Dispatch and routing system

The challenge

Dispatch happened by phone call. Nobody could say where a consignment was without ringing the driver, and route planning depended on one person's memory of the city.

What discovery found

• Dispatchers made the same journey-time estimates repeatedly, from memory
• Proof of delivery was paper, collected weekly, frequently lost
• Drivers had no way to flag a failed delivery except by calling in
• Customer service could not answer 'where is it' without three phone calls

The approach

A dispatcher console with live fleet positions and drag-to-assign, plus a driver application that works offline and queues proof of delivery until signal returns. Routing suggestions advise rather than dictate — dispatchers kept override authority, which is what earned adoption.

What we built

• Live fleet map with vehicle status
• Drag-to-assign dispatch console
• Offline driver application with queued sync
• Digital proof of delivery with photo and signature
• Customer tracking link
• Route suggestions with dispatcher override

Security

Per-driver credentials, scoped API tokens, encrypted local storage on devices, and remote revocation for lost handsets.

What went wrong

Early builds drained device batteries within a shift. Cutting position reporting frequency and batching uploads brought it to a full day without losing usable tracking resolution.

The result

120

Vehicles coordinated live

~90%

Reduction in status phone calls

Same day

Proof of delivery, previously weekly