Growing bakery and café businesses often reach a point where a successful delivery loop can no longer absorb another location. The immediate question may appear to be whether to add a second van. The more important question is how production, loading, capacity, access, coverage and delivery timing will work together.
This planning case draws on recent bakery discussions, operational observations and route trials. Client names, locations and identifying details have been removed or combined. It explains the method we use before recommending an in-house vehicle or an outsourced delivery route.
At a Glance
- Business: growing London bakery and café operations
- Situation: an established delivery loop under pressure from additional production or retail requirements
- Decision: expand an in-house fleet or introduce an outsourced route
- Our approach: observe the operation, measure real loads, model access and timing, and compare the complete operating requirements
- Related services: Embedded Delivery Solutions, regular delivery routes, hospitality and bakery deliveries
Why a Second Van Is Not a Simple Answer
Adding a van looks like the obvious fix. In practice the decision depends on more than the vehicle:
- Future capacity. A route designed only for today’s volume may need to be rebuilt as the business grows.
- Loading support. Who loads at the production site, and how long it takes, shapes the whole morning.
- Vehicle capacity. The usable space depends on how the products are packed, not just on the van’s size.
- Route timing. Each extra stop moves every stop after it.
- Contingency cover. Holidays, sickness, vehicle maintenance and unexpected absence all need cover, whichever model is chosen.
- Very early collections. When collection is very early, the courier’s working day starts well before it, which changes staffing and cost.
How We Learn the Real Operation
Before finalising any route assumptions, we observe the bakery and café operation itself: where products are prepared, how they are packed and how each site receives them. Maps and order lists do not show what happens at the door.
What observation and trials can change
- Packaging and space. Open or lightly covered pastry trays cannot be treated like sealed boxes. Their orientation, stability and footprint affect how much usable vehicle space is available. Nominal van capacity is therefore less useful than testing the actual packaging and load configuration.
- Where stock is prepared. Production and stock location can change the route requirement. In some operations, preparing the right products at the receiving or secondary site can remove an unnecessary vehicle movement.
- Access at each stop. Bakery route trials have revealed access requirements that were not visible on a map, including restricted parking, unloading distances, lifts and deliveries above ground level. These details can materially change the time required at a stop.
What Is at Risk
A rushed decision can create a route with the wrong vehicle, unrealistic loading assumptions or insufficient backup. The result may be unused capacity on quiet days, pressure during busy periods and delivery windows that work on paper but fail at the door.
Comparing an In-House Route With an Outsourced Route
An in-house operation also needs funded backup for holidays, sickness, vehicle maintenance and unexpected absence. Outsourcing is not automatically the better answer, but contingency cover must be included when the two models are compared.
In-house route
- Direct control of vehicle and driver
- Requires recruitment and management
- Business funds holidays, sickness and vehicle downtime
- Strong fit for stable, predictable utilisation
- Vehicle remains a fixed commitment
Outsourced managed route
- Flexible access to vehicles and cover
- Coordination managed by the delivery partner
- Backup can be built into the service
- Strong fit where volumes, routes or capacity may change
- Vehicle can be matched to the current load
The correct answer depends on route stability, utilisation, management capacity and the level of operational control the bakery wants to retain.
Our Approach to the Decision
We model the real operation before recommending a route, a vehicle or a price. That means real loads and packaging, real access and handover times, and contingency cover from the start, set against expected growth, seasonal demand and the capacity the business may need next.
We do not begin by assuming that outsourcing is the answer. If an in-house vehicle gives the business better control and value, the planning should show that. Our role is to help establish what the operation actually requires.
What This Means for Your Business
- Decide on the operation first and the vehicle second.
- Include loading, waiting, parking, walking, lifts, unloading and handover time in any plan.
- Test how your packaging loads before you choose a van.
- Ask whether stock could be prepared where it is needed, to remove a movement.
- Count contingency cover in both models, not just in one.
- Trial the route before committing to it.
Related Case Studies and Services
See how we built a 6am bakery route and how we ran a two-run Soho route. Read about Embedded Delivery Solutions for businesses that want delivery run as part of their operation, and our hospitality and bakery courier service.
Planning a New Site or a Second Route?
Tell us where you produce, where you deliver and what you plan to open next. We will model the operation with you before recommending a route or vehicle.
Discuss Regular Deliveries with our team.
