Pickup and Delivery Routing: Six Ways Goods Move and How Long They Stay on Board

A delivery van does more than deliver. On one day it delivers pharmacy orders from the depot, collects empty crates for the depot, carries flowers from a florist to a hotel, collects parts at a supplier and delivers them to three job sites in order, collects a part at one of two branches, and delivers a parcel to a customer's door or to a locker.

Most route planners see all of this as a list of stops with a quantity each. They do not know where the goods were loaded, where they will be unloaded, or how long they were carried in between. The dispatcher writes that in the notes column.

This article covers the six ways goods move on a route, what each one requires from the optimizer, and the limit on how long goods stay on board.

Where goods are loaded and unloaded

Every order says where its goods are loaded and where they are unloaded. The answers give six patterns:

Every route planner handles the first pattern. It is the pattern the vehicle routing problem was defined on. The other five are where planners differ.

From the depot to the customer

A van departs from the depot at 08:00 with 8 crates and delivers 2, 3, 2, and 1 to four shops. The load falls from 8 to 0, and the van returns empty.

Two rules apply even here.

• The load has to fit at departure. If the van holds 6 crates, the plan needs a second vehicle or a reload, a return to the depot mid-route for the rest.
• The clock on the goods starts at departure. Chilled goods loaded at 08:00 have been on board for two hours at the 10:00 stop.

From the customer to the depot

The same van collects empty kegs on the round. Every shop receives 2 boxes and returns 1 keg, and a keg takes the space of 2 boxes. The van is full when it departs and full after every stop.

Returns, empties, waste, and samples all move this way. A stop with a quantity does not say which way the quantity goes, so a stop list cannot express it.

The optimizer has to compute the load after every stop and check it against the capacity. The route total says nothing. A route that delivers 6 units and collects 9 totals 15, but the van never holds more than 9, because the deliveries are unloaded before the collections are loaded. A planner that sums the quantities refuses that route. A planner that ignores collections overloads the van.

From one customer to another

Flowers are collected at a florist and delivered to a hotel. The goods never pass through the depot. They are loaded at the florist, unloaded at the hotel, and occupy space on the van in between. Courier work, lab samples, patient transport, and stock moves between branches follow this pattern.

A pickup and delivery pair is one job with two addresses. Four rules apply:

• One vehicle serves both ends.
• The pickup comes before the delivery.
• The goods occupy capacity between the two stops and nowhere else.
• Each end has its own time window and service time.

A pair that does not fit fails as a pair. The pickup is not served without the delivery.

One pickup and several deliveries in order

A crew collects 4 units of parts at a supplier, then delivers 1 at a site survey, 2 at an installation, and 1 at a handover. One vehicle serves the four stops in that order. The parts loaded at the first stop are the parts unloaded at the next three.

The run is one job, not four orders and not three transfers. The parts collected at the first stop cover the later deliveries, so nothing is loaded at the depot and nothing returns to it. The driver may serve unrelated orders between the stops of the run.

The optimizer counts only the load on board. Four units collected and four delivered occupy 4 units of capacity at the peak, not 4 at the depot plus 4 on the return. If a later delivery needs more than the run collected, the difference is loaded at the depot. A surplus returns to the depot.

Collect from one of several addresses

A part is in stock at two branches. The order lists both addresses, and the optimizer collects from one of them, whichever suits the route.

Each address has its own time window and service time. The load is the same at each. The address that is not used is reported as not chosen. It is not an unassigned stop.

Deliver to one of several addresses

A parcel may be delivered to the customer's door, with 5 minutes of service, or to a locker two streets away, with 2. The optimizer serves one of the two, whichever makes the plan cheapest. The next optimization may select the other.

Alternatives work on both ends of a pickup and delivery pair. "Collect from either shop, deliver to the door or the locker" is one job with four combinations. They also work on a plain depot order.

Time on board

Chilled and frozen goods, flowers, blood samples, hot meals, and passengers cannot stay in the vehicle for long. Arriving inside the time window is not enough. The plan also has to limit how long the goods are carried, from loading to unloading.

The cheapest route often collects early and delivers late, because the pickup was on the way. A route that has to keep the goods fresh collects as late as it can and delivers as early as it can. The delivery time is the same, and the stay on board is shorter.

