Here's a preview video of what's new in this release: 


New features included in this release

  • There is now an icon that allows Order Entry to reverse the pick-up and delivery addresses in a single click

  • In Order Entry, add items, there is now a toggle that displays either weight of a single item or the total weight of many identical items
  • The position of the Ready At, Pick-up window and Delivery window on the order-entry screen has been moved
  • Ready At, Pick-up times and Delivery times are now time zone aware: The time zone displayed is the one where the action (pick-up or delivery) will occur
  • It is now possible to upload up to 3 different brand images: One for the Tracking page, one for invoicing, and one for reports
  • New Driver management option has been added to better manage driver statuses (going off duty)
  • In Administration, two new driver types have been created: Agent and Sub-contractor. 

Other updates:

  • The Notifications Content Templates Editor contains two new Property fields: Pickup ETA and Delivery ETA
  • Late pickup and delivery notifications will only be sent when the stop has been confirmed as actually late
  • In Administration, a new user role has been created: Dispatcher (no price, no driver commission)
  • Batch update tool now allows to remove notifications from orders, bulk recalculate the fuel surcharge on orders, remove items on selected orders, bulk update the time windows on orders and convert selected routed orders to On Demand. For more information, please review the Batch Tool User Guide.
  • New columns were added to the import file: Item user fields, User fields, Route Name, Reuse Route For Matching Address, Extra Fees. For more information about those columns, please review the Standard Import User Guide. 


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.

OData: Data fields and variables saved in OData

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/  


Back Office and Customer Portal

Manual Order Entry Interface

Pickup and Delivery Addresses

A new button has been added in the Pickup Address and Delivery Address sections of the Order Entry window to make it fast and easy to correct mistakenly inverted address information : When the user clicks on the highlighted icon, the two addresses will switch.


This feature is available up to the moment the user clicks CREATE ORDER. Once the order has been created, the icon is no longer available and the user must manually edit the pickup and delivery addresses in order to fix any error.



The address map preview icon has been moved from the left of the address to the top right of the screen.



Add Items

The Add Item menu has been enhanced when multiple units of the same item are being placed in the order. There is now a weight toggle that displays either the unit weight of one parcel type or the combined weight of all the items:

Unit weight view:

Combined weight view:


Time Zones

Dispatch Science now supports Time Zones on the Order Details in the Back Office. The displayed  Ready at, Pickup Between and Delivery Between times are the times associated with the geographic location of each activity. If different from the time zone where the order was entered, the local time zone will be displayed on screen and an icon will specify the time zone.


How to:

1) The user must first verify the default time zone being used when entering orders. Click on the user Icon at the top right of the screen:

Click on the TIME ZONE box to select your default time zone:

Note: Existing users will have to use this feature if they want to change their current default time zone. The selected time zone will become their new default for future logins. Expect a short delay (up to 60 seconds) before the new time zone information propagates to all orders.


When creating or editing an order, the Service Level selected on the order will use the Pickup Address Time Zone for the Hours of Operations Start and Order Creation Cutoff Time, the Delivery Address Time Zone for the Hours of Operations End and Deliver By.


2) When entering an order, the default time zone selected by the user will display without a timezone identifier. However, if the Ready at, Pickup Between or Deliver Between time occur in another time zone, the times displayed will be in that other time zone.


For instance, in the case below, Delivery between times occur in a different time zone than the user's default time zone, and a blue icon displays the actual time zone for the delivery, in this case CDT (Central Day Time):

3) If you hover over the information icon you will see more details about the times:

4) If you hover over a blue time zone icon, the user's default time zone will be displayed:

5) if you click on Edit Dates, you will be able to edit the delivery dates:


We have also moved the Time section of the Order Entry page from bottom-right to middle-right of the screen.




Administration

Service Levels and Time Zones

Before the new Time Zone feature on the Order Creation and Details, the Service Level was using the Tenant Time Zone. With the addition of the Time Zone feature, the Time Zones of the Pickup and Delivery addresses will determine the Time Zones used for the Hours of Operations, Cutoff Time and Deliver By.


When creating an order, the Service Level selected on the order will use the Pickup Address Time Zone for the Hours of Operations Start and Order Creation Cutoff Time, the Delivery Address Time Zone for the Hours of Operations End and Deliver By. 



Brands

It is now possible to upload up to 3 different brand images per company: One for the tracking page, one for invoicing, and one for reports.



Note: Please contact your Dispatch Science implementation specialist to evaluate changing your custom reports and/or invoices if you wish to use a logo type other than the default.


How to:

1) Go to Settings > Companies > Brandings and click on New Branding:

2) Select the target account from the ACCOUNT Dropdown:

3) Upload the brand image and base color you want to display on the login and tracking pages, and click Save:

After clicking Save, additional options to add or edit the logos to display on Invoices and Reports will appear when you scroll down the page:

Click on any logo to upload a different one, and specify a height for the logo if required.



Drivers

Work Hours

A new Going off Duty capability has been added. When this feature is enabled, the driver will be able to set himself as going off duty while completing the stops that are on his stop list. This status will be visible to the dispatcher on the driver list and when dispatching orders to the driver. The driver will remain visible on the Dispatch Board until he completes his stops. At that point, the driver will be set to off duty.


How to:

1) Go to Drivers > Driver Profiles > Work Hours section:

2) Check (or uncheck) Enable Going Off Duty Status, then click Save.


When the driver selects this option in his Driver App, an orange indicator will appear next his name on the Dispatch Grid and Dispatch Map to alert dispatch that, even though this driver is still at work and can be tracked, no additional orders should be assigned to him.


Driver Types

Two new Driver types have been created: Agents and Contractors. These can be found in the Drivers section. Select a driver and click on Edit in Information Details:


You will see the new DRIVER TYPEs in the dropdown. Select Agent or Contractor, then fill in the REPORTS TO section immediately below:

Please contact your Dispatch Science implementation specialist if you wish to use these new Driver Types.