Postal Service Dynamic Route Optimization and Cost Savings Initiative

The Postal Service began implementing the Dynamic Route Optimization (DRO) initiative in fiscal year (FY) 2016. The initiative allows for morning Highway Contract Routes (HCR) to change from a fixed-price contract with set routes (static) to a rate per mile (RPM) contract with varying departure times, lines of travel, and mail types transported based on mail volume (dynamic) to optimize routes thus reducing mileage and transportation costs. Our objective was to evaluate the cost savings for implementing DRO.