Profession freight transport dispatcher

Freight transport dispatchers receive and transmit reliable messages, track vehicles and equipment, and record other important information. They oversee the planning operations of dispatching by coordinating different modes of transport. They structure routes or services and determine the appropriate mode of transport. They also schedule and dispatch workers, work crews, equipment, and service vehicles for conveyance of materials, freight, or for normal installation, service, or emergency repairs rendered outside the place of business. The freight transport dispatchers provide the legal and contractual documentation for the transporting parties.

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Personality Type

  • Conventional / Realistic

Knowledge

  • Geographic areas

    Know the geographic area in detail; know where different organisations carry out operations.

  • Road transport legislation

    Know road transport regulations at regional, national, and European level in matters of safety and environmental requirements.

  • Freight transport methods

    Understand different modalities of transport such as air, sea, or intermodal freight transport. Specialise in one of the modalities and possess a deeper knowledge of the details and procedures of that modality.

Skills

  • Work in a water transport team

    Work confidently in a group in water transport services, in which each individual operates in their own area of responsibility to reach a common goal, such as a good customer interaction, maritime safety, and ship maintenance.

  • Communicate verbal instructions

    Communicate transparent instructions. Ensure that messages are understood and followed correctly.

  • Manage fleet capacity

    Manage the existing fleet, its availability and carrying capacity in order to schedule itineraries.

  • Keep task records

    Organise and classify records of prepared reports and correspondence related to the performed work and progress records of tasks.

  • Make independent operating decisions

    Make immediate operating decisions as necessary without reference to others, taking into account the circumstances and any relevant procedures and legislation. Determine alone which option is the best for a particular situation.

  • Supervise crew

    Supervise and observe the behaviour of employees.

  • Monitor vehicle fleet operations

    Monitor the operations of the vehicle fleet; track delays and identify repair needs; analyse fleet information to develop and implement improvement actions.

  • Schedule and dispatch drivers

    Schedule and dispatch drivers, working equipment and service vehicles to desired locations as requested by customers; use telephone or radio communication.

  • Prepare transportation routes

    Prepare routes through the addition or subtraction of routes, making changes to route frequency, and changing the service span of routes. Adjusts routes through providing additional running time to routes, adding additional capacity during periods of overcrowding (or reducing capacity during periods of low passenger numbers), and adjusting departure times in response to changes in circumstances along a given route, thereby ensuring efficient use of resources and achievement of customer relations goals.;

  • Manage dispatch software systems;

    Manage dispatch software systems to execute tasks such as work order generation, route planning, and other activities.

  • Conduct analysis of ship data

    Collect information from a vessel's management software and cross reference it to analyse the data from different points of view. Analyse data and apply judgement to inform decision-making.

  • Manage truck drivers

    Manage the operational performance of truck drivers.

  • Apply transportation management concepts

    Apply transport industry management concepts in order to improve transportation processes, reduce waste, increase efficiency, and improve schedule preparation.

Optional knowledge and skills

warehouse operations handle intermodal equipment statistics organise information stay alert have computer literacy intermodal options intermodalism

Common job titles

  • Logistics dispatcher
  • Truck dispatcher/planner
  • Transportation dispatcher
  • We secure loads for you
  • City dispatcher
  • Truck dispatcher
  • Freight transportation dispatcher
  • Load planner
  • Dispatcher
  • Logistics coordinator