Multi-depot courier operations
Multi-depot courier operations
Multi-depot courier operations means more than one site dispatching drivers, often for more than one network. A second depot fails when each site keeps its own spreadsheet. One driver record, tagged to a depot and a network, keeps the expiry visible to both.
Networks in this pattern include Amazon, DPD, Evri, DHL, Royal Mail and Yodel. The tag is how you filter the file and the pay run. It is not a claim that Zerity plans the route between the sites.
When a second site is justified
- Stem mileage from the first depot means drivers miss the wave.
- A carrier wants a local address, or a collection cut-off you cannot hit from the original yard.
- The extra volume is still there after peak, so a hire van will not retire in February. The judgement around that choice is courier capacity planning.
A second spreadsheet is not a second depot. If the only change is more stops at the same address, stay on one site and fix the rota.
What stays central
The licence, the right-to-work evidence, the insurance schedule and the bank details exist once. Both depots read that record. Expiry is visible to both. A driver who works from either address does not complete onboarding twice. Where the extra people come from a firm, use the subcontractor onboarding checklist and share that firm's file, not a photocopy per site.
What stays at the depot
The rota, the van they take that morning, and the walkaround are local. Courier driver rotas show which site the person attends. Zerity does not optimise routes across depots. The Amazon depot directory is a list of station addresses, not your network plan. Operators running Amazon waves should also read Zerity for Amazon DSPs.
An example week
This is an illustration, not a customer. Depot North and Depot South are labels.
- Monday. The driver is tagged to Depot North and the Amazon network. The licence and right-to-work file sit once.
- Wednesday. The rota shows Depot South for a DPD wave. Same file. The walkaround belongs to the van they take that morning.
- Friday. The pay run is filtered by depot and by network. The bank details do not change, because the driver is the same person. Self-billing for UK couriers is that pay run.
Moving a live pay run onto a new depot, or onto Zerity, is a dated go-live. A live pay run does not switch over in a day.
Questions
What is a multi-depot courier operation?
More than one site dispatching drivers, often for more than one network, with the same people sometimes working from either address.
Can one driver work from two depots?
Yes. The licence and right-to-work file should exist once. The rota shows which site they attend.
Do I need a separate pay run per depot?
You need a pay run you can filter by depot and by network. You do not need a second set of bank details if the driver is the same person.
Does a live pay run move to a new depot in a day?
No. A live pay run does not switch over in a day. Agree a dated go-live.