Logistics Route Optimization: Guide in 2025
July 12, 2024
Table of Contents
Field service management companies face complicated challenges that affect customer satisfaction and operational effectiveness. However, field service management software has the potential to alleviate all of these pain points. Most industries place a high priority on increasing field service productivity. The worldwide field service management market was estimated at $5.2 billion in 2021 and is expected to grow to $29.9 billion by 2031. Businesses are, therefore, making an effort to stay updated with the rapid advancements in technology and the growing need for improved customer service.
Field service management teams face various challenges on a regular basis. They are continuously looking to achieve a balance between offering high-quality service and generating revenue for the company. If the difficulties are not addressed, they can have a negative impact on the company’s market reputation, customer base, and earnings.
Also, the managers find it difficult to accomplish numerous field service tasks using the traditional method. Organizations are adopting field service management software to meet the demands for automation, speed, and optimization. Let’s learn about the challenges of field sales service operations and how to eliminate them using route optimization software.
Drawbacks of Relying on Traditional Methods of Route Planning in Field Service Operations
Field service management challenges resulting from traditional route planning approaches include inconsistent scheduling conflicts, a low first-time fix rate, rising operational costs, and a lack of technology to handle the assets and services delivered.
Due to these frequent challenges, everything starts to fall apart, from consumer satisfaction to effective operations management. Let’s look at the challenges of field service management:
Scheduling and Dispatching Conflicts
One of the biggest challenges is scheduling and dispatching technicians efficiently. It is difficult to maintain track of technicians’ availability, schedule, and location when using manual methods. This may lead to inefficiencies and slower response times. Examples include the deployment of technicians who are not qualified for the tasks at hand, an increase in call requests between technicians and office staff, and more time spent driving instead of helping consumers.
Poor First-Time Fix Rate
The goal of field service management companies should be a high first-time repair rate. The customer may become irritated and decide to work with someone else if experts are compelled to leave a job site before the task is finished. Clients may tend to assume that your technicians arrive unprepared, costing them extra money in labour hours. Technicians must gain additional knowledge about the jobs they will perform in order to be fully prepared when they arrive on the job site, as consumers now expect them to finish the job correctly the first time.
Long ETA Window for Customers
If you have to advise the consumer that a technician will arrive within five hours, they will be quite dissatisfied. While lengthy ETA windows are common in the field service industry, providing your clients with shorter, more precise appointment windows might help your organization stand out. It also gives you the opportunity to gain repeat business and an edge over your competitors.
Poor Communication with Field Service Technicians
Field service managers typically communicate with their field team via texts and phone calls. However, many expressed their dissatisfaction over their staff members’ frequent absences from the network area or the reality that their work requires such minute details that their time in the office is consumed keeping them updated.
Do these challenges in field service management relate to you? Personal messaging apps are often ineffective for real-time team communication since they do not effectively communicate the correct meaning of the task and accountability. It is impossible to expect all members of the field service team to operate the equipment in the same way. It can be difficult for managers to enforce rules on staff member’s own devices or apps since they might not want to comply.
Low Field Service Technician Productivity
Tracking employee productivity is a common business concern for field service providers. Furthermore, even if you believe that some employees are less productive than others, you must determine how to solve the problem. Field service management software may provide you with detailed information on every staff member. For instance, how each employee spends their working hours, how much each field specialist charges, and other details.
Performance Management
Accurate and accessible data is critical for field management businesses, particularly when comparing performance toward goals and making business-changing decisions. Even though manual methods like spreadsheets, paper documents, as well as calculators can produce accurate analytics, they require a lot of manual data entry and analysis and are prone to human mistakes.
The Solution to Overcoming the Drawbacks? Route Optimization Software
Route optimization software is an advanced solution that assists teams in planning and executing the most effective routes for their mobile workforce. It enables field service companies to streamline operations, decrease travel time and costs, and increase production – all while becoming more sustainable. This is particularly important because 66% of field service employees believe sustainability is a major concern for their company.
