I picked up an interesting news article about field force automation. Believe me that even a small amount of effort to automate and optimize Field Engineers pays off handsomely. At BT we did some home grown stuff and even that made a great difference to calls per Engineer, and fuel, distance per call metrics. I wish that I had seen this stuff then.

Service management software vendor Metrix has announced that Telsource, a US network integrator, has selected the Metrix Advanced Scheduling, powered by 360, to improve productivity, cut costs and drive revenue. 

Previously a manual process, Telsource will be using Metrix to optimize the schedules for their entire U.S. field service workforce. The solution will allow Telsource to increase the number of calls a technician can complete in a day and meet service level agreements, while drastically cutting travel and other service costs. It also will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing average travel distance. An example of business and green agendas coinciding. 

The technology is focused on getting the right resources to the right places on time at the lowest total cost. Using complex algorithms, the software analyzes multiple factors such as required skills, workload, penalties, part availability, cost per mile, response time, travel, business rules, etc. to produce the best possible plan. The real-time optimization engine instantly recalculates and updates schedules as conditions change. Exactly what is needed!