This guide is tailored for mixed carriers who handle a combination of truckload, partial truckload, and LTL (Less-than-Truckload) shipments, providing the flexibility to track both orders and trips separately, and consolidate multiple orders into a single trip.
Overview
In this article, we will cover the following topics:
Building an Order: Step-by-step instructions on how to create an order within the new module.
Order Coverage: Explanation of what order coverage means and how to define it.
Accessing Uncovered Orders: How to find fully uncovered orders that need attention.
Creating Consolidated Trips: Instructions on consolidating multiple orders into a single trip.
Editing Trips: Guidance on how to edit existing trips, including adding or removing orders.
Creating Trips Without Orders: Steps to create a trip that does not have any associated orders.
Editing Restrictions: Explanation of what restrictions apply to editing order information when an order is already associated with a trip.
Understanding Statuses: Overview of how statuses work, including the relationship between trip statuses and order statuses.
Quick Trip Creation: After you get acquainted with the system, you will want to know how to create orders and associated trips more quickly.
How to Build an Order (Video)
Navigate to Orders: From the side navigation menu, click on Orders.
Create a New Order: In the top right section, click the blue button labeled Plus New Order. This will take you to the New Order page.
Fill Out the Order Manually or Import PDF:
Manually: You can fill out the order fields manually.
Import PDF: Click the drop-down menu to import a rate confirmation. This allows you to drop a rate confirmation, from which the system will extract certain fields and populate the order form with the relevant information.
Key Differences for Users Upgrading to the New Module
Booking Type: This is a tag that informs users of the booking mode (e.g., full truckload, partial, or LTL) when the order is booked. It's primarily for reference purposes.
Dispatch Section Removal: The dispatch section has been removed from the order level. Equipment and driver information will now only exist on the trip level, making the order information customer-facing and specific to the order.
Understanding Order Coverage (Video)
Order Coverage Status: This new status informs you about the coverage of an order regarding its stops:
Fully Uncovered: The order has not been linked to any trips; none of the stops are associated with a trip.
Partially Covered: At least one stop has been linked to a trip, but there are still stops that have not been linked.
Fully Covered: Every stop on the order has been associated with a trip.
Important note: Coverage on the orders tab differs from coverage on a trip tab. On a trip level, coverage pertains to whether a trip has been dispatched out to a driver or carrier, whereas order coverage specifically relates to whether the stops on the order have been linked to a trip.
Accessing Uncovered Orders
A new Uncovered tab has been added to the orders page. Here, you can view all orders that are not fully covered yet, including both uncovered and partially covered orders. This acts as a to-do list for dispatchers to identify which orders still need consolidation or a trip.
How to Create a Consolidated Trip (Video)
Navigate to the Uncovered Orders Tab
From the side navigation menu, click on Orders
Select the Uncovered tab to view all orders that are not fully covered
Select Orders to Consolidate:
In the uncovered orders table, select one or multiple orders that you want to consolidate into a single trip
Once selected, a footer will appear at the bottom of the screen with a button labeled Create Trip
Create the Trip
Click on Create Trip
This action will pre-populate all the order information, including commodities and any uncovered stops from the selected orders, into the trip table
Review and Edit Stop Information
Confirm that the correct stops are listed for this trip
If there are any stops you wish to remove, click the X button next to the stop to completely remove it from the trip
Alternatively, you can click Clear Inputs to disassociate a stop from the order, which will clear all the stop information
Assign Driver and Equipment
If you know who the driver or equipment will be for this trip, you can assign them in the dispatch section
Finalize the Trip
Once you’ve confirmed all the trip details, click Create
The selected orders are now associated with this trip
How to Add or Remove Orders When Editing a Trip (Video)
Sometimes, after planning out a trip and consolidating multiple orders, you may find that one of the orders doesn't fit into the trailer as expected, or you discover a better way to consolidate shipments. In these cases, you might want to add or remove orders from an existing trip. Editing a trip allows you to make adjustments without needing to delete the entire trip. You can either disassociate an order from a trip or add a new order while keeping the rest of the trip details intact.
Edit a Trip
Locate the trip you want to edit
Click the three dots menu next to the trip and select Edit Trip, this can be done on the Trip Overlay, or any of the tabs within the Dispatch Section
Removing an Order
In the Orders field of the edit trip page, identify the order you want to remove
Click the X next to the order number to completely remove it from the trip, this will remove any associated stops and commodity information
Adding an Order
To add a new order, simply type in the order number of the order you wish to include in the trip
Once you select the order from the dropdown menu, the order's commodities and any uncovered stops will automatically be added to the trip
Save updated trip information
Creating a Trip Without Orders
In certain scenarios, such as internal transfers or tracking deadhead miles where a driver is traveling without a specific load, you may want to create a trip that isn’t associated with any orders. This functionality allows you to effectively monitor the movement of equipment and drivers, whether for operational reasons or for internal material transfers.
Navigate to the Dispatch Section
From the side navigation menu, click on Dispatch
Click on the + New Trip button located at the top right corner, this will open the new trip creation page
Leave the Orders Tab Blank
If you do not have any orders to associate with this trip, you can skip the Orders tab entirely
Fill in Trip Details
In the Locations section, enter the pickup and drop-off locations you wish to track
Select the driver and trailer associated with this trip, if known
Create Trip
Editing Restrictions on Orders with Linked Stops (Video)
When managing orders and trips, it's crucial to understand the restrictions on editing stops that are shared between an order and a trip. These restrictions are designed to maintain the integrity of the data associated with both the order and the trip.
