Orders: Your Central Hub for Dispatch Management

1. Executive Summary

This report introduces the Orders module, your essential tool within Dispatch Management designed to streamline every step of your delivery operations. From creating new requests to assigning drivers, tracking progress, and reviewing past deliveries, this module puts you in control. You'll gain key benefits like faster order processing, improved driver assignment, real-time visibility of deliveries, and comprehensive reporting. This means less manual effort, fewer errors, and ultimately, happier customers and more efficient operations.

2. Introduction

Managing deliveries can be complex, often leading to delays, miscommunications, and missed deadlines. The Orders module addresses these challenges head-on by providing a centralized, user-friendly system for handling all your dispatch requests. Its purpose is to simplify your workflow, ensuring that every order, whether big or small, gets to its destination efficiently and reliably.

In simple terms, an Order represents a request for a delivery or pickup. This module allows you to:

• Create new orders quickly with all necessary details.
• Update existing orders if plans change (e.g., delivery address, pickup time).
• Assign orders to available drivers and vehicles, individually or in bulk.
• Track the real-time status of orders from "Pending" to "Delivered."
• Access comprehensive reports for insights into your dispatch operations.

3. Main Content (User-Focused Sections)

What This Means for You

The Orders module empowers you with practical advantages:

• Less time spent on order entry: Quickly add new orders and even bulk upload multiple at once.
• Peace of mind knowing orders are accurate: Easily edit delivery details, pickup times, or customer information as needed.
• Efficient driver assignments: Assign drivers to single or multiple orders, helping you optimize routes and balance workloads.
• Real-time tracking at your fingertips: Monitor order status from dispatch to delivery, including map views.
• Improved customer communication: Quickly find customer details or order statuses to provide accurate updates.
• Better decision-making: Access detailed reports on customer, merchant, and load activities to understand performance.
• Reduced errors and delays: System validations prevent duplicate orders and ensure all required information is captured.

How It Works

The Orders module guides you through a logical flow for managing all your dispatch requests. It’s designed to be intuitive, moving you seamlessly from creating an order to its successful completion.

Here’s a general overview of the process:

1. Create Orders: Start by adding new orders, providing details like pickup/drop locations, customer information, and package specifics. You can also define how merchants are mapped (e.g., single pickup/multiple deliveries).
2. Manage Orders: Once created, orders appear in a central list. From here, you can view details, make edits, or delete them if necessary.
3. Assign & Track: Assign orders to available drivers and vehicles. You can track their real-time progress, reassign drivers, and update statuses as deliveries move from "Pending" to "In Progress" and finally "Delivered."
4. Report & Analyze: Generate various reports to review order history, merchant performance, and load/unload efficiency.

This workflow is visually represented in the module's flow chart diagram:

Getting Started

Follow these steps to effectively use the Orders module:

1. Log In and Navigate:

   • Log in to your system.
   • Navigate to the Dispatch Management module.
   • Click on the Orders submenu.

2. Add a New Order:

   • On the Orders page, click the +Add Order button.
   • Fill in required details like Order Date and Time, Vehicle Type, Drop Details, Delivery Address, Customer Address, Customer Name, Pickup Location, and Order Number.
   • You can also click +Add Merchant to define new merchants and their mapping (e.g., Single Merchant - Single Customer, Multiple Merchant - Multiple Customers).
   • If the delivery is urgent, mark it as Urgent.
   • Click Submit to create the order. It will initially appear in the "Pending" tab.

3. Edit an Existing Order:

   • From the Orders list, locate the order you wish to change.
   • In the "Action" column for that order, click the Edit button.
   • Modify details such as delivery location, pickup time, or driver assignment.
   • Click Save to apply your changes.

4. Assign an Order to a Driver:

   • On the Orders page, find a pending order.
   • In the "Action" column, click Assign Trip.
   • In the "Assign Order" pop-up, select the appropriate Vehicle and Driver.
   • Click Assign. The order's status will update to "In Progress."
   • To assign multiple orders at once, select several orders using checkboxes and click the Assign Multiple Orders button.

