Drop size is weight (or volume) delivered divided by the number of stops or delivery contacts: how much you leave at each visit. In Mexico–U.S. distribution it explains whether your cost per kg rises because stops are too small — it does not replace route distance efficiency (km per delivery) or service (OTIF: on time and in full).
- base formula (or m³ ÷ stops)
- kg ÷ stops
- that is route efficiency
- ≠ km/stop
- on-time and in-full service
- ≠ OTIF
- fill rate National Study 2026 sample*
- ~93%
*Customer delivery fill rate ~93% average in the 4th National Logistics Indicators Study 2026 sample (#SoyLogístico / LDM / EGADE). Service context — not a drop-size %.
Cluster: distribution KPIs · distribution costs · km per delivery · OTIF.
What drop size is
In one sentence: density per stop. If you deliver 11,400 kg across 40 visits, drop size is 285 kg per delivery. If the same weight is split across 80 visits, drop size falls to 142.5 kg: more contacts, more dock dwell, and usually higher cost per kg.
What it is not: a “world-class” percentage, a synonym for fill rate, or trip load density (kg per kilometer). Confusing those three ideas is the most common error in tower and leadership reports.
Formula and units
Freeze one numerator unit and do not change it mid-quarter. The denominator is the number of deliveries (stops / contacts) — not the number of orders if one order splits into two visits, unless you document that rule.
| Version | Formula | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Weight (most common B2B) | kg delivered ÷ number of stops | Industrial, foodservice, DC with scale |
| Volume | m³ (or pallets) ÷ number of stops | Cube-limited / bulky freight |
| Lines / cases (alternative) | lines or cases ÷ stops | Retail with mixed SKUs — document the unit |
Illustrative example (calibrate to your operation): 11,400 kg ÷ 40 stops = 285 kg/delivery. The same day, 480 km ÷ 40 stops = 12 km/delivery — another key performance indicator (KPI), another decision.
Drop size vs km per delivery vs OTIF
Three different questions. If you hang the same “99%” target on all three, the dashboard lies before the customer opens the gate.
Drop size
- kg or m³ ÷ deliveries
- Lever: consolidate visits
- Risk: OTIF / DC rejects
Km / delivery
- km driven ÷ deliveries
- Lever: sequence and route density
- Risk: confusion with kg/stop
Drop size
Question: How much do I leave per visit?
Typical unit: kg/stop or m³/stop
Do not use it to…: Call it “route efficiency”
Question: How capillary is the route?
Typical unit: km/stop
Do not use it to…: Stamp a 99% world-class target
Load density
Question: How much weight per km?
Typical unit: kg/km
Do not use it to…: Replace drop size
Question: On time and in full?
Typical unit: % orders (AND)
Do not use it to…: Justify tiny stops “because service looks fine” without cost
How to read it in Mexico and the corridor
On the Mexico–U.S. corridor, drop size means different things by delivery type: retail DC with strict appointments, industrial plant with its own dock, or B2B last mile. Measure by corridor and customer; a national average hides the lane that breaks you.
Service context (not density): the 4th National Logistics Indicators Study 2026 (#SoyLogístico / LDM / EGADE, ~160-company sample, 2023–2025 data) reports ~93% average customer delivery fill rate. That shows service KPIs are measured in Mexico; do not invent a national drop-size % from that number.
Into retail DCs, raising drop size without watching appointment windows and dock dwell often becomes rejects, redeliveries, and chargebacks. In industrial B2B, high drop size usually lowers cost per kg if the customer tolerates lower frequency. Cost detail: distribution costs.
When to raise or lower drop size
The decision is not “more kg is always better.” It is a trade-off among cost per visit, service, and dock capacity. Illustrative table — calibrate with your real MXN.
