Tiffin delivery operations, done right

The daily delivery cycle

Every meal follows the same loop. Orders close at a cutoff. The kitchen cooks to the final count and packs by delivery round. Riders collect their batch and deliver in a planned order. Customers receive their meal, and any problem is logged and resolved. The next meal's loop is already starting.

Setting cutoffs customers respect

A cutoff is the time after which orders and changes for a meal are locked. Without one, the number you cook to keeps moving. With one, you can shop, cook and plan riders with confidence.

Set it early enough to cook comfortably, and late enough to be convenient. Common choices are the night before for breakfast, mid-morning for lunch and mid-afternoon for dinner. Then make the cutoff visible — a countdown in the app does more than any reminder message — and apply it consistently. The first time you accept a late change "just this once", the cutoff stops existing.

Make pausing easy up to the cutoff. Customers who can skip a day themselves are far less likely to ask for exceptions after it.

Delivery windows and rounds

A delivery window is the time range customers can expect their meal. Splitting each meal into two rounds — say 12:00–13:00 and 13:00–14:00 — halves the stops each rider must reach in one window, and lets the kitchen send the first batch while finishing the second.

Assign customers to the round that suits their timing and location. Offices that break for lunch at one belong in round two; a cluster of homes near the kitchen fits comfortably in round one.

Planning routes: what optimisation actually saves

Route optimisation puts a rider's stops in the order that covers the least distance. By hand, riders usually follow habit or the order the list was written in, which often means crossing their own path.

We measured it. A scattered six-stop round took 32.0 km in its unplanned order. Planned, the same six stops took 19.8 km — 12.2 km, or 38%, less riding for the same six meals. Rounds that are already well ordered will save less; scattered ones can save more.

How a planner works

A good planner starts from your kitchen and repeatedly goes to the nearest unvisited stop, which gives a sensible first round. It then improves it by reversing sections of the route (the "2-opt" method) whenever that makes the total shorter, until nothing helps. The result removes most of the back-and-forth.

Planning tips

• Plan from where riders really start — the kitchen, not the first customer
• Re-plan after cancellations or address changes
• Keep rounds geographically tight; do not mix far-apart areas in one window
• Give riders turn-by-turn navigation for each stop, not just the list

Riders: hiring, paying and briefing

Riders are the face of your business at the door. Reliability matters more than speed: the same rider on the same round learns the gates, the stairs and the customers.

• Pay model. A fixed monthly amount suits steady rounds; a per-delivery rate suits variable volume. Whichever you choose, include fuel or an allowance, and pay on time.
• Equipment. Insulated bags or boxes, a phone mount, rain gear — and for bikes and scooters, safety gear.
• Briefing. How to handle a locked door, an unreachable customer, a spilled meal. Give them a way to report it on the spot.
• Tracking. Location sharing only while on duty, explained openly — riders accept it when they know why.

Packaging that survives the round

Test packaging on your longest route before you commit. It must keep food hot, stay sealed when a bag tips, and look good on arrival.

Label every container with the meal and any allergens. In the UK, allergen information must be available before ordering and on delivery; many other countries have similar rules.

Keeping food safe in transit

Cooked food should spend as little time as possible in the temperature range where bacteria grow. Keep hot food hot and cold food cold: in the UK, hot food held for service must stay at or above 63°C, and chilled food should be kept at 8°C or below (5°C is better practice). Use insulated carriers, pack hot and cold items separately, and plan rounds so no meal rides for long.

When deliveries go wrong

• Customer not home. Call first; agree a safe place in advance for regulars; record it as a failed delivery with a reason.
• Wrong address. Fix it in the customer's profile so it does not repeat, and re-plan the round.
• Late delivery. Tell the customer before they ask. Track the reason; repeated lateness on one round means the round is too big.
• Damaged or wrong meal. Refund or replace quickly, and look for the cause — packaging, packing or rider.

The four numbers to track