5. Reassign a Driver to an In-Progress Order:

   • Go to the "In Progress" tab on the Orders page.
   • For the desired order, locate the "Action" column.
   • Click Reassign Driver.
   • Select a new driver and confirm.

6. View Order Details:

   • Find the order in the list.
   • In the "Action" column, click the View button (or click on the Order Number).
   • A new window or section will open displaying all order details, including status, payment information, and delivery specifics.

7. Delete an Order:

   • Locate the order you wish to remove.
   • In the "Action" column, click the Delete button.
   • A confirmation message will appear. Click Confirm to permanently remove the order from the system.

8. Search and Filter Orders:

   • Use the Search bar to find orders by customer name, order number, or pickup/drop location.
   • Use the Status filters (Pending, In Progress, History) to narrow down your list.
   • You can also switch between Map View and List View for visual or detailed tracking.

Key Features You'll Use

• Order Creation & Management:
  • Add New Orders: Quickly create new delivery requests.
  • Flexible Merchant Mapping: Define how orders connect to merchants and customers (e.g., single pickup – multiple deliveries, multiple pickup – single delivery).
  • Edit Order Details: Update delivery addresses, pickup times, and other crucial information for existing orders.
  • View Order Information: Access comprehensive details for any order, including its current status.
  • Delete Orders: Remove mistakenly added or canceled orders from the system.
• Assignment & Tracking:
  • Assign Drivers & Vehicles: Efficiently assign individual orders or multiple orders at once.
  • Reassign Drivers: Change assigned drivers for orders already in progress.
  • Real-time Status Updates: Track orders through their lifecycle (Pending, In Progress, History).
  • Map View: Visualize orders and driver locations for better oversight.
• Efficiency & Data Handling:
  • Bulk Order Import: Upload numerous orders simultaneously using an Excel template, saving significant time.
  • Search & Filter: Easily find specific orders by customer name, order number, location, or status.
  • Mobile Responsiveness: Access and manage orders seamlessly from any device.
• Reporting:
  • Customer Order Summary Report: Get insights into customer orders, including paid, delivered, picked up, assigned, and pending counts.
  • Merchant Order Summary Report: Review merchant performance, returned amounts, and dispatched counts.
  • Load and Unload Report: Track load/unload start/end times, durations, and number of articles for each trip.
  • Material Collection Report: Monitor material collection activities by Trip ID, Trip Date, and supplier names.
  • Export Data: Download reports in various formats (e.g., Excel, PDF) for further analysis.

Common Scenarios

Here's how the Orders module helps you in typical day-to-day situations:

• Urgent New Delivery: A new urgent order comes in. You can quickly click +Add Order, enter details, mark it as Urgent, and assign it to an available driver, ensuring it gets prioritized.
• Customer Needs to Reschedule: A customer calls to change their delivery time. You can search for their order by customer name, click Edit in the action column, update the pickup time, and save the changes.
• Driver Becomes Unavailable: The assigned driver for an "In Progress" order suddenly can't complete the delivery. You can navigate to the "In Progress" tab, click Reassign Driver, and select another available driver to keep the delivery moving.
• Dispatching Multiple Orders: You have a batch of 10 new orders to go to different customers. You can import these orders in bulk, then use the Assign Multiple Orders feature to quickly assign them to drivers.
• Verifying a Delivery: A customer claims they didn't receive their package. You can search by order number, click View to check the order status, confirming it was marked as "Delivered" and review details.
• Understanding Daily Performance: At the end of the day, you want to see how many orders were delivered, picked up, or are still pending. You can use the status filters or generate a Customer Order Summary Report to get a quick overview.
• Correcting a Mistake: You realize an order was assigned to the wrong driver. You search for the order by customer name, then use the Reassign Driver option to correct the assignment.

