Set up dispatch automations

Last updated: October 7, 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.

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.

Related