The Infrastructure Behind Lab Distributions

We are building a data-driven distribution system around our own flyer distribution operation.

The core advantage is data.

Instead of treating distribution as simply sending someone to deliver a fixed number of flyers, the system builds a structured dataset of the areas we operate in: real streets, road geometry, junctions, access restrictions, routes, distributors, campaign coverage, completion times and, eventually, conversion results.

From Data to Routes

Routes can be evaluated using multiple variables rather than house count alone.

For example:

Street geography + property density + estimated distribution time + area characteristics + route distance + historical performance + conversions

This allows us to move towards selecting routes based on expected value, not simply the number of houses they contain.

A street with 300 properties that takes 40 minutes and consistently produces customers may be more valuable than a 500-property street that takes 90 minutes and produces nothing.

The Feedback Loop

The system is designed around a continuous loop:

Campaign → Route → Distribution → Coverage Data → Conversions → Performance Data → Better Routes

Every campaign therefore has the potential to improve future campaigns.

We can eventually measure relationships such as:

time spent → properties reached → cost → enquiries → conversions → return

That turns distribution from a largely manual operation into something that can be measured and optimised.

Why We Use Our Own Businesses

Our own businesses run through the same system.

This is important because the network isn't being designed theoretically. We have a direct incentive to maintain accurate routes, reliable geographic data and useful performance information.

If the system produces a bad route, wastes distributor time or identifies a poor area, we experience that problem ourselves.

Geographic Infrastructure

Underneath the campaign system is a real geographic evidence layer.

It uses real UK geographic data and real OSM geometry to model streets, ways, junctions, connectivity and access information. Conflicting evidence is preserved and surfaced rather than silently guessed away.

The customer-facing map is therefore a visualisation of the underlying data - not a separate system inventing its own geography.

Beta V1

The current system is Beta V1, focused specifically on St Albans.

The foundation is already operational: real geographic data, campaign routes, distributor operations, interactive mapping and evidence tracking.

The next stage is turning the accumulated operational data into increasingly intelligent route selection and campaign optimisation.

The long-term advantage isn't the map. It's the dataset.

The more we distribute, the more we learn about the areas we operate in - and the better the next campaign can become.