The Dispatch Science Batch Tool can be used to mass update certain fields on orders, print and send invoices, get price lists, close routes, etc... It is a Microsoft Windows application so it only can be used on a Windows PC. You will first need to install the tool. Please follow the direction in this article: Install Dispatch Science Batch Tool.

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Open Dispatch Science Batch Tool

1) Open Stat menu in Windows and locate Dispatch Science folder and click on Batch Tool:

2) The tool will start and you will be asked to login to Dispatch Science:

3) Enter your Dispatch URL in Server Url

4) Enter your login information in Admin user and Admin password.

If you want to save the URL and user login, check Remember me checkbox.

5) Click on Login and the Dispatch Science tool will open on the Order List.

The order list will display the information you would normally see on the Dispatch Board when selecting Today and Open. As well, depending on your screen resolution, the information may be displayed differently from what you see above.

Navigation

Sections

The application main pane always shows the data and the tools are at the bottom. 

The left hand side menu allows you to navigate to the different batch update tool available.

1. The Data pane is the center portion of the screen where search results are displayed, usually as tables.

2. The Toolkit sits on the left side of the application. The blue-colored icon is the active tool:

The first icon lets you display or hide descriptions of each of the available tools

The second icon launches the Orders Batch Processing tool

The third icon launches the Invoices Batch Processing tool

The fourth icon launches the Recurring Orders Batch Management tool

The fifth icon launches the Settlement Batch Management tool

The sixth icon launches the Pricing Publishing tool

The last icon launches the Route tool

3. The filter tool sits at the top of the screen. It changes according to the Orders view options or the Toolkit selected on the left hand side menu you are using.

Orders

• Dispatch Mode:
  
• Advanced Mode:
  
• Order List Mode:
  
• Order File Mode:
  

Invoices Batch Processing:

Recurring orders Batch Management:

Settlements Batch Management:

Pricing Management:

Routes

4. The "Actions" tool is situated at the bottom of the screen depends on the toolkit selected:

Order Batch Processing:

Invoices Batch Processing:

Recurring orders Batch Management:

Settlements Batch Management:

Pricing Management:

Routes

Mass Status Update on Orders

This tool allows administrators to apply mass updates, otherwise known as batch processes, to Orders.

Search and Filter Orders

You can search and filter orders, and you can choose which columns are displayed in the Order List to fit your workflow.

Columns

You can show or hide columns based on what you need to see.

To choose which columns appear, click the icon to open the list of available fields and select the ones you want to display:Check the checkbox to display a column and uncheck to hide it.

Search and Filter Orders

Before you start, set your search criteria and click on Search.

Always click on the Search button when you make a change to the search in any of the mode to display the updated content.

Common options to all 4 Orders Mode:

• Included Payout and Order Pricing: Check this checkbox if you want to display the driver payout and order pricing from the orders.
• Click on Grouping to open the Grouping pane. Drag and drop columns from the order list to group orders together
  
  • When dragging and dropping fields in the Grouping pane, the list will start grouping:
    
  • Click on the arrow up beside a group to open it.
  • Click on the Grouping name to change the sort order. The arrow will change from up to down above the field button. Drag and drop the column group button in the pane to change the grouping.
    
  • To remove a grouping, hover on the group button in the pane and click on X:
    
• Search by Company:
  
• Filter using columns in the list:
  • The filter icon on each column can be used to filter the result from the search.:
    
    • the first section allows you to select items from the list.
    • the second section uses operators and text fields to filter the list. 
      • You can use the Boolean operation (AND or OR) to use 2 different filters together.
        AND: Both criteria must be true to return an order
        OR: At least one criteria must be true to return an order
  • Click on Filter once the criteria is entered. 
  • Click on the x in the upper right corner of the filter to close it.
  • The filter turns blue. 
  • To remove the filter, click on the blue filter icon and click on Clear Filter.

Filtering by Mode

There are 4 modes to select and view orders:

• Dispatch Mode
  This is similar to how you would filter the orders on the Dispatch Board using the filter, the order status, a date, showing multi-segments and routed orders. The status and date selection works the same as the Dispatch Board.
  • The main Filter text box uses the same Search fields as the Dispatch Board filter:
    
  • Filter by status lists the order statuses and defaults as Open:
    
  • Filter by date:
    For more information on how the date works, please review this article.
  • Routed checkbox: By default, routed orders are not displayed in the list. Check the Routed checkbox to also view routed orders.
  • Multi-segment: By default, multi-segments are not displayed. Check the Multi-segment checkbox to also view the multi-segments.
• Advanced Mode
  In Advanced mode, you have additional search criteria: Accounts, service level, tracking Ids, statuses as well as date types (Due date, Pickup start date, Ready date, Created date or Delivered date) in a date range.
  
