```json { "title": "Legacy – 02 Report Route optimization for CEP players EN", "url": "https://kardinal.ai/report-what-route-optimization-to-meet-the-challenges-of-the-parcel-delivery-industry/", "datePublished": "2021-10-20", "dateModified": "2026-08-24", "language": "en-GB", "description": "The parcel delivery industry has such particular constraints that the application of conventional route optimization does not work.", "author": "Kardinal", "publisher": "Kardinal" } ``` # Legacy – 02 Report Route optimization for CEP players EN Report – What route optimization for the parcel delivery industry? #k-report *{box-sizing:border-box;} #k-report{ --cream:#FBFAF6;--beige:#F5EFE4;--ink:#1B1813;--black:#000; --blue:#4D6AFF;--blue-700:#3A56E6;--violet:#5B6AF0; --lav:#E7ECFB;--lav-border:#A9B6FF; --body:#5c564a;--border:rgba(27,24,19,.10);--dark:#0B0D17;--teal:#31D9C2; --font:'Inter',-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,sans-serif; --mono:'JetBrains Mono','SF 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'Inter',sans-serif;letter-spacing:-.01em;color:var(--tx);} #k-report .kg-item p{margin:0;font:400 15px/1.55 'Inter',sans-serif;color:var(--mut);} @media(max-width:900px){ #k-report .kg{padding:60px 0;} #k-report .kg-wrap{padding:0 22px;} #k-report .kg-grid{grid-template-columns:1fr;gap:40px;} #k-report .kg-h{font-size:32px;} } Report · Parcel delivery What route optimization for parcel delivery? Just-in-time operations, autonomous subcontractors, volumes that change every morning: the parcel delivery industry combines characteristics that are incompatible with conventional route optimization. This report shows at which level optimization becomes genuinely relevant. [↓ Download the report (PDF)](https://kardinal.ai/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Report-What-route-optimization-to-meet-the-challenges-of-the-parcel-delivery-industry.pdf) [Read the preview →](#guide) The context Parcel delivery, an industry in transition Customer expectations on lead times keep shortening, parcel volumes keep rising with e-commerce, and the pressure on transport costs remains high. Every day, a depot splits several hundred or even several thousand parcels between its drivers, with volumes that change every morning. In such a short time window, purely manual balancing becomes hard to sustain reliably, day after day. 💡 **The goal:** understand why conventional route optimization does not work in parcel delivery, and at which level it actually delivers gains. What you will find inside 01The forms of parcel deliveryTraditional, single-parcel, rapid, express: very different transport needs depending on weight and lead time. 02A network organizationLine hauls between depots and delivery routes: why territory coverage drives the cost per parcel. 03The two industry constraintsJust-in-time operations and subcontractors who run their own territory autonomously. 04The right level of optimizationStrategic territory sectorization rather than individual driver routes. The forms of parcel delivery Varied transport needs 01Traditional30 kg – 3 t · 24 h to 48 h Heavy parcels or pallets, often several units per shipment. 02Single-parcelunder 30 kg · 24 h to 48 h One light parcel per shipment, with the same lead time as traditional. 03Rapidunder 30 kg · 24 h max. Same size as single-parcel, but with a shorter lead time. 04Expressunder 30 kg · under 24 h The shortest lead time, often with a guaranteed time slot. **A network organization:** to meet these lead times, carriers combine line hauls between depots, sorting on the platform and delivery routes. Poor territory coverage means parcels arriving too late to be delivered the same day, or under-filled trucks that push up the cost per parcel. The two constraints Characteristics incompatible with conventional optimization 01 · Just-in-time Operations run just in time Parcels arrive in the warehouse on a rolling basis: unloading, scanning and sorting all happen at the same time, in an operation that can last up to two hours. There is no way to wait until every parcel has been scanned before starting to sort. **Consequence:** this rules out static optimization software, which would require all the data before running any calculation. 02 · Subcontracting Subcontractors run their territory autonomously Responsible for deliveries and pickups across a defined territory, subcontractors build their own routes. Contractually, there is no hierarchical relationship between the delivery drivers and the carrier. **Consequence:** if routes cannot be changed every day, a global daily optimization has no purpose and can hardly be put in place. **The right level of optimization:** these two constraints do not make optimization impossible, they move it up one level. The lever lies in how the territory is divided into sectors and how vehicles and drivers are sized upstream. That is what Territory Analytics & Optimization (TAO) does: audit the existing sectorization, optimize it, refine it manually, react in real time and simulate future changes. Inside the document A few pages from the report [↓ Download the full report](https://kardinal.ai/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Report-What-route-optimization-to-meet-the-challenges-of-the-parcel-delivery-industry.pdf) ×