Understanding Stop Locking Mechanism
Linked Stops Are Disabled
If a stop on an order is associated with a trip, it will be disabled and grayed out when you attempt to edit the order. This means you cannot remove or edit any information on that stop within the order itself.
Read-Only Status
The linked stop will appear as read-only in the order, ensuring that any changes to it can only be made at the trip level.
Importance of Editing Stops at the Trip Level
There may be instances where you need to update information, such as correcting a date entered incorrectly or adding an appointment time. While you might want to make these changes at the order level, it's essential to know that you can still edit this information without deleting trips or unlinking the order.
To update a linked stop, you simply need to edit the corresponding trip. Here’s how it works:
Access the trip that the stop is linked to and edit the trip
Make the necessary adjustments to the stop details
Once you save the trip, any modifications made will automatically reflect in the order associated with that stop
One-Directional Updates
It's important to note that updates to shared stops are one-directional. Changes made at the trip level will be mirrored on the order, ensuring your order data remains accurate and consistent with the latest trip information.
Understanding Statuses
In Truckbase, managing the flow of orders and trips is essential for efficient logistics operations. Below you will learn how statuses work at both the trip and order levels, ensuring clarity in monitoring progress.
Trip Level: Stop and Trip Statuses
At the trip level, each trip consists of two or more stops, each of which has its own status. The possible stop statuses are as follows:
Not Started: The driver has not yet begun the route to the designated stop
In Transit: The driver is currently en route to the designated stop
Arrived: The driver has reached the designated location and is ready for pickup or drop-off
Completed: The driver has successfully completed the pickup or drop-off process at the stop
In addition to stop statuses, each trip also has an overall trip status that indicates the current state of the trip:
Draft: The trip has been created but has not yet been dispatched to a driver or carrier
Dispatched: The trip has been assigned to a driver or carrier but is not yet in transit
In Transit: The shipment is actively moving, with the driver en route to the designated stops
Delivered: All stops on the trip have been completed
Order Level: Stop and Order Statuses
Order Stop Statuses
Orders in TruckBase are linked to trips, and while orders also have stop statuses, they are read-only and mirror the stop statuses from the trip. In other words, the order’s stop status automatically updates based on the corresponding stop status in the trip. You cannot manually update stop statuses at the order level.
Order Status
Just like stop statuses, the overall order status is also read-only and updates based on the progress of the associated trip. It reflects the completion of stops on the order and moves through the following stages:
Not Started: None of the stops associated with the order have started
In Transit: At least one stop on the order is in transit, meaning the order has begun moving
Delivered: All stops linked to the order have been completed, marking the order as delivered
How Trip and Order Statuses Work Together
Shared Stops: When an order has stops associated with a trip, the status of the stops at the trip level controls what happens at the order level. For example, if a driver marks a stop as "Arrived" on the trip, the same status is reflected on the order.
One-directional Updates: All updates flow from the trip to the order. You can’t update an order's status manually. Instead, you must rely on updates from the driver or dispatcher as they update the trip statuses.
Status Updates for Customers: Even though you can't manually control order statuses, the system has been designed to automatically send customer notifications when order statuses update. These notifications are triggered based on the order's progress, so your customers are kept informed at key points like when the order is in transit or delivered.
Why the Separation of Trip and Order Statuses Matters
Trip-Focused Monitoring: Truckbase allows you to track where your driver and equipment are in real-time, based on the trip’s progress. Since trips might not align perfectly with an order's stops (for example, a driver might be handling multiple orders on one trip), you need to be able to track trip statuses separately from order statuses.
Order Coverage: On the order side, you can track whether all the stops are fully covered by a trip. However, the actual movement and status of those stops depend on the trip, not just the order itself.
Quick Trip Creation (Video)
As you become more familiar with the LTL and partial module, you'll find yourself wanting to create orders and associated trips more efficiently. Here are a few streamlined methods to help you navigate the process quickly.
Creating Trips from the Orders Table & Order Overlay
Create Trip from Order Table:
Instead of selecting trips individually with checkboxes, you can quickly create a trip by clicking the three dots menu on the Orders table.
From the drop-down menu, select Create Trip, and you will be directed to the new trip creation page.
Create Trip from Order Overlay:
If you are in the order overlay view, you can also create a trip by clicking on the three dots menu in that view and selecting Create Trip from the drop-down menu.
Creating Orders and Trips Simultaneously
Create Order or Import PDF:
When creating an order, whether from scratch or by importing a PDF rate confirmation, look for the new button labeled Create Order & Trip.
Clicking this button allows you to create both the order and the associated trip in one seamless step.
All relevant order information will be pre-populated, saving you time and reducing the number of steps required.
When should I use this?
Creating a Truckload Order/Trip:
If you know you will be creating a full truckload order, using the Create Order & Trip button helps you jump directly into trip creation after creating the order.
Once you are on the New Trip page, just click create without needing to adjust any of the fields.
Creating a Local Pickup Trip:
If you’re creating a partial order and want to set up a local pickup, you can create the local trip immediately after creating the order.
Once you are on the New Trip page, keep the pickup stop, and then clear the the delivery stop, and enter the terminal as the last stop. From there you can click "create" and the local trip for that order has now been created.