Build & optimize a delivery round

What it is

A "delivery round" is simply one driver's trip for the day: a list of stops, in the best order, starting from where they pick up the goods. You build it right on your dashboard. You tick the orders you want, tell Routella where the driver starts and when they leave, and Routella draws the route on the map and figures out the smartest order to visit each stop so the trip is as short as possible. When you save it, Routella gives you a shareable delivery link to send to your driver, plus an arrival time for every stop.

Why it matters

Sorting stops by hand is slow and easy to get wrong, and a bad order means wasted fuel, longer days, and customers waiting. Routella does the sorting for you in seconds, even taking rush-hour traffic into account, so your driver covers fewer miles and gets home sooner. You also get a clear arrival time for each customer, which means fewer "where is my order?" calls and a smoother day for whoever is running dispatch.

Step by step

1. 1
   Open your orders list and pick the ones for this trip

   On the dashboard you'll see your orders in the side list. Tick (select) each order you want in this round. As you select an order, its pin appears on the map so you can see every stop. To grab a whole batch at once, use the "Select all" button at the top of the list, and "Clear" if you want to start the selection over. The counter shows how many orders are currently selected.
2. 2
   Choose what each map pin shows

   Order number is the default. To show customer names instead, open the map display menu on desktop or Map tools on a phone, then under "Show on map" choose "Customer name." Routella saves the choice for the account. If an order has no customer name, its pin still shows the order number.
3. 3
   Set who delivers, where they start, and when they leave

   Find the "Round setup" card. It shows three things you can change: Driver (who's doing the trip), From (the pickup point the route starts from — your shop or warehouse), and Departure (the date and time the driver leaves). Tap the card to edit any of these. The departure time matters because Routella uses the hour of day to allow for rush-hour traffic, so set it to when the driver will actually head out.
4. 4
   Let Routella find the smartest stop order

   As soon as you've selected stops and set a starting point, Routella automatically works out the best order to visit them (shortest, traffic-aware trip) and draws the driving line on the map. You don't press anything for this — it just happens and updates whenever you add or remove a stop. The stops get renumbered in the order the driver should follow.
5. 5
   Check the route summary — total time, distance, and each stop's arrival time

   Above the route you'll see a summary: when the driver departs, when they'll arrive at the end, the number of stops, and the total drive time and distance. Each stop also gets an estimated arrival time. "Unloading time per stop" (how long the driver spends dropping off at each address) is built into these times — you can tap it to change it, and every arrival time updates to match.
6. 6
   Adjust the stop order by hand if you need to

   Routella's order is a starting point, not a cage. Use the visible handle to drag a stop directly to its new place with a mouse, touch, or pen; long lists scroll while you hold the stop near an edge. With a keyboard, focus the handle and use the arrow keys, Home, or End. The up and down buttons remain available as a precise fallback. After one drop, Routella renumbers the stops, redraws the route line, recalculates arrival times, and saves once. If that save fails, the previous order returns and Try again lets you repeat the intended move.
7. 7
   Remove a stop safely if plans change

   Open the saved round, take the order out of the stop list, and save again. Routella removes it from that round and puts it back on the active order board so you can route it again, unless another round already proves that order was delivered. This route edit changes Routella's route only: it does not cancel or reverse a Shopify fulfillment. If Shopify's fulfillment record also needs changing, handle that separately in Shopify.
8. 8
   Save the round and get the driver's link

   When the round looks right, use the "Save Round Deliveries" button. It opens the Route Settings so you can confirm the driver, start point, and time one last time. Routella automatically gives every saved route its next permanent number. You can also add an optional route name of up to 80 characters. The number and optional name appear in active Rounds, delivery history, and the signed-in printable route sheet, but not on the public driver link. Save the round, then share its delivery link with your driver so they can open every stop in order with the map, addresses, and arrival times.

Tips

• Set the departure time to when the driver really leaves, not just "now." Routella allows for rush-hour traffic by the hour, so an honest start time gives you honest arrival times.
• If a stop has no pin on the map, its address probably didn't get located (geocoded) properly. Fix or confirm that address first, or the stop can't be added to the route.
• Selecting the same set of orders again updates the round you already made instead of creating a duplicate, so you can safely tweak a round and re-save it.
• The automatic order is traffic-smart, but you're the boss — use the drag handle, keyboard keys, or arrow buttons to put any stop where it needs to be for time windows, fragile items, or a VIP customer.
• If a store connection changed after a saved route was made, Routella leaves the route open and keeps any stops that already finished successfully. Choose Mark them cancelled for the unfinished stops, refresh your orders, then add those stops to a new route.

Common questions

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