The gap between “arrived” and “delivered”

Even when navigation says you have arrived, the driver is often just starting the real work. Navigation often drops them somewhere near a building, not the final delivery location. They have to search for the actual door, and that search frequently takes much longer than anyone realizes. This pattern plays out at unfamiliar addresses across the last mile every single day. The cumulative impact on an operation is massive.

Here is what we discovered at the first address in the Narmin Challenge: Spaansepoort 39, Rotterdam.

What navigation systems miss

The word arrived should mean you are at the door where the delivery takes place. With standard tools, it rarely does.

We ran an experiment with two experienced couriers, Max and Sander. Same starting location. Same navigation tools. Neither knew this part of Rotterdam.

Both took 5 minutes and 30 seconds to complete the delivery.

Not because they lacked skill. Because Google Maps and Waze gave them incomplete information.

What 5:30 minutes looks like in reality

Watch Sander get dropped off across the water, nowhere near the door he needs. His phone says he's arrived. Then reality kicks in.

He eventually finds the correct street. Starts reading house numbers.

36, 38, 40, 42.

All even. His package is for 39. The odd numbers? They're in a completely different part of the area.

"I only found even numbers. I had to walk further but it didn't really look like I had to go there, so you're kind of questioning yourself." — Sander

An experienced courier, second-guessing himself. Because his navigation dropped him on the wrong side of a canal.

Max hit the exact same wall. Same confusion. Same unnecessary walking. Same wasted time.

"I don't think these people park here and walk all that way to get to their house every day." — Max

He's right. They don't. But navigation doesn't know that.

Both drivers delivered successfully. Both spent over five minutes solving a problem that shouldn't exist.

What this means at scale

The real problem is not a single delivery. It is the pattern. If we conservatively say that 10% of stops involve complex addresses, the math changes everything.

• Capacity: Operations plan routes for 50 stops when drivers could handle 55 or 60 with accurate navigation. The gap is hidden in these accumulated search minutes.
• Driver experience: This friction compounds. Walking unnecessary distances and circling buildings leads to frustration and burnout.
• Customer satisfaction: Better navigation means more reliable delivery windows and fewer failed attempts.
• Operational performance: When 10% of stops no longer waste 5 minutes, the entire system performs differently.

What drivers already know

After the delivery, we asked Max and Sander what would've helped.

Sander: "A small description from the first person who delivered there. That would help immensely."

Max: "Maybe the location could have dropped me somewhere closer."

They didn't ask for better technology. They asked for better information.

Drop them at the right spot. Share what the first driver learned. That's what turns 5:30 into 60 seconds.

Drivers already know what works. They face this problem dozens of times a day. The question is whether operations are capturing that knowledge.

60 seconds vs 5:30 minutes

Narmin's Address Intelligence Platform captures delivery knowledge down to the last meter.

For Spaansepoort 39, that means:

• Not getting dropped across the water.
• Parking at the most logical access point.
• Walking the shortest path to the door

The platform captures what the first driver figured out, so every driver after benefits from it. With Address Intelligence, the "Arrived" pin moves from somewhere on the street to the handle of the door.

Not 5:30 minutes, but just 60 seconds.