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EFFICIENT ROUTE AND TOUR PLANNING – WHAT IS IT ALL ABOUT?
9 Feb 2021 · Jonas Hansen
Finding the best tours for your employees can be an exhausting and time-consuming task. Even with 10 orders, there are more than 3.6 million (in numbers: 3,600,000) possibilities with just one vehicle. By way of comparison, the probability of getting 5 correct numbers plus the bonus ball in the lottery is 1 in 542,008. Determining the optimal order of the jobs to be completed is therefore tantamount to a game of chance.
But that's not all. Very few field service companies (only) have the requirement to determine and complete the best possible combination of orders. Limitations such as vehicle type restrictions like size and weight, different employees with different skills and needs, or which roads and routes can be used for the tour, do not make this task any easier.
'INTUITION' – A SOURCE OF ERROR
Even in initial discussions, concrete starting points often emerge that can be addressed by professional tour planning software. When asked about the status quo of planning, 'We rely on the intuition of our dispatchers' or 'Our planning results usually look good on the map, but we have very high costs and are often pressed for time' are among the standard answers. This is often due to the necessity to manually intervene in planning. With the above conditions, manual scheduling can quickly increase additional costs and create revenue traps.The goal for the software solution should be to take the planning task off your hands completely and, thanks to a high-performance algorithm, create an efficient schedule within seconds, taking all restrictions into account and also reacting immediately to spontaneous, unforeseeble situations - whilst considering the entire tour plan. Nightly batch runs within scheduling are no longer an option. This is clearly illustrated by the example of scheduling appointments via a call centre.
If appointments are scheduled manually, white spaces in the appointment calendar are filled - but there is no optimisation. If a nightly batch run takes place after the appointments have been allocated, re-scheduling is often necessary. This means additional organisational effort for the call centre. By adopting a specifc tour planning software, a call centre agent can offer live, pre-cost-optimised appointment suggestions within seconds.
TRY POWEROPT LIVE
The PowerOpt Algorithm: Welcome to real time and the heart of FLS VISITOUR. A developed algorithm that maps the complex requirements of field service operations with real-time scheduling and embedded route planning.FOCUS ON BUSINESS GOALS
In addition to quick and targeted planning, the focus is naturally also on achieving corporate goals, such as cost reduction, resource conservation and increased efficiency. Mileage savings of up to 52% through optimised planning or an increase in orders through a 42% reduction in throughput time are advantages that quickly make themselves felt in the reduction of costs. In addition, improving the eco-balance by reducing CO₂ emissions is another factor that cannot be ignored, as well as vehicle wear and tear. No matter what goals are pursued and prioritised, the right scheduling engine within your job management/CRM/ERP service ecosystem will help achieve them.Employee and customer satisfaction are considered to be the keys to success in any business. The satisfaction of your team will also have an impact on the quality of work and therefore on your customers. In order to address different employee needs, 'simple' planning models very quickly reach their limits. For example, your employees have different qualifications and skills and are preferably assigned to certain types of jobs, or you schedule employees with different working time models and from variable start and end points.
In each tour, you must to ensure that employees receive adequate breaks and that overtime is avoided: Ensuring a healthy work-life balance. By eliminating manual scheduling with software support, dispatchers and call centre staff can focus on special cases, taking your escalation management to a new level. Your field service fleet will find it easier to meet SLAs, missed trips will be reduced and waiting times at the customer's premises will be kept to a minimum. Increased adherence to schedules and the best first-time-fix rate will then convince even the last critics.
ADVANTAGES THROUGH OPTIMALLY PLANNED RESOURCES
Professional route and tour planning should do more than just optimise the sequence of appointments based on the road network. The consideration and fulfilment of many different, complex aspects, brings your company decisive advantages. The use of dynamic software-based tour planning is a must from as little as 30 field resources.FLS VISITOUR provides companies with a unique competitive advantage, supports them in achieving individual company goals, and at the same time increases employee and customer satisfaction, thereby contributing to the company's success in the long term.

REALISE A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE WITH A UNIQUE FIELD SERVICE SOLUTION
We evaluate your field organisation's process efficiency, planning quality, and cost structure. To gain an understanding of tools to optimise the field experience for your workforce and customers book a short discussion or contact us at info@fastleansmart.com.Read more:
Tour planning or route planning: What's the difference?
Route scheduling: outpacing timesheets and Excel
Field service automation: next generation Field service
Interfaces: ERP and CRM integration in record time with API