# An order dispatch system for couriers

The dispatch system decides which courier gets each order. In practice the best setup combines both: automatic dispatch to the nearest available courier with a time to accept, and the option for the dispatcher to pick a courier when needed.

Source: https://sekka.company/en/guides/order-dispatch-system

## Dispatch to the nearest courier
The system offers the order to one courier with a time limit set by the company. If they accept, work starts; if they decline or time runs out, the offer moves to the next courier. Unsuitable couriers are skipped: those at their cash limit, who already declined this order, who hold the maximum number of orders, or who show no position.

## How "nearest" is worked out
Couriers are first ordered by straight-line distance, then the road time to the pickup is estimated for the closest few, with a small time added for each order a courier already holds. So a free courier slightly further away can beat a closer one who is busy.

## Manual dispatch
The dispatcher can pick a courier from a list or the map. Each courier's state is shown, and one who is at the order limit or the cash limit cannot be assigned, with the reason shown.

## Limits the settings protect
The company sets the maximum number of orders a courier holds at once, and whether a courier may decline an order. When no suitable courier exists, the system shows why (everyone busy, blocked by cash, or no position) so the dispatcher can act.

## Questions
### What happens if a courier declines?
The order returns to new and, with nearest dispatch, is offered to the next courier automatically.

### Can I stop couriers from declining?
Yes, it is a company setting.