This software uses advanced algorithms and real-time data to create the best potential routes depending on criteria like traffic, job location, and time limits. By reducing travel time and fuel usage, field service professionals will be able to finish more tasks quickly and ultimately increase customer satisfaction.
This efficiency also helps achieve sustainability by decreasing truck rolls, which reduces carbon emissions as well as fuel resources, making it an important component in adjusting to greener business practices.
How Does a Route Optimization Planner Work?
Route optimization software works by analyzing numerous variables to provide ideal routes. Once users enter their starting point and destination into the system, route planner tools use complex algorithms and advanced mapping technologies to analyze multiple factors, such as distance, real-time traffic conditions, technician availability, preferred modes of transportation, and service priorities, and return the most efficient route between the source and destination.
They develop thorough itineraries that include projected travel durations and detailed instructions. Some advanced route planners include other elements, such as fuel efficiency and alternate routes, to provide a more streamlined as well as personalized navigation experience.
Key Features of Route Optimization Planners
Here are some of the key features of route planning software that will assist you in field service optimization.
Real-time GPS Tracking
Route planning systems use GPS technology to track the precise location of field service workers in real-time. This unique feature allows dispatchers to perform dynamic route alterations and optimizations, enabling technicians to take the most efficient approach to their location.
Dynamic Scheduling
Many route planner software provides dynamic scheduling capabilities, which allow managers and dispatchers to make immediate adjustments to the technician schedule. This feature improves response time by ensuring that critical activities can be prioritized and assigned to the nearest specialist available.
Optimized Route Planning
The most essential feature of an innovative route planning software is its capacity to optimize your routes. It uses a variety of advanced algorithms to generate an optimum routing, resulting in reduced trip time, cost savings, as well as resource optimization.
Benefits of Transitioning to Digitized Route Planning
Field service workers can revolutionize their operations by implementing route optimization software, which offers numerous advantages that boost productivity and improve customer satisfaction. Here are several advantages of using digitized route planning:
Automatic Driver and Trip Allocation
The Route Optimization Software aids in efficient route planning by incorporating intelligent algorithms that link the appropriate riders with each order while taking into account a variety of factors. This includes prioritizing devoted fleets over freelance riders and cooperating effectively with floating fleets.
Each order allocation takes into account unique routing limits that companies can specify and adjust as needed. As a result, orders and riders are paired in extremely efficient and cost-effective ways, saving delivery costs and route planning work.
Optimized Vehicle Routing
The shortest paths between origin and destination are not always the most effective delivery routes. This is due to limitations such as delivery region restrictions, order parameters, vehicle types, rider categories, and others.
The advanced Route Optimization Software enables companies to meet these constraints while also accounting for other key considerations, such as roadblocks and multiple delivery stops. They may simply collect several orders in route and plan alternative delivery routes in the event of blockages or detours.
Increased Driver and Vehicle Utilization
Dynamic route planning software solutions driven by AI include clever algorithms that optimize the use of resources and assets. These systems help managers map shipments to appropriate vehicles based on a variety of factors, including load type, consignment dimensions, vehicle performance, geographic location, and local legislation.
Fleet managers may effectively manage deliveries for Full Truck Load (FTL) and Part Truck Load (PTL) shipments, minimize vehicle maintenance costs through improved order consolidation, and reduce delivery costs through real-time shipment tracking.
Higher Customer Satisfaction
Advanced delivery route planning systems offer real-time updates and alerts on order movements, tracking, driver information, and delivery Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA). This proactive approach eliminates customer inquiries, continues to keep customers aware of the most recent shipment status, and increases the rate of successful first-time deliveries, resulting in higher customer satisfaction.
Reduced Transportation Costs
Route optimization decreases overall distance traveled and provides riders with the flexibility to negotiate real-time barriers such as road closures or traffic congestion. This adaptive routing ensures a higher level of adherence to Service Level Agreements (SLAs) while maintaining the unique optimization criteria established by management, eventually keeping delivery costs under control.
