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At 05:50 the driver reaches the right warehouse. Security asks for a booking number nobody sent. A truck dispatch sheet earns its place by catching that gap before the truck leaves.
Copy this truck dispatch sheet
- Job: Reference, cargo description, quantity and handling instructions.
- Truck and driver: Vehicle, trailer where applicable, driver and dispatcher.
- Collection: Full address, gate, confirmed window, booking reference and contact.
- Delivery: Receiving address, slot, contact and agreed proof of delivery.
- Changes: Who can approve a change, who tells the driver and where the revised instructions are recorded.
Release the truck after three checks
- Ask the driver to confirm which gate to use and what reference to show.
- Confirm who will release the cargo at collection and receive it at delivery.
- Agree what evidence the driver must return after unloading and who reviews it.
- Gate
Confirm the entrance and booking reference. - Handover
Confirm who releases and receives the cargo. - Evidence
Agree what the driver returns and who reviews it.
Worked example: the loading slot moves
On an illustrative Germiston-to-Durban trip, the warehouse moves collection from 07:00 to 09:30. Before confirming, the dispatcher checks that the receiver can still take the load and tells the driver when to leave. They date the revised brief and note who approved the new slot and any waiting charges. The driver receives one current set of instructions.
If the original schedule had 45 minutes of spare time before the receiver’s cutoff, a 2 hour 30 minute delay at collection uses that allowance and puts the truck 1 hour 45 minutes past the cutoff if the rest of the trip takes the same time. Ask the receiver for a later booking before dispatch confirms the revised plan.
Make ownership clear in ATLAS
Bring the sheet to a workflow review with your Synesys contact. Agree who updates the job when a driver calls from the road and where the office finds the current instruction. Explore ATLAS for transport partners.
Further reading Kweli’s dispatch handover checklist.
Related Synesys guide Who owns each handoff on a freight job.
Truck dispatch sheet checklist
Use one row per stop with a job ID, cargo count, site contact, time window and actual status. Put revisions on the same job record and have the driver acknowledge changed instructions.
Worked example
When an 08:00 collection moves to 10:00, record the revised window and who approved it. Check the receiving cutoff before reissuing the dispatch sheet, then record when the driver received the change.
“An EPCIS event records what was involved in a business process step, when the event took place, where it took place”
Keep booked and actual timestamps in separate fields. After delivery, someone reviewing the sheet should be able to tell which site confirmed the slot, when the truck arrived and when the driver was released.
Cover photo by Mrbobax under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and branded.
Truck dispatch sheet FAQs
What goes on a truck dispatch sheet?
Include the job reference, cargo, assigned truck and driver, both site contacts, confirmed booking windows and the required delivery evidence.
What if the collection window changes?
Check whether the receiving slot still fits. Record the revised time and approver on the same job, then ask the driver to acknowledge the current instructions.
How should I record a multi-stop job?
Use one row per stop with its own appointment, contact, cargo count and proof of delivery. Link all rows to the same job reference.