Game on: Can you out-route Omnitracs?

Think you're better than Omnitracs' delivery routing and optimizing engines? Then why don't you bring it, the company prods with a Pac Man-esque new video game called Route Race.

The fleet management systems provider has been adding to its somewhat unusual software offerings like this of the video game variety, typically with the goal of public outreach on behalf of trucking or to simplify the benefits of a product. In this case, it's to illustrate why more intelligent truck-routing and logistics systems such as Omnitracs offers work and add bottom-line value.

But it's also an area — i.e., last-mile delivery and short-haul — that Omnitracs hopes to grow considerably going forward, according to CEO John Graham, as the company looks to expand on its legacy long-haul customer base. Thus the game comes as another way Omnitracs is highlighting a tightened, more local trucking focus beyond its usual norms.

The game was available last week for attendees of Omnitracs' Outlook user conference to try out, and many did (we'll say it's easily as entertaining as any Google Doodle game, and a good bit more sophisticated besides). Players get a look at the screen and the destinations they're supposed to get to, then try to route their truck on the most efficient path through all the stops without running into any trouble.

"The best laid plans... are often screwed up by traffic or weather or construction. Not to mention what can happen when drivers arrive at a location," the game intros itself. You run the truck to all the destinations marked as efficiently as possible and then back to where you started, and then the game shows you how Omnitracs would've plotted the course.

Here's more from the company, which says Route Race "is designed to bring awareness to challenges faced by companies making daily deliveries, from staying on schedule to ensuring the most optimal delivery routes and ensuring customer satisfaction. At the end of each level, Route Race illuminates the technology and solutions that help fleets plan ahead to save time and fuel."

Check out and play the game at www.PlayRouteRace.com.