Case study
How Urbantz built a flexible, high-performance route optimization engine — and the technology partners that help make it possible.
Industry: Transportation and logistics
Region: Belgium, Europe
HERE products used: HERE Geocoding & Search, HERE Routing, HERE Matrix Routing, HERE Tour Planning, HERE WeGo Pro, HERE Real-Time Traffic, HERE Maps
Urbantz needed
Founded in 2015, Urbantz was built to solve some of the most persistent challenges in last-mile logistics: manual route planning, fragmented delivery networks, and the growing demand for reliable, flexible customer experiences. Today, Urbantz serves 100+ enterprise customers across 21+ countries — from major grocery retailers to furniture specialists and parcel carriers — each with distinct delivery requirements.
As the platform scaled, so did the technical demands. Supporting high-volume grocery operations, time-slotted furniture deliveries, and multi-carrier networks simultaneously requires a location technology stack that is not only accurate, but deeply composable. A miscalculation in geocoding or a routing limitation doesn't just affect one delivery — it cascades across an entire operation.
"In the early days, we were a super small team and we rushed some of our initial decisions. In 2019 we had to reconsider them — that's when we were introduced to HERE,” explained Thomas Paré, Chief Technology Officer, Urbantz.
HERE delivered
The collaboration between Urbantz and HERE began in 2019, initially focused on geocoding and mapping. As the relationship matured, Urbantz progressively adopted additional HERE capabilities — including HERE Routing, HERE Matrix Routing, and HERE Tour Planning — driven by concrete product needs rather than a single migration event.
“What we value most about HERE is the combination of strong products that keep getting better and a partnership that feels genuinely collaborative,” said Thomas. “HERE continuously upgrades their products and expands their portfolio, so we're not locked into a stagnant solution.”
The relationship includes regular technical and product alignment sessions, giving Urbantz direct input into HERE's roadmap and early visibility into upcoming capabilities. For a platform that serves enterprise customers with zero tolerance for downtime, the responsiveness of HERE's technical support team is equally important.
Urbantz gained
The combination of HERE's location APIs and Urbantz's optimization engine enables capabilities that directly improve delivery performance for end customers across a wide range of verticals:
Appointment scheduling for big & bulky carriers. Continuous route optimization — rather than a capacity model — allows carriers handling large items to offer flexible time slots at scale, improving first-attempt delivery success.
Dynamic dispatch for high-volume grocery operations. A real-time dispatch mechanism uses live tour planning results to intelligently select which orders to release, balancing courier workload and delivery windows.
Customizable optimization goals. Enterprise customers can fine-tune optimization parameters — reducing vehicle usage, balancing driver workload, or prioritizing on-time performance — based on their specific business model.
These capabilities translate into measurable results: customers report up to a 10% increase in first-attempt delivery success, 12% more parcels delivered per hour, and daily route planning completed in under 5 minutes.
As the logistics industry faces increasing pressure to do more with less — fewer vehicles, tighter windows, higher customer expectations — Urbantz continues to invest in the flexibility and composability of its platform. HERE remains a key technology partner in that journey, contributing location intelligence that supports Urbantz customers across Europe and beyond.
Urbantz evaluated several location technology options before deepening its partnership with HERE. Three factors drove the decision to expand HERE's role in the platform:
HERE's portfolio shares consistent data models across geocoding, routing, and traffic APIs. When Urbantz adds a new optimization constraint to its platform, it propagates reliably across all HERE products — reducing integration complexity and ensuring customers get a coherent experience.
Realistic route feasibility at scale depends on accurate commercial vehicle constraints. HERE's map attributes enable Urbantz to generate delivery routes that respect real-world limitations — critical for carriers managing large fleets across dense urban environments.
HERE's per-asset pricing model allows Urbantz and its customers to run continuous route optimization without variable cost spikes. With 2,000+ assets onboarded in the first six months alone, this pricing structure makes advanced optimization economically viable for customers of all sizes.
This document is for informational purposes only and does not constitute commercial or technical advice. Individual results may vary, and HERE Technologies makes no guarantees regarding outcomes.
