What Pepin Learned by Measuring Time at Each Delivery Stop

Pepin Distributing, a Tampa-based beverage distributor moving over 40,000 cases daily across 60 routes, addressed a fundamental operational bottleneck: route plans built on static service assumptions fail when real-world delivery and merchandising times vary. Working with Descartes logistics software, Pepin integrated delivery drivers, merchandisers, sales reps, and draft technicians into a single operational tracking network. Instead of estimating arrival times through phone calls, dispatchers and account managers track live vehicle progression, monitor real-time stop durations, and record warehouse return schedules.

Using Stop Times to Build Better Routes

The core operational return stems from feeding actual account dwell time back into routing models. When a route schedule allocates 20 minutes to a high-volume supermarket delivery that consistently requires 45 minutes due to receiving dock bottlenecks, the entire route falls behind, causing subsequent accounts to miss their delivery windows.

Pepin utilized verified stop durations to reconstruct route sequencing, adjust account service frequencies, and dispatch trucks earlier to bypass urban traffic corridors. Grounding route parameters in verified driver dwell times protects subsequent stops from compounding delays, allowing sales managers to provide retail customers with accurate service windows.

Capturing accurate service times also transforms commercial discussions with retail accounts. If an account consistently experiences receiving delays that drive up delivery costs, distribution managers can present hard data showing how dock congestion impacts route feasibility. Together, the distributor and retailer can adjust delivery windows or reconfigure drop-off procedures to minimize dwell time.

Checking the Data Before Changing the Route

Dynamic route execution requires disciplined data collection. Heartland Coca-Cola, which serves territories across Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois, deployed Descartes route software in tandem with Geotab telematics. Rather than immediately automating dynamic stop changes, Heartland focused on calibrating geofences, verifying stop reporting, and auditing driver check-in logs.

Establishing verified stop benchmarks is a prerequisite for cross-departmental coordination. If a distributor attempts to dynamically redirect a merchandiser to an alternative account based on a raw telematics alert, but the delay was caused by a receiving clerk's signature rather than a delivery bottleneck, the reroute introduces unnecessary travel mileage. Accurate telemetry allows merchandisers to follow delivery trucks precisely, ensuring stock is packed out immediately after receipt rather than lingering in backrooms.

Coordinating Delivery and Merchandising

When sales, delivery, and merchandising operate from a single source of operational truth, field operations become vastly more resilient. A dispatcher can anticipate route delays before an account calls to complain, while a merchandiser can pivot to an adjacent store to complete a display reset instead of waiting idly on a delayed delivery truck. Closing the communication gap between dispatch and the retail sales floor turns transit data into actionable service execution.

Eliminating wasted dwell time ultimately drives sales capacity. When routes run with predictable timing, account representatives spend less time fielding customer complaints about missed deliveries and more time identifying expansion opportunities, executing secondary displays, and driving profitable case volume across their territory.