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Automated dispatching is only available for customers with an Enterprise plan.
About automated dispatching
One of the decisions admins can make is which way the system should handle incoming tickets. Dispatchers could for example take care of tickets manually, which means they decide what to do with incoming tickets. However, there is also the option to automatically add tickets to the Timeline, which we call automated dispatching. You can for example decide if you want to let the system auto-dispatch tickets on an individual dispatch group basis. Auto-dispatch can be enabled/disabled dynamically anytime inside Work place per dispatch group if you have an active Enterprise subscription.
One has to activate the fully automated dispatching feature for a particular group inside the Admin panel first.
Auto-dispatch can be enabled/disabled per dispatch group inside the Ticket Pool/Dispatch tab.
That fully automated dispatching is currently active for a group is indicated inside the group picker in the Timeline.
Once the fully automated dispatching has been activated for a group, one can no longer manually optimize the group.
You can choose to enable/disable fully automated dispatching at any time by toggling the autodispatch toggle in the Ticket Pool on/off per-dispatch group. With this flexibility in mind, one could also benefit from using a mixed mode.
Tickets will automatically move from the Ticket Pool/Dispatch tab onto the Timeline. If you activate the autodispatch toggle for a group, you will actually see the autodispatch results from the next day on (from 00:00 AM onwards) and tickets will be automatically dispatched for the next 7 days.
You can customize your optimization profile to influence the autodispatch results.
Autodispatch configuration
Automated dispatching is by default disabled, therefore you first need to activate the feature.
You can enable the autodispatch feature as follows:
- Inside the Admin panel go to Dispatch -> Dispatch Groups.
- From the list, select the group for which you want to make the autodispatch option available.
- Inside the Basic tab turn on the Activate fully automated dispatching toggle for the dispatch group that should have the option available in general.
- Inside the Ticket Pool in Work place select the dispatch group inside the Dispatch tab.
- Turn on the Autodispatch toggle here as well.
Note: Just turning on the option inside the Admin panel will not be enough for the feature to take effect. - From the next day on (starting from 00:00 AM), tickets will be automatically dispatched to Timeline for the next 7 days.
Automated dispatching explained
This feature is practical if you want to automate processes in your company and rely on zero-touch automation for specific dispatch groups.
If automated dispatching is activated tickets that enter the system are dispatched to engineers automatically for a particular selected Dispatch group. The Dispatch tab displays a notification that automated dispatching is active for a certain dispatch group inside the Ticket Pool and the Timeline. It also displays that it is active with an icon inside the group selector in the Timeline. When this feature is activated for a dispatch group, Dispatchers don’t need to schedule tickets manually for this group anymore. Editing details, however, is still possible, as well as scheduling manually (if required for some reason). Depending on the optimization profile, tickets will be scheduled in a smart order by the automated dispatching feature.
As a result of the fully automated dispatching feature, tickets will be smartly placed from the Dispatch tab onto the Timeline (starting from the next day on, up to 7 days consecutively), according to the rules of the default or custom optimization profile:
If tickets couldn’t be autodispatched for some reason, you can click the Details button in the timeline or ticket pool to read any current relevant autodispatch notifications. The notifications will give you an insight into why certain tickets might not have been dispatched, when the autodispatch will start collecting data, and will also provide you with recommended actions for tickets that couldn’t be autodispatched.
Mixed-Mode explained
Auto-dispatch in general opens up many new opportunities for delivering fast and exceptional field service. As an example, one could opt for a mixed dispatching mode. For example, one could activate the toggle before finishing the work day and have the auto-dispatch toggle deactivated for a group during the day. When the dispatcher then starts to work in the morning, the dispatcher would ideally have a fully packed Timeline already as a starting point for which the dispatcher would only have to clarify the last details, instead of dispatching entire tickets from A to Z.
Just-in-time publishing
This Feature is practical if you want to inform your engineers automatically about new tickets.
It is therefore best suited for everybody.
If Just-in-time publishing is activated tickets that are on the Timeline will be automatically pushed to the engineer’s mobile app. In this scenario, engineers are immediately aware of the ticket and the dispatcher saves a step in the ticket’s progress. The Just-in-time publishing toggle works great in combination with Automated Dispatching and is a big time-saver for Enterprise subscribers.
Autdispatch limitations
- The initial background process required to run autodispatch can take up to 30 minutes.
Summary
| Setting | Effect |
|---|---|
| Fully-automated dispatching toggle activated | Optimizer takes tickets automatically from the Dispatch tab and auto-adds them to the Timeline with no further user-interaction required. Using the Optimizer manually inside the Work place is no longer possible. |
| Fully-automated dispatching toggle deactivated | Dispatchers are required to dispatch tickets manually. You can also run the optimizer in the Work place at any time if you wish. |