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Delivery and fleet glossary. The words of a delivery day, India terms included.
59 terms a dispatcher, fleet manager or owner meets, each with what it means and why it matters. India terms link to the official service or rule.
Every term, in plain words. Grouped by the part of the day it belongs to.
18 terms link to an official page or a published method, checked on 2 November 2026.
Planning and dispatch
How a day of deliveries is shaped before the first vehicle leaves.
- Route optimisation
Choosing the order of stops, and sometimes which vehicle takes which stops, so that a day of deliveries uses as little distance or time as the rules allow.
Why it mattersSmall savings repeat on every route, every day: fewer kilometres means less fuel, fewer late stops and drivers who finish their shift on time.
- Vehicle routing problem (VRP)
The textbook name for planning routes for several vehicles from a depot to many customers, usually with limits such as capacity or time windows. Exact answers get very slow as stops grow, so software uses heuristics that find good answers fast.
Why it mattersWhen a tool promises "optimal routes", ask which version of the problem it solves and what it leaves out. Atlas uses a straight-line heuristic for one route at a time, and says so.
- Multi-drop delivery
A run in which one vehicle delivers to many stops before it returns, as opposed to a single point-to-point trip.
Why it mattersMost last-mile work is multi-drop, so the order of the drops decides the distance and the hours of the whole day.
- Delivery window
The time range in which a customer expects, or has agreed to, a delivery, such as 10 am to 1 pm.
Why it mattersA window turns a route into a schedule: a parcel that arrives outside it can count as late even though it was delivered.
- Service time
The time a driver spends at a stop: parking, reaching the door or the dock, handing over, collecting payment or a signature, and getting back on the road.
Why it mattersOn dense city routes the time at stops adds up fast. A plan that leaves it out promises arrival times the driver cannot keep.
- Dwell time
How long a vehicle stays at one location, such as a loading dock, a warehouse gate or a customer site, from arrival to departure.
Why it mattersLong waits at a hub or at a customer dock push back every later stop. Measuring dwell shows where a day is really lost.
- Hub and spoke
A network in which goods move into central hubs and out along spokes to smaller locations, instead of travelling directly between every pair of places.
Why it mattersIt decides where delivery runs start: usually at the nearest hub or dark store, not at the warehouse the goods came from.
- Milk run
A fixed, repeated round that visits the same places on a schedule, picking up or dropping off at each one, like a milkman on his round.
Why it mattersRegular suppliers and stores suit milk runs: planned once, they are cheaper and more predictable than a string of one-off trips.
- Cross-docking
Moving goods straight from an incoming vehicle to an outgoing one at a dock, with little or no time in storage between them.
Why it mattersIt cuts warehouse time and handling, but only works when inbound and outbound timings line up closely.
- Dispatch
Giving work such as deliveries, pickups and visits to drivers and vehicles, and keeping track of it through the day.
Why it mattersDispatch is where the plan meets the day: drivers call in sick, urgent jobs arrive and someone has to move work quickly and visibly.
- Manifest
A list of everything a vehicle carries on a trip, with the consignments, stops and quantities, used at loading and checked at delivery.
Why it mattersA manifest settles arguments about what was loaded and lets the hub reconcile what came back at the end of the day.
- Geofence
A boundary on a map, around a delivery area, a hub or a road with entry rules, that software checks locations against.
Why it mattersZones turn local knowledge, such as where a truck may not enter by day, into checks that work for every dispatcher on every shift.
Delivery and service
What happens at the door, and how service is measured.
- Last mile
The final leg of a delivery, from the last hub, store or dark store to the customer's door.
Why it mattersIt is the leg with the most stops, the smallest loads and the most surprises, which makes it one of the costliest per parcel.
- First mile
The first leg of the journey: collecting goods from a seller, factory or supplier and bringing them to the first hub.
Why it mattersA missed pickup delays everything after it, so first-mile runs deserve the same planning as deliveries.
- Proof of delivery (POD)
Evidence that a consignment reached the right person: a signature, a one-time code, a photo, or a signed copy of the delivery document.
