A computer system in the central office manages the fleet in real time under control of a team of dispatchers.
To minimize handling-expense, damage and waste of vehicle capacity, optimal-sized pallets are often constructed at distribution points to go to particular destinations.
Load-tracking systems use queuing theory, linear programming and minimum spanning tree logic to predict and improve arrival times.
The basic scheme is that hypothetical routes are constructed by combining road segments, and then poor ones are eliminated using linear programming.
The controlled routes allow a truck to avoid heavy traffic caused by rush-hour, accidents or road-work.