5 Must-Haves for Scheduling and Route Optimization Software

Scheduling Optimization and Route Optimization Software 

In 2020, it is essential that your field service company starts adapting to the industry-wide digital transformation, saying goodbye to the antiquated manual practices that scare away customers and waste your valuable time and money. Leveraging scheduling optimization and route optimization software is undoubtedly a critical part of this modern transformation. However, not all software comes with the features necessary to succeed in this cutting-edge landscape. 

This blog post will outline the 5 must-have features for your scheduling and route optimization software. By following these guidelines, your field service company will be able to optimize service operations, improve scheduling efficiency, streamline technician communication, and improve your customer experience. 

5 Must-Haves for Service Scheduling and Route Optimization Software

Intelligent software is a must-have in 2020. Rule-based scheduling software has limited capabilities that fail to take into account the complexity of modern workforce management, limiting your ability to dynamically manage your workforce as priorities and inevitably schedules change. That is why you need AI-driven scheduling software that employs annealing algorithms, allowing you to seamlessly manage your workforce in real-time. With intra-day updates, changes, and bookings, you can rest assured that last-minute scheduling surprises are a worry of the past. By scheduling with required and available inventory, you know that your technicians will always be prepared with exactly the right part for the job. In addition, configurable workforce and schedule cost parameters that align with your custom business KPIs allow you to plan for and reach the goals that are most important to your individual business. 

AI-Driven scheduling and route optimization software can increase first-time fix rates by up to 40% by improving scheduling efficiency, ensuring accurate appointment times, and employing available inventory for each service job. Workforce scheduling is the secret to success in the field service industry, and intelligent scheduling software can actually increase customer satisfaction rates by 10%. Providing a positive customer experience can be the difference between your success and your competitors; in fact, 60% of organizations state that customer service is the top source of competitive differentiation. By optimizing your customer experience with AI-based scheduling software, you can set your company apart from the competition and secure your success in the marketplace. 

Field team management is a critical feature for scheduling and route optimization software, because it can determine the overall quality of work that your company provides to your customers. By selecting technician profiles based on their unique skills, certifications, and availability, each technician is confirmed to have the exact skills necessary to complete the specific job that they are assigned, as well as the time. This is no small feat, in fact, scheduling optimization software that prioritizes field team management can improve technician productivity by up to 68%. Combined with job prioritization and customer availability, you can guarantee that the most urgent jobs will be addressed in a timely manner and that the dispatched technician will get the job done.  

One of the most important aspects of field service management in 2020 is ensuring the safety of both your technicians and your customers. The right scheduling and route optimization software can help you do just that. By applying weighted territories and boundaries to service locations, you can exclude zip codes that are known COVID-19 hotspots. This means that technicians will not be dispatched to areas that are confirmed to have high rates of infection. In addition, technicians will be assigned service jobs in the areas that they are closest to, minimizing the risk of exposure to both technicians and customers alike. 

Integrated mapping with real-time technician geolocations is fundamental to the success of route optimization software. By including customer, warehouse, and parts locations, technicians will always follow the most optimal routes based on their various jobs for the day. If there is a last minute change to the plans, the software can seamlessly recalibrate the routes so that timeliness remains a priority. This provides full transparency into the service timeline, with both field service managers and customers able to check and/or confirm when a technician will be arriving for a job. 

Route optimization with integrated mapping can cut scheduling and travel costs by 15% by eliminating wasted spend on scheduling surprises and nonoptimal routes. This increase in service efficiency gives technicians more time to focus on service jobs. For instance, smart scheduling and route optimization can increase service calls completed per day by 30%. The complex nature of modern route planning should not be underestimated; however, the right route optimization software can reallocate time wasted on driving, to time spent satisfying customers. 

Leveraging data is more important than ever in the modern field service industry. This means that a field service company planning on investing in new software needs to make sure that it has an easy way to visualize and report on your data. Clunky dashboards with a non-intuitive user-interface will only make it harder to hone-in on the data points that matter to the success of your business.

You need configurable dashboards with accurate data and real-time reporting that make data-driven decisions simple by visualizing data intuitively and in an easy-to-use manner. This not only improves operational efficiency and performance, but it also enables enterprise-wide visibility into company successes. Collaboration is key in regard to reporting dashboards, and the best field service software makes collaboration a seamless digital experience. 

Mobility is at the heart of the field service industry. With a workforce on-the-go, the ability to access information from a mobile device is critical to success. That’s why your scheduling and route optimization software needs to have a mobile solution integration. This includes access to tools, dashboards, real-time alerts, and communication between technicians and customers on mobile devices. 

Digital communication is actually one of the top five field service industry trends in 2020, and should be a main priority for any modern field service provider. By enabling technicians to maintain a direct line of communication with the customers they are servicing, you are empowering them to take control of their work and also provide a better customer experience. This benefits everyone involved, and ensures that your company joins this wave of digital communication that shows no sign of slowing. For instance, live chat is expected to continue to grow by as much as 87% in the next 12-18 months. Investing in a scheduling and route optimization software with mobile digital communication abilities will help you take advantage of this customer pleasing experience. 

Key Takeaways for Service Scheduling and Route Optimization Software

Investing in scheduling and route optimization software is an important, yet challenging step for a field service company. When looking for a software solution, keep these five features in mind: 

1. AI-Based Scheduling Optimization
2. Flexible Team Management
3. Route Optimization with Integrated Mapping
4. Intuitive Real-Time Reporting
5. Digital Communication with Mobility

By investing in scheduling and route optimization software with these five features, you can streamline this difficult process while making certain that you invest in software that enables you to succeed in the industry-wide digital transformation. 

ServicePower’s Intelligent Scheduling and Route Optimization Software increases your first-time fix rate, reduces your scheduling and travel costs, enables digital communication, and improves your customer experience. See how it works with a personalized demo.