Route Optimization Brings Money to Bottom Line

Routing software capitalizes on the idea that time is money. It helps companies plan the most efficient route to service the maximum number of customers while minimizing driving or “windshield” time. Rather than leaving it up to PMPs to manually plot a route using a map or ZIP codes, the software eliminates human error and does the work for companies, optimizing routes to increase revenue and save on fuel and car wear-and-tear.

According to the 2021 PCT State of the Naturals Market survey, 22 percent of PMPs have purchased routing software to reduce fuel consumption.

Chase Hazelwood, owner and CEO of Go-Forth Pest Control, Greensboro, N.C., said route optimization is “bringing a heck of a lot of money to the bottom line.”

“We optimize every route when we schedule it, and we optimize it again the day of, just because you only have to save two miles of total driving in a day to save a dollar,” Hazelwood said. “But saving a dollar is inconsequential to saving somebody's time. So if you can add and you can get more done in the day, then you have less technicians.”

When Go-Forth began using PestRoutes software for route optimization in fall 2018, the company had 83 employees, most of them technicians. Using the software has increased Go-Forth’s efficiency and helped the business grow without creating a need to add more technicians to the team.

“We are just over two times the size as when we joined PestRoutes — we're about two and a quarter times the size — and we have 81 employees now,” Hazelwood said.

Route optimization algorithms can save technicians 40 percent or more of their drive time, according to PestRoutes. The software provides real-time assistance and alternative routes to technicians who find themselves in unexpected traffic delays.

Before using routing software, Memphis-based Inman-Murphy used paper tickets and grouped routes by ZIP code.

“That technician was given those tickets, and he was in charge of managing those,” said Chris Murphy, president of Inman-Murphy. “Now, they just plug them in and hit optimize, and it lays them out in the order that they should be done.”

According a PCT survey completed for the December 2020 cover story “Increasing Productivity,” 20 percent of PMPs said that improvements to company software and technology were the primary reason for productivity gains over the past five years. Route optimization software had the biggest impact, PMPs said in follow-up interviews. Reducing windshield time and optimizing routes allowed PMPs to add more stops during the workday, increasing revenue.

Route optimization is also beneficial for the customer. If a last-minute call comes in, software allows companies to reroute the closest technician, allowing for same-day service. Dynamic route planning allows companies to accommodate scheduling changes throughout the day, even when technicians are en route.

Natural State Pest Control in Lowell, Ark., guarantees that if customers call before noon, they can receive same-day service.

“So if we see a customer that's calling in, and you're just wanting to fit it into your schedule, you go to that day [in the software]. You can see exactly how many miles away from that stop you are, and you can just drop your pin there, and it'll automatically route into that particular technician's day,” Amanda Ragar, Natural State owner, said.