IMPORTANT: Release 1.28 contains changes to the Dispatch Science navigation bar. All existing features remain available, but their location may have changed. Please ensure all users are informed of these changes in advance. 

New features included in this release

• The application's interface has been modified to simplify navigation and allow greater flexibility for inclusion of future features and capabilities
• The New/Edit contact interface has been steamlined and now supports map-based locations
• Distance calculation for optimization and price calculations now includes a condition to avoid ferries unless unavoidable
• The Extra fee option for warehouse travel distance (deadhead) has been enhanced
• Driver settlement, invoice and payment data entry audit capabilities have been enhanced
• A new "At Risk" filter has been added to the dispatch map and dispatch grid to rapidly identify problematic orders along with an option to apply an "At Risk" threshold to service level definitions
• It is now possible to manually re-optimize a route in a single click
• A new way to apply pricing zones by Zip code is now available in addition to the existing Map/KML based zone definitions
• New API enhancements are now available

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

Features from this release that affect the Driver App require the latest version of the Driver App. Ensure app users are configured for automatic updates from the App Store or Play Store. Please see Release Notes for Driver App.

Navigation

User Interface changes have been implemented to streamline navigation: new sub-menus have been implemented.

Old Interface:

New Interface:

Old Interface:

New Interface:

Back-Office

Contact Management

The address book contact creation or update feature has been streamlined and enhanced. It is now possible to view the location of the contact on a map and pinpoint a custom location for the contact using the +Enter address by Zip/Postal Code feature.

1) in Accounts, click on the account on which you wish to work:

2) Click on Contacts

3) Click either on New Contact to create a new contact or on an existing contact to edit it:

You will see the new contact management interface. The same interface is used for New and existing contact you wish to modify. The only change is the word New is replaced with Edit:

4) Type in all needed contact information. If your contact uses a custom address that cannot be geolocated by the system, apply the same process as for custom pick-up or delivery locations: click on +Enter address from Zip/Postal code, type in the target zip/postal code, and move the map under the marker until the location you are seeking is directly under it. Then enter a unique descriptor for the location and click Save:

Transaction Management

Any action on a transaction, including driver settlements, invoices, or payments, the ID of the person inputting the action now is captured and displayed in the system:

Dispatch Board

Dispatch Map and Dispatch Grid

A new filter has been added to both the Dispatch Map and Dispatch Grid. The filter restricts viewed orders to only those at risk of being late.

On Dispatch Map:

1) Click on the VIEW BY: dropdown and select AT RISK. Orders not yet delivered but will be late if no action is taken will be displayed on the map and the time will appear in orange

On Dispatch Grid:

Route

Instead of waiting for the optimizer to run before obaining a re-optimized route, it is now possible to manually re-optimize a route within a route container.

1) click on the manual optimization icon next to Last optimization on a route:

The route will immediately be re-optimized and the date and time of the most recent optimization will be indicated.

Administration

Pricing

The option to include a surcharge for the travelling distance from a warehouse or other starting location (deadhead) when creating a new price list or editing an existing one has been enhanced to include mathematical formulas to calculate the surcharges.

1) In Pricing >New Price List or when editing an existing price list, check INCLUDE WAREHOUSE TRAVELLING DISTANCE. An enhanced dialog box will appear that now includes a new DISTANCE FORMULA data entry box:

Users can apply any simple calculation formula using + - * / mathematical symbols as well as numerical values. Note that distance values are calculed in kilometers so if you are using miles, you must apply a metric conversion formula (1 mile = 1609 meters). Acceptable variables (case sensitive) are:

WarehouseToPickup

PickupToDelivery

DeliveryToWarehouse

2) Type your pricing calculation.

Examples of acceptable formulas to establish a deadhead surcharge amount:

((WarehouseToPickup/1.5)+(DeliverytoWarehouse))*0.5

WareshouseToDelivery+PickupToDelivery+DeliveryToWarehouse+(1609*5)

Pricing (2)

A new type of zone layout is now available in pricing. In addition to map-based zone layouts, Dispatch Science now supports zip code-based zone layouts. With this new capability, zones can be created on the basis of zip codes. These can be either created manually, or via excel template file import.

Manual Creation of a Zip Code based Pricing Map

1) Go to Pricing > Pricing Zones > Zone Layouts. Click on New Zone Layout:

2) Type a  name for the new Zone Layout, check Zip Based, and click Save

Your new Zone layout now appear in the list:

3) Click on Zones, then on theicon to the right of the ZONE LAYOUT, and select your new zone from the dropdown list:

4) Click on Add Zone:

5) Type in a Zone ID name, then type in the zip codes to include in the zone. Use semi-colons to separate zip codes with no spaces, then click on Save:

A new zone has been created:

6) Repeat steps 4 and 5 until all your zones have been defined.

File import of a Zip Code based Pricing Map

Follow steps 1 to 3 above, then create an Excel file (see template example at the bottom of this article).

Excel file will contain in column A the name of each Zone and in the zone row and columns B, C, D, etc.. the ZIP codes.

4) Click on Import Zones:

5) Select your completed excel zone file template and click Import:

Optimizer

Distance and route calculation for optimizations and pricing now includes a condition that avoids ferries unless unavoidable.

At Risk Order Threshold Definition

A new capability to define a standard "At Risk" threshold has been made available. When a time threshold is defined, all orders not yet delivered at or below this threshold will be displayed as "At Risk" on the Dispatch Board and map.

1) In Pricing > Service Levels, select a Service Level Schedule, then a Service Level, and specify a number of minutes under AT RISK THRESHOLD (MINUTES):

API

Tenant API

Ability to delete an order template using its order template ID when it is not used in a recurrence:

Ability to obtain the driver positions when order is picked up/delivered using the Order ID:

Response:

{
  "pickupPosition": {
    "latitude": 45.53189313288159,
    "longitude": -73.62269489675452,
    "isValid": true
  },
  "deliveryPosition": {
    "latitude": 45.53188848478677,
    "longitude": -73.62267635765541,
    "isValid": true
  }
}