Driver dispatch (Onfleet / Bringg / Locus) — integration pattern with Magento?
Three serious dispatch platforms, slightly different fits:
- Onfleet — mid-market, $149–$549/mo, clean API, US + EU + AU coverage, best for 50–500 deliveries/day. Magento → Onfleet `tasks` API at order placement → driver auto-assigned via Onfleet’s routing → SMS tracking link → completion webhook back to Magento. ~3 days dev to wire end-to-end.
- Bringg — enterprise, custom pricing (~$2k+/mo), better for >500 deliveries/day with complex routing (multi-stop, multi-vehicle, time-windows). API is heavier but more capable. ~2 weeks dev to wire fully.
- Locus — APAC + India, similar to Bringg in capability, often a better fit for INR / SEA brands. Pricing similar to Bringg’s mid-tier.
Integration anatomy: Magento order placed → custom observer fires → API call to dispatch creates task with delivery address, slot window, line items, special instructions (cold-chain temp band, fragile, signature required). Dispatch returns task ID stored on the order. Driver app picks up task. Delivery completion webhook fires → Magento updates order status + sends SMS thank-you.
Common gotcha: don’t put the dispatch call in the synchronous order-placement flow. Queue it (RabbitMQ / Magento queue framework / Redis) so a dispatch-API outage doesn’t block customer checkouts.