Most of the depot networks we see were designed around a customer map that no longer exists. A site was opened for a contract that ended, another for a region that grew and then shrank. Each decision made sense at the time. Together they leave a network that runs, but runs expensively.

Three signs it has drifted

Look for depots that run at under half their capacity while others turn trucks away. Look for trunking that crosses itself, with goods moving north to come back south. And look at next‑day performance by postcode rather than as one number, because the average hides the edges where the network has stopped working.

Test before you move

Before anyone draws a new map, take two years of real orders and run them through the network you have and the networks you could have. The answer is rarely the one the board expects. At Halvard Freight it was two hubs, not three, and next‑day coverage held everywhere.