What is Fleet Dispatching?
A dispatcher decides who goes where and when, using each driver's location, availability, vehicle capacity, skills and hours left. Without live data, dispatchers phone drivers to ask where they are. With live vehicle location, they see the nearest available vehicle, reassign a job when a delay appears and give customers a realistic arrival time. Dispatch software adds job lists, status updates, messaging and a record of what was assigned and completed. Hours-of-service limits matter too: a dispatcher should not assign a load a driver cannot legally finish.
How it works
- A job arrives with a place, time window and requirements.
- The dispatcher checks which vehicles are free and nearby.
- The job is assigned to a driver.
- The driver updates status and the vehicle is tracked.
- Delays trigger reassignment or a customer update.
- Completed jobs are logged.
Key facts
- The nearest available vehicle is visible on one map
- Fewer phone calls to ask where drivers are
- Reassign jobs quickly when a delay hits
- A record of who was assigned and when
