A Delivery Area is a geographic zone assigned by a franchisor that defines where a franchisee is permitted to deliver products or services to customers. It is often separate from and more flexible than a protected territory because delivery boundaries may change based on operational performance, traffic conditions, customer density, or third party delivery partner requirements.
A Delivery Area establishes where the franchisee may fulfill orders but does not necessarily grant any exclusive territorial rights.
Delivery Areas play a critical role in protecting service quality and customer experience. By controlling how far a franchisee may travel to complete an order, the franchisor helps ensure:
• Reliable and timely delivery
• Cost effective fulfillment
• Brand standards for service and product quality
• Fair management of overlapping service zones
• Operational scalability as markets evolve
They are essential for delivery centric or hybrid franchise models including restaurants, home services and last mile brands.
A Protected Territory is a contractual grant of exclusive rights to operate or market a franchise. A Delivery Area is a functional service boundary, often dynamic and not tied directly to exclusivity. Territory protections and limitations must be disclosed in Item 12 of the Franchise Disclosure Document.
Franchisors must clearly distinguish the two concepts to avoid misrepresentation during franchise sales and onboarding.
Franchisors typically consider:
• Travel time performance standards
• Population and customer density
• Distribution of key demand drivers
• Fleet size and staffing levels
• Third party delivery partner requirements
• Local geographic barriers such as rivers or bridges
As conditions change, operational zones may be updated to preserve service quality.
• Franchise Agreements should reserve franchisor rights to modify delivery boundaries
• Changes should be communicated in writing to prevent dispute escalation
• Adjustments must avoid conflicting with contractual exclusivity rights
• Reviews should be performed periodically as the market develops
Maintaining a clear policy helps the franchisor respond to real world performance data.
Zors allows franchisors to define Delivery Areas using the same mapping structure that is used for unit franchise territories. The system allows franchisors to map "Unit" territories and map "Area" territories in the same system. A Unit generally represents an exclusive territory or protected territory while an Area may represent an Area Representative Territory, Delivery Area, Selection Area, Trade Area or other mapped boundary depending on how it is categorized. This ensures consistency in how regions are created, edited and understood across the organization.
Zors also enables franchisors to:
• Assign a Delivery Area to a specific franchise unit when needed
• Organize Areas by status such as Approved, Under Review, or Proposed
• View Delivery Areas and Protected Territories together on the same map for conflict prevention
• Adjust service coverage on demand to align with operational capability
• Analyze demographic and market coverage to support delivery planning
By using one unified mapping structure, Zors keeps operational service boundaries visually and strategically aligned with awarded franchise rights.
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Last updated: December 4, 2025
