New features included in this release

New barcode template format.

Zone areas are removed, zone layouts are added for price list by zones.

Ability to delete unused price lists.

Ability to add time to the delivery window, if distance between pickup and delivery is more than a specified distance.

Ability to only calculate mileage in the zone and distance price list, if distance is more than a specified distance.

New Price List by Zip Codes.

Setup on driver profile, if a driver can edit the order pickup and delivery notes.

Edit Pickup and Delivery notes on the Dashboard Order with notification to driver.

Account API subscriptions.

Tenant API create accounts, account users, account contacts, get and update driver payout on orders, add barcodes at order item level.

Definition

The release notes refer to different sections of the application:

Back Office: Where Customer Service Representatives (CSR) create and edit orders, create accounts, review drivers, etc.

Dispatch Board: Where Dispatchers assign orders to drivers, get notifications for invalid orders, etc.

Auto-Dispatch: This section refers to the automated order assignment setup and its process.

Administration: This section is in the Back Office but refers to sections only an administrator will use like Settings and Pricing.

Customer Portal: Where account users log in to create orders, view their order history, enter a credit card, etc.

Tracking site: Where customers enter a tracking number like the order ID or a reference number to view the status of their order.

Account API: API provided to your accounts to create, update and get orders. For documentation, please follow this link:https://api.dispatchscience.com/
Tenant API: API provided to you to create orders for your accounts, retrieve invoices and change invoice status. For documentation, please follow this link: https://api.dispatchscience.com/

Driver App version

Version 1.11.424 contains the new features for this release. For more information, see Release notes for Driver App Version 1.11.424.

Back Office

Driver Profile

Drivers can be given access to edit notes on an order at time of pickup and delivery. 

Edit Profile

1) Open Drivers menu, click on Profiles then click on an existing Profile to edit it.

2) In profile, check the Can Edit Stop Notes to give driver access to edit the notes on the order for pickup and delivery, then click on Save.

Custom Barcode Template in Account Details

The custom barcode format template was changed to facilitate setup. Existing formats were transferred to reflect the new format and new orders created after the deployment of this new release, will be using the new barcode format.

Edit or Create a Barcode format

1) Click on Accounts, click on one account to open its details

2) In Account Details, click on Edit Order Options

3) On the Order Options, scroll down to see the Scan fields and custom barcode format.

4) Select in the scan field the field that is used in the barcode to associate the package to the order.
Available are Order Id (Dispatch Science order number), Reference #1, Reference #2, Reference #3.

5) Identity if this is a custom barcode, by indicating where the information in the field is within the barcode by checking the Use Custom Barcode Format. If the barcode is the same as the information in the field, you will not need a custom barcode format.

6) In the Custom Template enter the following information:

• Use F to represent the scan field (note that you will only use 1 F regardless the length of the information stored in the scan field)
• Use S to represent the package number (if you have multiple packages, each package will have a sequential number). Use multiple S to represent the number if needed. For instance, if the sequential number is 01, use SS, if the sequential number is 001, use SSS.
• Use % if you do not know how many characters are before the scan field, after the scan field, before the sequential number, after the sequential number. 
• Use _ if you know the number of characters in the barcode that will not be used as part of the scanning. Example: Barcodes for order ORDER987 has 3 packages:  ABCORDER987Z01, ABCORDER987Z02, ABCORDER987Z01. The custom template can be ___F_SS  or could be %F_SS

7) Click on Save when completed.

Note: the new barcode format will be used on NEW orders. Existing orders already in the system will have the previous barcode that was already defined before, if one was done, or no barcodes.

Checkpoint scanning on Driver App

Please note that the Warehouse mode has not changed. Warehouse mode can be used without using checkpoints. Warehouse mode will give you the order information and will not update the audit trail on the order.

A warehouse worker or a driver can scan packages on orders at different checkpoints. The checkpoint scan will then be added to the order's audit trail and can also be displayed on the Customer tracking page to let the customer know where their order is at different locations in time.

There are two types of checkpoint scans:

• Warehouse or driver can scan packages as they arrive at a checkpoint.
• Drivers can scan packages as they are picked up from a checkpoint or dropped at a checkpoint. In this case, only the orders dispatched to a driver will be available to be scanned.

Note: Only drivers who have the right to use the warehouse module will have this functionality available on their driver app.

For more information on setting up warehouse workers, giving access to warehouse module to drivers and setting up checkpoints, please see Release Version 1.4 - January 21 2019 and refer to sections: New warehouse worker user, New warehouse access for driver and Checkpoint setup.

Please note any changes done on the driver profile will only take effect on the drivers next login. Please advise drivers to log out of the Driver App and log back in to see the changes.

The audit trail on the order will be updated to show the checkpoint scan:

If the checkpoint is set to display on the tracking page, the customer will also see this information when tracking the order:

Dispatch Board

Update pickup and delivery notes with notification to driver

The dispatcher can edit the pickup and delivery notes on any order details and this will send a notification to the driver.

Update notes on order details

1) Open an order, you can see the pickup, delivery and internal notes. If there are no notes, a blank field is available to be able to add notes if needed (see image 2). 

2) To edit a note, click on the note to be in Edit mode then type in the additional text and click on to save the note, to cancel the change

Set a Checkpoint Scan on an Order

A checkpoint can be manually added by the dispatcher on an order. 

1) On Dispatch board, open an order to see its details.

2) Scroll down to the menu

3) From the menu, select Set at checkpoint

4) You can search the checkpoints by typing the name in the list. Select a checkpoint and click on Scan to add the checkpoint to the order or Cancel to cancel the addition of checkpoint scan.

Administration

Pricing Zone Layout

Pricing zones no longer require a zone area, instead, a zone layout is used. The zone layout is used to group sets of zones by cities, states/provinces, delivery areas, etc.

