Dispatch a scheduled order
Last updated: September 22, 2026
A scheduled order carries a pickup and dropoff window you set ahead of time. Getting one carried well is mostly a question of when the order reaches providers, which is not the same thing as when you created it.
Two clocks matter:
- The pickup window — when the order needs to be collected.
- Required notice — how far ahead of that pickup a provider needs to see the order before it will quote. This is set per provider contract, and it differs between them.
Creating early isn't the same as dispatching early
An order sitting in Ready to Dispatch hasn't been offered to anyone. Creating it days ahead doesn't give providers more notice — the clock that matters starts when the order is dispatched.
That cuts both ways. Dispatch too late and providers with a required notice period won't quote. Dispatch very far ahead and some providers won't return a quote yet either, because they don't take bookings that far out. The window where the most providers will quote sits between the two, and it's different for each one.
Let Nash dispatch it at the right time
Rather than timing it by hand, put the timing in the dispatch strategy:
- Auto-Dispatch Relative to Pickup Start Time dispatches the order a set number of minutes before its pickup time, instead of at creation. You create the order whenever it's convenient, and Nash sends it out in the window you chose.
Set it on the strategy the order uses — see dispatch strategy settings for the field, and set up a dispatch strategy for the walkthrough. It doesn't apply to orders using an optimization strategy.
If you'd rather keep it manual, dispatch the order yourself from Ready to Dispatch — see dispatch an order.
When a scheduled order gets no quotes
Open the quotes and turn on Show unavailable — see see why a provider didn't quote. For a scheduled order, the reasons worth looking for are:
- The job doesn't meet the minimum lead time — the pickup is sooner than that contract's required notice. Move the pickup later, or dispatch earlier next time.
- Outside allowed time windows — the contract isn't live on that day or at that hour.
- The address isn't covered, or the distance exceeds the maximum radius — timing isn't the problem; see check if an address can be served.
Reading which of these you're hitting, on your own orders, is how you work out the notice each of your providers actually needs.
Note
Required notice is set on the provider's contract by Nash, and varies by provider and by organization. There's no single lead time that applies to every provider on your account.
What affects this
| Setting | Where it's set | What it does here |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-Dispatch Relative to Pickup Start Time | on the dispatch strategy — see dispatch strategy settings | dispatches the order a set time before pickup instead of at creation |
| Auto-Dispatch on Creation | on the dispatch strategy | sends the order out the moment it's created |
| Providers & contracts | your provider setup, configured by Nash | set the required notice and the days and hours each provider is live |
| Operating hours & after-hours behavior | your organization settings — see set operating hours and dispatch behavior | can reschedule a pickup that falls after your cutoff |
| Delivery windows | your delivery-windows setup — see delivery windows overview | constrain which pickup and dropoff windows are available |