Start with customer constraints, not the map
Ask customers when the right person will be available, rather than relying on general opening hours. A shop may open early while its account contact arrives later. A goods collection may need a stockroom colleague, an accessible loading area and items ready to move. Confirm whether a quoted window covers arrival or completion.
Give each stop a clear purpose and reference. Distinguish collecting returned stock from discussing an invoice or receiving an agreed payment: these need different preparation and may take different amounts of time. Avoid placing unnecessary account details on a driver’s route sheet; include only what the person completing the stop needs.
- Record the agreed window, named contact and contact number.
- Confirm the entrance, loading restrictions and readiness of any goods.
- Estimate time on site, including checks and paperwork.
Give the planner, driver and office distinct responsibilities
The route planner should own the stop order and confirm that commitments fit the available shift. The warehouse lead should check space and handling needs where goods are involved. The driver should review practical access concerns before departure, rather than discovering them at the first restricted entrance.
Give one office colleague responsibility for customer updates and decisions during the round. Agree who can approve a changed window, a skipped stop or a return visit. If one person fills several roles, still make the responsibilities explicit. Customers should know whom to contact if their availability changes.
- Name the person who signs off the route before departure.
- Agree how the driver will report delays when safely parked.
- Set a rule for who confirms revised arrangements with customers.
Balance travel time against service time and capacity
Place genuinely fixed appointments first, then fit flexible stops around them. A shorter route may fail if it reaches a customer during an unavailable period. Equally, honouring every preferred window may require a second round. Explain that trade-off before promising a time your team cannot reliably support.
Allow for parking, loading, checking quantities and resolving discrepancies, not just driving. If the vehicle is also making deliveries, consider how collections change the load and access to remaining orders. Leave some unallocated time rather than treating every minute as available for another stop.
- Separate fixed windows from preferences that customers can adjust.
- Check the load after each goods collection, not only at departure.
- Move a stop to another round if it leaves no realistic delay allowance.
Test the plan with a delayed-stop scenario
Hypothetical example: a wholesaler plans three stops. A café needs return crates collected between 9 and 10 am. A retailer’s account contact is available after 10.30 am for a pre-arranged account collection. A caterer can release returned stock between 11 am and midday. The planner checks crate space, confirms each task and leaves time between appointments.
Now test a delay: the café’s crates are not ready, adding 25 minutes. The driver reports this safely; the office checks whether the retailer can accept a later visit without putting the caterer’s window at risk. If not, the office agrees a separate retailer visit rather than asking the driver to rush or arrive unannounced.
- Recalculate the remaining stops using the delay.
- Identify the first customer commitment that would become unworkable.
- Confirm the fallback owner and customer contact before departure.
Close the round with records the office can reconcile
NeroTrade supports wholesale workflows including delivery notes, trade accounts, invoices, statements, routes and collections. Confirm which functions are enabled for your business and how your team should use them. Build the working process around those confirmed capabilities; do not assume automatic route optimisation or connections to other systems.
After the round, compare planned and actual arrival times, record completed and missed tasks, and resolve differences against the relevant customer reference. An observable success check is that every stop has a clear outcome, any outstanding action has an owner, and the office can understand what happened without asking the driver to reconstruct the day.
- Record why a stop took longer or could not be completed.
- Keep goods collection outcomes distinct from account payment outcomes.
- Use recurring delays to revise the next round’s time allowances.
GOOD TO KNOW
Common questions
Should we always choose the shortest route?
No. Customer availability, loading access and time on site can make a slightly longer route more practical. Compare complete working time, not mileage alone.
What if a customer cannot confirm a collection window?
Treat the stop as provisional. Agree a confirmation deadline and explain that, without confirmation, it may need to move to another round.
Can we combine deliveries and collections?
Yes, where timings, vehicle space and handling arrangements allow. Check how collected goods affect the remaining load and keep each task clearly recorded.
Does NeroTrade automatically optimise the route?
Do not assume automatic optimisation. NeroTrade supports routes and collections, but you should confirm the functions enabled for your business and retain a clear planning responsibility.