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Dispatcher Console

Admin Manager

Use this page to hand out deliveries to drivers and text customers when their order is almost there, from Dispatcher mode in the TrafficDelivery app.

Quick steps​

To assign a delivery:

  1. Open TrafficDelivery, tap ⚙ and choose Dispatcher.
  2. Tap the Assign tab at the bottom. Deliveries without a driver are listed.
  3. On a delivery, tap the person who should take it.
  4. Tap Assign to (name) to confirm. The delivery moves to the end of their route for today.

When a driver is about 5 minutes away:

  1. A Customer ~5 min away card pops up at the top of the Live tab.
  2. Tap 📨 Text. Your phone's text app opens with the customer's number and "Hi! Your order is about 5 minutes away 🚗" filled in. Send it.
Assignments can't be undone in the app

Once a delivery is on someone's route, the app has no way to move it to a different driver. Assign carefully.

Common questions​

A delivery says "No street address". It can't be assigned until it has an address. In the admin, go to Orders → Fulfillment → Fix pins, add the address, then assign it.

A delivery I expected isn't in the Assign list. Only deliveries due today or earlier (or with no date) are listed. Future orders appear on their day. Voided, delivered or cancelled orders, and ones still waiting on the customer's ID check, never appear.

Can I assign a delivery to myself? Yes. Managers and admins are in the list of names too, so the delivery lands on your own route.

Who can use Dispatcher mode? Staff with the Manager, Admin or Driver role (or a custom role built on one of them), once Enable Local Delivery is on.

More detail: opening the console

Opening the Console​

Open TrafficDelivery, either the native app or ?display=delivery in a browser. Tap ⚙ and choose Dispatcher. A desktop browser is a comfortable place to dispatch from. The native app adds alerts when the app is closed (see below). See The Delivery App & Modes.

Dispatcher mode has three tabs along the bottom: Live, Map and Assign.

More detail: the Assign tab

Assign Tab: Hand Out Deliveries​

The Assign tab lists deliveries that don't have a driver yet. Each one shows:

  • The address (or "Order" and a number if there's no address), the customer and the order number.
  • What to collect at the door, for example Collect $42.50 · Cash.
  • Today, ⚠ Overdue or the scheduled date, and the customer's requested window, for example "wants 2:00 PM–3:00 PM".
  • Any earlier failed attempt, for example "Tried 9:40 PM — Not home".
  • A row of buttons, one for each active staff member with the Driver, Manager or Admin role (or a custom role built on Driver or Manager). Deactivated staff don't appear.

To assign, tap the person you want, then tap Assign to (name) to confirm. A message says Assigned to (name). The delivery is added to the end of that person's route for today (a route is started for them if they don't have one yet), and it disappears from the list.

A delivery with no street address can't be assigned. Instead of the driver buttons it shows "No street address — fix it in admin (Orders → Fulfillment → Fix pins) before assigning." See Fixing Delivery Pins.

The list reloads itself about every 25 seconds. Voided orders, orders already delivered or cancelled, and orders still waiting on the customer's ID check never appear. If a delivery changes while it's on your screen (a driver claims it, or it's voided), assigning it fails with a message and the delivery drops off when the list reloads.

Assign to yourself

The buttons include managers and admins, so if you're dispatching and driving, you can assign a delivery to yourself and it lands on your own route.

Only today's deliveries appear

The list shows deliveries due today or earlier, plus orders with no scheduled date. Orders scheduled for a future day stay hidden until that day. See Routes & Optimization.

Yesterday's leftovers come back overnight

Routes are for one day. Each night, stops left undelivered on an earlier day's route come back to the Assign list, marked ↩ From an earlier day, so you can hand them out again. Delivered stops stay recorded. To bring them back right away, go to Orders → More Actions → Delivery Routes and click Return unfinished stops to pool on the old route.

More detail: the Live tab and customer texts

Live Tab: Active Deliveries and Customer Texts​

The Live tab lists each driver who still has stops to do today. Each group has a header like "Dana · 3 active", followed by that driver's remaining stops. Each stop shows the address and customer name, the requested window, the ETA (once the driver has optimized) and a ⚠ when the stop is predicted to miss its window.

