Geography

Final Mile

The last leg of a delivery to the recipient, used interchangeably with last mile. More common in freight and big-and-bulky, where the final leg often needs scheduling, two-person handling, or installation.

Where this fits

Logistics gets named by the geography of the move. First Meter covers the pickup leg, Middle Mile covers transfers between operating points, Last Mile covers the route to the recipient, Last Yard covers the final handoff. Each band has its own constraints, cost shape, and capacity profile.

Related terms

Last Yard: The final feet of the delivery: building entry, floor, doorstep, locker, age check. Where a successful drop becomes a failed one if the operation hasn't planned for it.
Hub: A consolidation point where orders are sorted and transferred between vehicles or legs. The pivot of a hub-and-spoke network, where middle-mile line-haul meets last-mile routes.
Last Mile: The final delivery leg, from a fulfillment point to the customer's door. The most expensive, most variable, and most customer-visible leg in any logistics chain.
Middle Mile: The transfer leg between operating points: DC to store, hub to hub, terminal to terminal. Bigger vehicles, fewer stops, tighter time windows.
First Meter: The pickup leg of a delivery: store, restaurant, warehouse, or hub. Where the delivery actually starts, before any handoff to a carrier. Nash uses First Meter rather than first mile because the pickup point is rarely a mile away from anything; it's usually meters.