Dispatch is the bridge between a winning bid and a vehicle sitting on your front line. SENTINEL automates the relay so you never miss a gate pass or a pickup window — but you stay in command of every escalation.
How auto-dispatch works
The moment a bid wins, a dispatch task is created. The platform:
- Pulls the gate pass from the auction connector (OPENLANE, ADESA, etc.)
- Matches a transporter based on origin, destination, equipment type and SLA
- Reserves a pickup window within the auction's release schedule
- Notifies your recon yard with the expected arrival
- Wires the driver app so the operator on the road has the BOL and pickup instructions
You see the whole chain on Operations → Dispatch. No tab-hopping, no group texts.
Three things you control
- Transporter preference. Settings → Dispatch → Carriers lets you rank your transport partners. The matcher will prefer your rank, falling back only if a partner has no capacity or breaks SLA.
- Pickup windows. Some auctions release titles slowly. You can extend or shrink the default window per lane on Settings → Dispatch → Lanes.
- Recon priority. Vehicles you've earmarked for a specific buyer can be flagged "express recon" — they jump the recon queue and the yard manager is paged.
When something stalls
If a pickup is at risk (transporter no-show, missing title, auction delay), the platform escalates:
- Level 1 — auto-rebalance: the matcher finds an alternate transporter
- Level 2 — operator alert: your dispatch operator gets a non-dismissable notification with the failure mode and the next move
- Level 3 — escalation chain: dispatch operator → dispatch lead → admin
No vehicle is ever lost in the system. If the chain runs out, the issue is flagged red at the top of the pipeline, with a named owner.
Field operations
Drivers operating SENTINEL Driver get the same data as the dispatcher. Pickup windows, BOL, photo capture and any access notes are pushed to the cab in real time. If a driver flags an issue (damage on pickup, missing keys), it lands back on your dispatch board within seconds.