How often the feed updates

While Dispatcher mode is on screen, the Live tab and the map reload about every 25 seconds, and straight away when you come back to the app. The "almost there" cards below don't wait for that: they arrive instantly.

Customer "almost there" texts​

When a driver in Driver mode taps Notify ~5 min, a Customer ~5 min away card pops up at the top of the Live tab with two buttons:

ButtonAction
📨 TextOpens your phone's text app with the customer's number and the message "Hi! Your order is about 5 minutes away 🚗" filled in, and clears the card. Send the text from there.
DismissClears the card without texting.

Drivers in Driver mode never text from their own number. The message goes out from the dispatcher's device, usually a shared store phone, which keeps customer texts on a business line.

Alerts when the app is closed

If your Dispatcher screen is open, cards appear right away. If you use the native TrafficDelivery app in Dispatcher or Both mode and allow notifications, your phone also buzzes with "Customer ~5 min away" when the app is closed. Cards aren't saved, though: one that arrives while no dispatcher has the feed open won't be waiting there later.

More detail: the Map tab

Map Tab​

The Map tab puts the stops from all open routes (today's, plus any still open from last night) on one map. Pins are numbered and turn green once a stop is delivered. Stops whose address has no map pin, or only an approximate one, are left off. Routes that are finished or closed drop off the map. The map shows stop locations only, not where your drivers are right now.

More detail: a typical dispatch shift, and best practices

A Typical Dispatch Shift​

  1. Open Dispatcher mode on the store tablet or a desktop browser.
  2. As orders come in, open Assign, tap a driver for each delivery and confirm with Assign to (name). Give nearby addresses to the same driver.
  3. Keep an eye on the Live tab: ETAs and ⚠ late flags.
  4. When a driver is about 5 minutes out, a card pops up. Tap 📨 Text to message the customer.
  5. Glance at the Map at busy times to see how stops are spread out.

Best Practices​

  • Batch by area. Give clustered addresses to the same driver so their optimized route stays tight.
  • Dispatch from a fixed device. A store tablet or desktop is easier than a phone for assigning all day.
  • Use a shared number for texts. Texts go out from the device you're on, so use the store's business phone, not a personal one.
  • Keep the Live tab open. "Almost there" cards only reach a dispatcher screen that's open, or a native app that can buzz.
  • Watch the late flags. A stop showing ⚠ may need a call to the customer about the delay.
More detail: troubleshooting

Troubleshooting​

ProblemSolution
No driver buttons on a deliveryNo active staff member has the Driver, Manager or Admin role (or a custom role built on Driver or Manager). Check your staff list (see Drivers).
A driver is missing from the buttonsTheir account is deactivated, or their role is Clerk or a custom role built on Clerk.
A delivery never appears to assignIt may be scheduled for a future day, already on someone's route, voided, already delivered, or still waiting on the customer's ID check. Future-day orders show up on their day.
Tapping a name didn't assign the deliveryTapping a name only picks the driver. Tap Assign to (name) to confirm. If that shows an error, someone claimed the delivery, or it was voided or delivered, since the list last loaded.
A delivery has no driver buttons and says "No street address"Add the address on Fix delivery pins in the admin panel, then assign it.
"Almost there" cards never appearThe driver may be in Both or Dispatcher mode, which opens the text on their own phone instead. Or your Dispatcher screen wasn't open when they tapped.
No buzz when the app is closedClosed-app alerts only work in the native TrafficDelivery app, in Dispatcher or Both mode, with notifications allowed.
The Live tab looks out of dateIt reloads about every 25 seconds while it's on screen, so give it a moment. It shows today's routes, plus a route from last night that's still open (a run that went past midnight). Unfinished stops from an earlier day come back to the Assign list after 3 AM store time, or right away with Return unfinished stops to pool on Orders → More Actions → Delivery Routes.
Map is emptyStops without a map pin (or with only an approximate one) don't appear, and neither do finished routes. Fix them on Fix delivery pins (see Routes).

What's Next?​