Self Serve > 


PC: Chrome from Google, Microsoft Edge, Firefox from Mozilla
MAC: Chrome from Google, Safari, Firefox from Mozilla
Dispatch Science is compatible with the latest version of those browsers as well as one previous version.
**Dispatch Science is not compatible with Internet Explorer

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS




Menus in Dispatch Science

Once you login to Dispatch Science, you will either land on the Dashboard if you are an Account administrator or on the Order List if you are an Account user. 


Left Hand Side Menu

You can navigate to the different sections of Dispatch Science using the left hand side menu:

 Dashboard is only available for Account administrator

   Order List

  My Account where you can see your Invoices and transactions if available and only for Account administrator

  Contact List

  Reports

  Imports

 Credit Card Information


You can also search for an order using the top Order Search box:


You can also log out, change your password, see your user information by clicking on the My User .


New Order Screen Overview

The order screen is organized to show each section in a simple overview, as shown below, increasing productivity by facilitating the order data entry.

The sections are configured for easy data entry using either the mouse or tab key. 


Not only is the order overview a crisp, clean and simple version, contacts are easily accessible by inputting specific or generalized characters that have been allocated to the customer's account. 

On the order screen, beside the Order Id, you will also see the status of the order :

Order has been received and is waiting to be dispatched to the driver.
Order has been dispatched to and accepted by the driver.
Order has been picked up by the driver.
Order has been delivered by the driver.
Order has been cancelled.
Order is on hold. Hover over the red hand to see the reason. The status of the order will show in orange.



Creating a New Order

Please note that the below screens represent what an Account administrator would see. An Account user would see and be able to perform the same tasks however, pricing information is hidden when creating, viewing or editing an order.


New orders can be created from the Dashboard, if you are an Account administrator, or from the Order List for both types of users. 

Orders can be created from scratch, from a template, by duplicating an existing order, using the same pickup or delivery, as a return order on an existing order, as a continuation order from an existing order. 


Create an Order from the Dashboard

Create an order from Scratch

1) On the Dashboard, click on New Order


Create an order from a Template

1) An arrow will be available beside New Order button if templates are available. Click on the arrow then click on New Order From Template.


Create an Order from the Order List

Create an order from Scratch

1) Click on Orders then click on New Order button:


Create an order from a Template

1) Click on Orders. An arrow will be available beside New Order button if templates are available. Click on the arrow then click on New Order From Template.


Order from Scratch

When the New Order window opens following the clicking on the New Order button, the Summary tab will be displayed. 

If a default contact is associated to you as a user or to your Account, the Pickup section will already be filled in and closed. The Delivery section will be open to enter data. 

If no default contact is associated to you as a user or to your Account, the Pickup section will be blank and open to enter data. 


With a Default Contact

Keeping the default pickup contact

1) To use the default contact, simply leave it as is and move to Delivery section.

Editing the default pickup contact

1) Click on Edit button in the Pickup Address section.

2) The section will open in Edit mode. 

3) You can edit any part of the section by typing directly in the fields. 

If you wish to select a new contact, enter the company name or contact name in the Company field or the Contact field or enter the phone number in the Phone then select an entry from the drop-down:

Select to Clear the information to have the new contact information selected. 


You can also change the address. See how to enter an address below.


Without a Default Contact

The Pickup address section will be in edit mode ready to enter the pickup information.



Filling in the Pickup Address Section

1) Enter an optional Company. 

When entering a company, the list of contacts associated to the company will be displayed. You can select an existing contact and the information will automatically fill the section. 

2) Enter an optional Contact information.

When entering a contact name, the list of contacts filtered by what you have entered will be displayed. You can select an existing contact and the information will automatically fill the section. 

3) Enter an optional email. 

If email notifications are setup for the Pickup, the notifications will be sent to the email. 

4) Enter an optional phone.

If SMS notifications are setup for the Pickup, the notification will be sent to the phone. 

5) Enter then select a required address. 

