Mobile service is an outstanding way to increase a dealership’s service revenues without investing in additional bay capacity. Current customers appreciate the option, increasing CSI scores. Lost customers can be re-engaged around ultra-convenient service offerings. Meanwhile, bay space remains available for more complex jobs and skilled technicians experience less downtime.
So why don’t more dealers offer mobile service? In many cases, the biggest obstacle to running a successful mobile service program is routing. Manual route planning isn’t a simple admin job; it’s time-consuming and skilled work with a direct bearing on profitability. This is where automated route planning software such as BizzyCar’s Mobile Service can help. This article explains mobile route planning, examines its importance, and identifies how AI-powered routing sets dealerships up for success.
What Is Mobile Route Planning for Dealerships?
Mobile route planning organizes and optimizes the routes technicians take to provide mobile vehicle maintenance or repair services. Successful mobile routing isn’t just about how to get from Point A to Point B. It factors in constraints to minimize travel time, improve resource allocation, and ensure timely arrival.
Route planning is essential in all mobile service industries, from grocery delivery to home cleaning, and dealerships are increasingly offering this type of come-to-the-customer service in order to stay competitive. Research suggests more than 60% of customers are hesitant to go to the dealership for service, making mobile service a key component of any long-term retention strategy.
What Makes Route Planning so Important?
Effective route planning increases technician productivity by eliminating backtracking and preventing poor time management from adversely impacting revenues. Drivers complete more service calls in less time, while fuel and vehicle maintenance costs are reduced. Optimal routing also facilitates faster response times, improving customer satisfaction.
The best routes factor in real-time considerations, dodging traffic congestion and responding to changing conditions to enhance efficiency. Careful route planning that juggles numerous variables is essential for any dealership optimizing a mobile service campaign.
Discover how BizzyCar simplifies mobile routing through powerful AI integration.
What Variables Should Routing Include?
It’s tempting to try to use popular, free navigation apps for routing, but these apps were designed for everyday driving, not as industry solutions. They don’t let managers track multiple techs at once. They allow a limited number of stops per route. They also don’t address industry-specific needs like real-time progress updates or documentation.
Here’s what should be factored into mobile service routing:
Relative Locations
Techs have to get from place to place as efficiently as possible. This includes optimized travel routes between jobs, but also the order in which jobs are completed. If jobs A and C are two blocks apart, and B is two miles away, it doesn’t make sense to go to B after A, only to return to the first area for C. Avoiding backtracks reduces maintenance and fuel costs while allowing techs to complete more jobs per day.
Time Constraints
Scheduling is a major component of routing, so routes must account for the estimated time to complete a job, driver breaks, refueling stops, and customer interactions. This allows drivers to stay on schedule and provide accurate appointment windows to customers. A customer-centered routing system also notifies customers promptly if plans change.
Distance
Generally speaking, techs should complete their schedules while traveling as few miles as possible. However, total distance isn’t the only consideration. It may be worth bypassing significant tolls or prioritizing loyal customers, and effective routing considers these types of variables. The shortest distance route also won’t always be the fastest route, so saving time often takes precedence over saving miles.
Flexibility
Routing needs to adapt to last-minute service calls or drivers calling in sick, especially in situations where parts are limited or only one tech has the required certification for a job. A successful mobile routing system must stay flexible and pivot quickly as circumstances change, redistributing the workflow accordingly.
Weather and Traffic Conditions
The best route today may be compromised by an accident, road closure, or adverse weather conditions tomorrow. Effective routing should leverage real-time traffic and weather information to keep technicians on the most efficient and safest paths, something that becomes very difficult to do manually when multiple techs are in the field.
What Makes BizzyCar’s Mobile Service Software the Best Option?
Route planning logistics are easily managed by hand if there are only two appointments per week, but they become unwieldy once that number scales to 15-20. Automation tools such as BizzyCar’s Mobile Service let agents handle the logistics so techs can focus on service.
Mobile Service is a complete software solution. Managers use the Mobile Coordinator dashboard to optimize routes, oversee all appointments, and dispatch technicians. Techs use the mobile app for navigation, VIN scanning, photo/video capture (for documentation), and real-time customer communication.
Our software offers seamless integration with existing DMS and scheduling platforms, so there’s no training required. We also offer a Mobile Service Certification Program to equip dealerships with the infrastructure and best practices needed to make the most of Mobile Service.
Here is a partial feature list showing how BizzyCar helps dealerships profitably scale their service departments:
- Seamless, mobile-first workflows
- View multiple drivers simultaneously in map or calendar mode
- Real-time SMS customer updates generated by AI
- Secure mobile payment support
- Robust KPI tracking, including total distance traveled, time spent at service appointments, and fuel expenses
- Video and photo capture
- Real-time progress tracking
- Streamlined customer feedback collection
- Integration with leading DMS and scheduling tools
- Integration with other BizzyCar products
Experience How Easy Routing Can Be
If your dealership has struggled with the logistics of offering mobile service or you’re ready to expand your service operations for the first time, BizzyCar can help. Our Mobile Service software is designed for dealerships of all sizes to service more vehicles and boost CSI scores.
Book a BizzyCar demo today and see what Mobile Service and our other AI-powered fixed-ops solutions can do for you.