Glossary
Dispatch Software
Software that assigns jobs or loads to vehicles and drivers. What it needs to do varies a lot by industry, appointment-window scheduling for trades, load-to-truck matching and broker communication for freight.
What Dispatch Software means in practice
Dispatch software assigns jobs or loads to vehicles and drivers, turning a map of vehicles into a working day. A dispatcher drags a job to a driver, the driver sees it on a phone app, the vehicle's GPS shows it on its way, and a geofence marks arrival and departure without a phone call. Tracking on its own shows where vehicles are; dispatch assigns work to them and keeps the plan current as the day changes.
What it has to do depends on the industry. Trades need appointment windows, skill and certification matching and customer arrival notices. Freight needs load-to-truck matching, broker communication, detention tracking and hours-of-service awareness built into the assignment, so nobody is given a load they cannot legally finish.
Live location should come from a device in the vehicle rather than the driver's phone, which is off, dead or left behind when it matters. High Point GPS's own dispatch and routing software is still in development; today its tracking, ELD and trip data feed whichever dispatch tool a fleet already runs.
Read the full explainer
The definition above is the short version. The page below explains Dispatch Software in depth, with the rules, numbers and examples behind it.
HVAC & Plumbing Dispatch SoftwareGuides that explain Dispatch Software
- Geotab vs Samsara: How a Geotab Partner Compares the Two Platforms
- NEMT Dispatch Software: What NEMT Software Has to Handle
- Trucking Dispatch Software for Freight: What to Look For
- Deadhead Miles: What They Are and How to Reduce Them
- The Questions Worth Asking a Fleet Tracking Vendor Before You Sign
- Delivery Fleet Management: How Last-Mile Companies Hit Delivery Windows
- What Is Dispatch Software? How It Works and Who Uses It
- Dispatch Software for Small Businesses: Do You Need One?
Dispatch Software: common questions
What is the difference between dispatch software and GPS tracking?
GPS tracking shows where vehicles are and where they have been. Dispatch software assigns work to those vehicles, puts each job in the driver's hands on a phone app and lets the dispatcher re-sequence or move stops during the day, with tracking as the live feed underneath. A map that only shows positions is not dispatch.
Is dispatch software only for large fleets?
No. The break-even is the number of phone calls. Once a dispatcher spends the day asking drivers where they are and what they have finished, software pays for itself, which for many businesses happens at five to ten vehicles. That is well short of what most people would call a large fleet.
Does High Point GPS sell dispatch software?
Not yet as a finished product. High Point GPS's in-house dispatch and routing software is still in development. Today, real-time tracking, ELD and hours-of-service data, DVIR reporting and trip history are available and built to integrate with whatever dispatch or TMS software a fleet already uses, rather than replace it.