IT for Fuel Delivery

With mobile communications and computer system computer software, fuel oil dealers can automate significantly of their delivery and management processes to boost efficiency and productivity. Implementing such technology also accelerates the invoicing process, which might be a boon for the bottom line.

Digital Dispatcher



Digital Dispatcher is marketed as an low-cost selection, the company’s literature says, for the reason that there is “no massive hardware investment. Most prospects currently have the cell phones, computer systems as well as other hardware tools necessary to implement the system.”

“We generally make use of the cell phone network plus the mobile phone itself because the field mobile device, which you'll be able to choose up in the regional Verizon, Sprint or AT&T store,” said Tom Duffey of Digital Dispatcher, based in Jenkintown, Pa. “That’s our point of differentiation. Smart phones and rugged tablets are very low-cost. You can get a rugged tablet for under $200.” In comparison, ruggedized handheld computers and ruggedized laptops cost thousands of dollars, Duffey pointed out.

Learn more here on propane delivery software.

Digital Dispatcher includes a full back office suite, which interfaces with customer accounting computer software. This includes a fuel delivery field management answer for home heating oil deliveries, which features a comprehensive interface to existing customer accounting software packages.



For example, Duffey said, work orders are picked up by the Digital Dispatcher system, working in conjunction with the accounting computer software. The Digital Dispatcher system features tools to help execute those work orders, including route optimization, which is growing increasingly useful, Duffey said. “There are a great deal of companies that are doing more same day, will-call deliveries in addition to the pre-defined routes,” he said, and Digital Dispatch is especially suited for that scenario. What would ordinarily involve “a cumbersome, labor-intensive voice communication between the dispatcher and a driver in the field may be managed with a couple of clicks of a mouse,” Duffey said.

The technique also makes use of a Bluetooth connection inside the field to interface with electronic registers on the oil trucks, and printers to print reports and delivery tickets.