A day in dispatch
The dispatcher's routine from the first check in the morning to closing the last route, with the page and guide for each step.
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On this page
This page walks a dispatcher through a normal day, in the order the work usually comes. Each step links to the guide with the details. The Dispatcher role can do everything here; changing company rules (such as Dispatch rules) needs an administrator.
Before the first driver starts
- Open the Operations overview. Read the Needs attention row: Running late, Failed attempts, Need a driver, Nobody on shift. Click a tile to open exactly those records. See Start your day.
- Check the bell for overnight notifications, such as orders customers placed in the portal.
- On Orders, click Awaiting approval under Needs attention if it shows. These are portal, API or imported orders from customers whose orders need approval. Open each and click Approve order or Decline order.
- Click On hold to see held orders. Release the ones that can go with Release hold, or leave them for the customer to sort out.
- Open the driver schedule to see who is working today, and use the On shift now filter on Drivers as they clock in. See Plan shifts and check the time clock.
Morning: plan and send out the work
How you dispatch depends on how your company runs:
| Work | What you do | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Orders leaving a depot | Build routes in Route planner: pick the Start depot, add the unassigned orders, pick the vehicle, Optimize, then dispatch | Plan a route |
| Direct jobs (collect at the sender, straight to the receiver) | Give each one to a driver with Assign driver, or let Auto-assign pick | Work on an order |
| Goods arriving at the depot | Scan them in at the depot's Receive / scan, sort to the route shown | Run the depot day and scan station |
Before a route leaves:
- Read any yellow Heads up box: over capacity, no driver, vehicle busy.
- Mark ready, then Dispatch on the service day.
- Print the Run sheet (PDF) and Loading list (PDF) if your drivers use paper.
- Confirm load once the van is loaded, if your depot signs loads off.
During the day: watch and react
Keep two pages open:
- Live map: delayed vehicles come first in Active fleet. Open a vehicle to see its next stop and ETA, call the driver or Reassign next stops. See Watch the fleet on the live map.
- Exceptions: one queue for Failed, Late, Needs a driver now, Vehicle delayed, Signal lost and Driver issue. Click I'll take it so nobody works the same row twice, then fix the cause. See Work the exceptions queue.
Common calls during the day:
| What happens | What you do |
|---|---|
| A customer phones in a rush job | Create an order, then Assign a driver now or add it to a running route |
| A driver reports a problem | Answer in the driver's messages; see Message drivers and handle their issues |
| A delivery fails | Choose Retry delivery, Return to sender or Put on hold; see Handle a failed delivery |
| A van breaks down | On the live map, Reassign next stops to another route of the same depot, or Back to unassigned orders |
| A customer asks where their parcel is | Open the order and share its tracking link; see Work on an order |
| A customer reports a problem in the portal | Reply in Customer issues; see Answer customer issues |
Afternoon: tomorrow's work
- Check that Recurring orders created tomorrow's orders. A date can be blocked (for example a holiday); the series shows why. See Set up recurring orders.
- Plan tomorrow's routes as drafts, or Ready, so the morning is only dispatching.
- Retry today's failed deliveries for tomorrow with Retry delivery and a new window.
End of the day
- In Route planner, every route of today should be Completed. A route completes by itself when its driver delivers or fails the last stop in the app; click Complete route when you closed the stops yourself on the screen.
- For a route that can't finish, use ⋯ > End route… and choose Back to unassigned orders or Mark them as failed deliveries. A route still open from an earlier day shows a warning with the same button.
- Failed parcels brought back to the depot: scan them in so they are At depot for tomorrow.
- Check that drivers clocked out: the driver schedule shows who is still clocked in.
- Clear the Exceptions queue, or snooze what can wait Until tomorrow 8:00.
Weekly
- Keep the address book clean: fix addresses marked Location needed in Addresses. See Use the address book.
- Check vehicles due for service and drivers with Documents expiring on Drivers.
If something won't do what you expect, see Orders and routes troubleshooting.
Related articles
- How-toStart your daySee what needs you first on the Operations overview, work through your notifications and choose which alerts reach you.
- How-toPlan a routeBuild a route from unassigned orders, put the stops in a good order, pick the vehicle and save it as a draft or dispatch it.
- How-toDispatch and run a routeMove a route from draft to ready, dispatch it, print the run sheet, change the driver, record stops and close or cancel the route.
- How-toWork the exceptions queueOne list of everything that needs a dispatcher now: failed and late orders, orders without a driver, delayed vehicles, lost signal and driver issues. Take, snooze or resolve each one.
- How-toWatch the fleet on the live mapSee where every vehicle is, spot delays and alerts, open one vehicle's next stop and ETA, and act on it from the map.
- How-toHandle a failed deliveryDecide what happens after a failed pickup or delivery: schedule a new attempt and tell the recipient, return the package to the sender, or put the order on hold.
- TroubleshootingOrders and routes troubleshootingAn order won't price, can't go on a route, a button is greyed out or nobody can be assigned? Find the symptom, why it happens and how to fix it.
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