next day.
Operationally, the business now has clearer visibility across multiple depots, stronger control over delivery completion, and a consistent digital record for every order. The process is structured, reliable, and scalable.
SmartRoutes was soft-launched with EZ Living Furniture in October 2024, with all users fully onboarded by November 2024. In a short space of time, the business moved from a task-heavy, multi-user approach to a leaner, more transparent operation managed by a smaller number of users, with better clarity for both internal teams and customers.
For EZ Living Furniture, SmartRoutes has not simply reduced planning time. It has reshaped how deliveries are managed across the organisation, creating a more efficient operation that supports continued growth.
The Results
- 85% reduction in daily route planning man-hours
- 30% reduction in calls about delivery status and order location thanks to tracking links and automation
- 10–15% improvement in first-attempt delivery success due to more efficient workflows and customer tracking links
- Dispatch closure time reduced from 2–4 days after delivery to within minutes.
- Daily routes for each warehouse now generated in about 2 minutes.
FAQ
1. What is delivery route planning software?
Delivery route planning software helps businesses turn a list of orders into optimized delivery routes across multiple vehicles and depots. It automatically groups stops by location, respects time windows and constraints, and builds efficient routes so teams spend less time planning and more time delivering.
2. How does automated route planning reduce delivery costs?
Automated route planning reduces delivery costs by cutting planning time, minimizing unnecessary mileage, and improving first-attempt delivery success. When fewer routes are planned manually, teams avoid overtime, reduce repeated delivery attempts, and make better use of every vehicle on the road.
3. Why are live delivery notifications important for customers?
Live delivery notifications give customers a clear delivery window, real-time driver location, and updates if plans change. This reduces “Where is my delivery?” calls, improves trust in the delivery process, and makes it more likely that someone is available to accept the order at the first attempt.
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Caroline Hassett
Caroline Hassett