Configuring Merchants & Territories Best Practices
Last updated August 24, 2025
As a refresher, a Territory, refers to a “grouping” of:
- 1 or more “merchants” (locations) AND
- 1 or more internal “drivers” .
Territories can be as small as a single location in a single town, or as large as a time-zone.
Say you have 3 restaurants in Chicago that share the same pool of drivers. In this case they should all be set up in 1 territory, even if drivers are dedicated to 1 location at a time. If they are dedicated to 1 location at a time, we can set up sub-territories to support this function.
While we can migrate merchants and drivers between territories, it's best to set up your merchants and drivers the best way from the get-go.
Territory design comes down to how you use FIRST Delivery. Do you or your restaurants have drivers?
Step 1: Do You Have Drivers?
✅ Yes, you have drivers
Ask: Do these drivers only work for one merchant location?
- Yes → Create one territory per merchant location.
- After creating the territory, add all the drivers that belong to that location.
- No → Your drivers work across multiple merchants.
- Create one territory that includes all the merchants those drivers can service.
❌ No, you do not have drivers
If you don’t use internal drivers, it’s usually best to keep the number of territories small.
- Group merchants into territories only when they require unique delivery strategies.
- Example:
- New York City → its own territory (dense demand, unique logistics).
- Other merchants in the Eastern Time Zone → grouped together in an “Eastern” territory.
Key Takeaways
- One merchant + dedicated drivers → One territory per location.
- Shared drivers across merchants → One territory covering those merchants.
- No drivers → Fewer, larger territories (grouped by region or strategy).
- Always plan territories up front—it’s easier than moving merchants and drivers later.