For passengers the same limit is the ride time. A route that optimizes distance alone boards a rider early and drives them past other stops on the way to their appointment.

How Routing24 handles it

• Depot deliveries and collections are the order's Delivery and Pickup loads. One order can have both. The optimizer computes the load after every stop and checks it against the vehicle's capacity. If a day does not fit in one load, the vehicle reloads at the depot. Every stop row on the finished route shows its load with an arrow, down for deliveries and up for pickups.
• Transfers are a pickup order and a delivery order with the same transfer id. One vehicle serves both, pickup first, and the consignment occupies capacity in between. It remains on board through a reload. A pair that cannot be placed goes unassigned as a pair, with the reason. A drag that splits a pair or puts the delivery first is flagged.
• Sequence runs are 2 to 16 orders with one sequence name and a rank each. One vehicle serves the whole run in rank order, all or none. A pickup at one member covers the deliveries of the members after it. Unrelated stops may be served in between.
• Alternative locations are an alternative group on plain orders, and candidate addresses on either end of a transfer, up to 8 per end and 16 combinations per transfer. The optimizer serves one candidate and lists the others under Alternatives (not chosen). Only an order that no candidate can serve goes unassigned.
• Time on board can be limited on goods from the depot and on transfers. An order whose limit no route can meet goes unassigned, with the reason.

Transfers, sequence runs, alternative locations, and time-on-board limits are Pro features. Depot deliveries and collections, capacity, and reloads at the vehicle's own depot are on every tier. Pro rules work in full during the 14-day trial of every new account.

Routing24 does not move goods between vehicles. There is no cross-dock and no hand-over between vans mid-route. A consignment that has to change vehicles is two jobs, and the timing between them is yours to set.

FAQ

What is the pickup and delivery problem in route optimization?

The pickup and delivery problem is the vehicle routing problem where goods are loaded at one customer and unloaded at another, not at a depot. Each job is a pair of stops served by the same vehicle, pickup first, and the goods occupy capacity between them. With time windows it is called the PDPTW. With a limit on time on board it is called the dial-a-ride problem, the model used for patient and passenger transport.

What is the difference between a delivery order and a pickup and delivery transfer?

A delivery order carries goods from the depot to one address. A pickup order carries goods from one address to the depot. A transfer does not involve the depot. The goods are loaded at one customer and unloaded at another, on the same vehicle, in that order.

How does route optimization handle returns and reverse logistics?

A return is a load that is loaded at the stop and unloaded at the depot. The optimizer computes the load on board after every stop rather than summing the route. A delivery frees space, and a collection later on the same route can use it. A planner that only compares a route total with the capacity either refuses feasible routes or builds overloaded ones.

Can one pickup supply several deliveries on the same route?

Yes, as a sequence run. The parts collected at the supplier cover the deliveries at the sites after it, on one vehicle, in a fixed order, with unrelated stops allowed in between. A pickup and delivery transfer links one pickup to one delivery of the same quantity.

What is maximum time on board, and which operations need it?

Maximum time on board limits how long a consignment may stay in the vehicle between loading and unloading. Cold-chain delivery, flowers, lab samples, hot food, and passenger transport need it, because arriving on time is not enough if the goods spent two hours in the van first. An optimizer that honors it delays the pickup rather than loading early, and reports the orders whose limit no route can meet.

Can a delivery go to a parcel locker instead of the customer's address?

Yes. The order lists both addresses as alternatives, each with its own time window and service time. The optimizer serves one of them, whichever makes the plan cheapest, and reports the other as not chosen. The same works for pickups.

Does the vehicle have to return to the depot between a pickup and a delivery?

No. A transfer is carried from the pickup address to the delivery address without a depot visit. If the vehicle reloads at the depot in between, the consignment remains on board and keeps its place in the load.

The takeaway

A route is a sequence of goods loaded onto a vehicle and unloaded from it, not a list of places. Capacity is the load on board now, not the sum of the day. A pickup and its delivery are one job. The parts collected at the supplier are the parts installed at the site. For anything that spoils, the minutes between loading and unloading are a limit.

Ask a routing tool to show the load after each stop and the time each consignment spent on board. A tool that shows both models goods. A tool that shows neither sequences points on a map.