Overview
Route Optimization and Fleet Routing are both add-on routing tools in serviceminder, and it's easy to mix them up since they live in the same part of the app and share a lot of the same underlying logic. The difference comes down to scale and starting point: Route Optimization reorders stops that are already assigned to one agent or team, while Fleet Routing takes a batch of unassigned appointments and builds routes across your whole fleet at once.
This article will review:
What is Route Optimization?
Route Optimization rearranges the appointments already assigned to a single Service Agent or team so they run in the most efficient order. Click the down arrow next to an agent's name on the Daily calendar and click Optimize — the system suggests a re-sequenced route based on drive time, then you review and accept it. It works on appointments already on that agent's calendar; it won't pull in anything from the queue on its own.
Route Optimization is a flat-rate add-on. For the full walkthrough (including how the suggested route is built and what to do with unroutable appointments) see Optimizing an Individual Service Agent's Route with Route Optimization.
What is Fleet Routing?
Fleet Routing takes the appointments sitting in your Queued Appointments list and, using the Route Builder, assigns and optimizes them across multiple Service Agents or teams in one pass. It's built for volume — clients who route large numbers of stops across several technicians (pest control, irrigation start-up/shut-down, pool cleaning, and similar businesses) lean on this the most.
Fleet Routing pricing is vehicle-based and includes the Route Optimization feature as well. For the full walkthrough (building routes, handling multiple depots, and printing work orders) see Building and Optimizing Routes with Fleet Routing.
Key Differences
|
|
Route Optimization | Fleet Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | Reorder an already-assigned route | Build routes across multiple resources |
| Appointments used | Appointments already assigned on the calendar | Primarily appointments selected in Route Builder |
| Resources | One Service Agent or team at a time | Multiple Service Agents or teams |
| Assignment | Appointments are assigned before optimizing | Assignment and optimization happen together |
| Best for | Fine-tuning an individual route | Routing a large group of appointments across a fleet |
| Availability | Separate flat-rate add-on | Vehicle-based add-on that includes Route Optimization |
Choosing the Right Tool
Use Route Optimization when appointments are already assigned to an agent or team and you just need the system to improve the order they're run in.
Use Fleet Routing when you have a batch of unassigned appointments and want the system to distribute and optimize them across multiple Service Agents or teams at once.
Not sure which situation you're in?
- If you've already dragged appointments onto an agent's calendar, you want Route Optimization.
- If they're still sitting in the queue, you want Fleet Routing.
Shared Routing Concepts
A few things work the same way no matter which tool you're using:
- Duration vs. drive time — Duration is the time spent on-site for each service, based on your pricing bands. Drive time is the estimated travel time between stops. A route's total length is duration plus drive time added together.
- Geocoding and pin accuracy — Both tools use Google for geocoding, and you can manually adjust a pin if an address doesn't land in the right spot. Since navigation apps receive coordinates (not the address itself), a misplaced pin is usually the first thing to check when a route looks off.
- Skills, GeoZones, availability, and other constraints — Both engines segment appointments by required skills first, then by GeoZone, matching them to agents who meet those requirements. Agent availability, active time blocks, and other scheduling constraints can all affect whether an appointment can be routed at all. The more constraints in play, the less efficient (or possible) a route solution becomes, so it's worth staying sparse with them.
