Rocket Delivery: New Spatial Indexing- (opens in new tab)

Coupang transitioned its Rocket Delivery management from a text-based zip code system to a spatial index-based system using Uber’s H3 library. This shift addresses the limitations of zip codes, which became too coarse for high-density delivery areas, by enabling precise, map-based visualization and manipulation of delivery zones. By adopting a hexagonal grid-based approach, Coupang has improved operational flexibility and its ability to handle complex urban delivery environments.

The Limitations of Zip Code Systems

• Zip codes originally served as the base unit for Rocket Delivery, but as delivery volumes scaled, individual codes became too large for a single driver to manage.
• Sub-dividing these areas (e.g., splitting a zip code into specific apartment complexes or even individual buildings) required the manual expertise of senior managers because text-based addresses lack inherent spatial intelligence.
• The previous reliance on text made it difficult to visualize delivery boundaries or reassign areas quickly in response to changes in order volume.

Implementing H3 for Geospatial Indexing

• To modernize the system, Coupang adopted H3, a hexagonal hierarchical geospatial indexing system that converts geographic coordinates into unique cell identifiers.
• Hexagons were selected over square grids because they provide uniform distances between the center of a cell and all its neighbors, which minimizes distortion in distance-based calculations.
• The system uses H3’s hierarchical structure to manage different levels of detail, allowing the platform to aggregate small hexagonal units into larger, custom-defined delivery polygons.

Technical Challenges in System Redesign

• A primary engineering hurdle was selecting the optimal grid resolution to ensure cells were small enough to capture individual building footprints without creating excessive data overhead.
• The team developed algorithms to transform groups of hexagonal indices into filled polygons, enabling camp managers to "draw" and modify delivery zones directly on a digital map.
• By basing the system on spatial coordinates rather than administrative text, the platform can dynamically adjust to urban changes, such as the construction of new high-rises or the demolition of old structures.

Transitioning from text-based addressing to hexagonal indexing allows logistics platforms to move beyond the constraints of administrative boundaries. For high-density urban delivery services, adopting a spatial-first infrastructure like H3 is a necessary step to ensure scalability and operational precision.