What is automatic assignment?
The Auto Assign Resources feature in Qargo allows you to automatically allocate orders to specific resources based on pre-defined rules. Unlike the traditional assignment, which was linked only to transportation services, this feature provides greater flexibility by enabling direct assignment to individual resources under certain conditions.
This helps reduce manual planning, ensures consistency in resource allocation, and supports more efficient operations.
A typical scenario is when orders need to be assigned directly to a depot (acting as a subcontractor) or to specific drivers or vehicles at that depot.
Terminology
Term | Definition |
Automated Resource Allocation | A rules-based method for assigning orders or trips to resources without manual intervention. |
Resource | Any entity eligible to receive an order or trip, including drivers, vehicles, trailers, subcontractors, or containers. |
Conditions | The parameters or criteria that determine when a resource should be automatically assigned. |
Operator | When configuring conditions this defines inclusion / exclusions using 'is / is not' for instance. |
Trip matching | A rule option that adds a new order to an existing trip with the same field values, instead of creating a new trip. |
Trip template | A named, fixed sequence of at least two stops that a rule copies into a new trip when no matching trip exists yet. |
Matching fields | The order fields (customer reference, recurring route name, and a pick up or delivery date) that must be equal for an order to join a trip. |
Configuration Steps
🧰 Requires Super Admins / Admin user permissions to configure rules.
Navigate to CONFIGURATION > Rules > Auto-assign >Trip resource assignment
Click Add Item to start configuring.
Select the trip plan action to determine if the status of the trip on assignment. There are 2 options:
Plan trip - Trip will automatically be assigned into a PLANNED status
Set fields without planning - Trip will automatically be assigned into a TO PLAN status. Users will still need to set the trip into a Planned status.
Choose a primary resource from the drop down.
Resources must be added in the Resources menu to be available to select.
(Optional) Add secondary resources (Also must be in Resources first.)
Enter additional details such as trip start time and trip name.
Define the conditions that will trigger the automatic allocation.
Save your configuration.
Configuring conditions
Qargo allows for the automatic assignment of resources, along with a specified start time and trip name, based on defined order conditions. These conditions are built using:
Two calculation methods:
Simple Rule: This method allows for the creation of straightforward rules, consisting of a metric (such as number of collections or weight), an operator (such as greater or smaller than), and a specific value.
Excel Table Logic: Conditions can also be defined using an Excel table format.
Within the Values tab, the resource will be auto-assigned to any case where the corresponding metric is ticked. Metrics left unticked will not trigger the resource's assignment.
Both calculation methods have three possible metrics:
Goods (ordered). This is based on cargo details entered in the order creation, including packaging types, quantities or dimensional metrics
Order. This is based on order details, including transport or service levels, customers or vehicles, and import sources.
Route. This is based on stop details or activities included in the order.
Select the preferred metric, add the operator which will determine if this is to be included or excluded as part of the logic.
Add the Value associated to the metric selected, options available here will be driven by the Metric selected.
Multiple conditions can be added to each rule -including an Excel table condition plus a simple rule condition- and will be executed in the order added.
Trip matching
A rule with the action Plan trip creates a new trip for every order by default. Trip matching changes this: a new order can join a trip that an earlier order created through the same kind of rule. This removes the daily work of merging trips or dragging orders onto the right trip for fixed routes, depot trunks and groupage.
🧰 Trip matching only applies to rules with the action Plan trip. Rules left on None (Create a new trip) behave as before.
How matching works
A trip matches when every selected matching field is equal between the order and the trip. Customer reference and/or Recurring route name, plus either First pickup date or Last delivery date.
Dates are compared, not times.
The joining order's stops are inserted into the trip.
Trips already dispatched or in progress, are never matched.
The primary resource and trip start time set on the rule apply only when the rule creates the trip. An order that joins an existing trip keeps that trip's resources.
An order only joins a trip made by a rule with the same matching fields. For example, a trip made by a rule matching on Customer reference is not joined by orders handled by a rule matching on Recurring route name.
There is no bulk reassignment. An order on the wrong trip has to be moved manually.
Note for matching
Matching only happens when an order is created. Trips created by hand, or created before a rule was switched to matching, are not joined.
Only trips created by the rule after you switch the matching option on can be matched. Trips that already exist, and trips planners create by hand, are never joined.
Matching uses the requested collection and delivery dates, not times.
An order with one of the chosen matching fields empty (for example no Customer reference) is not matched and not planned: it gets its own trip, but that trip stays in To plan without the rule's resources, so a planner has to plan it.
Matching applies only to trips created from an order. Other flows, such as depot splits, are excluded. After a split, the second trip is created new.
