Truck Dispatcher Tips: 7 Expert Tips to Stay Ahead of the Game

Truck dispatchers are considered the backbone of the trucking industry. This is because they are responsible for coordinating with the drivers to deliver the products and services safely. 

However, trucking companies are constantly facing a need for more technically proficient truck dispatchers. And this is due to the shortage of more passionate and skilled laborers. Hence, there is a requirement for responsible truck dispatchers in the market. 

The market size of the trucking sector within the United States was expected to be approximately 1415 billion US dollars.  

Becoming a truck dispatcher is a challenging job. It requires planning and scheduling hundreds of routes every single day. This is why it is time to revolutionize the trucking industry by improving your dispatching process.

Through this article, we will take you through truck dispatcher tips that are helpful in scaling your business.

Responsibilities of a Truck Dispatcher

A truck dispatcher is one who is responsible for managing truck drivers’ routes and schedules. They also maintain contact with drivers while driving and alert the warehouse personnel about their arrival. The dispatcher monitors the progress of shipments right from loading to unloading of trucks. 

A truck dispatcher’s responsibilities include- creating routes, scheduling stops, managing inventories, maintaining driver records, monitoring the weather, dispatching stops to drivers, and handling customer queries. 

They are expected to handle multiple trucks at once considering traffic delays, vehicle breakdowns, missed deadlines, or delivery problems. Their role does not end here; they have several duties to fulfill to become a successful trucking dispatcher. 

Now as you know, the job of a truck dispatcher demands a lot of responsibility, focus, and patience. Here are duties you need to follow in order to become a successful trucking dispatcher:

• Organize deliveries and pickups
• Manage driver schedules
• Systemize communication between drivers, brokers, and customers
• Develop working relationships with drivers and customers
• Observe weather or traffic conditions to plan efficient driving routes
• Meeting delivery timelines 
• Comply with state and federal transport regulations
• Assist drivers and customers
• Monitor team performance

Dispatching operations is a critical component of a transportation company. But, worry not. Because we have some handy tips for you in the next section.

7 Best Tips for Truck Dispatchers 

Unlike any other job, the dispatcher job does have several pros and cons. But a good dispatcher needs to follow a proper planning process along with the below tips for their success. 

1. Analyze competition in the market

Being a dispatcher, you must have local knowledge of the best routes or shortcuts. In addition, you should also have a firm memory of the current pricing in the market. This knowledge is the biggest asset helpful in making the most efficient dispatching decisions. 

Apart from this, it’s equally important to know your area truckers. Having a firm grip on both routes and truckers can help you stay organized, plan trips, and manage your daily requests. As a result, you will end the day with happy drivers and customers.  

2. Know about your drivers

As a trucking dispatcher, you should be interested to know about your team of drivers. You must know the drivers on a personal level. This will help to improve team communication.   

Moreover, knowing about your drivers will help to build a good working relationship within the team. The drivers will also realize that they are valued as a person apart from just another asset to move the cargo. 

3. Participate in training programs

Dispatchers must have a good understanding of the trucking industry. Not only this, but they should also be aware of technical terminologies like route management or truckload. 

To become a trucking dispatcher or pursue it as a career, it is advisable to provide training or have a relevant logistics degree. This degree can help to work as a trucking dispatcher for transport companies. 

For example- Spedifort or SVG Akademie can be a good choice if you are looking for online truck dispatchers training classes. Or, for free training, one can learn from YouTube.

4. Set decent expectations

It is essential to set reasonable expectations for truck drivers. This will reduce the chances of mission-impossible tasks or rushed deliveries. As incomplete or rushed deliveries can irritate the drivers and hamper the transport process’s effectiveness.

Managing the drivers and setting realistic expectations can make the job of a dispatcher much easier. Good communication with the drivers can be established by informing them about their orders in advance.

