Quick Start Guide for Dispatchers

Getting started with the Admin Portal's Dispatch functions

Depending on the size and structure of a freight service provider's business, there may be team members using multiple or all areas of the Admin portal. This guide is intended to get those performing the 'Dispatcher' functions underway with the basics of managing consignments and creating or adding to a driver run in Hitrak.

This article covers how to:

Search for a consignment

Allocate consignments to a Driver Run

Create and Edit consignments

💡Check out the Admin Portal Knowledge Base for more detailed information on Dispatch and other Admin functions.

Consignment Search

Existing consignments can be searched by a number of criteria. A consignment may need to be searched to view its status, make changes, or investigate exceptions.

To find a consignment, navigate to Search in the sidebar menu and choose the search criteria using one of the three search options available:

1. Search by the consignment reference

Use this if the Hitrak consignment reference number is known.

Cons Search 1-2

2. Enter the Sender and Receiver details

If the consignment reference isn't available, but the Sender and Receiver details are known, consignments can be filtered by these details.

Cons Search 2-1

3. Use the Advanced search function to filter by other data.

Here, consignments can be searched by status, customers, service types and other fields.

Cons Search 3-1

Adding Consignments to a Driver Run

The Dispatch Board allows dispatchers to plan delivery runs, by providing a view of consignments related to a specified timeframe. Consignments can be filtered by a number of criteria, including Customers, Service Types and Date type.

Consignments matching the selected criteria are organised into tabs on the Dispatch Board page as follows:

Pending: Consignments not yet requested for pickup.
Inbound: Consignments in transit to a dispatch group depot.
Unallocated: Consignments not yet picked up from the sender, and not yet allocated to a run.
Checked in: Consignments checked in at a depot, but not yet allocated to a run.
Allocated: Consignments already allocated to a run.
Outbound: Consignments which have left the dispatch group , but are not yet delivered.
Delivered: Consignments delivered to the receiver.

🔎 The Inbound and Outbound tabs will only appear for Hitrak customers using the Dispatch Groups feature to manage more than one dispatch region.

When a consignment is ready to add to a driver run, it can either be allocated to an existing run, or a new run can be created during the allocation process.

1. Allocating to an existing Run

From the Checked In or Allocated tab:

Select all consignments to be added to the same Run.
Click Allocate to Existing Run.
Select a Run from the list, and click Accept.
If the Run is still in Draft, click Actions>Activate.
The assigned driver will be able to view and start the Run in the Driver App.

2. Allocating to a new Run

Select all consignments to be added to the same Run.
Click Allocate.
Select whether the Run will be delivering to a receiver or a hub, and click Accept.
Type a name for the Run.
Select the driver and vehicle.
Set the start and end locations. This is typically a 'site' already configured in Hitrak for a company hub.
To make the run available to the assigned driver, click Actions>Activate.
The driver will be able to view and start the Run in the Driver App.

✨ Consignments can also be auto-allocated to a run based on the delivery area, using a pre-built run template. See Managing Run Templates for more information.

Creating and Editing Consignments

Consignments can be created and edited directly in the Admin portal. This is useful for team members who may need to create or make changes to a consignment on behalf of a customer. E.g. if a return needs to be created, or changes to the receiver or freight details are required after a consignment has been staged.

Creating a Consignment

In the sidebar menu, click New Consignment.
Select the Customer. This determines the dropdown options for other fields in the first section.
Select the Requesting site, Invoice Account and Service Type for the consignment.
Enter a Requested delivery date.
Enter the Sender and Receiver details. These can be selected from the customer's list of sites or entered manually.
Enter the Freight line items. The quantity, item type, description, weight and volume or dimensions must be entered for each line of freight.

Click Add. The line of freight will be automatically saved.
Repeat to add the remaining freight items for the consignment.
When all details have been entered, save the consignment:
- Save and Create Next navigates to add another consignment for the same customer.
- Save and Close ends the process and returns the user to their previous page.

✨ If the weight or volume of a freight line is not entered, these fields will default to the minimum values set by the system.

Editing a Consignment

To make changes to an existing consignment:

Locate the consignment on the Dispatch Board, or use the Search page to find the one that needs to be edited.
Click the consignment reference to open the details page.
Make changes to the Receiver, Freight or other details as required.

🚧Editing capabilities depend on the status of the consignment. E.g., Freight items cannot be modified after a consignment has been collected.

See Editing Consignments for full details on how to make changes to a consignment in the Admin portal.