Auto Dispatching: Save Time, Cut Costs, and Improve Deliveries

Over the last decade, the logistics automation market has grown tremendously. The sector attained a value of $49.7 billion in 2020 globally, and forecasts predict it will nearly triple by 2030, reaching a staggering value of over $147 billion. The term "automation" likely brings to mind solutions such as robotics devices aiding in packaging and warehouse management systems optimizing workflows. Indeed, solutions like that and high-end warehouse management systems form a part of logistics automation. However, they merely scratch the surface of how automation can boost productivity by replacing traditional manual processes.

One particularly useful piece of automation technology is software that can handle auto dispatching, which reduces expenses, saves time, and propels your business growth.

What Is Auto Dispatching?

Auto dispatching enables you to automate your shipping process. The technology is meant to automatically arrange shipments, including finding the best pricing, selecting carriers, and identifying preferred routes. 

But don’t worry — your team should still maintain control over your shipping operations via custom permissions and parameters. For instance, with FreightPOP's auto dispatching feature, you can curate a list of preferred carriers and set pricing controls to ensure the automation software adheres to your standards.

A robust system should also allow you to set access restrictions, enabling brokers, customer service staff, and other authorized personnel to arrange shipments for your business. However, they’ll have limited access to your supply chain database, meaning they will only see what you want.

How It Works

Basically, through auto dispatching, the platform receives an order, converts it to a shipment, then arranges pickup from your facility (or other location, such as a fulfillment center). When converting orders to shipments, the software applies your custom rules and controls.

A robust auto dispatching feature should be able to handle both international and domestic deliveries and even automate scheduling multi-stop shipments, which are notoriously tedious to arrange.

Benefits of Auto Dispatching

By embracing auto dispatching technology, your business can:

Save Time

Chances are your team spends dozens of labor hours scheduling shipments every month. 

Imagine how productive they would be if you could expedite this process. With auto dispatching, you can. This tool lets you free up your back-office staff to tackle other responsibilities and gives them more time to interact with customers, resolve complaints, and deliver better value for your business.

Cut Costs

In logistics, efficiency is the name of the game. Optimizing your operations enables you to decrease costs, improve profitability, and pass savings on to your customers. The latter benefit provides a competitive advantage in the saturated logistics space and helps you acquire new clients. 

What does all of this have to do with auto dispatching technology?

Auto dispatching solutions like those offered by FreightPOP include sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) technology. As such, the software can automatically determine what shipping solution will be the cheapest for your business based on weight, fuel costs, and other factors. Ultimately, this paves the way for measurable cost savings.

Decrease Errors

The more manual inputs involved in a shipping process, the greater the likelihood of a data entry error. While some errors are harmless, many can negatively impact your business and customers. Severe issues can lead to missed delivery deadlines, dissatisfied clients, and decreased revenue. 

Auto dispatching helps keep errors in check by minimizing the need for manual input.

Once you set up your custom rules, the platform automates most parts of the shipment scheduling process. It then automatically pulls the order data from your customer-facing system, transforms that information into shipment data, and coordinates with a carrier for the necessary arrangements.

What To Look For In An Auto Dispatching Solution

When searching for an auto dispatching capability for your business, you should consider platforms that:

• Integrate with your existing software
• Provide rate-shopping tools
• Automate the entire dispatching workflow
• Offer user-friendly access control features

Implementing a solution that includes all of these sought-after features and capabilities will help you maximize the ROI of your auto dispatch. Additionally, such a solution allows you to improve the customer experience, decrease shipping costs, reduce your reliance on manual processes, and enhance overall business efficiency.

Elevate Your Operations to New Heights!

If you handle large shipping volumes, download our new guide, How Logistics Automation and Auto Dispatch Saves Time and Money. It provides further insights into the types of automation that can make a huge difference in your business. 

With our guide, you will discover:

• Further advantages of logistics automation 
• Various forms of automation that handle carrier rate shopping, pool consolidation, shipment tracking, and freight audits
• The impact of auto dispatching on reducing order processing time by 95% and boosting customer satisfaction

And much more! Check it out!