Hub Sorting Software for Courier Companies

Layer 1

Smart labels for manual sorting

For depots without a conveyor belt, CourierManager prints routing information directly on every label — destination hub, gate name in bold, and routing zone — so warehouse staff sort by reading the label, not by looking up addresses. In a multi-country, multi-courier setup, the final delivery zone is printed at creation time, so even the last-mile depot doing van loading knows which shipments belong to which courier.

This is how most courier companies start, and it handles tens of thousands of shipments a day without any hardware investment.

Layer 2

Gate management across multiple hubs

Define sorting hubs, create gates within each, and the system maps destinations to gates. A parcel from Hungary destined for Constanța hits the first hub and goes to the “Romania” gate. At the second hub, it goes to the “Constanța” gate. Each partner courier can have a dedicated gate — DPD parcels to gate 3, Econt to gate 5 — with dynamic zoning to auto-balance subzones by shipment density as volumes shift.

Layer 3

Sorting belt integration

When volumes justify a conveyor, CourierManager connects directly to the belt controller through a simple API. The belt polls for batches of barcode-to-gate mappings (multi-barcode shipments get individual entries), caches them locally, and sorts at full speed. After sorting, the belt reports back — and the system can automatically add each parcel to the correct batch at that gate, zero manual steps. Flag-based gate overrides and return routing are evaluated before default zone routing, so exceptions are handled, not lost.

Production-proven at one of Central Europe’s largest cross-border courier operations, processing 200,000+ parcels per day.

Layer 4

Batches and linehaul

After sorting, parcels need to be grouped into containers, dispatched on the right truck, and tracked to the destination. Static batches handle this: define a recurring route — “Arad → Athens, daily via Econt” — and the system maintains it. As parcels arrive at the gate, staff scan them in (scan the action barcode at the pallet station to enter loading mode, then rapid-scan parcels). Close the batch: manifest generated, partner pre-alerted via API if supported, linehaul email with Excel attachment sent, and the next parcel automatically triggers a fresh batch.

• Loading validation — blocks wrong destination, wrong franchisor, wrong flow direction
• Nested containers — truck → pallets → parcels; scan the outer one, everything moves
• Bulk return batches — failed deliveries collect into client-specific containers, shipped when full
• Last-mile returns — individual returns routed back directly, per client or per shipment
• Action barcodes — printed barcode at each gate; scan to enter loading mode, then rapid-scan
• Auto-delivery — delivering a return batch auto-delivers all contained shipments

FAQ