Route optimization is the planning of deliveries so that the maximum number of addresses is served in a working day with minimum mileage and waiting. In city logistics the result depends less on distance than on the number of stops, the time spent at each and whether the recipients are available. A poorly built route costs more in waiting and repeat trips than in fuel.
Key facts
- Route time is made up of travel and time at each stop.
- Stop density matters more than total mileage.
- Delivery time windows constrain the order of stops.
- An unavailable recipient turns into a repeat trip.
- Grouping addresses by district shortens the route.
- Efficiency is measured on deliveries per day, not kilometers.
What route optimization gives
More deliveries in a day. The same courier or vehicle serves more addresses without extending the working day, which lowers the cost of each delivery.
Fewer repeat trips. Planning around time windows and confirmed contacts means fewer deliveries that fail on the first attempt.
Predictable arrival times. When a route is built in advance, recipients can be given a realistic window rather than a vague promise.
Less idle time. Vehicles spend less time waiting at closed sites and in traffic between distant stops.
What a route consists of
A route is not just a line between points. The components that make up the working day are set out below.
| Component | What it includes | How much it weighs |
|---|---|---|
| Travel between stops | Distance and traffic conditions | Depends on stop density |
| Time at the stop | Access, unloading, handover, documents | Often more than travel time |
| Payment collection | Settling with the buyer at handover | Adds minutes to every stop |
| Waiting | Access policy, closed site, absent recipient | The least predictable element |
| Return to base | Returning undelivered items and documents | Depends on the scheme |
Planning usually focuses on travel between stops because it is the easiest part to calculate. In practice time at the stop weighs more: a route of twenty addresses within one district can take longer than ten addresses spread across the city if access and handover at each take fifteen minutes instead of five.
What affects time on a route
Number and density of stops. Addresses clustered in one district are served several times faster than the same number spread across the city.
Access to the site. Business centers with a pass system, gated residential complexes and sites with limited entry add minutes that multiply across the route.
Recipient availability. An unreachable phone is the single most common reason a stop turns into a repeat trip.
Unloading and handover. Cargo that needs carrying, counting or checking takes far longer than handing over an envelope.
Principles of building routes
Geography first, schedule second. A route is built in two passes: addresses are first distributed across districts, then arranged into a sequence inside each one. Trying to solve both at once, by sorting all the stops in a single list by time, produces a route that crosses the city back and forth.
Group by geography, not by order number. Addresses are sorted into districts first, then into a sequence within each district.
Start from the constraints. Stops with narrow time windows anchor the route; the rest are fitted around them.
Account for traffic patterns. Directions that jam at certain hours are better served outside those hours even if the order of stops looks less logical on a map.
Leave a reserve. A route planned to the minute breaks on the first delay, so a buffer is built into the day rather than hoped for.
Working with delivery time windows
Why windows change everything. A window converts a route from a geography problem into a scheduling one. Without windows addresses can be visited in any convenient order; with them the sequence is partly fixed in advance, and the tighter the windows, the fewer deliveries fit into a day.
Wide windows are cheaper. A four hour window allows efficient grouping; a one hour window often forces a dedicated trip.
Confirm before dispatch. A window agreed with the recipient on the day of delivery works; a window assumed in advance frequently does not.
Separate the strict from the flexible. Deliveries with hard windows are planned first, flexible ones fill the gaps.
Who plans city deliveries
Companies with their own couriers. Online stores and distributors who deliver to buyers and retail points themselves and want more deliveries out of the same working day.
Companies with a mixed scheme. Part of the flow goes to an external service while urgent or key deliveries stay in house, which makes planning the split a daily task.
Logisticians assessing a contractor. The same indicators that measure an in house delivery also work for evaluating how efficiently an external courier service handles the volume.
Typical mistakes in planning
Counting only kilometers. A route optimized for mileage can be slower than one optimized for stop density and access conditions.
Ignoring time at the stop. Assuming every handover takes the same five minutes breaks the schedule by midday.
Planning without confirmed contacts. Addresses with unverified phone numbers generate repeat trips that were never in the plan.
Overloading the day. Filling the route to capacity leaves no room for the one delay that always happens.
How to build a delivery scheme
1. Collect the data
Addresses, order contents, time windows, contact details and any access requirements for each stop.
2. Group the addresses
Sort stops into districts and build a sequence within each, accounting for traffic patterns.
3. Account for the time windows
Anchor the stops with strict windows first, then fit the flexible deliveries around them.
4. Check the result
Compare the planned and actual route: where the delays occurred and which stops took longer than expected.
What route optimization cannot fix
The limits of planning. A route can be built perfectly and still fail if the underlying data is wrong. Incorrect addresses, orders released for delivery before they were confirmed and recipients who were never told a delivery is coming all break a schedule regardless of how the stops were sequenced.
Where to fix it instead. These problems are solved before the route is planned: validating addresses and phone numbers at the order stage, confirming orders before they are released to couriers and notifying recipients of the delivery date. Planning works with the flow it is given, so the quality of that flow sets the ceiling.
How to measure delivery efficiency
Deliveries per working day. The core indicator: how many addresses a courier or vehicle actually serves.
Share of first attempt deliveries. How often a stop is completed without a repeat trip.
Average time per stop. Shows where handover drags and which addresses are worth handling differently.
Cost per delivery. Total route cost divided by completed deliveries rather than by planned ones.
Key takeaways
- Route time is dominated by stops, not by distance.
- Stop density is the main lever in city delivery.
- Time windows constrain the sequence and reduce daily capacity.
- Unconfirmed contacts generate repeat trips.
- A route planned to the minute breaks on the first delay.
- Measure completed deliveries, not kilometers driven.
Frequently asked questions
How many addresses fit in one route
It depends on stop density, time at each stop and the width of the delivery windows. Addresses clustered in one district with simple handovers allow a far longer list than the same number spread across the city with payment collection at each. The realistic figure is derived from your own data rather than from a general benchmark.
Is routing software needed
With a small number of daily deliveries, grouping addresses by district and sorting by time window manually works well. Software pays off when the number of stops and constraints grows beyond what can be held in mind, and when routes change substantially every day.
What should be done if the recipient is unavailable
The stop is best left for a second pass at the end of the route rather than waiting on site, and the recipient contacted en route. Systematically, the answer is confirming contacts before dispatch: this removes most of the cases where a courier arrives to a closed door.
How do I account for delivery time windows
Plan the stops with strict windows first and build the flexible ones around them. Windows are worth confirming on the day of delivery rather than assuming them in advance: a window agreed with the recipient holds far more reliably than one taken from an order form.
Why does the route take longer than planned
Usually because time at the stop was underestimated: access policies, unloading, counting and payment collection take longer than the few minutes typically assumed. The second reason is a day planned to capacity with no buffer, where a single delay shifts everything after it.
Is it worth outsourcing the last mile
Running an in house delivery fleet pays off with a steady daily flow in one city. If volume fluctuates, deliveries are spread across regions or the flow is seasonal, an external courier service is usually more efficient: you pay for completed deliveries rather than for idle couriers and vehicles.
Discussing your delivery scheme
Describe your delivery volume, geography and handover format and a manager will propose a scheme. City delivery is described in courier delivery in Almaty, work with buyer orders is covered in e-commerce delivery, and other formats are collected in courier services.
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