Mobile Dispatch Software

Push jobs to mobile workers on iPad or Android using custom mobile dispatch forms that work offline and connect online.

The essence of dispatch is the need to let a mobile workforce know where to go, when to go, and what to do there. Sales calls, safety inspections, home health care visits, insurance investigations, merchandising surveys — any kind of activity that involves being directed to a location to do an activity and report back fits the model of a dispatch scenario.

Companies without mobile dispatch software usually either send mobile workers out with a stack of paper dispatch forms, or they use phone calls or messaging to convey new tasks as they arise. Formotus has invented an elegant alternative — mobile dispatch forms for that both send the worker out to the job and let him report back on the results, all over-the-air using forms that can also be used with Microsoft Office.

Formotus advanced collaboration forms support a wide range of dispatch scenarios on mobile devices such as iPad and Android tablets. Service companies (HVAC, plumbing, computer repair, etc.) can dispatch technicians to a job site with instructions on what needs to be fixed. Data collectors (inspectors, surveyors, estimators, investigators) can submit their findings from the field — complete with photos and diagrams — using the same form that told them where to go and what to do. Home health care providers can be assigned patients to visit. Delivery drivers can be sent to their destinations and return proof of delivery forms complete with signature and gps coordinates.

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FAQ

How do these dispatch forms differ from other Formotus forms?

The easiest way to understand the difference is to think of paper forms.

First picture a thick pad of blank paper forms on a clipboard. Tear one off, fill it out. Tear another off, fill it out. Keep unfinished forms on your clipboard for later. Submit them when you’re done, and never see them again. That’s how regular Formotus forms work to replace the clipboard, but there’s no paper, no limit on the number of forms, and no need to drive the forms to HQ because they submit over the air.

Now picture someone handing you a single paper form and it’s not blank. Someone has already written your name on it, along with instructions on where to go and what to do there. Maybe you are handed ten different assignments at once, so you grab the forms, stick them in your briefcase and hit the road. When the jobs are completed you mark them done and return them to the office.

This is how Formotus dispatch forms work. The mobile worker never opens a blank new form, but instead grabs a form that has been assigned to him.

Are these forms sent by email? Or is this a browser-based solution?

None of the above. The mobile user opens our native client app, Forms Central, and sees jobs he has received. When he completes and submits a job, it disappears from the list. What’s really happening is that the app is making a direct data connection to a SharePoint site to query and submit form data. This is explained in greater detail below, but the short version is that no email and no browser is involved.

How does it work?

Here is the Formotus dispatch functionality in a nutshell:

1. A ‘job’  is created as a new form and information is entered into it by the dispatcher. This is actually a new instance of an InfoPath form template created in a SharePoint library, but the mobile user doesn’t need to know that.
2. A mobile user sees a job in his to-do list if it meets certain defined requirements (for example if it is assigned to that user, matches today’s date, and is not yet completed). This is actually the Formotus software offering the mobile user a custom tailored view of the SharePoint library, but it looks more like an inbox or a to-do list.
3. The mobile user ‘grabs the job’ while online so he can open it later even if offline. Behind the scenes the mobile user is actually performing a check-out of the InfoPath instance from SharePoint.
4. The mobile user opens the job anywhere, anytime, even offline. The dispatch fields are already filled out, typically ‘where, when, and what’ to do.
5. The mobile user finishes filling the job form, submits it, and it disappears from the to-do list. What’s really happening is that the form has been checked back in to SharePoint with new information in it. Because it has been completed, it no longer shows in the mobile user’s custom view.
6. If no connection is available, the form stays in an outbox queue until the data connection returns.

What other kinds of scenarios can be enabled with these forms?

Field service management is one area with a high demand for replacing paper with mobile process automation. However, the use cases of dispatch forms apply to a much broader range of scenarios. Anywhere organizations want to streamline human workflow and business collaboration processes using the latest mobile devices, Formotus forms provide a powerful platform for creating custom solutions.

Beyond dispatch scenarios, which usually involve one round-trip of the form out and back, forms can also be designed to handle more complex workflow and collaboration scenarios.  For example, one mobile user can be able to re-assign a form to another. A sales person might assign an estimator who might then assign an installer, for example. Or a proposal form may need multiple approvals before finally being assigned to a person to initiate the work. All different kinds of business process management scenarios can be enabled on mobile devices using Formotus advanced collaboration forms.