How to schedule sales rep visits automatically
Prior to planning a visit, it is necessary to calculate how many additional visits the sales rep can perform during the planned period, taking into account visit duration, intervals between visits, working hours of sales outlets, etc.
1.Use the [Calculate available visits] command of the [Actions] menu on the cyclic task page to calculate available visit slots. As a result, bpm’online will populate the [Available quantity of visits] field of the cyclic task page (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Available visit quantity
2.When the calculation is finished, the [Schedule visits] action will become available on the cyclic task page (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 The [Schedule visits] action
3.Run the [Schedule visits] action to start the process of automatic visit scheduling in accordance with the configured parameters and the sales rep’s calendar. You will receive a notification when the visits have been scheduled. The [Quantity of scheduled visits] field will display the number of scheduled visits. The visit activities will appear on the [Activity] detail of the corresponding accounts.
The algorithm for automatic visit planning is as follows:
-
Bpm’online determines the route starting point. The current location of a sales rep responsible for the visit can be a starting point. The location is determined based on the information from the [Addresses] detail of the corresponding contact page. If the contact’s address is not specified, the system will use the address from the connected account page.
-
Bpm’online determines the closest sales outlet to the starting point. The optimal car route is determined within the 200 km radius. Learn more about route planning here.
-
Bpm’online checks the working hours of the sales rep and retail outlet.
Note
When checking the working hours, bpm’online analyzes the calendar of the sales rep employee. More information about the personal calendars is available in a separate article. Sales outlet work hours are determined according to the base calendar.
-
Bpm’online creates the first visit.
-
If the visit time is outside of the working hours, bpm’online will look for the next closest location. Further planning and creation of visits is carried out in the same way.
See also
