When you use nShift to select or display the nearest parcel shops or pickup/drop points, the list shown is based on data provided directly by each carrier. Every carrier uses its own method to determine which pickup points are closest to a customer's address. This article explains how major carriers approach this and what nShift can (and cannot) influence.
 

How carriers determine the nearest pickup/ drop points

Although each carrier uses its own systems, the process typically involves four steps:

1. Geocoding the customer address
   The carrier converts the address or postal code into map coordinates.
    
2. Finding nearby active pickup points
   Only pickup points that support the requested delivery service (e.g., parcel lockers, stores, parcelshops) are included.
    
3. Measuring distance or travel time
   Carriers use different methods, such as driving time, road-network distance, or straight-line (aerial) distance.
    
4. Applying business rules
   Some carriers filter or prioritise pickup points based on opening hours, capacity, or service restrictions.

The result is a list of pickup points sorted by the carrier’s own distance or relevance calculations.

How different carriers calculate “nearest”

Below is a simplified overview of how several major carriers determine the closest pickup points. Because the carriers do not publish the full details of their internal algorithms, the explanations represent what is publicly known or documented.
 

PostNord

PostNord uses geocoding and road-network calculations to locate the nearest service points. Their distance model is based on:

• Verified address coordinates
• Routing data that reflects road accessibility
• Supported service types (e.g., MyPack, parcel lockers)

PostNord may also apply rules related to capacity and service availability.

Read more here: https://developer.postnord.com/ 

Bring

Bring’s Pickup Point API returns locations sorted primarily by:

• Driving time by car, calculated with external routing data
• Straight-line distance as a fallback when route data is unavailable

Bring also filters pickup points based on opening hours, service codes, and operational status.

Read more here: https://developer.bring.com/api/pickup-point 

DHL

DHL (Parcel and Express) typically ranks pickup points based on:

• Geographical proximity using address coordinates
• Road-network distance or estimated travel time
• Availability for the requested service (parcelshop, locker, service point)

Some DHL regions may include additional criteria such as service hours and capacity.

Read more here: https://locator.dhl.com/ 

Access to DHL's developer docs require partner registration.

FedEx

FedEx uses:

• Geolocation and mapping data to identify nearby pickup and drop-off locations
• Distance calculations based on road networks
• Filters based on which locations support the chosen service (e.g., FedEx Ground vs. Express)

FedEx Office locations, lockers, and authorised retail locations may be ranked differently depending on service level.

Read more here: https://developer.fedex.com/api/en-fm/catalog/locations/docs.html 

What nShift does with this information

nShift does not calculate the nearest pickup points ourselves except in a few cases*. 

• We call the carrier’s API - Each carrier returns its own sorted list of pickup points.
• We display the results as delivered - nShift presents the pickup points exactly in the order defined by the carrier, including coordinates, opening hours, and names.
• We apply optional retailer settings. 
  
  Examples include:
  • Limiting the number of pickup points shown
  • Setting a maximum radius
  • Restricting to certain carrier services

These settings never override the carrier’s own distance logic.

We do not have access to the carriers' algorithms

Carriers do not share their internal proximity or routing models. nShift receives only the final list that the carrier has already calculated.
 

* Exceptions

In some cases, carriers only provide pickup point coordinates, or they do not offer an API and instead share pickup point data via files. In these situations, we use external providers to calculate the distance between the pickup point and the customer’s address. When a distance is provided by the carrier, this is always used.