High MXN/visit + saturated dock
Drop-size lean: Raise (fewer visits, more kg)
Check before you move: OTIF, appointments, customer capacity
Risk if you overshoot: DC reject / redelivery
Customer requires high frequency (SLA)
Drop-size lean: Lower or hold
Check before you move: Cost per kg vs penalty
Risk if you overshoot: Break SLA by over-consolidating
Capillary route (high km/delivery)
Drop-size lean: Do not “fix” with drop size alone
Check before you move: Km/delivery + sequence
Risk if you overshoot: Fatter stops on long routes = worse OTIF
Fill rate / OTIF falling
Drop-size lean: Do not raise drop size blindly
Check before you move: Completeness and window — not density
Risk if you overshoot: Fewer stops that are more incomplete
Competitive cost/kg, stable service
Drop-size lean: Hold and document
Check before you move: Same unit quarter to quarter
Risk if you overshoot: Changing the formula “to look good”
A — small stops
Kg/day: 12,000
Stops: 80
Drop size: 150 kg/stop
Read: More contacts; review MXN/visit
B — consolidated
Kg/day: 12,000
Stops: 40
Drop size: 300 kg/stop
Read: Fewer docks; watch OTIF
C — premium mix
Kg/day: 12,000
Stops: 60
Drop size: 200 kg/stop
Read: Frequency vs cost: negotiate SLA
Errors that inflate or hide the number
Most “broken” dashboards do not fail from missing data: they fail from units and from averages that hide the expensive customer.
Elige un paso para ver el detalle
Detalle del paso · 01
Calling drop size “efficiency”
Operable checklist
Use it in the weekly tower meeting or with the third-party logistics (3PL) partner. If you cannot check most items, the dashboard number is not yet defensible.
Measurement order
From data to decision
Freeze
Unit and rule
Segment
Corridor · customer
Cross
OTIF · km/stop
Decide
Raise · lower · hold
Elige un paso para ver el detalle
Detalle del paso · 01
Unit in writing
OCL and the density trip file
OCL Cargo is an autonomous TMS (transportation management system) with AI agents: it does not sell another “efficiency” spreadsheet with mixed units. It ties stops, evidence, and documents to the same trip ID so drop size, km/delivery, and OTIF read without a human bridge. When fiscal scope applies, OCL can stamp invoices and Carta Porte.
In a typical 6–8 week corridor pilot, auditing 100% of the flow, the published recovery pattern is 5–7% of freight spend — useful when “savings” from badly consolidated stops were hiding in redeliveries and accessorials. Hub: distribution KPIs.
Key takeaways6 points
- Drop size = kg (or volume) delivered ÷ number of stops — density per contact, not route efficiency.
- It is not km per delivery or OTIF: different units, different decisions.
- In Mexico, do not copy a national drop-size %; the 2026 National Study gives ~93% fill rate as service context — calibrate kg/stop to your corridor.
- Raising drop size cuts visits and cost per kg only if OTIF, appointments, and dock dwell still hold.
- Freeze units in writing (kg vs m³ vs orders) and measure by corridor/customer — not only a national average.
- OCL ties stops and evidence to the trip file so the density KPI is not mixed with service or kilometers.
Want drop size, km/delivery, and OTIF in the same trip file?
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
It is weight (or volume) delivered ÷ number of stops (delivery contacts). It answers how much you leave at each visit — not how many kilometers you drive, and not whether you arrived on time and in full.
No. Drop size is kg (or m³) per stop. Km per delivery is kilometers driven ÷ stops (route distance efficiency). Mixing them invents “efficiency” with the wrong units.
No. OTIF (On Time In Full) is a service key performance indicator (KPI). Drop size is a density-per-stop KPI. You can have high drop size and broken OTIF if the distribution center (DC / CEDIS) rejects the load or proof of delivery (POD) is missing.
There is no published national drop-size % comparable to fill rate. The 4th National Logistics Indicators Study 2026 (#SoyLogístico / LDM / EGADE) reports ~93% average customer delivery fill rate in its sample — service context, not a kg/stop target. Calibrate drop size by corridor, customer, and service-level agreement (SLA).
When cost per visit (dock dwell time, appointments, chargebacks) outweighs the benefit of high frequency, and the customer accepts fewer visits with more kg — without breaking OTIF or the SLA.
OCL is an autonomous TMS (transportation management system): it ties stops, kg/volume, and evidence to the trip file so the dashboard does not mix units. Agents operate portals; your team handles exceptions only. It does not invent a generic “world-class drop size.”