What to Expect

When you use the Orders module, you can expect:

• Confirmation of Actions: After adding, editing, or deleting an order, you will see a confirmation message, and the changes will be reflected immediately.
• Seamless Order Creation: New orders will be successfully created and listed in the "Pending" tab, ready for assignment.
• Accurate Updates: Any modifications you make to an order will be saved correctly and instantly visible in the order details.
• Clear Deletion: When an order is deleted, it will be permanently removed from your list after confirmation.
• Dynamic Status Changes: Once an order is assigned, its status will automatically update to "In Progress" and it will move to the corresponding tab.
• Precise Search Results: Searching by order number, customer name, or location will quickly return the correct order(s).
• Helpful Error Messages: If you try to enter invalid data (e.g., duplicate order numbers, past dates for new orders, missing required fields), the system will display clear error messages guiding you to correct the issue.
• Reliable Data Export: Exported reports (CSV/Excel/PDF) will contain accurate and up-to-date data.

4. Visual Elements & Supporting Information

Orders Page Overview

The following screenshots illustrate key pages within the Orders module:

Orders Main Page (View Orders) This screenshot shows the main Orders page where you can view all your orders, apply filters, and access actions.

Add Order Page This screenshot displays the form for adding a new order, where you input all necessary details.

Edit Order Page This screenshot illustrates the page used for modifying an existing order's details.

Assign Order Pop-up This screenshot shows the pop-up window used to assign a driver and vehicle to an order.

Delete Order Confirmation This screenshot captures the confirmation dialog that appears before an order is permanently deleted.

View Order Details Page This screenshot shows the read-only view of a specific order's detailed information.

Field Validation Table

This table outlines the typical input fields you will encounter when adding or editing orders, along with their validation rules, ensuring data accuracy and smooth operations.

Field Name	Mandatory	Field Type	Data Type	Field Size (Length/Max)	Is Editable	Description
Order Number	Yes	Text	String/Number	Varies	Yes	Unique identifier for your order.
Order Date and Time	Yes	Date/Time Picker	Date-Time	N/A	Yes	When the order is scheduled for pickup/delivery.
Pickup Location	Yes	Text Area	String	Varies	Yes	The starting address for the order.
Drop Details	Yes	Text Area	String	Varies	Yes	Specific instructions for dropping off.
Delivery Address	Yes	Text Area	String	Varies	Yes	The final destination address for the order.
Customer Name	Yes	Text	String	Varies	Yes	The name of the customer receiving the order.
Customer Address	Yes	Text Area	String	Varies	Yes	The full address of the customer.
Customer Phone Number	Yes	Text	Number/String	Varies	Yes	Contact number for the customer.
Merchant Selection	Yes	Dropdown/Text	String	Varies	Yes	Select the associated merchant for the order.
Vehicle Type	Yes	Dropdown	String	Varies	Yes	The type of vehicle needed for this delivery.
Package Item Size	No	Text/Number	String/Number	Varies	Yes	Dimensions or weight of the package.
Urgent Delivery	No	Checkbox	Boolean	N/A	Yes	Mark for priority processing.
Driver (Assign Page)	Yes	Dropdown	String	Varies	Yes	Select the driver for this order.
Vehicle (Assign Page)	Yes	Dropdown	String	Varies	Yes	Select the vehicle for this order.
Search Box	No	Text	String	Varies	Yes	Used to find orders by name, number, or location.
Status Filter	No	Dropdown/Buttons	String	N/A	Yes	Filter orders by "Pending," "In Progress," etc.

5. Summary & Benefits

The Orders module is more than just a list of deliveries; it's a powerful and intuitive system designed to put you in command of your entire dispatch workflow. By providing tools for effortless order creation, flexible assignments, real-time tracking, and insightful reporting, it directly addresses the complexities of logistics.

This module ensures your deliveries are managed with precision, from the moment an order is placed until it reaches its destination. You'll experience enhanced operational efficiency, reduced administrative burden, and improved responsiveness to dynamic delivery needs. Ultimately, the Orders module helps you achieve your goals of delivering exceptional service, optimizing resources, and ensuring every package arrives on time, every time.