Transportation Dispatching: How to Manage Drivers Like a Pro

Transportation dispatching can be tricky, with lots of details to manage. Even with just a few drivers and 20 deliveries a day, planning routes can still take hours.

When you’re dealing with hundreds of vehicles, drivers, and nonstop deliveries, handling it all manually just doesn’t work.

That’s why transportation dispatchers are so important. With their know-how and the right software, one person can seriously reduce planning time and boost your company’s profits.

In this post:

• What’s the Role of a Transportation Dispatcher?
• How to Succeed as a Transportation Dispatcher
• How eLogii Makes Life Easier for Unimasters and Their Drivers
• Streamline Transportation Dispatching with eLogii

What’s the Role of a Transportation Dispatcher?

Transportation dispatchers organize daily deliveries. They keep in touch with drivers to ensure everything gets delivered on time and according to the rules. They also handle tasks like assigning jobs to drivers and vehicles, planning the best routes, setting driver schedules, and monitoring driver performance.

Let’s dive deeper into the key responsibilities of a transportation dispatcher...

#1. Spread Out Loads Across the Fleet

As a transportation dispatcher, your job is to plan and evenly spread out loads and orders among XYZ’s fleet of trucks and drivers.

eLogii makes this easier by automatically planning based on driver schedules and vehicle capacity, helping you get the most out of each vehicle.

#2. Plan Routes That Save Time and Fuel

To help drivers handle as many loads as possible each day, dispatchers plan efficient routes ahead of time for the entire fleet.

Doing this manually by yourself is nearly impossible. But with eLogii, you can upload orders in bulk and let the route optimization software do the rest.

eLogii automatically figures out the best routes, considering delivery time windows, loading times, and other real-world factors.

#3. Balance Workloads and Schedule Breaks to Keep Drivers Compliant (and Happy)

It’s up to the transportation dispatcher to manage workloads and plan breaks so drivers stay compliant and you avoid issues with the FMCSA.

With eLogii, you can choose the length of breaks and set the time frame when they should happen. You can also schedule a fixed break time or set up many breaks throughout the day.

Using eLogii’s load balancing mode, driver tasks are assigned based on your chosen criteria, like the number of jobs, load, time, or distance.

#4. Track Drivers to Boost Efficiency

A transportation dispatcher also needs to keep track of where drivers and vehicles are and how they’re performing.

eLogii’s Driver App uses geofencing to give you and your team a real-time view of your fleet’s location at all times.

This data is used to track driver performance, making it easy to see who your top performers are and which drivers could be doing more.

#5. Managing Cancellations and Last-Minute Changes

In the food transportation industry, dispatchers need to be prepared for cancellations and last-minute changes to orders.

eLogii simplifies this with real-time location tracking and rerouting, making your job much easier.

How to Succeed as a Transportation Dispatcher

The key to achieving success in the industry is no longer about rushing but ensuring driver satisfaction. When drivers are happy, they stay productive, and the products keep moving efficiently.

Clear communication from the sales team to customers about industry regulations is crucial. Knowing your transportation terms helps set clear expectations. You won’t have to deal with impatient or unhappy customers, allowing your drivers to focus on their work.

This isn’t just important for suppliers, retailers, or LTL trucking companies—it’s key for building good relationships with drivers across all industries. But when you’re juggling multiple tasks and dispatching hundreds of loads daily, it can be easy to overlook.

By using a transportation management system (TMS) like eLogii to manage dispatching and routing, you’ll free up time and energy to treat your drivers like the valuable people they are.

How eLogii Makes Life Easier for Unimasters and Their Drivers

Unimasters Logistics Plc is a forward-thinking supply chain management company based in Bulgaria. They also own subsidiaries in Romania and Hungary.

Before using eLogii's route optimization software Unimasters lacked a more dynamic way of planning delivery. Due to their rapid growth, they were looking for a solution that could give them full visibility over the pickup and delivery operations.

eLogii’s driver app helps complete field tasks like navigating to orders, following instructions, taking proof of delivery (such as photos and signatures), and scanning barcodes to track packages.

Unimasters also improved how they use driver working hours and vehicle capacities.

Let’s explore some of the benefits Unimasters experienced with transportation dispatching and how it impacted their long-term business results.

#1 Monitor Costs by Vehicle, Route, and Package

With eLogii, Unimasters can track costs at the vehicle, route, and package level.

This capability provided them with actionable insights, enabling them to make critical business decisions based on important metrics.

#2 Flexible Proof of Delivery: Signatures, Photos, Barcodes, or Any Combination

Unimasters can successfully take proof of delivery in any format they prefer—signatures, photos, barcodes, or any combination.

The powerful driver app enables field tasks to be completed, including capturing proof of delivery with photos, signatures, or barcodes.

#3 Customer Notifications: Email, SMS, or Data Messages Branded as Unimasters

Unimasters can send notifications to customers via email, SMS, or data messages, all branded with their company name to update them on delivery status.

This integration with their external business systems, including WMS, ERP, and CMS, ensures smooth and consistent communication.

#4 Higher Level of Operational Visibility Through eLogii’s Class-Leading Analytics Suite

With eLogii’s advanced analytics suite, Unimasters gained an exceptional level of operational visibility, enabling them to view both current and historical performance metrics. This suite provided detailed insights into delivery times, route distances, and the utilization of driver working hours and vehicle capacities.

Streamline Transportation Dispatching with eLogii

Dispatching can be challenging, even for a small company with just a few vehicles—it takes a lot of knowledge, experience, and effort to get it right.

eLogii helps by automating and simplifying tasks, allowing your dispatcher to use their expertise to create repeatable processes.

This not only saves your dispatchers time on planning but also boosts your fleet’s efficiency and helps your company grow.

Plus, more efficient routes mean you’ll save money on fuel, driver wages, and vehicle maintenance.