Creating & Managing Routes

Updated March 11, 2026 20:39

Creating and managing efficient routes is essential for optimizing operations and ensuring on-time deliveries. This article explains how to build routes using existing or new jobs and how to import routes in bulk in the Motive Dashboard.

Overview

The Motive Dashboard provides flexible tools to create, assign, and manage routes efficiently. Whether you're handling individual jobs or importing multiple routes at once, these tools simplify the dispatch process and improve operational control.

Save time: Quickly build optimized routes by selecting from existing or newly created jobs, allowing for faster dispatch planning.
Flexible creation: Choose between creating routes manually or importing multiple routes at once using a CSV file, making it easy to handle various job sizes.
Simple assignment: Easily assign routes to drivers directly from the Dashboard, ensuring smooth transitions from planning to execution.
Centralized route tracking: Manage and track all planned and dispatched routes in one place, offering better visibility and control over your fleet’s operations.

Creating a route

To build a route from scratch without pre-created jobs:

In the Fleet Dashboard, click Dispatch.
Click + Create Route.
On the Create Route page, fill out the Route Details, Pickup, and Delivery Location to create Dispatch.
Scroll down to fill out the Delivery details, including Email, Phone, Date, and Time etc.
Fill Location, Job, Time, and Goods for every stop of the route.
To add multiple stops, click the + icon and add a new delivery section. You can add more than 2 stops for a dispatch.
Note: The first and last stops are always the pickup and delivery sections respectively because they cannot be reordered.
Click the downward or upward arrow icon to re-order the delivery points with the map view to optimize the route.
Scroll down to the Dispatch Details section to assign a Driver and Vehicle.

Assigning a route

Log in to the Motive Fleet Dashboard and click Dispatch.
From the Plan tab, open the three-dot menu for the route you want to assign.
Click Assign.
Enter driver name, vehicle, asset, and dispatcher details.
Click Send to driver.
For drafts you want to assign without sending to drivers, click the arrow and select Save as draft.

Note: You can also assign work in bulk, select multiple routes and follow the above-mentioned steps.

Reassigning a route

Log in to the Motive Fleet Dashboard and click Dispatch.
From the Plan tab, select the routes you want to reassign.
Click Reassign.
Enter driver name, vehicle, asset, and dispatcher details.
Click Send to driver.
For drafts you want to assign without sending to drivers, click the arrow and select Save as draft.

Importing routes in bulk

To save time, you can import multiple routes at once:

In the Fleet Dashboard, go to Dispatch > Jobs.
Click Import.
Download the CSV template or use your own CSV file with the correct column headers. File can contain 3 types of dispatch content:

Un-assigned jobs (need location, date, and job type) - User can then route and assign the jobs in Fleet Dashboard.
Un-assigned routes - If jobs have a matching route name and date, they will be created as a route, and the user can then schedule/assign routes in the Fleet Dashboard.
Assigned routes - A route that also has a driver/vehicle assignment will be assigned to those resources.
For locations - If the user has existing locations in the Fleet Dashboard, only the location name is needed in the template; coordinates or address are needed as well.
The upload allows for duplicate line items.
If one job on a route fails, the whole route will not be uploaded. However, if a file contains 3 routes, 2 can upload and 1 can fail.

Add your job details to the CSV. This can be exported from your order management system or entered manually.
Upload the completed file.
Review the import summary and fix any flagged errors.
Click Import to add all jobs to your schedule.

Note: Be sure to use the exact formatting in the CSV template to avoid errors during import.

FAQs

How to edit a route after saving it?

To edit a route after saving it:

In the Motive Dashboard go to Dispatch > Routes.
Select the saved route you want to edit.
Make the necessary changes to the route.
Save the updated route before dispatching it.

What file format is required for importing routes?

Only properly formatted CSV files using Motive’s template are supported.

How do I assign a route to a specific driver?

During the assignment, you’ll be prompted to choose a driver from your fleet.

Can I include special instructions or attachments with jobs in a route?

Yes, you can add notes or attachments when creating or editing any job.

Is there a limit to the number of jobs in a single route?

There’s no set limit, but extremely large routes may impact performance. For best results, keep routes at a manageable size.

How can I set up recurring routes or dispatches that repeat automatically on a schedule and automate the assignment of these routes to my team?

Currently, Motive does not support fully automated recurring routes and their assignment directly inside Dispatch. However, there are two ways you can handle recurring daily deliveries:

Bulk import via CSV (best for many recurring routes): You can use our Dispatch CSV import to upload jobs and routes in bulk. Create a CSV file with your recurring deliveries (stops, dates, drivers/vehicles as needed). Reuse this file daily or weekly by updating the dates and importing it again, instead of rebuilding each route from scratch.
Duplicate an existing route (best for a few routes): Create a template route in Dispatch with all the stops and details you need. For each new day, copy/duplicate that route, update the date and any small changes, and assign it to the driver/vehicle.

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