CASE STUDY: Hoover Candy Group
Client Hoover Candy Group
Sector Manufacturing and Servicing
Job function Service Division
Task Resource Planning
THE CLIENT...
Traditionally associated as the market leader in the carpet cleaning industry, Hoover has extended its operations and now produces, markets and services a wide range of large domestic appliances.
THE PROBLEM...
The Hoover Candy UK Service Division manages a UK wide operation of circa 200 field based
engineers.
The engineer force is made up of a number of skill sets and Hoover provides its customers with the ability to book time restricted calls (am or pm) on certain days. Each service call demands a particular part and a certain length of time.
Hoover requires a solution that enables the continuous optimisation of the engineer field sales force, taking into account specific variables and service levels.
THE SOLUTION...
Hoover Candy uses the Geoplan GeoAnalyser System, including the Distribution
Module and Territory Optimiser. This solution is an integral tool within the Service Division and enables:
- The effective planning of field engineer workload at UK, Regional and individual Territory level.
- The scheduling of service calls in line with Key Performance Indicators.
- The Identification of optimum locations for engineer locations.
- The ability to re-structure the engineer workforce during expansion and contraction.
THE BENEFITS...
- Delivers cost reduction through effective resource management.
- Enables Hoover Candy to reduce the amount of travelling time, distance and cost that engineers incur.
- Enables Hoover Candy to provide balanced workload schedules to the engineer force, based upon required skill sets and protected time slots.
- Enables an improved level of customer service through the capacity to increase the length of
the service call and provide more options to the customer for visit dates and times.
- Provides a flexible approach to the changing workload, including inevitable emergency and last
minute calls.
- Enables Hoover Candy to create a territory Map and Postcode list of each Regional Territory and
individual engineer territory
- The above output is shared within the business by upload to the company intranet.
- Ability to develop the solution to link to the Hoover Candy operating database and refresh data on a daily basis by an ODBC link.
The Geoplan solution is an essential element of the planning and optimsiation undertaken by the service division. More recently, Geoplan and Hoover have worked closely together to investigate the
development of a solution to automate further our optimisation process and to provide a mapping solution to our call centre operation. Throughout this process Geoplan has been on-hand to offer of insight, knowledge and experience and we know that the suggested solutions address our specific needs in terms of optimisaiton and our service level requirements.
David Waddington
District Service Manager