Getting Started for Last-Mile Teams: Deliveries, Routes, and Drivers

Run a full day of deliveries in the LastMile module — from creating delivery orders and sorting, to route optimization, driver dispatch, and proof of delivery.

This guide is for last-mile delivery teams: dispatchers create delivery orders each morning, sort parcels into sort-wall slots, and let the system plan routes; drivers follow the sequence on their phones and capture proof of delivery; customers track their own parcels. Everything happens inside Docklify’s LastMile module.

Delivery orders and sorting#

1. Create a delivery order (LastMile → Deliveries): the number is auto-generated in the format LMD-000001. Enter the recipient, address, item details, and delivery time requirements.
2. Sort-wall slots: set up slots by route or zone. Operators scan-to-sort; each parcel drops into the right slot, and the system blocks scans into the wrong one.
3. Close the slot after loading: once a slot is fully loaded onto the van, mark it closed so nothing gets mixed up or double-loaded.
4. Hold unknown parcels: if a scan finds no matching slot, hold the parcel until dispatch confirms where it belongs — never force it into a random slot.

Route optimization#

• Route numbers use the format LMR-000001. Pick one of the three VRP modes below when planning:
• balanced (default): trades off time windows and mileage, with time-window penalties — the everyday default.
• fastest: plans purely by shortest mileage — for waves where speed is everything.
• eco: fuel-first routing — mileage may be slightly longer, but total cost is lowest.
• Over-capacity protection: if parcels exceed vehicle capacity, the system truncates non-destructively — the overflow rolls to the next wave and this trip is flagged over_capacity. No lost orders, no forced overloading.

Dispatch dashboard and driver delivery#

The dispatch dashboard is the dispatcher’s battlefield view: click a driver to see their entire route; stops are color-coded by status (delivered / current / pending) and the driver’s live position is marked. On the driver’s phone it’s all about their own run: today’s task list, one-tap status flow (departed / arrived / signed), and POD is done with an on-site photo plus the customer’s signature.

Exceptions and customer tracking#

Customers can check parcel status on the tracking page themselves — fewer “where is my package” calls. Exceptions (refusal, damage, wrong address) become return orders (RMA, number format LRT-000001); the parcel goes back to the sort area for unified handling.