By typing in the Address field you will see a drop-down list of addresses displayed and split in 3 sections: contacts, history, suggestions. 

Contacts are the list of addresses you have saved in your Contact list according to the filter you entered.

History lists the addresses that have been used before according to the filter you entered.

Suggestions lists the addresses that are geolocated. 

You always need to use one of the selection to ensure the address entered is valid. 

The City, State, Zip will automatically be filled in according to your selection.

If the address does not exist, you can enter the address and geolocated it yourself using the Enter address from Zip/Postal Code (see section below).

6) Enter an optional Suite/Apt.

7) Enter an optional Load Time in minutes if it usually takes more time to do the pickup at that location.

8) Enter an optional Note. 

9) Click on Continue button.


Filling in the Delivery Address Section

Please refer to the Pickup section above. 


Review the Geolocation of the Address

1) Click on the to view the map:

2) Click OK or upper right hand side X to close. 


Switching the Pickup and Delivery Location

If you entered the pickup address and delivery location in the opposite section, you can switch them by clicking on in the Pickup or Delivery section. This will move the Pickup to the Delivery section and vice versa.


Entering an Address Using ZIP/Postal Code

When an address is not available in the drop-down list of addresses, it may be added manually.

1) When entering the address in the Pickup or Delivery section, click on +Enter address from Zip/Postal Code

2) The Custom address window will open:

3) Enter the Zip/Postal Code and a drop-down list will display

When selecting the ZIP/Postal Code, the City, State/Province will be filled in. The pin on the map will automatically be placed in the center of the ZIP/Postal Code.

If no ZIP/Postal Code are displayed, simply move to the Address line

4) Enter the Address Line.

5) If you could not select a ZIP/Postal Code, enter the City and State/Province.

6) If you know the Latitude and Longitude of the address, enter it otherwise, move the pin to the correct location on the map. 

Use the + to zoom in, - to zoom out. 

Click and drag the pin to the location. 

Alternately, you can also copy the latitude and longitude from Google map if the address is found there by following these steps:

a) Open Google map

b) Type in the address. If the address is found, a pin will be displayed on the map. 

c) Right-click on the pin on the map and click on the latitude and longitude displayed and it will be copied.

d) Paste the information in your notepad then select and copy the latitude part only and paste it in Latitude and repeat for the Longitude. 

7) When done, click on Save.

The address will be remembered in history for the next time you use it.


Creating a New Contact When Entering the Pickup and Delivery Information

A new contact can be created automatically while entering the pickup and delivery information. 

1) Once the Contact and address is entered, the Add to contact checkbox will be enabled. Check the checkbox and once the order is created, the new contact will be created as well with all the information that was entered.


Filling in the Items to Pickup and Deliver

1) By clicking Continue in the Delivery section, the Items section will automatically open:

2) Enter the Qty of the type of parcel you are sending.

3) Select from the drop-down field, the parcel type.

4) If available, enter the dimension of 1 of the parcel type.

5) By default, the weight will be selected to be entered for 1 parcel: .

This can be switched by clicking on the and entering the total weight of the quantity of parcel.

6) Enter an optional description. 

7) Once all items are added, click on Continue button.


Add More Items

1) Click on the +Add item to add a new line and fill in the information.


Delete a Row

1) To the right of the row to delete, click on .


Filling in the Vehicle Type and Service Level Section

1) Click and select the Vehicle type.

2) Click and select the Service Level. 

If information about the service level is available, you will see beside the Service Level.

If a is displayed, it means the order will not be delivered today. You can see more information in the Time section and a warning will be displayed below the delivery window.


Account administrator can see if there is a surcharge for the selected vehicle. It shows to the right of the vehicle and will be added to the Delivery Charge in the Pricing Items section.
Account administrator can see if there is a minimum charge for the selected vehicle. It shows under the Service Level and will be part of the Delivery Charge in the Pricing Items section.

If the combination of Pickup and Delivery address, Vehicle type and Service Level does not give you a delivery price, a Price Unavailable warning will be displayed. Changing the Service Level or Vehicle may solve the problem. 