Why it mattersWithout POD a disputed delivery is your word against the customer's, and cash or payment claims take longer to settle.
- Estimated time of arrival (ETA)
A forecast of when a vehicle will reach a stop, worked out from distance, speed, the time spent at earlier stops and, in some tools, traffic.
Why it mattersCustomers plan around ETAs, and an ETA that is always early does more harm than none. Atlas labels its ETAs as straight-line estimates.
- Service level agreement (SLA)
An agreed standard for a service, such as "delivered within 24 hours of the order" or "pickups before 11 am", often with a remedy when it is missed.
Why it mattersThe SLA decides what counts as late. Tracking it per customer shows which promises you keep and which you only make.
- On time in full (OTIF)
The share of orders delivered both on time and complete, with the right items in the right quantity.
Why it mattersIt is stricter than the on-time rate: an on-time delivery with one carton missing still fails OTIF, which is why many retail buyers judge suppliers by it.
- On-time delivery rate
The deliveries made within the promised time or window, divided by all deliveries in the same period.
Why it mattersIt is the simplest service number to follow week by week. Define "on time" once and keep the definition fixed.
- Failed delivery attempt
A visit that ends without handing over the goods, because the customer was away, the address was wrong, access was blocked or the parcel was refused.
Why it mattersEvery failure costs a second trip and usually a phone call. Recording the reason shows whether to fix addresses, timings or customer contact.
- Reverse logistics
Moving goods back from the customer: returns, exchanges, refused parcels, repairs, and empty crates or pallets.
Why it mattersReturns need their own pickups, checks and space. Planned as an afterthought, they quietly eat into delivery capacity.
- Cash on delivery (COD)
Payment collected at the door when the goods are handed over, in cash, by card or by UPI, instead of in advance.
Why it mattersCOD adds time at every stop and cash to reconcile at day end, and a refused COD parcel becomes a return.
- Cold chain
Keeping goods such as medicines, dairy or frozen food within a set temperature range from origin to customer, with the temperature recorded on the way.
Why it mattersOne warm hour can spoil a load, so cold-chain runs need refrigerated vehicles, short waits at stops and a record of temperatures.
- Third-party logistics (3PL)
Handing warehousing, transport or delivery to a specialist company that runs it for you.
Why it mattersA 3PL trades some control for capacity. You still need its on-time rate and cost per delivery to judge it.
Loads and vehicles
Weight, volume and the vehicles that carry them.
- Payload
The weight of goods a vehicle may carry: its permitted gross vehicle weight minus its own unladen weight.
Why it mattersPlan loads against payload, not against what the body can hold. Space and weight usually run out at different points.
- Gross vehicle weight (GVW)
The total weight of a vehicle with its load, fuel, driver and everything on board. A goods vehicle has a maximum permitted GVW.
Why it mattersRunning above the permitted GVW is overloading: unsafe, hard on brakes and tyres, and an offence.
- Axle load
The part of a vehicle's weight carried by one axle or axle group and passed to the road through its tyres.
Why it mattersThe road transport ministry notifies a maximum safe weight for each axle type. A load within the GVW can still overload one axle when it sits too far forward or back.
- Cubic metre (CBM)
The unit of cargo volume: a box 1 m long, 1 m wide and 1 m high. A shipment's volume is length × width × height of each package, in metres, added up.
Why it mattersVans and trucks fill up by volume as often as by weight, so a load plan needs both numbers.
- Volumetric weight
A weight worked out from a parcel's size, so that light but bulky parcels pay for the space they take. Carriers divide the volume by a divisor they publish and charge the higher of the actual and the volumetric weight.
Why it mattersTrimming oversized cartons is often the quickest saving in parcel shipping.
- Load factor
How full a vehicle is, as a share of its capacity by weight or by volume, for one trip or averaged over a period.
Why it mattersA low load factor means paying to move empty space; one near the limit leaves no room for an urgent order.
- Pallet
A flat base, usually wood or plastic, on which goods are stacked so that a forklift or pallet jack can move them as one unit.
