Optimize field service planning

If you want to optimise your field service with planning software today, you need to keep an eye on all areas. Firstly, you need optimised route planning to better structure your visits. Secondly, you need to maintain comprehensive geomanagement. As a result, the results of structural field service planning are often later incorporated into sales planning and the central customer data management of an ERP software system.

Optimised field service planning with IT support

When it comes to planning and optimisation, the field sales force is faced with sometimes conflicting optimisation objectives, such as minimising the proportion of travel time, balancing employee workloads, optimal customer allocation, the optimal team size to cover the territory structure and, of course, the ultimate goal of the highest quality visit at the lowest cost.

Typical sales force structure questions

The first is the efficiency of the sales force. There are a number of issues that need to be examined: Where are the best locations for the sales force? What are the workloads of the individual employees and is the workload of the sales force evenly distributed or fair? Is it possible to restructure responsibilities or districts? The next step is to maximise the savings potential by increasing the transparency and quality of customer visits.

Field service scheduling and visit planning, service offering

How do we approach the task? First, we analyse the current sales force structure in terms of customers, locations, turnover, visit frequency, visit days and duration, and then determine the actual cost situation. This is followed by cluster and territory planning with optimisation of the customer and location structure based on digital street maps. In the simulation, we determine areas with equal capacity utilisation and minimum travel times. We then create the visit plan. This consists of an outline tour plan that we develop using tour planning software. From this we derive daily, weekly and period plans and determine the target times for individual sub-areas. As a result, we can derive potential savings compared to the actual situation. We can also evaluate alternative scenarios in this simulation environment.

Field service planning for sales

Many factors influence field sales planning. The first step in qualified sales force planning is therefore the logistical preparation of the current situation. This concerns the entire structure of your service with all the associated parameters such as times, workloads, visit planning, visit rhythms, visit days and, of course, costs. In sales planning, this also includes territories and locations, which are transparently analysed in digital maps using planning software. As the basic analysis can also generate parameter specifications for the target situation, these can be adopted as targets or set by you.

At this point, we know how you are positioned today, what your structure looks like, and what our basis of comparison is in terms of potential savings from optimising your sales planning.

A simulation is used to fine-tune the territories and, if desired, the optimal ADM locations. The following parameters are used to achieve an overall optimum:

• Low travel times
• Consistent ADM utilisation
• Minimal cost of travel

Restrictions such as possible visiting times play an important role and are always taken into account. The aim is to spend more time with the customer and less time on the road. In the first stage of sales planning and optimisation for the sales force, this is done in our software by estimating route time based on digital road maps. No actual tours are created at this stage.

Alternative concepts are often explored at this stage. Variable parameters that can be increased or decreased lead to different results. These scenarios are evaluated on the basis of the resulting costs. The most important parameters in visit planning are

• the total number of clients to be served
• the frequency of visits (weekly, 2-weekly, 4-weekly, …)
• the duration of the visit

Use of planning software as a route planning tool

Only when the basic concept for field service planning, including locations and territories, has been finalised and decided upon, does the second and much more extensive planning stage follow. Here, planning software is used as a route planning tool to plan the operational visit tours. The aim here is to generate realistic route plans with optimised travel times, which enable greater adherence to schedules and transparency, thus optimising your field service planning comprehensively and sustainably.

As experienced logistics consultants, ORGAPLAN Logistik GmbH will support you in implementing the new structure.