After establishing the names and specifics of your delivery areas and drop sites, the next vital step is to map out the physical delivery routes. This ensures that your deliveries are organised efficiently and reach your customers effectively. This guide will walk you through the process of mapping delivery routes within the Ooooby platform, ensuring no overlap between areas for seamless delivery management.
What is a Delivery Route?
When we refer to delivery 'routes' we mean a defined area on a map that you want to deliver to in one go. Typically this will look like a polygon on a map and any customers who live in that area will be included on the same delivery route. The image below shows a total delivery boundary split into 3 delivery routes:
Starting Point:
Navigate to the Admin Dashboard and select
Settings > Delivery Groups.
Accessing Delivery Group Mapping:
Click on the Delivery Group Mapping button to begin the mapping process.
Selecting Your Delivery Area:
Use the dropdown menu in the top right corner to choose the delivery route you wish to map, e.g. 'Thursday 1 (not mapped)'.
Setting Route Boundaries:
Begin by clicking on the map to place your first node.
Continue placing nodes in a clockwise direction, ensuring you follow precise routes (e.g. along roads) if necessary.
To insert a new node between existing ones, change the mode to Reset Boundary Start via the dropdown menu, then double-click on any node to mark it as the new starting point. From there, continue placing nodes clockwise.
Saving Your Work:
Once your delivery route is completely mapped, hit Save.
Proceed to map other routes by selecting them from the dropdown and repeating the steps. After saving, your mapped delivery routes will be visible in the
Customer Area Mappingsection, contributing to the organisation of your delivery service.
Moving Existing Customers After Changing a Boundary
If you change a delivery route boundary, customers already signed up are not moved into the new delivery group automatically. They will keep showing in their old group (for example, still in Red B after you have redrawn the map so they fall in Red A) until you confirm the change. This is because moving a customer may change their delivery day, and you may want to let them know first.
To move them:
Go to
Settings > Delivery Mapping.Check the proposed changes are what you want.
If a customer's delivery day will change, use the email button to message the affected customers.
Press Fix to assign them to the correct delivery group.
Inactive customers affected by the change are listed there too, and can be fixed in the same way if you wish.
Note: Editing the delivery group on a single order only changes that one delivery. It does not change the customer's delivery group for future weeks, and the delivery group cannot be changed from the Edit subscription page. Use the Fix button in Delivery Mapping instead.
Updating the Homepage with Your Delivery Area
The map of your total delivery area, comprising all your routes, will be displayed on your Ooooby homepage once a member of the Ooooby support team has matched your outer delivery boundary to the delivery routes you have created using the above instructions. In the future, if there are any changes or additions to delivery routes, contact Ooooby for updates to your homepage map.
Best Practices
No Overlapping: Ensure delivery routes do not overlap to prevent delivery confusion and inefficiency.
Regular Updates: Keep your delivery routes up-to-date by contacting Ooooby whenever changes are made, ensuring your homepage map accurately reflects your current delivery routes.
Confirm customer moves: After changing a boundary, always check Delivery Mapping and press Fix so existing customers move to the correct group.
Further Information
Further information about managing home delivery can be found in the following articles:
Conclusion
Mapping your delivery routes is a crucial step in organizing and optimising your delivery operations on Ooooby. By following these detailed steps, you can ensure that your delivery routes are clearly defined, manageable, and efficiently set up to serve your customers better. Remember, precision in mapping and regular updates are key to a successful delivery service.