RouteQ launches operations in Dubai to expand its presence in the Middle East

RouteQ, a subsidiary of Yandex and a provider of cloud-based delivery management software solutions, has opened operations in Dubai to expand its presence in the Middle East and help regional businesses address their delivery challenges.

By providing comprehensive route planning and delivery tracking capabilities for retail, e-commerce, delivery providers, and fast-moving consumer goods businesses, the company aims to fill critical gaps in the region’s delivery fleet operations.

Couriers are facing increased demand in the wake of the pandemic, and e-commerce volume is expected to remain high for some time. Some project that the e-commerce market in the UAE will reach $8bn by 2025. RouteQ believes that digital transformation will play a significant role in determining the shape of the region’s logistics market in the coming years.

“The number-one challenge facing B2C or B2B organisations in the region, when it comes to moving goods and services from point A to point B, is the vague or incomplete destination address,” said Vladimir Nesterov, general manager for RouteQ in the Middle East.

“When you put this together with the relatively high volume of goods returned — up to 40 per cent, according to some reports we are seeing — optimising routes becomes more important than ever. This is why we feel so strongly that we can add value in the Middle Eastern market.”

Yandex’s experience in mapping exceeds 15 years, and the company has built on past innovations (particularly in the field of complex algorithms) to leverage modern maps and traffic data to enable the most precise delivery in the industry.

More than 200 parameters let enterprises optimise their routing to meet modern logistics challenges — like delivery time windows and customer self-tracking — and dramatically reduce call centres’ workloads. An advanced module, built specifically for the Middle East, lets customers and delivery managers collaborate to fine-tune target locations where a more precise address is unavailable. These factors play a vital role in significantly reducing delivery truck mileage. Organisations can use RouteQ technology to reduce the number of vehicles used for delivery routes by 30 per cent, further reducing the carbon footprint and making operations more sustainable.

The company has already started piloting projects for customers in the region’s retail, e-commerce, and courier sectors. In the coming year, Nesterov plans to expand the company’s regional sales and marketing team and its implementation and support units.

Read: American Medtech company Zimmer Biomet expands operations in Dubai