# Plan last-mile delivery routes and stop density for a depot

Designs delivery zones, route counts, and dispatch rules for a last-mile depot based on stops, time windows, and vehicle capacity.

- Topic: Projects & Operations
- Framework: RTF
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Plan, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/plan-last-mile-delivery-routes-and-stop-density-for-a-depot

## Prompt

```text
Help me plan last-mile delivery routes for my depot.

**Depot and area:** [DEPOT LOCATION, AREA SERVED, URBAN / SUBURBAN / RURAL MIX]
**Daily volume:** [AVERAGE AND PEAK STOPS AND PACKAGES PER DAY, BY ZIP OR ZONE IF KNOWN]
**Stop types:** [residential, business, apartments, lockers, signature required, large items]
**Time windows and cutoffs:** [e.g. "business stops before noon", "all routes out by 9:00", "back by 19:00"]
**Vehicles:** [TYPE, CAPACITY IN PACKAGES OR CUBE, NUMBER AVAILABLE]
**Driver rules:** [shift length, breaks, hours limits, pay model]
**Current performance:** [stops per hour, stops per route, failed deliveries, on-time %, miles per route]
**Routing tool:** [routing software name or "manual"]

Work through:
1. Zoning: split the area into routes balanced by workload (stops and drive time), not just by stop count.
2. Number of routes needed on a normal day and at peak, with a buffer.
3. Load sequence for vans so the first stops are loaded last.
4. Rules for failed deliveries, redeliveries, and when to reroute.
5. How to handle peak: flex drivers, extra waves, pickup points.
6. KPIs: stops per hour, cost per stop, first-attempt success rate, on-time rate.

Return: a route plan table (Route | Zones | Expected stops | Drive time | Service time | Vehicle), a morning dispatch checklist, and 5 ways to raise stops per hour without pushing drivers to cut safety corners.

Use only my numbers; flag assumptions as [ASSUMPTION]. Keep plans within driver hours and break rules for my location.
```

## What to fill in

- DEPOT LOCATION, AREA SERVED, URBAN / SUBURBAN / RURAL MIX
- TYPE, CAPACITY IN PACKAGES OR CUBE, NUMBER AVAILABLE
- shift length, breaks, hours limits, pay model
- routing software name or "manual"
- ASSUMPTION

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