Each price list will be associated to one zone layout. Zones in different zone layouts can be the same, can overlap as opposed to the zones in zone areas. 

You can request through support to have additional zone layouts created for you. 

As part of the deployment, the zone areas were removed from your zone layouts and a zone layout was selected on each price list of zone types.

Import zones to a zone layout

You can import zones to your zone layout using a KML file.

1) Create and export your KML file. Zones must not contain spaces or special characters except _
This can be done in Google MyMaps or any other software.

2) In Dispatch Science, open Pricing menu and select Zones

3) Select a zone layout, click on Choose File, navigate to your file and select it, then click on Open.
The file will be selected and its name displayed. Click on Import KML File.

Export zones in a zone layout

You can export the zones from a zone layout to make modifications.

1) In Dispatch Science, open Pricing menu and select Zones.

2) Select the zone layout and click on Download File

You can then import this KML file in Google MyMaps or any other software, make the changes, export the updated KML file and re-import.

Note: If you remove a zone from the KML file, the zone will be removed when you re-import the file.

Zone layout in Price Lists

Each of your existing zone price list, has been assigned a zone layout. This field is read-only and cannot be modified once a price list is created. 

The additional zone areas will no longer show in the price list when you export the price file. 

Edit a zone price list

1) In Dispatch Science, open Pricing menu. In the list of price lists, click on a zone price list.

2) You will notice the new Zone Layout field which is set as read-only.

3) Download the price file by clicking on the Download Price File button

4) Update the prices on the price file, save and re-import by clicking on the Choose File, navigating to the price file, by selecting and clicking open.

Click on the Upload button to re-import the updated price file.

Delete a Price List

Price lists can now be deleted.

1) In Dispatch Science, open the Pricing menu.

2) Navigate to the price list to be deleted. On the row of the price list a garbage can has been added. 

3) Click on the garbage can for the price list that should be deleted.

4) A confirmation will be displayed. Click OK to delete the price list, cancel to keep it.

Note: Price lists associated to accounts cannot be deleted. You will receive an error message with the accounts associated to the price list. To delete the price list, first select a new price list on the accounts.

Calculate Delivery Window According to Distance

As part of a Service Level, the distance between the pickup and delivery can automatically adjust the To delivery window.

1) Click on Pricing, then Service Levels to show the Service Level Schedule list. Click on a Service Level Schedule to open it.

2) Edit the service level by clicking on it's name.

3) Scroll down to the bottom of the service level details.

For a service level of type Regular, set to Deliver in a specific number of hours, new fields will be available to setup additional delivery time over a specified distance.

4) Enter the number of minutes to add to the Delivery window for every x (km/miles) when distance is over a certain distance.

5) Click on Save.

The adjustment will be used on the new orders.

Calculate Base Price with Mileage Starting at a Specified Distance

In the price list, for zones and distance, both mileage price and flat fee can be defined by service level for each zone set and each distance.

A new column will be added for each service level to enter the included distance in the flat fee and when the mileage price should start to calculate.

1) Open a zone or distance price list from Pricing menu by clicking on the price list name.

2) In Price list details, click on Download

3) In spreadsheet, add the included distance in the column.
The mileage will be calculated if/once the included distance is met. 

Calculation will be:

The base price will be if vehicle surcharge is used:

Maximum of:  Vehicle minimum charge  or (vehicle surcharge + Service Level flat fee + ((Included distance - delivery distance)xPerMiles ))

Price List by ZIP Codes

In the zone price list, there are now two types of zone pricing: zones and Zip Code Boundaries.

Zip Code Boundaries allows you to use Zip codes instead of zones so there is no need to draw the zip zones. 

1) Open Pricing and click on New Price List

2) In the new price list, select the company if you have more than one setup, enter the name, select the service level schedule and when By zone is selected, the new Zip Code Boundaries will be available in the Zone Layout.

Note: Once saved, you will not be able to change the zone layout nor the price list type.

3) Select to have the price list with vehicle surcharge or by vehicle type, select the available vehicles and a default then save.

4) Reopen the price list.

5) Download the Excel file. The first two columns are used to enter your Zip codes (from and to). Do not forget to add the opposite combination otherwise the order will only price from and to the zip combination.

6) Save the spreadsheet and import to the price list.

Note: Zip code boundaries price list can only be used in the United States. This type of pricing will not work in Canada.

Customer Tracking Support Phone Number

A new phone number is now available to be added at the company level. This phone number will be used on the tracking page when an order is put on hold. If no phone number is associated to the company, no phone number will be displayed in the tracking page.

Add a company phone number

1) Navigate to Settings in Dispatch Science and select Companies. Click on a company prefix to open it.

2) Enter a phone number and click on Save

The phone number will show in the tracking page when an order is put on hold:

If no phone number has been entered, the tracking page will only show the order status of hold and the reason without a phone number:

Account API

Subscriptions

Your accounts now have the ability to subscribe to order updates even if a webhook was not used when the order was created. The subscriptions can be for all events or specific events. 

Additionally, your accounts can get the active subscriptions, modify active subscriptions and unsubscribe.

For documentation, please follow this link: https://api.dispatchscience.com/reference#subscriptions.

Tenant API

Accounts, Account Users, Account Contact creation

Accounts, account users, account contacts can be created from the tenant API. 

For documentation, please follow this link: https://api.dispatchscience.com/reference#accounts.

Get Driver Payout and Update Drive Payout

Driver payout for an order can be retrieved and updated from the tenant API. 

For documentation, please follow this link: https://api.dispatchscience.com/reference#accounts.

Add Order Item Barcodes

Barcodes can be entered at the order item level from the tenant API. 

For documentation, please follow this link: https://api.dispatchscience.com/reference#accounts.