Set up dispatch automations

Last updated: October 12, 2026

A dispatch automation picks the dispatch strategy for every order or delivery that arrives without one. You write it as a short list of if/then rules — "if the pickup store is in Ottawa, use the Ottawa strategy" — and a Default Dispatch Strategy for anything no rule matches. It's how most organizations make sure every order gets a strategy without anyone choosing one by hand.

Dispatch automations live under Orchestrate ▸ Workflows - Automations. That's a different page from Orchestrate ▸ Workflows, the trigger-and-action builder you use for alerts and other automations — see workflows. You don't need Workflows to set up dispatch automations.

Before you start, create the strategies you want to apply — see set up a dispatch strategy.

How the rules are applied

When an order or delivery comes in without a dispatch strategy, Nash checks your rules from top to bottom and applies the strategy from the first rule that matches. If no rule matches, it applies the Default Dispatch Strategy. Orders that already name a strategy — set on the order itself or sent through the API — are left alone.

Because the first match wins, put your most specific rules at the top and broader rules below them.

Turn on dispatch automations

  1. Go to Orchestrate ▸ Workflows - Automations and open the Dispatch tab.
  2. If you see No Workflow found, select Enable Workflows. The rule chain appears, starting at Order / Delivery Received and ending at If no rule matches.

Add a rule

  1. Select Add rule.
  2. Enter an Automation Name that describes the rule, for example "Ottawa stores".
  3. Under Define Rules, select Add Criteria and choose what the rule checks — for example Pickup Store Location, Pickup City, Driving Distance, Package / Order Value, Tags or a Metadata key. Add more criteria if the rule should check several things.
  4. Under Apply Dispatch Strategy, choose the strategy to use when the criteria match.
  5. Save, and confirm the change.

Repeat for each rule. To change the order the rules are checked in, drag a rule by its handle and confirm the new order.

Split orders by percentage with Random Grouping

Random Grouping is a criterion that lets a rule catch a share of your orders instead of a particular kind of order — handy for trying a new strategy on a slice of your volume before you roll it out everywhere.

Every order gets a Random Grouping number from 0 to 99, worked out from its order ID. The number looks random across orders, but it's fixed for each order: the same order always gets the same number, every time the rules are checked. A batch is checked using the number of its first order.

Because the numbers spread evenly from 0 to 99, a range of numbers works as a percentage. Random Grouping offers Greater Than, Less Than, Equals, Does Not Equal, Greater Than or Equal and Less Than or Equal.

For example, to send about 20% of orders to a test strategy:

  1. Add a rule with the criterion Random Grouping, Less Than, 20.
  2. Under Apply Dispatch Strategy, choose your test strategy.
  3. Put the rule where you want it in the chain. Orders numbered 0–19 that reach it use the test strategy; the rest move on to your other rules and the default.

The split is approximate: over many orders it comes out close to 20%, but any small batch of orders can land a little above or below. To pick a different slice of orders for a second test, use a different range, such as Greater Than or Equal 80 for the top 20%.

Set the default strategy

  1. Select the If no rule matches step.
  2. Choose your Default Dispatch Strategy — the strategy used for any order or delivery that no rule matches.
  3. Select Save Changes.

If you leave the default as None, orders that match no rule get no strategy from the automation.

Tip

Set a default even if you only have one strategy. It's the simplest way to make sure every order is dispatched with the rules you expect.

Check that it works

Create a test order from Orders ▸ Create Order and leave Dispatch Strategy on Via Workflow, which means the automation will choose it. Once the order is created, hover over its dispatch strategy: the tooltip says whether it was assigned by a rule ("Dispatch strategy assigned via workflow rule: …") or by the default ("Default Dispatch Strategy has been assigned to this order").

Turn a rule off or back on

Removing a rule takes it out of the chain, so it no longer decides the strategy. Removed rules are kept under Inactive Dispatch Rules; open that list and select Activate to put a rule back.

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