If the problem is not resolved by changing the Service Level or Vehicle Type, depending on the configuration in Dispatch Science, you may not be able to create the order. In this case, please review the message to contact your Delivery company.



Filling in the Time Section

In the Time section, the Ready At will default to Now. Now represents the time when the order will get created. 

Change the Ready At Date and Time

1) Either type in the new date or click on the calendar beside the date:

2) In the calendar, select the desired date:

Only today or future dates can be selected. 

3) Enter the time or click on the Clock to select a time:

4) In the clock drop-down field, select the desired time then click on Set:

The Pickup and Delivery window will automatically calculate according to the pickup and delivery address and the selected service level.

If the order cannot be delivered today, a warning will be displayed below the delivery window.

5) If needed, you can change the Pickup To window. The date-time must be after the Pickup From and before the Delivery To. 

You can also hover over the i beside the Time header and view the pickup and delivery window:


6) In some instance, according to the configuration within Dispatch Science, the Delivery window may be available to be edited:

The Delivery From must be after the Pickup From and the Delivery To must be after the Delivery From. 


Filling in the Pricing Items

Extra fees can be added to the order. They may be already displayed or they can be added if needed. 

System defined extra fees like Nb. of Pieces, Weight, Holidays, After Hours, etc.. will not be editable and cannot be removed as these are calculated automatically.


Clicking on the i beside the Extra item will give you more information:


Add a Quantity in an Extra

In some instances, you can modify the quantity of an extra fee. To do so, simply fill in the qty.


Add Extra Items

If the Pricing item is not added automatically, it can be found in the .

1) Click on the button to see the available Pricing Items.

2) Check the box beside the Extra(s) to add then click Save.

3) Enter the quantity of the Extra.


Delete an Extra Item

Some Extras that you added can be deleted while others, like System defined Extras cannot. 

1) To delete an extra that you added that is not a system defined extra, click on the X beside the extra fee:

2) The Extra will be removed and the total will recalculate.


Filling in the Notes

Notes can be added at the Order Level. These notes are available to the driver. 

1) Click in the Notes text box and enter the note. 


Filling in Additional Info

When available, you can add additional information to the order in the Additional Info tab.
In some cases, depending on the configuration, some fields may be required. If the fields are required, a red * will be visible beside the tab name:

In this case, the order cannot be created until the information is filled in. 

1) Click on Additional Info tab

2) Depending on the configuration you may see multiple fields in the tab. 

3) Fill in the field that is marked with a red *.


Filling in Workflow Information

In some cases, depending on the configuration, you may be able to setup workflow steps to be followed by the Driver. 

The most common steps would be COD, ID Verification, Signature, Picture. This list is not exhaustive. 

1) To enable a workflow step, check the checkbox beside the step. To disable, uncheck the checkbox.

2) To enable the COD, enter a value in the dollar field.


Adding Attributes to the Order

In some cases, depending on configuration, you may have access to Attributes. 

1) Click on Attributes tab. 

2) You can search for an attribute by typing part of its name in the search bar.

3) Check the checkbox beside the attribute(s) you wish to add.


Setting Up Notifications

You can add notifications to be sent to the Account Contact (this is typically the Accounts Payable), yourself as the Order Creator, the Pickup Contact or the Delivery Contact. You can also add additional recipients a notification should be sent to at different time during the order life cycle. 

1) Click on the Notifications Tab. 

If there are notifications already setup, you will see a number beside the tab:

2) Click on the i at the right of each section to see the notifications already setup:

2) Click on the pencil beside the section where a notification should be added. 

3) Check the notifications that should be sent and uncheck the ones you do not wish to be sent then click on Apply

4) Repeat for section.


Adding New Recipients in the Notifications

If you wish, you can also send a notification to someone who is not on the order. 

1) Click on the +Add Recipient link:

2) Fill in the information and check the Events that should send a notification:

3) Click on Apply when done.