  • Search Date: There are different order dates that can be used. Select the one that will help you retrieve the information you are looking for.
    • Date:
      • Due Date: Delivery end date
      • Pickup Start Date
      • Ready Date
      • Created Date
      • Delivered Date
    • Enter your date window in the From and To where from start at 12:00AM and To ends at 11:59PM:
      
  • Search by Status:You can select several statuses by clicking on each status you wish to see.
    Click again on a selected status to remove it from the Search
  • Account filter: start typing the account name or number and the list will display the accounts matching the filter:
    
    Clicking on an account adds it to the list. To add another account, simply start typing the name or number to filter the list and click on the second account.
    To delete an account, click on the x on the account number.
    
  • Service Level filter: Type the entire Service Level Id for an exact match or part of the Id for partial match.
  • Show Items: Orders will show one row per parcel.
  • Show P/D tracking: This is used in conjunction with the Show Items option. Two columns will be added to the order list: Pickup Scan and Delivery Scan. A 0 shows when item was not scanned and a 1 when item was scanned.
  • Tracking Ids: This is used in conjunction with the Show Items option. Start typing the Checkpoint Id  you wish to add as a column in the Order list and select it from the list. You can add multiple checkpoints.  A 0 shows when item was not scanned and a 1 when item was scanned.

To get the most updated list of orders, make sure to click on Search button every time you make a change on the search options.

• Order List Mode
  • Enter the orders ids, separated by a comma. You can use the default report called Comma Separated Order List to extract the list of Orders from Dispatch Science. If you do not have access to this report in Dispatch Science under Generate Report on the Order List, it can be requested from support.
  • Once Ids, are entered, click on Load.

A maximum of 500 orders can be loaded in this mode.

• Order File Mode
  • Create a CSV file with one column containing the list of order ids. 
  • In this move, not all information will be loaded.
  • Some features may not be available.

Available Mass Update Actions

In Order file mode, some of the actions will not be available. 

In Dispatch, Advanced and Order list modes, all the following mass update actions are available.

Export List

The list of orders displayed can be exported to an Excel file by clicking on the Export button:

Mass Update Pre-requisite

Before orders can be mass updated, search for the orders then select the orders you need to update by clicking on the checkbox to the left of the order. 

To select all orders from the search, click on the checkbox in the column header. 

View Result of Mass Update

To view the result of the mass update, click on Search button once the update is completed.

Reactivate Cancelled or Delivered Orders

Cancelled or Delivered Orders can be reactivated and set to Received. This will remove the driver assigned to the order but the driver will remain as a extra driver on the order if the order was assigned to the driver before being cancelled.

1) Select orders to reactivate

2) Click on Reactivate button.

3) Click on Yes button to reactivate, click on No button to cancel the request.

Orders that are not cancelled or delivered cannot be reactivated. If such an order is selected, it will be ignored.

Set Orders as Picked Up

Orders can be set as picked up. The pickup date and time is Now.

1) Select orders to pickup.

2) Click on Pickup button. 

3) In confirmation dialog box, click on Yes button to pick up the selected orders or click on No to cancel the request. 

Orders that are cancelled or delivered cannot be marked as picked up. If such an order is selected, it will be ignored.

Set Orders as Delivered

Orders can be set as delivered. You will be able to set the date and time at which the selected orders can be set as delivered. 

1) Select orders to deliver.

2) Click on Deliver button.

3) Enter the Delivery date and time. The time will use the delivery address time zone. 

4) Click OK to set the delivery date and time or Cancel to Cancel the request.

5) In confirmation dialog box, click on Yes to set the orders as delivered with the delivery date and time previously selected or click No to cancel the request.

Orders that are cancelled or delivered cannot be marked as delivered. If such an order is selected, it will be ignored.

Cancel Orders

Orders can be cancelled.

1) Select orders to cancel.

2) Click on Cancel button.

3) In confirmation dialog box, click on Yes to cancel the selected orders or No to cancel the request.

Orders that are cancelled or delivered cannot be cancelled. If such an order is selected, it will be ignored.

Set Orders as Ready to Invoice

Orders that are set as Verify before Invoicing can be set Ready to Invoice.

1) Select orders to set as Ready to Invoice.

2) Click on More Actions button to open the menu then click on Ready Invoice.

3)  In confirmation dialog box, click on Yes to set the selected orders as ready to invoice or No to cancel the request.

Only Orders that are set as Verify before Invoicing can be set to Ready to Invoice. Selected Orders that are not Verify before Invoicing will be ignored.

