Delivery window
A delivery window defines the agreed period for delivery. Learn the difference from ETA and use a simple buffer calculation.
Editorial and specialist review: Max Valjan · Last updated: August 18, 2026
Delivery & transport operations
A delivery window is the agreed period for shipment arrival or handover. It is a planning boundary, while the ETA is a changing forecast of a particular time.
Buffer calculation
A route plans arrival for 13:20. Historical variation is around 15 minutes and handover is allowed from 13:00 to 14:00. The plan has 20 minutes to the early boundary and 40 to the late boundary. An added order must not consume that remaining buffer invisibly.
Hard and soft windows
A hard window may mean no acceptance outside the period. A soft window expresses a preference. Route optimisation needs that priority or it will treat every time equally.
A delivery notice tells the recipient the window and latest forecast. Maxmove shows windows against order, route and driver and flags expected conflicts for dispatch. On the last mile, repeated variance should be analysed by site and cause.
Time reserve inside a delivery window
Planned arrival is checked against both boundaries.
Window
13:00–14:00
60-minute allowed period
Planned arrival
13:20
historically ±15 minutes
Remaining buffer
20 min early · 40 min late
recalculate for new stops
Original Maxmove model; distinguish hard and soft windows in the order.