Furthermore, AI and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms cut transportation costs by optimizing trip frequency, increasing vehicle capacity usage, and minimizing delivery failures.
Data Analytics and Reporting
Organizational and field operations data can be transformed into useful insights for companies using advanced data analysis and reporting capabilities. These technologies provide statistical analysis in a user-friendly, no-code style, resulting in easily digestible reports filled with data visualizations. Businesses may then evaluate each rider’s and logistics partner’s performance individually, allowing for data-driven decision-making that leads to more smart and informed choices.
Unified Management
Delivery Route Optimization software provides comprehensive, dashboard-based operations management. Businesses may receive an in-depth overview of all logistical components linked to orders, deliveries, as well as logistics partners from one platform. Essential delivery metrics are easily available, including on-time order completions, delivery delays, riders with the best timeliness, and more.
How can NextBillion.ai Help in Streamlining Field Service Operations?
NextBillion.ai provides a variety of valuable products and features to help you manage and simplify your field service operations more efficiently. By utilizing dynamic route optimization, which integrates real-time data like traffic and weather, the software from Nextbillion.ai optimizes routes for field service agents. Users can specify custom constraints such as service time periods and distance limits to create tailored routing solutions.
Our APIs and SDKs are designed to be easily integrated and solve problems ranging from efficient task distribution, optimal agent scheduling, easy re-optimizations, real-time alerts for agent movements, step-by-step navigation instructions, and many more to improve your operational efficiencies. Let’s take a closer look at each solution for field service management:
Optimize Agent Scheduling
The Clustering API from NextBillion.ai provides practical methods for setting up tasks into groups that spread throughout a region. Users can combine tasks together based on the total driving distance between activities in a group or by the minimum number of tasks for each group, and many other ways. The clustering service considers the supplied criteria and delivers optimum clusters of tasks, including details such as the cluster’s center and the geometry of its boundary.
Allocate Tasks Based on Skills
NextBillion.ai’s Route Optimization API offers users a high level of customization by using over 50 factors that closely emulate real-world route planning limitations. Users can utilize the skills property to make sure that agents are assigned the appropriate tasks depending on the skills defined for them. When configuring them, it will also include the skills required to do each task. The optimization service will then guarantee that only the right agent gets allocated to each work, and if an agent with the appropriate skill set is not available, certain tasks will remain unassigned.
Define Sales Territory
NextBillion.ai’s Isochrone API assists in discovering all of the regions that an agent can reach in a given length of time if he begins at a specific point. When a request is made, the Isochrone service considers the driving mode and the typical traffic conditions to return a polygon boundary that covers the area that can be reached within the specified limits. As a result, the Isochrone API can be used to determine how many orders an agent can fulfill at any one time based on his present location.
Distribute Tasks Equally
Users can use custom settings to tune the algorithm to accomplish their business goals. One of the unique settings is to divide jobs among all operators as evenly as possible. To configure a Route Optimization request, we must specify the locations, tasks, and vehicles involved, as well as the custom objective. We configure the locations attribute and include all of the locations used in the problem, as well as a valid ID.
Accommodate Last-Minute Tasks
Another useful feature is re-optimization, which allows users to alter an existing solution in the face of last-minute modifications without changing the original solution that is already being executed. Consider an optimization issue involving two operators and five tasks. After obtaining the original solution, we can create an event in which two last-minute, high-priority orders are received. The re-optimization characteristics are then used to provide the original solution, as well as the information for the two additional activities that will be accommodated into the existing route plan.
Real-time Progress Alerts
The Live Tracking API from NextBillion.ai allows users to track their agents’ movements in real time and receive alerts when they arrive or depart from assignment locations. Users can create custom geographical boundaries by means of NextBillion.ai’s Geofence API and thereafter use them in the Live Tracking service to receive alerts when configured vehicles enter or exit a specific boundary.
Turn-by-turn Navigation for Field Professionals
The Navigation API from NextBillion.ai provides step-by-step instructions in the language of your choice, allowing your experts to navigate with ease. The Navigation API is easily customizable using a variety of routing constraints provided by the service, and depending on the kind of request, the routing engine will provide ideal routes based on the limitations and traffic circumstances.
