Delivery playbook for grocery stores and supermarkets

A neighbourhood grocery gets many small orders through the day, mostly from the same few streets. Five items for a flat in one building, ten for a family two roads away. Sending a rider out for each one wastes time and fuel.

The fix is not more riders. It is fewer, fuller trips: collect the orders, plan the rounds and let each rider cover a whole area in one go.

This playbook is for single grocery stores and larger supermarkets. It shows how to set up delivery rounds that run like clockwork.

The delivery challenge in a grocery#

• Many small orders. One rider per order is expensive.

• Waves through the day. Orders arrive before breakfast, at lunch, and in the evening rush, rarely evenly.

• Planning by hand. Deciding who takes which order takes the owner or a senior staff member time every day.

• Typing twice. An order is billed at the counter, then typed again for delivery.

• The calls. "When will it come?" is the most common question of the day.

What your customers expect#

• A delivery round they know about, such as "orders by 10 am arrive by 1 pm".

• Items that arrive intact: eggs on top, frozen items packed together, heavy bags at the bottom.

• The order they paid for, billed correctly.

• To see how close the rider is before the bell rings.

Your delivery setup#

Riders. Count your orders in the busiest round and divide by what one rider can carry. A small store may need two riders for evening rounds and one for the morning. Set each rider's maximum active orders, so heavy rounds are never overloaded.

Slots. Choose two or three delivery rounds a day, for example late morning, afternoon and evening. Tell customers the order cut-off for each round. MiniDrop has no customer slot booking, so customers choose the round with you by phone, message or your own ordering system, and you set dispatch to match each round.

Packing. Pack by route. Orders for the same area go into the same crate, in delivery order. Label every bag with the customer name and order number, and keep cold and frozen items in their own bag.

How MiniDrop fits your day#

1. 1

   Step 1: Create each order as it is billed

   Enter the customer and address once. Repeat customers are saved. Create an order.

2. 2

   Step 2: Let orders wait in the queue until the round

   The Dispatch page holds all waiting orders and shows how many there are.

3. 3

   Step 3: Dispatch each round automatically

   Set a dispatch schedule: fixed times of the day for your rounds, or every few minutes on busy days. MiniDrop shares the orders across your riders, within their limits.

4. 4

   Step 4: Approve the routes

   Open each rider's route on the map, change the order of stops if you want, and approve. Review and approve routes.

5. 5

   Step 5: Share the tracking link

   Customers see how many stops are before theirs and an estimated arrival. Share the tracking link.

6. 6

   Step 6: Review the day

   Check undelivered orders and see which areas need a better round time. Track orders and history.

Mistakes to avoid#

• Dispatching after every single order. You lose the saving that comes from grouping orders into a round.

• Promising slots you cannot staff. Match the number of orders per round to the riders you have.

• Packing in the order of billing. Pack in the order of the route, so the rider does not dig through crates at each door.

• Skipping the end-of-day look. Undelivered orders show you which areas, times or addresses need attention.

Rounds make delivery cheaper and calmer for everyone. See how to reduce your delivery cost per order for the arithmetic behind it.

Your round checklist#

• Round times and order cut-offs are fixed and told to customers.

• Each rider's maximum active orders is set.

• A dispatch schedule matches the rounds.

• Orders are packed and labelled by route.

• Cold and frozen items are in their own bag.

• Routes approved before riders leave.

• Tracking links sent to every customer.

Frequently asked questions#

To see more for your trade, read about delivery for grocery stores and supermarkets. Then try it with your own riders.

Start free

Talk to us