5. Be open to accept feedback

Feedback is essential for establishing better driver/dispatcher connections. So make sure that you listen to your truck drivers, and in turn, they should also listen to you. You can create an open feedback channel and ask the drivers to refer to it. 

The feedback will give a brief idea about both the promising areas and the areas of improvement. Besides this, the actual implementation of the feedback is more important than receiving it. So, consider taking action on the feedback and applying it to the relevant processes.

6. Use dispatch management software

Finding efficient routes for the drivers is a part of truck dispatching. It will save both time and money for the company, thereby improving communication and reducing manual dependency. 

The dispatch management software should be an easy-to-use application for dispatchers and truck drivers. It will increase the driver’s visibility, record their daily tasks, customized reports, and many more. 

7. Prepare your schedule in advance  

Preparing confirmed plans for the upcoming workday could improve workflow for the dispatchers. It can also reduce the chances of any last-minute changes and improve the team’s overall productivity. 

The trucking dispatchers can save a lot of time by setting up geo zones, creating templates, and adding subcontractors. For example- the dispatchers can schedule pickups and also plan delivery routes months in advance.

By following the above tips you can systemize your dispatch process and keep your trucks running smoothly. 

What are the Challenges Faced by Truck Dispatchers?

As a truck dispatcher, you may face many challenges on a daily basis like last-minute changes, unexpected delays due to weather conditions, or any emergency. Here are some of the challenges you may face as a dispatcher: 

1. Tight delivery timelines

Meeting the delivery windows is a crucial problem faced during truck dispatching. The increasing demand for online purchases has shrunk the delivery time windows. 

Hence, it becomes difficult for logistics companies to pack, sort, and deliver the packages quickly. On the other hand, manual dispatching also makes it impossible to fulfill smaller delivery timelines.

2. Routing problems

Routing is another problem for dispatchers as they have multiple orders at a time. And manual routing cannot identify unexpected blockages during dispatching or delivery. 

For example- blocked highways or weather conditions can lead to longer journeys and delayed deliveries. These events are going to hamper in the longer run. 

3. Failing to update customers

Customers are more concerned about the delivery status of their package once they have placed the order. However, it is not easy to notify the customers about the delivery status through a manual dispatch system. 

This impacts the curiosity of the customer, thus hampering their experience. As a result, the customer service team may face multiple queries or a request from customers.

4. Lack of automation process

Automation has become necessary for all businesses, irrespective of the company size. However, manual dispatching involves frequent call-ups, which is time-consuming for any dispatcher. 

Not only this, manual dispatching is even prone to human errors, thus reducing the effectiveness of your business. 

At the end of the day, trucking dispatchers are expected to deal with a considerable volume of daily work. So, let us check how Upper can make the life of a truck dispatcher easier. 

Get Rid of Doing Manual Things with Upper’s One-click Dispatch

Route planning has always been a challenging process for truck dispatchers. In such a situation, a good dispatch software like Upper can help to perform a seamless delivery process from beginning to end. 

Upper Route Planner reduces manual dispatching and route planning from hours to a few minutes. It helps to improve business efficiency and scale your operations with its routing features such as 

• One Click Dispatch
• Excel Import
• Route Planning
• Route Optimization
• Route Scheduling
• Proof Of Delivery
• Report & Analytics

Out of all the features, truck dispatchers can use Upper’s one-click feature to instantly send routes to your drivers. To experience the other benefits of Upper, you can go for a 7 days free trial today.

Summing Up

The truck dispatcher is a challenging position in the transportation industry. This is because their job depends mainly on work and time management skills. Hence, to become a successful dispatcher, truck dispatch management software is a must. Along with it, you would also need delivery route scheduling software to carry out the deliveries on time and efficiently. 

Delivery management software like Upper can benefit your business in the longer run. It automates delivery operations and driver management regardless of the number of your drivers. Upper ensures to create perfectly planned routes in less than a minute and also shares routes with the drivers with just one click.

To experience the above benefits of Upper Route Planner, you can book a demo today.