If two matching orders arrive at the exact same moment, each can create its own trip instead of joining one.
Configure trip matching
🧰 Requires Super Admins / Admin user permissions to configure rules.
Navigate to CONFIGURATION > Rules.
Select Trip resource assignment under Auto-assign section on the left side menu.
Open an existing rule or
Click Add rule.Set the Action to Plan trip. The Trip matching section only shows for this action.
Select an option under Matching the existing trip using:
Option | Behaviour |
None (Create a new trip) | Default. Every order gets its own trip. |
Check for an existing trip | The order joins a matching trip. If none exists, a new trip is created. |
Use trip template for matching | The order joins a matching trip. If none exists for that date, a new trip is copied from the selected trip template. |
Choose the matching fields under Match existing trip by fields/date:
Customer reference and/or Recurring route name (multi-select)
First pickup date or Last delivery date (single select)
Select a Trip template if 'Use trip template for matching' is chosen. The list ends with Create a new trip template, which opens the template modal over the rule. Saving the modal selects the new template on the rule.
Set Primary resources or Trip start time. A matching rule requires at least one of the two. These values apply only when the rule creates a new trip.
Save the rule.
An order with one of the chosen matching fields empty (for example no
Customer reference) is not matched and not planned: it gets its own trip, but that trip stays in To plan without the rule's resources, so a planner has to plan it.
No capacity check: a matching trip keeps taking orders regardless of size (no spill-over to a new trip when full).
Editing a trip template or a rule’s matching fields does not change trips that already exist. Only trips created afterwards use the new settings.
Trip templates
A trip template stores a fixed stop sequence for a recurring route. With Use trip template for matching, the first matching order for a date creates a trip from the template, and later matching orders for that date join it.
Trips are not pre-built on a schedule: a template trip only appears once the first matching order for that date arrives.
For how to create and manage templates, and how a trip is built from one, see TRIPS - Trip templates.
What planners see on the trip
Trip detail > General info shows a Matching key row with the values the trip matches later orders on, for example a customer reference plus the pickup date ("Bakery_2026-10-30"). The Matching key stays empty on trips created by hand or by a rule set to None (Create a new trip).
Example
A transport company runs a regular route between De Panne and Brugge. A trip template "Lou" holds two stops, De Panne and Brugge. The rule has the action Plan trip and Use trip template for matching with this template, and the matching fields Recurring route name and First pickup date.
The first order requested for 20 October with the route name "De Panne - Brugge" arrives. No trip exists for that date, so a trip is copied from the template and the rule's resources and start time are set.
Further orders with the same route name and pickup date join this trip, and their stops are inserted into it.
An order for 25 October creates a separate trip from the template, because the date differs.
Troubleshooting
‼️ Rules execute based on the order they are setup; the first match will execute and no further rules will be considered.
Rules require at least 1 condition. If a single condition needs an update, simply select the new value and click SAVE.
If conditions exist but the order does not auto assign, review the specific metrics for accuracy.
For instance, if using a postcodes, ensure the correct stop is identified; or that the postcode is included in a specified postcode zone.
Order did not join an existing trip, check that:
The trip was created by a rule with Check for an existing trip or Use trip template for matching. Trips created by hand, by a rule set to None (Create a new trip), or before the rule was switched to matching are never joined.
The trip is not yet dispatched or in progress.
Every selected matching field is equal, including the date.
Order got its own trip that stays in To plan without resources, one of the selected matching fields is empty on the order (for example no Customer reference). Such orders are not matched and not planned, so a planner has to plan the trip.
Workflow Example
When creating an order that falls within the rules setup, the specified resources will automatically be allocated.
The trip will be created
The order status will automatically be set to Planned.
Route details will show in the 'To Dispatch', unless the task is configured to switch to 'Planned' and is set to auto complete.
Create an order using those conditions and Qargo will automatically plan the order into the correct resource.
Practical Use Cases
Customer-specific automation – For example, always routing a particular customer’s orders through a pallet network.
Business segmentation – Automatically allocating brokered orders to subcontractors while assigning managed orders to in-house drivers or vehicles.
Route or customer-based allocation – Assigning resources to specific delivery routes or dedicated customer accounts.
Good to know
Resources are only allocated after the initial order creation, not when new stages are added.
Resource combinations cannot be used in the resource assignment as these combinations can change.
Assign the individual resources when setting up the rules.
Rule resources are applied only when a trip is created. They are not applied when an order joins an existing trip, and orders from an order template that has a resource keep their own.
📚 Keep conditions as clear and specific as possible to avoid conflicts between multiple allocation rules.