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Dispatching

Dispatching means assigning a truck and driver (or an external carrier) to a leg and putting that load into motion. Once a leg is dispatched, it moves from New to In Transit, the first stop becomes active, and tracking begins.

Overview

There are two ways to dispatch:

  1. The Dispatch wizard -- used to dispatch an existing leg that is already in New status.
  2. The New Leg wizard -- used when you are creating a brand-new leg from scratch. It links shipments, creates stops, and can dispatch all in one step via the Create & Dispatch button.

Both follow the same core idea: you pick who is hauling the load (your own truck or a brokered carrier), enter the service pay, and confirm.

Getting There

To dispatch an existing leg:

  1. Go to Loads > Legs.
  2. Open a leg in New status.
  3. Click the Dispatch action (available from the leg's action menu).

To create and dispatch a new leg in one step:

  1. Go to Loads > Legs.
  2. Click the New Leg button at the top of the list.
  3. Link shipments, configure stops, fill in the assignment section, and click Create & Dispatch. See Creating a Leg for the full wizard walkthrough.

How It Works

The Dispatch Wizard

The Dispatch wizard opens as a popup when you dispatch an existing leg. It has three sections.

Dispatch Information

At the top, you fill in the basics:

Field What It Is
Brokered? Choose No if you are using your own truck, or Yes if you are giving the load to an outside carrier. This controls which section appears below.
Service Pay The amount you are paying the carrier or driver for this haul. Required.
Currency USD or CAD. Defaults to USD.
Covered By The dispatcher responsible for this leg. Defaults to you.
Current Location Optional. If you know where the truck is right now, pick the location here. This creates the first check call automatically so tracking starts immediately.

Own Truck (Non-Brokered)

When you choose Brokered? No, the Truck Assignment section appears.

  1. Select a Truck # from the dropdown. Only active trucks are shown.
  2. The system auto-fills the truck's details:
  3. Truck Type -- the equipment type (dry van, flatbed, reefer, etc.)
  4. Driver 1 -- the primary driver assigned to that truck.
  5. Driver 2 -- the secondary driver, if this is a team truck.
  6. Carrier -- the carrier that owns the truck.
  7. If the truck has automatic pay rate settings (percentage of customer rate or per-mile rate), the Service Pay is calculated for you. You can still override it.

If the truck you selected is already assigned to another active leg, a yellow warning bar appears showing the conflicting legs. This does not block the dispatch -- it is just a heads-up so you can check whether that truck is truly available.

You can change the driver if needed. The driver fields are auto-filled from the truck's assigned drivers, but you can select any active driver.

Brokered (External Carrier)

When you choose Brokered? Yes, the Carrier Assignment section appears instead of the truck section.

  1. Select a Carrier Name from the dropdown. Only active carriers are shown.
  2. Enter the Service Pay amount you agreed on with the carrier.

That is all you need for a brokered dispatch. No truck or driver selection is required since the external carrier handles their own equipment.

Confirming the Dispatch

After filling in all required fields, click the Dispatch button at the bottom of the popup. The system:

  1. Validates all fields (truck must be active, driver must be active, carrier must be active, service pay must be entered).
  2. Assigns the truck/driver or carrier to the leg.
  3. Records who dispatched the leg and when.
  4. Changes the leg status from New to In Transit.
  5. Sets the first stop to In Transit.
  6. Updates the truck's availability to "En Route" (for own trucks).
  7. Marks linked shipments as "In Progress."
  8. If you entered a Current Location, creates the first check call with that location.

Setting the Initial Check Call

The Current Location field in the dispatch wizard is optional but useful. When you know where the truck is when you dispatch (for example, at the shipper's yard or at the driver's home base), entering the location:

  • Creates an automatic check call timestamped at the moment of dispatch.
  • Starts the ETA calculation so you immediately know the estimated arrival.
  • Sets up the next check call reminder based on the leg's update interval.

If you leave it blank, the first check call will need to be entered manually after dispatch.

Undispatching

Sometimes you need to undo a dispatch -- maybe the wrong truck was assigned, the load was canceled, or the carrier backed out. This is called undispatching.

To undispatch a leg:

  1. Open the leg.
  2. Click the Undispatch action from the leg's action menu.
  3. A confirmation popup appears showing the current assignment.
  4. Optionally enter a reason.
  5. Click Undispatch.

Undispatching does the following:

  • Clears the truck, driver, and carrier assignments.
  • Resets the leg status back to New.
  • Resets all stops to Not Started.
  • Clears the dispatch timestamp and dispatched-by fields.

When you cannot undispatch normally: The regular undispatch is blocked in two situations: if any stops have already been checked in or checked out, or if the leg has been settled (carrier has been paid). For checked-in stops, the system shows a red warning and offers Force Undispatch instead. For settled legs, you must void or delete the settlement first before either regular or force undispatch will work.

Force Undispatch (Admin Action)

When normal undispatch is blocked because stops have check-in activity, the wizard offers a Force Undispatch button instead. This is a stronger action that:

  • Clears all check-in and check-out data (times, actual pieces, actual weight) on every stop and resets them to Not Started.
  • Clears all dispatch assignments.
  • Resets the leg status to New.
  • Logs the action in the leg's history with the number of affected stops.

A confirmation dialog asks "Are you sure?" before proceeding, because this permanently clears check-in data.

When you would use force undispatch:

  • The load was dispatched to the wrong carrier and stops were accidentally checked in.
  • A carrier started the route but the load needs to be reassigned from scratch.
  • Data entry errors created invalid check-in records that need to be cleared.

Important: If the leg has already been settled (carrier has been paid), neither regular undispatch nor force undispatch will work. You must void or delete the settlement first.

Dispatching from the New Leg Wizard

The New Leg wizard is the fastest way to create and dispatch a new load from scratch. Instead of creating shipments, then a leg, then adding stops, then dispatching separately -- the New Leg wizard handles it all in one form.

The wizard is covered in detail in Creating a Leg. The key point for dispatch is the two exit buttons at the bottom:

Button What It Does
Create & Dispatch Creates the shipment links, leg, and stops, then immediately dispatches to the assigned truck or carrier. The leg goes straight to In Transit.
Create Draft Creates everything but does NOT dispatch. The leg stays in New status so you can dispatch it later using the Dispatch wizard.

The assignment section of the New Leg wizard uses the same fields as the Dispatch wizard: Brokered?, Service Pay, Total Miles, Currency, Covered By, and truck or carrier selection. The same auto-fill and conflict warnings apply.

Tips & Common Questions

The service pay auto-calculated to a weird amount. Can I change it? Yes. When you select a truck, the system may auto-calculate the service pay based on the truck's pay rate settings (percentage of customer rate or per-mile rate). This is just a starting point -- you can type over it with any amount you want.

I dispatched to the wrong truck. What should I do? Undispatch the leg and then dispatch it again with the correct truck. If stops have already been checked in, you will need to use Force Undispatch (or ask an admin).

Can I dispatch a leg that has no stops? Technically yes, but the leg needs at least one pickup and one delivery stop before it can progress through the workflow properly. The New Leg wizard enforces this requirement.

What happens to the truck after I dispatch? For own trucks (non-brokered), the truck's availability status changes to "En Route" so other dispatchers can see it is not available for new loads. When the leg is completed, the truck goes back to "Available."

I see a truck conflict warning. Should I stop? Not necessarily. The warning means the truck is assigned to another active leg. Sometimes this is expected -- for example, if a truck is finishing one load and you are pre-assigning it to the next one. Use your judgment. If you are not sure, check the conflicting leg before proceeding.