Why it mattersPallets set how a truck is loaded and unloaded, and the floor positions in the body can limit a load before its weight does.
- Full truckload (FTL)
A shipment that takes a whole vehicle, which goes from origin to destination for one customer.
Why it mattersWhen you can fill the truck, FTL is usually the cheapest per kilogram and the fastest door to door.
- Part truckload (PTL or LTL)
A shipment that shares a vehicle with other customers' goods. In India it is usually called PTL; elsewhere, less-than-truckload (LTL).
Why it mattersPTL suits loads too big for a courier and too small for a whole truck, at the cost of extra handling and longer transit.
- Over-dimensional cargo (ODC)
Cargo carried as a single indivisible unit that is larger than the dimensional limits in rule 93 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, as the e-way bill system defines it.
Why it mattersODC moves need special planning, and an e-way bill for them stays valid for one day for every 20 km or part of it, instead of every 200 km.
- Telematics
Devices and services that send a vehicle's data, such as GPS position, speed, ignition and fuel, from the vehicle to software.
Why it mattersTelematics gives live positions without asking the driver. Atlas does not connect to telematics devices yet.
Costs and emissions
The numbers behind what a delivery really costs.
- Cost per km
The cost of running a vehicle for one kilometre: fuel, maintenance and tyres, plus, if you include them, the driver and the vehicle's fixed costs spread over the distance.
Why it mattersMost route costs start from this rate, so write down what it includes and keep it the same from month to month.
- Cost per delivery
The total cost of a day, or of a route, divided by the number of successful deliveries in it.
Why it mattersFailed attempts raise it, because they cost money but do not count in the divisor. It is the number to set against your delivery fee.
- Dead mileage
Kilometres a vehicle runs without carrying anything for a customer: from the depot to the first stop, back after the last one, or empty between jobs.
Why it mattersDead kilometres burn fuel and driver time and earn nothing, so good planning keeps them short.
- Idle time
Time a vehicle's engine runs while it is not moving: waiting at a gate, in traffic, or at a stop with the engine on.
Why it mattersIdling burns fuel for nothing. Atlas has a fuel-per-idle-hour rate, so its fuel estimates can include it.
- Mileage (fuel efficiency)
How far a vehicle goes on its fuel: kilometres per litre for diesel or petrol, per kilogram for CNG, and per kWh for an electric vehicle.
Why it mattersUse the figure from your own fuel records, not the brochure: loaded city driving uses more fuel than the test cycle.
- CO2 per km
The carbon dioxide a vehicle emits for each kilometre, worked out from the fuel or electricity it uses and an emission factor for that fuel.
Why it mattersCustomers and lenders increasingly ask for transport emissions. The GLEC Framework and ISO 14083 describe how to calculate and report them.
Source: GLEC Framework, Smart Freight CentreUse the co2 emissions calculator
India: tax and vehicle papers
The documents that travel with goods and vehicles in India.
- E-way bill
An electronic document that a GST-registered person or an enrolled transporter generates on the e-way bill system before goods worth more than Rs 50,000 start to move, whether for a sale or for another reason.
Why it mattersIts validity depends on distance: one day for every 200 km or part of it (every 20 km for over-dimensional cargo), ending at midnight of the last day. The rules have exceptions, so check the FAQ for your movement.
- GSTIN
The Goods and Services Tax Identification Number, the 15-character number given to every GST-registered business.
Why it mattersIt goes on invoices and e-way bills. Look up a customer's or supplier's GSTIN on the GST portal before you raise either.
- HSN code
The Harmonised System of Nomenclature code that classifies goods for GST; services use a SAC code instead.
Why it mattersThe HSN code goes on invoices and e-way bills and decides the tax rate. The GST portal has a search tool for it.
- Lorry receipt (LR)
The document a road transporter issues when it accepts goods for carriage, naming the consignor, the consignee, the goods, the freight and the vehicle. It is also called a consignment note or a goods receipt (GR).
Why it mattersThe LR is the transporter's record of what it received, and the basis for freight bills and damage claims.
