Dispatch orders to your riders
Turn the queue of waiting orders into one planned trip for each rider, check the routes and send them out.
3 min readUpdated Outlet owners
When ten orders are waiting and three riders are free, deciding who takes what, and in which order, takes you ten minutes and a lot of phone calls. Dispatch does that planning for you in a few seconds. You then look at each rider's route and approve it.
How dispatch works#
Orders you create wait in a queue on the Dispatch page.
You press Dispatch now, or let a schedule do it. Learn about schedules.
MiniDrop shares the orders between your riders who are online and puts each rider's stops in a sensible order. It respects how many orders a rider can carry at one time and any delivery priority you set. Read how MiniDrop plans routes.
You review each route on the map and approve it. Only then does the rider get the trip.
Before you start#
At least one rider must be online in the MiniDrop rider app, switched to your outlet.
There are orders waiting. Create a delivery order if the queue is empty.
Step 1: Open Dispatch
Choose Dispatch in the left menu. Orders waiting shows how many orders are in the queue, and Queued orders lists each one with its customer, address and distance from your shop.
Step 2: Set a delivery priority if you need one
Each queued order has a Delivery priority box. It says Normal to begin with. Choose Within … min only when a customer asked for a faster delivery. Leave the rest as Normal.
Step 3: Press Dispatch now
MiniDrop plans the trips. When it is ready you see Routes ready, with one route for each rider, and the number of orders and kilometres on each. If no rider is online, you see a yellow box that says No outlet riders online. Ask your riders to open the rider app, switch to your outlet and go online, then press Dispatch now again.
Step 4: Review and approve
Look at each route and approve it. Follow the guide to reviewing and approving routes.
After you approve#
Approved trips move to Live trips on the same page. Tap a trip to see the rider on a map and how far the deliveries have gone. Each rider's trip shows as Assigned and then Out for delivery, and each order shows Pending, In transit, On hold or Delivered. Track orders for more.
What if one of my riders is offline?
That rider's route shows an Offline tag and the Approve button is off. Open View and move the orders back to the queue, or wait until the rider is online.
How many orders does a rider get?
Each rider has a limit of active orders, shown as Max active orders under Delivery Executives. Dispatch stays inside that limit.
Do I have to press the button every time?
No. You can set dispatch to run every few minutes or at fixed times. You still approve the routes.
What are "Orders still in queue"?
Orders that did not fit into the current routes. They are planned on the next run.
More in this category#
Related guideReview, adjust and approve each rider's routeLook at every planned route, change the order of stops if you know better, and approve so the rider gets the trip.Related guidePut dispatch on a scheduleLet MiniDrop plan trips every few minutes or at fixed times each day, so your queue never waits for you.Related guideCreate a delivery orderPick the customer, check the map pin and place the order. It then waits in the queue until you dispatch it to your riders.Related guideTrack orders and check your order historySee every order at a glance, find any order in seconds and know what each status means.Related guideShare the live tracking link with your customerEvery assigned order has a private tracking link with your shop name and logo. Copy it, send it and your customers stop calling to ask where the order is.Related guideHandle on-hold, not-delivered and cancelled ordersWhat each status means, where to find the rider's reason, and how to cancel an order that has not left your shop.Related guideWhat the pickup code is, and when to give it to a riderEvery assigned order has a 4-digit pickup code. Here is where to find it and when a rider needs it.Related guidePut dispatch on autopilot (and still stay in control)Let MiniDrop plan trips every few minutes or at set times of day, then just approve. How to choose the right rhythm for your shop.Was this page helpful?
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