Logistics & courier

Logistics and courier operations run on orders, allocation, and drivers. In the UK, you're balancing same-day, scheduled, and last-mile—often with a mix of owned and subcontracted capacity. When orders land in email and spreadsheets, allocation is ad hoc, and handover to drivers is loose, deliveries slip and customers notice.

The operational reality in this sector

Operations take orders from customers, marketplaces, or internal systems—email, EDI, portals, API. Dispatch allocates to drivers or subs; handover is run sheets, manifests, or app updates. Progress is tracked in dispatch or TMS tools, but intake and exception handling often live in email and spreadsheets. Handover can be a printout, a broadcast, or "it's in the system." The operational reality is reactive allocation, unclear ownership when things go wrong, and "who's covering that drop?" when volume spikes.

Common friction we see

• Orders land in multiple inboxes and systems; no single intake or allocation view.
• Allocation is ad hoc—who's free, who's local—with no clear ownership or exception workflow.
• Handover to drivers is run sheets or app-only; updates and exceptions get lost in threads.
• Status and exceptions live across dispatch, TMS, spreadsheets, and email; reconciliation is manual.
• Too much time on "who's got this?" and "have we told the customer?"
• Customers chase for updates because internal ownership is unclear.

What this looks like in practice

A typical courier operation has orders from email, a portal, and sometimes EDI. Dispatch allocates in the morning or on the fly; drivers get a run sheet or app update. Exceptions—failed delivery, access issues—come back by phone or WhatsApp and get logged in a spreadsheet or the dispatch system. When it gets busy, allocation slips, handover blurs, and the team works late to clear the board. Customers complain when delivery windows are missed or when nobody can say where the consignment is.

How we typically approach this

We start with discovery: we map how orders come in, how they're allocated, and how handover to drivers (and back) works. We design workflows—intake, allocation, handover, exceptions—that fit your stack and integrate with your dispatch or TMS. We build or configure so orders land in one place, ownership is clear, and handover is documented. We phase delivery so you're not disrupted. Training and handover ensure your team can run it.

What changes after implementation

• One place for orders and allocation; clear ownership.
• Handover to drivers documented; fewer lost updates and exceptions.
• A single view of what's in progress and what's at risk.
• Less "who's got this?", better customer communication.
• Clearer exception handling because ownership is visible.

Tools we commonly work with

We work with what you use: dispatch, TMS, WMS, route optimisation, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, EDI or API feeds, Xero, and intake or portal tools. We connect order intake, workflows, and handover so you're not duplicating or chasing across systems.

A short example from the field

Illustrative example. A same-day courier had orders from email and a customer portal. Dispatch allocated manually and sent run sheets by email. Exceptions came back by phone and were logged in a spreadsheet. We built a single order intake, clear allocation rules, and simple handover and exception workflows that fed into their dispatch tool. The team could see every order and its status. Allocation and customer updates improved; fewer jobs slipped.

FAQs

We use dispatch or TMS software. Do we need to replace it?
Usually no. We integrate with what you have. The gap we fill is often order intake, allocation, and handover—so orders land in one place and flow into your dispatch or TMS instead of living in email.

What about same-day and last-mile?
We design for your actual flows—same-day, scheduled, or mixed. Intake and handover often share a pipeline; we'll map your reality and build to that.

Drivers use phones and apps. How does handover work?
We design so dispatch has one view and handover to drivers is clear. We can work with your existing apps, POD, or comms—we're not forcing new kit on anyone.

Next step

If order intake and handover are holding you back, we can help you capture every order, allocate clearly, and hand over to drivers without the chaos. View our services or see how we work.