7 Critical KPIs to Measure for Cargo Van Delivery Service

Tracking Segment Growth

• Track the month-over-month growth rate for Same-Day, Hourly, and Scheduled streams separately.
• If Scheduled revenue grows by 5% monthly, that’s a strong indicator of sales success.
• A high-growth, low-ARPJ service might defintely mask underlying margin issues.
• Use these growth rates to allocate driver resources and marketing spend effectively.

Calculate Variable Costs

• Subtract fuel costs from revenue per job.
• Factor in driver pay, which is usually the largest variable expense.
• Include payment processing fees and marketing spend per order.
• The remainder, after these subtractions, is your gross contribution per unit.

Manage Cash Burn Risk

• Poor utilization means fixed costs (van leases, salaries) are not covered.
• If utilization stays below 65%, you will hit the $445k cash requirement sooner.
• Low productivity extends the projected 26-month path to profitability.
• Focus on route density to cut down on empty driving time between jobs.

CLV vs. CAC: The Profitability Test

• CLV must exceed CAC by a factor of at least 3:1 to cover fixed overhead and reinvestment.
• If marketing spend hits 50% of revenue by 2026, the CAC payback period needs to be under 12 months.
• Monitor the ratio monthly; a falling ratio signals unsustainable growth spending, even if revenue looks good.
• Focus on increasing order density per zip code to lower the effective acquisition cost per route.

Disadvantages

• It averages out differences; a $200 Scheduled Route hides a $40 Same-Day job.
• It doesn’t account for variable costs tied to specific job types.
• Focusing only on the average can cause you to ignore profitable niche markets.

Industry Benchmarks

For specialized, on-demand cargo delivery, aiming for an ARPJ above $75 is a good baseline for covering overhead and driver costs efficiently. However, competitors focused purely on B2B Scheduled Route Contracts often see averages closer to $110 because those jobs carry higher minimums. You need to know where your current mix lands relative to these specialized logistics benchmarks.

Disadvantages

• It ignores the quality of the work; a low-paying job counts the same as a high-paying one.
• Can pressure drivers to accept inefficient jobs just to boost utilization numbers.
• Doesn't account for necessary non-billable time like cleaning or pre-trip inspections.

Industry Benchmarks

For on-demand logistics fleets like yours, a VUR above 75% is the standard target you should aim for daily. Anything consistently below 65% suggests you have too many vans or poor route density management. Hitting 80% means you are maximizing asset turnover, which is key to covering your fixed costs, like that $34,167 in monthly operating expenses.

Disadvantages

• It ignores fixed costs entirely, so a high CM% doesn't guarantee net profit.
• Can be misleading if variable costs aren't accurately tracked per job, like driver idle time.
• The stated target of 825% is mathematically impossible for a standard margin, suggesting the internal metric needs immediate clarification.

Industry Benchmarks

For asset-light, on-demand services like yours, CM% often ranges from 40% to 65%. Logistics providers focused heavily on contracted routes might see margins closer to 30% due to lower pricing power. You need to know where your costs land relative to gig platforms to price competitively yet profitably.

Disadvantages

• It’s a lagging indicator, based on last month’s performance.
• A high ratio can hide poor cash flow timing or collection issues.
• It doesn't account for required future capital expenditures.

Industry Benchmarks

For established, predictable businesses, an FCCR between 3.0 and 5.0 is often considered adequate coverage. Still, for a scaling startup relying on variable job volume, you need a much larger margin of safety. Your internal requirement of > 10 is aggressive, meaning you need ten times your fixed overhead covered every month.

Disadvantages

• It doesn't show why a delivery was late.
• Over-focusing can inflate driver labor costs unnecessarily.
• It can be gamed if delivery windows are set too loosely.

Industry Benchmarks

For reliable last-mile logistics, you need to aim high; anything below 95% signals systemic issues. Top-tier B2B logistics providers often maintain rates above 99%. Your target of 98.5% is the minimum threshold to compete effectively against established carriers.

Disadvantages

• Ignores the actual distance or time spent waiting between jobs.
• Can push drivers to rush, potentially hurting the On-Time Delivery Rate.
• Varies wildly based on service mix (e.g., a single large scheduled route takes longer than three small Same-Day jobs).

Industry Benchmarks

For specialized, on-demand cargo delivery, hitting a JPDH above 15 is a solid starting point, indicating decent route density. If you run highly optimized, recurring Scheduled Route Contracts, you should see numbers closer to 20 or higher. Any sustained reading below 12 means you are paying drivers too much for unproductive travel time.

Disadvantages

• It completely ignores the total Customer Lifetime Value (LTV).
• It’s highly sensitive to short-term contribution margin dips.
• It assumes CAC is static, which isn't true when you scale fast.

Industry Benchmarks

For transactional businesses like on-demand delivery, payback under 6 months is the target; anything over 12 months means you’re likely burning cash too fast to support sustainable scaling. If your payback period stretches too long, you’re essentially funding operations with debt or equity instead of customer profits. You’ve got to keep that recovery time tight.