What is Milk Run in road freight logistics?

In road freight, a milk run is a fixed route with several scheduled stops to pick up or drop off goods at multiple points on one trip, instead of running a separate journey for each. The name comes from early milk floats collecting from many farms on a set round.

How a milk run works

One vehicle follows a repeating route, consolidating small loads from several suppliers, or delivering to several customers, in a set sequence. This maximises vehicle use, cuts the number of trips and reduces empty running compared with point-to-point deliveries.

Milk runs, JIT and dispatch

Milk runs are a backbone of just-in-time (JIT) supply, especially in automotive and retail, where parts must arrive at the line in a steady rhythm. They demand tight scheduling: fixed time windows at each stop and a dispatcher keeping the sequence on track.

Planning a multi-stop milk run by hand is fiddly. In the Planner Module from IMPARGO the stops, driving and rest times and per-country tolls are combined into one optimised route, which then goes to the driver with truck navigation in the DriverApp.