Courier capacity planning
Courier capacity planning for UK depots
Courier capacity planning is how a UK depot decides how many drivers and vans a day of stops needs. Divide the stops by the drops a competent driver finishes in the shift, then add cover for absence and for vans off the road. The van planner does the arithmetic.
This page is the method. How many vans a courier depot needs is the calculator. Do not treat any single drops-per-hour figure as a Zerity standard. A block of flats and a rural round are different jobs. Type the number your depot actually finishes.
The sum in words
- Count the stops you have accepted for the day, not the stops you hope to win.
- Divide by the drops a competent driver on that round finishes in the shift. Use your own recent weeks.
- Add cover for people who will not attend, and for vans that are off the road for MOT, repair or a failed walkaround.
- That is the driver and van count for a normal day. It is not a route plan. Zerity does not optimise routes across the depot.
Put the same inputs into the van planner when you want the arithmetic written down. Courier driver rotas are where the people you do have are assigned to a shift. The rota cannot invent a driver whose file is not approved.
Peaks
Black Friday and the Christmas peak are a few weeks, not a new fleet. Price a short hire, or subcontracting courier loads, against a van and a driver you will still be paying for in February. A permanent van is justified when the extra stops are still there after the peak, the stem mileage no longer fits one site, or a carrier wants a local address. That last case is a second depot, which is the multi-depot guide, not a bigger car park.
Before you accept the round
Volume usually breaks the driver file and the pay run before it breaks the yard. Run the growth readiness check before you take work you cannot onboard or pay. If the extra drivers are subcontracted, onboard the firm and each person before the first wave, not after a missed scan.
Questions
How many vans do I need?
Use the van planner with your stops, shift length and drops per hour. This guide explains the judgement around that sum.
Should peak volume be a permanent van?
Not if it is a few weeks. Price a hire van or a subcontractor against a vehicle you will still be paying for in February.
What fails first when volume jumps?
Usually the driver file and the pay run, not the parking bay. Check growth readiness before you accept the round.