Events that can Send Notifications if setup as part of the configuration

Notifications can be sent during the life cycle of the order:

a) Order Created

b) Order Picked Up

c) Driver Arrived at Pickup

d) Driver Arrived at Delivery

e) Order Delivered

f) Order Cancelled

g) Order On Hold : an order can be put on hold if it cannot be picked up or delivered.

h) Order Released : this will happen when a held order is released to be either picked up or delivered.

i) Time based events: 

   - ETA events are based on the estimated time of arrival of the driver

  • x minutes before Pickup ETA
  • x minutes before Delivery ETA

   - Before and After Pickup and Delivery Windows events are based on the time windows in the order.

  • x minutes before Pickup Start
  • x minutest after Pickup Start
  • x minutes before Pickup End
  • x minutes after Pickup End
  • x minutes before Delivery Start
  • x minutest after Delivery Start
  • x minutes before Delivery End
  • x minutes after Delivery End

   - After Pickup and Delivery events are based on when the order has been picked up and delivered.

  • x minutes after Order Picked Up
  • x minutes after Order Delivered

   - Late Pickup and Delivery events are based on the condition that the order's ETA will be later than the End window.

  • Late Pickup
  • Late Delivery


Creating the Order once All Information is Filled In

Once all information has been filled in, you can click on the  button to create the order.

If there are any issues during the creation such as a required field was not filled in, the price is invalid and you are not allowed to create an invalid price order, your credit limit is exceeded and the order was put on hold, you will see the error message at the top of the page. 


Once the order is created, you will be returned to the Order List. 


Order List

The Order List can be configured to view the Order's columns that you would like to see. Columns can be hidden, displayed, reorganized, filtered and sorted.


Showing and Hiding Columns

1) Click on the  to show the Settings menu then click on Columns to see the list then check the information you wish to see and uncheck the information that should be hidden.

2) Click anywhere outside of the list to close it and refresh the list with your choice.


You can easily search for an order using the Quick Search bar located above the Order List:

You can search by Order ID, Reference numbers, street address, city and Company name.

As you type in the information, the Order List will filter. 

If you do not find what you are looking for, you can change the time by selecting instead of Past 2 weeks, Past month, Past 3 months or Any time.


Filter the Columns in the Order List

The columns have a filter function  that can be used to filter the content of the column.

Depending on the column type, you will be able to select is equal, is not equal, contains, is greater than, etc..

1) Click on the filter and select the operand then type the condition. You can use up to 2 operands with an AND (where both conditions must be met to be displayed) or an OR (where one or the other condition must be met to be displayed).

2) Click on Filter. The filter will show with a darker background.

You can add a filter for multiple columns.


Sort a Column in the Order List

Click once on a column to sort in ascending order, click another time to sort in descending order, click a third time to remove the sort order. 


Clearing one or all Filtered Columns in the Order List

To clear one column, click on the filter function  then click on Clear button in the Filter dialog box.

To clear all filters, click on the  located on top of the Order List.


Changing the Number of Items per Page

At the bottom of the Order List, click on the drop down for the items per page and select the desired number:


Paging Through the Order List

At the bottom left of the Order List, click on the page number you wish to go to: 

To go to the first page, click on .

To go to the last page, click on .

To go to the previous page, click on .

To go to the next page, click on.

If there are more than 5 pages, to go the next 5 pages, click on .


See the Number of Order in the Order List

The number of orders returned after a search will show in the bottom right corner. 


To Refresh the Order List

Click on the  located at the bottom right of the last column of the Order List to refresh the list.



Viewing an Order

You can open an order either from the Dashboard, from the Quick Search or from the Order List. 

Dashboard

For Account administrator, the latest list of orders is visible from the Dashboard:

1) Click on an order or click on View more link to see the Order List.


1) Type the Order Id in the Quick Search located at the top right of the window:

2) Click on the  to open the Order.


