Load planning

A load begins with a transport requirement and a named operating company. Dispatcher records the requested units, lane and planned departure, then identifies the transport partner and the promised delivery. The load owner remains responsible for keeping that plan useful when the customer changes the work. Transport Manager needs the same details when deciding whether the load can proceed.

Active Loads follows Review, Approved and Executed work through the dispatch handoff. Prepare new Draft work in the load record before sending it for review. Keep the delivery promise distinct from the departure time. A truck leaving on schedule still needs a feasible stop sequence, a clear destination and someone who will investigate a missed handoff.

Build the stops against the load before sending it for review. Each stop carries its sequence, address and type, with a contact and window start where relevant. Standard lane records provide origin and destination context for recurring work. Agree the lane naming convention so dispatchers recognize the same journey across repeated customer requests.

• Prepare the scope. Check the requested units and identify the shipper, carrier, broker or other transport partner responsible for the work.
• Arrange the stops. Put pickup, delivery and service locations in the intended sequence and confirm the contact information.
• Request a decision. Move the load into Review so Transport Manager can approve or reject the current plan with a recorded reason.

Agree who owns each load, which operating company it belongs to, and which changes require another planning decision. Use the company’s time zone when explaining departure and delivery promises. Establish a shared meaning for requested units before comparing demand across lanes. A pallet count and a shipment count need different interpretation even when both are entered as a quantity.

Choose the bill of lading or supporting document that the reviewer needs. Decide how Dispatcher raises a late change after approval and how Transport Manager records a cancellation. Keep the earlier decision available to the team reviewing the revised journey.

A customer asks for a morning pickup followed by an afternoon delivery. Dispatcher enters both stops and sends the load to Review. Transport Manager finds that the delivery address is an old warehouse and returns the plan for correction with the reason recorded.

Dispatcher checks the new address with the customer and revises the plan. The manager reviews the changed scope before approval. At shift change, another dispatcher should be able to explain the destination, the delivery promise and the decision from the load record and its evidence. Rehearse a cancellation as well, so the team can distinguish work that never departs from a load already being executed.

• Active Loads — Loads in Review, Approved or Executed states with their lane, quantity and departure promise.
• Loads Awaiting Approval — The current revision and transport partner ready for a manager’s decision.
• My loads — Owned work that needs the dispatcher’s attention during the shift.

Use Plan and approve a load before Assign and dispatch. Agree the import order in the data model.