FinderKGet started

Dispatcher job simulation

Van three has broken down

“Van three has broken down” is a dispatcher job simulation on FinderK.

You work at Lockgate Couriers, an original fictional company, and complete 3 assignments in about 50 minutes.

It is for anyone who wants to practice dispatcher work. No previous work experience is required.

Role
Dispatcher
Industry
Logistics dispatch
Level
Early career
Time
About 50 minutes, 3 assignments
Access
Included in Plus
Created by
FinderK

A van has broken down with nine parcels, including medicines, funeral flowers and lab samples. Reassign them within three drivers' hours, decide what moves to tomorrow, and keep the customers who will wait informed.

Read the full brief

You are the afternoon dispatcher at a city courier. A van has broken down at lunchtime with nine parcels still on board. You reassign them to three drivers using the added time each would take, the deadlines and the drivers' hours rules, putting the critical items first. Then you decide with your manager whether to pay for a subcontractor van or move the parcels that can wait, and you tell the customers whose parcels will be late. Automated checks confirm your counts and saved work; your judgement is reviewed against the standard for the role.

What is Lockgate Couriers?

Lockgate Couriers is a fictional same day and next day courier in Birmingham with eleven vans. It delivers for pharmacies, florists, laboratories, businesses and online shops, under service terms that promise delivery by the deadline on each booking. This case runs on Tuesday 17 November 2026, from 12:40.

Who do you play?

You are the dispatcher in the Operations team.

You plan and change drivers' routes during the day. You may reassign parcels among Lockgate drivers within their spare time and space and the hours rules, and move next day parcels to the next morning with notice to the customer. You may not move same day parcels to tomorrow, book a subcontractor van or ask a driver to break the hours rules. Gemma approves subcontractors.

What will you do?

  1. 1. Reassign van 3's parcels

    20 minutes

  2. 2. Recommend: subcontractor or tomorrow

    15 minutes

  3. 3. Tell the customers who will wait

    15 minutes

Which skills will you practice?

Which work tools will you use?

  • Mail
  • Office documents and spreadsheets
  • Tables
  • Chat

Who will you work with?

  • Gemma Clarke, operations manager
  • Ade Bamidele, driver, van 2
  • Marta Nowak, driver, van 4
  • Kevin Doyle, driver, van 6

These coworkers are fictional. They may make mistakes, so compare their suggestions with the evidence.

Frequently asked questions

How long does “Van three has broken down” take?

About 50 minutes, across 3 assignments. When the time is up, you get 10 minutes to round up and submit. Pausing stops the clock.

Is “Van three has broken down” free?

No. It is included in FinderK Plus. With a free account you can also do it without grading.

Do I need dispatcher experience?

No. No previous work experience is required. The listed level is early career.

What do I get when I finish?

You get feedback on each assignment you submit. Completing all required assignments earns a completion certificate. It records participation and is not professional accreditation.

Is Lockgate Couriers a real company?

No. Lockgate Couriers is an original fictional company made for practice. Its coworkers may make mistakes, so check their suggestions against the evidence.

Hold the batch or make the truck

Quality technician at Pennant Precision Components

About 75 minutes. Included in Plus.

A batch for the morning truck failed its final check on a machine that has just failed calibration. Decide what the results really show, contain the batch, and tell the customer the facts.

Skills: Interpret inspection data from a suspect measuring instrument; Hold product within quality authority under schedule pressure; Define a containment from in-process records; Write a factual nonconformance report and customer notification

Recover the schedule after the fog

Duty operations controller at Skerry Air

About 80 minutes. Included in Plus.

Fog has held twelve morning flights and three crews whose duty limits are running out. Build a recovery plan that stays inside the limits without leaning on captains' discretion, look after the passengers, and replan when an island airport says it will close early.

Skills: Rebuild a flying programme within crew duty limits; Choose which service to protect when not all can run; Refuse to plan on discretion under pressure; Arrange passenger care and priority help through the right team; Replan quickly when a new constraint arrives

The cleaning contract renewal

Facilities and procurement coordinator at Marlow Street Studios

About 85 minutes. Included in Plus.

The office cleaning contract ends in six weeks. Reconcile a year of invoices against the contract and the sign-in log, recommend to your manager whether to renew, negotiate or retender and what needs approval from whom, and put the practice's position to the supplier.

Skills: Reconcile invoiced work against contract terms and site records; Evaluate commercial options under budget and authority constraints; Respect approval limits and escalate the right decision; Communicate a negotiating position to a supplier honestly

The Monday order and the empty shift

Operations assistant at Millbrook Bakehouse

About 55 minutes. Included in Plus.

Work out the week's supplier order from the records and the rules, cover a barista shift without breaking the hours limit, then send the order and fix the rota so the week runs from the records.

Skills: Work out an order from records, rules and pack sizes; Read a lead time against a date; Find the cover that fits the rules, not the easiest one; Turn an approval into records other people run from

This is an original fictional workplace for learning. A completion certificate records participation, not professional accreditation.

Create your FinderK account