Semi-variable delivery routes and the efficiency of outbound logistics

Maintaining efficiency in despatching goods from a depot to geographically dispersed customers may require management at the depot to adjust its delivery routes daily if these customers' demands fluctuate from day to day. One type of adjustment is to give drivers daily ‘skip lists’ instructing them not to visit customers who have indicated that they do not need delivery on the day in question. This adjustment, which is appropriately referred to as semi-variable routes, increases the depot's outbound logistics productivity by eliminating some unnecessary travelling. Using extensive experimental data, we develop a regression model that efficiently and accurately estimates this productivity increase, and illustrates how spreadsheets can be used as a decision support medium for using the model in pedagogical and applied settings. We confirm the model's validity by standard model validation tests as well as by comparison with an existing model from previous research.