Get Accurate ETAs
The Distance Matrix API from NextBillion.ai takes into account both real-time and historical traffic trends to calculate accurate ETAs by using the most effective route. The Distance Matrix can handle both one-to-many and many-to-many scenarios based on the origin and destination locations. Users can additionally tailor the request with the service’s other options.
Get Fastest Routes
NextBillion.ai’s routing APIs allow users to choose between the fastest and shortest route types that the services will recommend. The “route_type” attribute offered in Directions and Navigation Flexible APIs can be used to obtain the shortest possible route between two places, as well as other route-related information.
Understanding the Influence With a Case Study
To understand more about Nextbillion.ai and its field service management software benefits, learn about a case study of a health-tech logistics disruptor. They improve high-speed sample collecting and logistics services for diagnostics providers. Additionally, they emphasize effective sample management techniques in order to make high-quality diagnostics more accessible and affordable. Explore their journey with NextBillion.ai’s route optimization tool for field service operations.
Problem
The organization faced complex logistical challenges when arranging sample collections from multiple sites within specific time limits. The challenges were Multi-stop route planning, where samples taken during visits were combined and transmitted to a single lab three times daily.
Next, Time flexibility and aggregation, where scheduled visits had a +/- 15-minute window and samples gathered by field service agents were required to be aggregated at common meeting places during particular time periods.
The last is optimization goals, where they aimed to increase the number of visits per rider, decrease the number of riders, and shorten the trip distance, all within a rider’s approximately nine-hour workday.
Solution
NextBillion.ai created a bespoke route optimization solution based on the customer’s field service operating requirements. The solution contained a Clustering API that strategically clustered endpoints to create localized meeting locations at the end of each shift.
Streamlined the handover process by automatically combining samples at common meeting sites, resulting in increased operational efficiency. Determined the ideal multi-stop routes and number of cars required to fulfill requests efficiently. Created optimum routes based on time slots to reduce riders and trip distance.
Additionally, we used the soft constraint capabilities to add +/- 15 minutes of flexibility to the scheduled visit/arrival timings.
The Outcome
The solution’s adaptation to particular limitations demonstrated its ability to handle a wide range of requirements in the changing healthcare logistics market.
- The healthcare technology company was able to:
- Minimize cost by 25% by reducing the number of riders and trip distances.
- Intelligently arrange sample collection jobs for speedier pick-ups and delivery, resulting in shorter turnaround times.
- Increase fleet utilization by providing 35% more visits per rider.
- Reduce conveyance costs by 25%.
- Adapt to dynamic routing limitations, such as service time per site and different arrival times.
The Bottom Line
Route planner tools, with their complex and critical impact on field service management, have the potential to be game changers for service-based organizations. The dynamic world of field service optimization necessitates innovative technologies that may help businesses adapt to changing situations and deliver better results.
Route planner tools, with their advanced capabilities and broad impact, emerge as a critical component in attaining those objectives. It has shown to be a significant competitive advantage for even small service businesses. Businesses that streamline their routes can handle more service calls per day, resulting in enhanced production and profitability.
While attempting to provide their consumers with excellent service, field service management teams may handle a variety of challenges with Nextbillion.ai software and solutions. The field service software and solutions from Nextbillion.ai are an ideal tool for handling each of the challenges in field service operations while offering services effectively.
FAQs
Route planning optimizes the sequence of visits to numerous places, such as delivery stops or service calls. It reduces travel time, fuel expenses, and resource allocation, improving logistics and field service operations.
To successfully adopt Field Service Management software, businesses should first assess their objectives and goals. Following that, they should hire or look for qualified field service software and solutions providers while ensuring that basic criteria such as scheduling, dispatching, and communication are addressed.
Effective or efficient route planning includes determining the most efficient delivery routes between many locations. It takes into account distance, traffic, and priority in order to develop optimal routes that save money, time, fuel, and resources.
