Integrating Allotrac with Dispatch Management

Integrating Allotrac with Dispatch Management

Retailer 3.2 introduced the ability to integrate Dispatch Management with Allotrac, a browser-based distribution management program. You can send delivery jobs directly from Retailer to Allotrac, where you can then manage the details of the delivery.

Getting Started

Before setting up the Allotrac integration, you will need:
  1. An active account with Allotrac. Allotrac will assign your business a domain that you access their dashboard through, eg. https://yourbusinessname.allotrac.com.au
  2. The Dispatch Management module active in Retailer. Dispatch Management is an optional extra for Retailer that comes with an additional monthly subscription fee. If you do not currently have Dispatch Management and would like it enabled, please contact Tower Support.
For a guide to setting up Dispatch Management, click HERE.
If you have the above ready to go, the first step is to contact Tower Support and ask to enable the Allotrac web connection.


Allotrac Setup

Retailer will need a user account with Allotrac to sign in with. All jobs sent to Allotrac from Retailer will appear as if created by this user. You can either use an existing user account, or create a new one specifically for Retailer. To create a new user in Allotrac:
  1. Click the gear icon in the top-right of the Allotrac Dashboard, then select Users.
  2. Click Add New User, then fill in the details as desired. The important fields are username and password.
  3. In Group(s), tick the Super Admin option.
  4. Click Save.
You will also need to enable Retailer as registered device in Allotrac. To create a registered device in Allotrac:
  1. Click the gear icon in the top-right of the Allotrac Dashboard, then select Settings.
  2. Click the Registered Devices tab.
  3. Enter a Device ID (easy to remember name) and Identifier (the name that will appear on jobs sent from Retailer). As an example, you could enter 'Retailer' for both, or perhaps 'Warehouse POS' or similar.
  4. Click Save.
Finally, you need to make sure that custom field 4 is set up correctly - this should be done automatically, but you will need to confirm it.
  1. Click the gear icon in the top-right of the Allotrac Dashboard, then select Settings.
  2. Click the Configure Fields tab.
  3. Custom Field 4 should appear as it does in the image below. If it already looks like this, leave it as is - setup is complete.
  4. If it does not appear as it does below, enter the details so that it matches. Click Save.


Retailer Setup

  1. From the main menu screen in Retailer, go up the top to Setup -> API Connection. Click Allotrac on the left.
  2. Under Login, enter the Username and Password that Retailer will use to sign into the Allotrac dashboard, as discussed in the Allotrac Setup section.
  3. Under Authorisation, in the Client ID enter the Device ID that you entered in registered devices in Allotrac during the Allotrac Setup section.
  4. For Hostname, enter the web address of the Allotrac dashboard that you use (eg. https://yourbusinessname.allotrac.com.au). It is important to include the https:// at the start of the address.
  5. Once you have filled in these 4 fields, click Save. After a brief pause, you should see the little red dot next to the Allotrac logo turn green. Close this settings window,
  6. Open Dispatch Management (Customers -> Dispatch Management) Click the cogs icon up the top to open Dispatch Setup
  7. Click Add to add a resource. Select Allotrac as the Dispatch Method and click OK. You should now be able to assign your deliveries to Allotrac.


Sending Deliveries to Allotrac

For help creating new deliveries in Dispatch Management, click HERE. For managing existing ones, click HERE.
Sending jobs to Allotrac works very simply. Once setup in Retailer is complete, Allotrac will appear as a resource in Dispatch Management, similar to how your various delivery vehicles would normally appear. When creating or editing a delivery, simply drag the job into the Allotrac column the same way you would normally assign a delivery. Any delivery placed in the Allotrac column will automatically appear as a job in your Allotrac dashboard. From there, you can manage the delivery in Allotrac as you normally would.

Any changes you make to the delivery in Retailer will be updated to Allotrac. This works by deleting the original job in Allotrac and creating a new one with the updated details. Keep in mind that changes made on the Allotrac side will be lost during this process.
If you edit a delivery that was already assigned to Allotrac in Retailer, any changes you made to the job in Allotrac will be lost.
Stock items to be delivered will be automatically sent to Allotrac and matched by barcode. If the barcode does not exist in Allotrac, a new stock item will be created. If you have existing products in Allotrac with incorrect barcodes, this can cause duplicate products. You will need to update your Allotrac barcodes to avoid this issue.

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