Dispatch & Route Management

What is Dispatch & Route Management?

The Dispatch module is the command center for all delivery operations. It handles route creation, truck and driver assignment, auto-routing, stop management, GPS tracking, and the Active Routes TV display. Everything flows from PickIt and PackIt into Dispatch automatically.

The Dispatch Dashboard

On the left is a route navigator that groups your routes by status (Ready, Loading, Loaded, Out for Delivery), plus transfer routes and staging folders. Click a route to open it. Each open route has three tabs, with a live map panel beside them:

• Stops — every delivery stop with customer, address, and ETA. Drag to reorder, move a stop to another route, or remove it. Signatures, photos, and delivery notes live here too.
• Invoices — the invoices on the route, grouped by stop.
• Summary — every invoice in one sortable list (by stop, customer, or invoice number) with pieces shipped vs. sold.

A summary line at the top of the route shows stops, invoices, pieces, total sale, and distance. Switch between stores using the location dropdown, and search routes by name.

The Unrouted Invoices Screen

Open Unrouted Invoices from the top bar to work new invoices onto routes. It has three tabs:

• Invoices — every invoice not yet on a route. Use the checkboxes (and shift-click for a range) to select many at once, then Assign to route. One-click buttons also route every invoice that already has a suggested route, or start transfers for another store. Large batches finish in the background.
• Map — every unrouted customer on a map. Turn on Lasso select and draw a boundary around a group of pins to select them all, then assign the whole group to a route. Turn on route zones to shade each route's delivery area.
• Unmapped — invoices whose customer address has no map location yet. Fix the address so it can be found on the map, and the invoice moves into the mapped list.

Staging Folders

Folders are holding spots in the dispatch sidebar where you can park invoices before they go on a route. Click the plus in the Folders section, name the folder, and save. Open a folder to add invoices to it. Move all invoices out of a folder before you can delete it.

Route Optimization

Open a route and use the map panel's Fastest or Shortest buttons to order the stops for the quickest drive time or the least distance. A refresh button rebuilds the order with current traffic. To make new routes optimize on their own, turn on Auto-optimize routes in PickIt Settings, choose the Optimization method (Fastest or Shortest), and turn on Use traffic data for routes to route around construction and accidents.

Creating and Managing Routes

Each route has a name and a scope:

• Local — routes for a single store.
• Group — routes shared across a route group (multi-store).
• Transfer Point — routes that go to a hub for redistribution.

Add invoices to a route by invoice number or create manual invoices. Move stops between routes at any time. Remove stops or add new ones.

Auto-Routing

When an invoice is fully packed, ScanIt Parts can assign it to the right route automatically. The auto-routing engine uses a 6-level priority cascade:

1. Ship Via — if the invoice's ship-via code matches a route, it goes there.
2. Customer — if the customer has a specific route assigned, it goes there.
3. Delivery Zone + Ship Via — if the ship-via matches a route's delivery zone.
4. Delivery Zone by Customer — if the customer's delivery zone matches a route.
5. Delivery Area — if the customer's location falls inside a route's geographic polygon.
6. Zip Code — if the customer's address matches a route's zip code list.

Three Routing Modes

• Transfer Point First — hub routes get priority. Invoices heading to another store go to the transfer point route before checking local routes.
• Suggested Route First — standard mode. The 6-level cascade runs in order.
• Manual Only — invoices only auto-route to routes you have marked as "auto-allow." Everything else stays unrouted for manual assignment.

Route Fences (Geozones)

Route fences are geographic boundaries drawn as polygons on a map. Each route can have its own fence. When a customer's address falls inside a fence, invoices for that customer go to that route automatically.

Use fences for areas where zip codes overlap or split awkwardly. Use zip codes for broad coverage. Or use both together for the best of both worlds.

Route Optimization

After adding stops to a route, optimize the stop order:

• Fastest Route — least drive time based on real traffic.
• Shortest Route — fewest total miles.

You can also drag and drop stops to set a custom order. Distance, time, and ETA for each stop update as you make changes.

Truck & Driver Assignment

Set up trucks in the system with a name and optional GPS tracker. Assign a truck to a route, then assign a driver to the truck.

GPS trackers send live data to the dashboard:

• Position — latitude, longitude, and heading (which way the truck is pointing).
• Speed — how fast the truck is moving.
• Ignition state — truck running or off.
• Geofence events — truck entered or left a defined zone.

Geofence Arrival Detection

When a truck enters a customer's geofence, the system automatically marks that stop as "arrived" with a timestamp. No driver input needed. When the truck leaves, that event is logged too. This gives you an accurate record of time spent at each stop.

Priority Management

Set invoices to High, Normal, or Low priority. Priority flows through every screen:

• Pick lists show high-priority orders first.
• Pack queues sort by priority.
• Dispatch highlights urgent routes.
• The Monitor screen flags high-priority items.

Active Routes TV Display

The Active Routes TV display is a full-screen dashboard for a wall-mounted TV in the dispatch area. It shows all active routes with real-time stats: total picked, total scanned, and total ready. The whole team can see order progress at a glance without needing to check a computer.

Multi-Location Hub Support

Transfer points manage hub operations:

• Ship from a store to a hub using a transfer point route.
• Release the route to the hub.
• Dispatch from the hub to the final customer.

Route groups organize routes across multiple stores. Each store sees its own routes plus any group routes shared across the organization.

Customer Notifications

Customers receive automatic updates by email and SMS at each stage:

• Picked — their order has been pulled from the shelf.
• Packed — parts are boxed and ready to ship.
• Shipped — loaded on the truck and on the way.
• Delivered — confirmed at the destination.

Customers manage their own notification preferences through the customer portal. They can choose email, SMS, or both for each type of alert.

Customer Portal

Wholesale customers can be invited to the customer portal. Once set up, they log in and see:

• All their invoices with real-time status updates.
• A visual status stepper showing progress from Printed through Delivered.
• Part counts at each stage (picked 3 of 5, packed 5 of 5, etc.).
• The ability to print invoices.
• Controls for their own notification preferences.

Quick Reference

• Open Dispatch: Dashboard → Dispatch
• Create a Route: Dispatch → + New Route → Name → Scope
• Add Invoice to Route: Dispatch → Route → Add Invoice → Enter Invoice #
• Assign Truck/Driver: Dispatch → Route → Truck dropdown → Driver dropdown
• Optimize Route: Dispatch → Route → map panel → Fastest or Shortest
• Lasso select: Dispatch → Unrouted Invoices → Map → Lasso select → draw around pins
• Bulk assign: Dispatch → Unrouted Invoices → check invoices → Assign to route
• Start Delivery: Dispatch → Route → Start Route
• View Map: Dispatch → Route → map panel (beside the tabs)