- Registration certificate (RC)
The document that records a vehicle's registration, with its owner, registration number, class and fuel, issued through the state transport office.
Why it mattersKeep it current for every vehicle in the fleet; Vahan's citizen services handle the changes and the records behind it.
- Fitness certificate
A certificate that a transport vehicle is fit to be on the road, issued after an inspection and renewed at set intervals.
Why it mattersA goods vehicle without a valid fitness certificate cannot do transport work, so its renewal date belongs in the fleet calendar.
- PUC certificate
The Pollution Under Control certificate, issued after an emission test at an authorised centre, showing that a vehicle meets the emission norms.
Why it mattersIt has an expiry date and is checked on the road. The PUC portal looks up and prints a vehicle's certificate.
- National permit
A permit that lets a goods vehicle carry goods across state borders throughout India, with an authorisation fee paid on the national permit portal.
Why it mattersWithout it, a goods vehicle needs a permit for each state it works in, which slows interstate runs and adds paperwork.
- e-Challan
An electronic traffic fine issued against a vehicle or a driving licence, which can be looked up and paid online.
Why it mattersFines pile up quietly against fleet vehicles, so check them on a routine instead of finding them when something else is due.
India: tolls, systems and policy
The national systems and policies a logistics team deals with.
- FASTag
A prepaid RFID tag fixed on a vehicle's windscreen that pays tolls electronically at fee plazas from a linked bank or wallet account.
Why it mattersWith a valid, topped-up tag the vehicle does not stop to pay. Budget tolls per route and keep the tag's balance up before long runs.
- NETC
National Electronic Toll Collection, the national programme that lets one FASTag pay at toll plazas across the country, whichever bank issued the tag.
Why it mattersIt is why a fleet can run on one tag per vehicle across states instead of a different payment at every plaza.
- Vahan
The national vehicle registration system and its online services, used for registration, tax, fitness and permit work.
Why it mattersMost changes to a vehicle's papers start here, from your state and the vehicle's registration number.
- Sarathi
The national driving licence system and its online services: learner's licences, driving licences, renewals and changes.
Why it mattersLicences are issued for classes of vehicle and expire, so check both before a driver takes out a new type of vehicle.
- DigiLocker
The government's digital document wallet, from the Ministry of Electronics and IT, into which issuing departments place documents directly.
Why it mattersA document issued into DigiLocker comes from its department, not from a scan someone can edit.
- ULIP
The government's single gateway, launched with the National Logistics Policy in 2022, that brings the digital services of the transport sector together so logistics companies can use their data in one place.
Why it mattersWatch it if you build logistics software or connect to government systems: it is meant to be the one doorway to them.
- PM Gati Shakti
The national master plan launched in October 2021 that brings ministries together on shared, map-based planning tools to plan roads, railways, ports and other infrastructure as one network.
Why it mattersIt shapes where new roads, rail links and terminals come up, and so, over time, where a hub makes sense.
- National Logistics Policy
The policy launched on 17 September 2022 to bring down the cost of logistics in India and make the movement of goods faster and more predictable.
Why it mattersIt explains why systems such as ULIP and Gati Shakti exist and what they are meant to change for shippers and carriers.
- LEADS
Logistics Ease Across Different States, a DPIIT report that assesses how easily goods move through each state and union territory.
Why it mattersIt is a quick way to compare states on logistics before you plan an interstate network.
Put the terms to work. Free calculators and a checked list of official sites.
Free tool
Load volume calculator
Work out the CBM, actual, volumetric and chargeable weight, how much of a vehicle’s body and payload a load uses, and an estimate of floor pallet positions.
Free tool
E-way bill calculator
Check whether a consignment generally needs an e-way bill and how many days the bill is valid for the distance, as a guide to the CGST rule.
References
Useful websites
Official and reference sites for Indian delivery and fleet teams, grouped, each with what it is for.
Anslation Atlas
Plan, dispatch, track
The delivery product these terms come from: routes, dispatch, the live map, exceptions and costs.
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