Use case · By object · Orders

Alert dispatch and the customer when a shipment runs late

When a shipment ETA slips past 30 minutes for a high-priority customer, notify dispatch and email the customer a revised ETA. One automation, two messages.

Published April 22, 2026Verified on release 2026.4
Rocket EngineOrdersCustomers
Automation: field updated event, customer priority condition, send email action, over a coastal road
On this page3 sections
  1. The situation
  2. The workflow
  3. Extend it

The situation

A driver hits weather outside Toledo and the ETA on a high-priority load slips an hour. Dispatch finds out when the customer calls, and the customer finds out when the dock sits empty. Nobody did anything wrong; the ETA changed on the order and no one was watching that field.

The workflow

  1. Event: Field updated on the order record, when Shipment ETA becomes more than 30 minutes late.
  2. Condition: Customer priority is High.
  3. Action: Send email to the dispatch team: “High priority order [Order ID] is running late. New ETA: [New ETA].”
  4. And: email the customer: “Heads up, your shipment [Order ID] has a revised ETA of [New ETA]. We’re on it.”

Extend it

Widen the condition past High once the copy has earned its keep, or split it: dispatch hears about every tier, the customer hears only when the slip crosses an hour. Swapping the email for a Rocket Engine action that writes the revised ETA to the order gives finance a record of what was promised, which matters when a detention charge is disputed later.

More on Orders, Customers