Set Orders as Ready to Settle

Update the Fuel Surcharge on Orders

Update the Pickup and Delivery Windows on Orders

Convert Routed Orders to On Demand

Update the Delivery Date on Orders

Update the Price on Orders

Set Orders on Hold

Release Held Orders

Move Orders to a Route

1) Open tool (see above)

By default, the Orders Batch Processing tool is selected when you launch the application. If no orders appear, click Search to refresh the page and all Open orders should appear in the list according to the filters.

2) Apply filters to fine-tune your search prior to launching batch actions:

 To filter by name or number, type your key-in string in the Filter box (the filter does not support special characters like *), then select the Order Status dropdown for which you are seeking to apply your action and select the one on which you want to apply your batch process:

Select the Date. Usually users select the most current date to capture all past orders, but a past or future date can also be selected:

Optionally, check Include Routed to include Routed Orders to the list

To further refine your search, you can click on Grouping to filter by groups of orders:

Click on Grouping. A grey line will appear on-screen inviting you to "Drag a column header and drop it here to group by that column":

Drag a column header onto the grey line (in this case, the Reference 1 column):

The group will be displayed on the grey line and the table will show grouped orders:

Click on the Item (in this case "Blood sample" to see all associated orders. Otherwise... see 3.

3) click Search. A filtered list of orders will appear:

4) In the list of orders, click on the checkbox to the left of the orders you wish to mark and apply an action. To check all the orders in the list at once, click on the first checkbox on the top left of the table. To uncheck a selected order, click on the check-marked box .

5) Click on one of the actions buttons at the bottom of the screen to apply the same action to all selected orders:

Reactivate: This is for previously cancelled orders. Checked orders will be reactivated and appear as "Open" in the system"

Pickup: Checked orders will appear as "Picked Up" by a driver in the system

Deliver: Checked orders will appear as "Delivered" in the system

Cancel: Checked orders will appear as "Cancelled" in the system

Ready Invoice: (you will have to click More actions to see this option) Checked orders will appear as "Ready for invoice" in the system

Ready Settle: (you will have to click More actions to see this option) Checked orders will appear as "Ready for Settlement" in the system
Update Fuel Surcharge: (you will have to click More actions to see this option) A window will appear asking you to input the date to calculate the fuel surcharge.

Update Windows: (you will have to click More actions to see this option) A window will appear asking to edit the pickup and/or delivery windows. Note: no check is made to ensure the windows are valid.

Remove Items:  (you will have to click More actions to see this option) A window will appear asking you to input the number of items you want to remove from the order

Convert to On Demand:  (you will have to click More actions to see this option) Routed orders can be converted to On Demand orders.

In cases where you do not enter a date or edit a window or enter the number of items, a warning window will appear. Click Yes or No to confirm or cancel the request.

Mass Status Update on Invoices

This tool allows administrators to apply mass updates, otherwise known as batch processes, to Invoices.

1) Open tool (see above)

Select the Invoices toolto launch the Invoice Batch Processing tool (once selected the icon will be colored in blue):

2) Apply filters to fine-tune your search prior to launching batch actions: Select the date range for which you seek to apply change by clicking on the from: and to: icons . Calendars will appear for you to select your range of dates:

You can exclude Debit Notes by checking this

Type in the maximum number of invoices you want to display:

Alternatively, if you already know what specific invoices to extract, you can also click on Choose Invoices to extract them by name:

Click OK to confirm your list or Cancel to exit your search.

3) Click Load. The desired invoices will be extracted from the database and displayed on screen:

You can filter the list of transactions returned by using the filter on each column. For instance, if you want to only display the invoice to print, in Print Delivery select True then click on Filter.

4) In the list of invoices, click on the checkbox to the left of the invoices you wish to mark and apply an action. To check all the invoices in the list at once, click on the first checkbox on the top left of the table. To uncheck a selected invoice, click on the check-marked box .

5) Select the desired location where you want to save your invoices by clicking on Change at the bottom of the screen. A system dialog box will appear inviting you the select the folder where you want the application to save your files when you select to Download the file. They will be saved in PDF format, with the client name and invoice number as file name:

6) Click on one of the actions buttons or the Update to sent checkbox at the bottom of the screen to apply the same action to all selected invoices:

Check Update to sent to change the Status of the selected invoices from Draft to Sent (column 1)

Click Print  to create ready-to-print PDF versions of the invoices. Your computer will launch your PDF application and display the files you want to print, from there you can print the invoices.

Click Download to save PDF copies of the selected invoices to the folder you defined in step 5.