From the Order List

1) Open the Order list by clicking on the left hand side menu

2) Click on an order in the list either from the Order Id link or anywhere on the order row to open the Order Details.


View an Order

Once the order is open, if the order status allows you to edit it, you will see Edit button throughout the order. 

If the order is past the status to be edited, the order will be locked but the information will still be visible for review:

Once an order is picked up or delivered, the pickup time, delivery time will be indicated in the Pickup and Delivery Section. If the order was signed by the Pickup or Delivery contact, the signature will also show in the sections:

If there were attachments added (pictures or PDFs), they can be viewed under Attachments if given access:



Edit an Order

Orders are not always editable depending on where they are in their delivery life cycle.

If an order is editable, it will show with the Edit button in each section. 

1) You can click on Edit button and edit the desired section. Click on Save once the edition is done or Cancel to cancel the changes in the section. 

2)Editing the Pickup or Delivery section to change the address may have an impact on the price of the order.

3) Editing the Items section to add additional items, change the quantity of items of change their weight may have an impact on the price of the order. 

4) Editing the service level may have an impact on the pickup and delivery windows, on the price of the order.

5) Editing the vehicle may have an impact on the price of the order.

6) Editing the Pricing Items will have an impact on the price of the order.
7) You can edit the note section, the notification tab, the Additional Info tab. 



Cancel an Order

Orders can be cancelled depending on their status. Please review with your Delivery provider when it is available.


Cancelling an Order from the Order List

1) Find the order in the order list and click on the beside the order number.

2) In the menu, click on Cancel: 

If the Cancel menu item is not in the menu, the order can no longer be cancelled. Please call your Delivery provider.

3) You will be asked to confirm the cancellation:

4) Click on Cancel to cancel the order or Back to return to the list without cancelling the order.


Cancelling an Order from the Order Details

1) In the Order Details, open the menu and click on Cancel

If the Cancel menu item is not in the menu, the orde

3) You will be asked to confirm the cancellation:

4) Click on Cancel to cancel the order or Back to return to the list without cancelling the order.



Copy an Order

An order can be copied from the Order list or when viewing the Order Details. 

There are different types of copy order available:

  • Create an order with the same account
    Order will use the same account and caller. If a default pickup contact is assigned to the caller, it will be used otherwise the Pickup section will be blank.
    All other fields will use the defaults of the account.

  • Create a duplicate order
    This will create a copy of the original order including all sections of the orders. he Ready At will default to Now and recalculate the Pickup and Delivery window and the barcodes will be regenerated if configured or left blank if not configured.

  • Create a return order
    Order will use the same account and caller. The delivery will be used as the pickup and the pickup as the delivery.
    Summary section will be copied in the new order and the Ready At will default to Now and recalculate the Pickup and Delivery window.
    All 3 reference fields will be copied but the Required ID, Collect on Delivery and Partial COD will use the default from the Account.
    The attributes and notifications will be copied

  • Create a continuation order
    Order will use the same account and caller. The delivery will be used as the pickup and the delivery will be blank.
    Summary section will be copied in the new order and the Ready At will default to Now and recalculate the Pickup and Delivery window.
    All 3 reference fields will be copied but the Required ID, Collect on Delivery and Partial COD will use the default from the Account.
    The attributes and notifications will be copied.


  • Create an order with the same pickup
    Order will use the same account and caller. The pickup will be the same as the original order and delivery will be blank.
    All other fields will use the default from the account.

  • Create an order with the same delivery
    Order will use the same account and caller. The pickup will default to the default contact if one exists or be left blank and delivery will be the same as the original order.
    All other fields will use the default from the account.


Copy an Order from the Order List

1) On the order list, click on the  beside the order number and select the copy type.

2) The new order will open, you can make changes and then click on Create Order button to create the order.


Copy an Order from the Order Details

1) In the Order Details:

Clicking on the  will create a continuation order.

Clicking on the  will create a return order.

Clicking on the menu  will give you access to all the copy type:

2) The new order will open, you can make changes and then click on Create Order button to create the order.