The difference between a driver who finishes at 2pm and one who finishes at 5pm is rarely speed on the road — it's time spent searching for parcels in the van. A disorganised van costs you 15–30 seconds per stop just finding the right parcel. Over 130 stops, that's 30–65 minutes of wasted time every single day. Multiply that across a week and you're losing an entire shift's worth of productivity to chaos in the cargo area. Here's how to set up a system that works.
The Zone System
Divide your cargo area into zones that correspond to sections of your delivery route. Most drivers use 3–5 zones. The simplest approach: divide your run into geographic sections (north, south, east, west — or by suburb) and assign each section a zone in the van.
Zone 1 (near side door): Your first delivery section — the stops you'll hit first. These are the most accessible and should be the first parcels you grab.
Zone 2–3 (middle): Mid-run deliveries. As you clear Zone 1, you naturally work into these areas.
Zone 4–5 (rear): Last section of your run. These go deepest in the van since you won't need them until the end of the day.
Separating Satchels from Boxes
Satchels: These are your biggest search-time problem. They're flat, they slide, they hide under boxes, and they all look the same. The solution is containment — use plastic crates, bags, or milk crates to keep satchels upright and visible. Stand them vertically like files in a filing cabinet, sorted by street or stop number. This way you can flip through them like a book instead of digging through a pile. According to Safe Work Australia manual handling guidelines, organising loads to minimise manual handling reduces injury risk.
Small boxes: Stack in order on shelves if your van has them. If not, stack against the walls with labels facing inward so you can read them. Avoid stacking more than 3 high — they'll topple when you brake.
Large/heavy boxes: Floor of the van, toward the rear. These go in first during loading and come out last (or as needed). Keep them low — a heavy box falling from a shelf during sudden braking is a safety hazard.
Oversized items: Against the wall or along the centre. Don't let oversized items block access to smaller parcels behind them. If an oversized item is going to an early stop, position it for easy extraction without dismantling the rest of the load.
Pro Tips
Label your zones. Use tape or markers on the van walls to define zone boundaries. Even a simple "1, 2, 3" helps you load consistently every day.
Stage the next few stops. Every time you return to the van, pull the next 3–4 parcels to the door area. This pre-staging means you grab and go at each stop without searching.
Invest 10 minutes at the depot. A well-organised load takes 10 minutes longer to set up than a "throw it all in" approach. That 10 minutes saves you 45+ minutes during the day. Every experienced driver knows this — and the ones who finish earliest are always the ones with the neatest vans.