Click Email to email the selected invoices to the main contact on the account and the CCs under Billing Options.

In More Actions:
Click Change to Draft Status to change the selected invoices' status to Draft

Click Change to Sent Status to change the selected invoices' status to Sent

Click Cancel Invoices to cancel the selected invoices

Mass Status Update on Recurring Orders

This tool allows administrators to apply mass updates, otherwise known as batch processes, to Recurring Orders.

1) Open tool (see above)

Select the Invoices tool (third from top) to launch the Recurring Orders Batch Processing tool (once selected the icon will be colored in blue):

2) Apply Grouping to fine-tune your search prior to launching batch actions. Click on Grouping. A grey line will appear on-screen inviting you to "Drag a column header and drop it here to group by that column::

Select a column header and drag it onto the grey line (in this case, the Is Running column):

Click on a group (True or False in this case) to display details:

3) In the list of recurring orders, click on the checkbox to the left of the recurring orders you wish to mark and apply an action. To check all the invoices in the list at once, click on the first checkbox on the top left of the table. To uncheck a selected invoice, click on the check-marked box .

4) Click on one of the actions buttons at the bottom of the screen to apply the same action to all selected recurring orders:

Click Delete to delete the selected recurring orders. This will delete the check-marked recurring orders and the associated recurring order templates.

Click Start to restart the check-marked recurring orders.

Click Stop to stop the check-marked recurring orders.

In all cases, a warning window will appear. Click Yes or No to confirm or cancel the request.

Mass Status Update on Settlements

This tool allows administrators to apply mass updates, otherwise known as batch processes, to driver Settlements.

1) Open tool (see above)

Select the Settlements tool  to launch the Settlements Batch Processing tool (once selected the icon will be colored in blue):

2) Apply filters to fine-tune your search prior to launching batch actions: Select the date range for which you seek to apply change by clicking on the from: and to: icons . Calendars will appear for you to select your range of dates. The From and To dates are looking at the Document Date on the Settlements and the From and To dates are set with time midnight which is the start of the day.
If you are looking to extract all settlements that have a document date for July 23rd, you would enter in the From July 23rd and in the To, July 24. 

Type in the maximum number of settlements you want to display:

Click Load to extract and display all settlements that were created within the selected time range:

3) In the list of settlements, click on the checkbox to the left of the settlements you wish to mark and apply an action. To check all the settlements in the list at once, click on the first checkbox on the top left of the table. To uncheck a selected settlement, click on the check-marked box .

4) If you want to save the Settlements, select the desired location where you want to save your settlements by clicking on Change at the bottom of the screen. A system dialog box will appear inviting you the select the folder where you want the application to save your files. They will be saved in PDF format, with the driver ID number and the settlement number  as file name:

5) Click on one of the actions buttons or the Update to sent checkbox at the bottom of the screen to apply the same action to all selected settlements:

Check Update to sent to change the Status of the check-marked settlements from Draft to Sent (column 1)

Click Print Settlements to create ready-to-print PDF versions of the settlements. Your computer will launch your default PDF application and display the files you want to print

Click Get Settlements to save PDF copies of the check-marked invoices to the folder you defined in 4.

Click Change to Unpaid status (you may have to click More actions to see this option) to apply the self-described action on the check-marked settlements

Click Change to Sent Status (you may have to click More actions to see this option) to apply the self-described action on the check-marked invoices

Click Change to Paid Status (you may have to click More actions to see this option) to apply the self-described action on the check-marked invoices

In all cases, A warning window will appear. Click Yes or No to confirm or cancel the request.

Pricing Publishing Tool

This tool allows administrators and sales representative to quickly obtain location-based price lists for client in Excel format.

1) Open tool (see above)

Select the Pricing tool iconto launch the Pricing Publishing tool (once selected the icon will be colored in blue):

1) Input the client's account number in the Account # input box

2) All available service levels and vehicle type are pre-checked. Check or uncheck the Service Levels or vehicle types for which you want to publish a price list.

3) Enter the starting address (usually the client's pick-up address or one of its warehouses) and click Validate to verify the address.

4) Either manually enter the zip codes for which you want to publish pricing in the corresponding input box, or input a desired Radius number (calculated in miles in US and KM in Canada). If you input a number, click Use Radius and the associated zip codes within that radius will automatically be added to the input box.

5) Click Load Prices (on the right side) to extract and display the prices corresponding to the instruction you have set-up:

6) Click Export to export the prices to Excel.

Note: the Print function is not yet available.

Route Tool

This tool allows administrators to set the Route Container status to Closed. If a Route Container contains routes with orders, the orders will be converted to On Demand.