Siebel Field Service Guide > Scheduling Using Siebel Scheduler > Defining Service Regions >

Defining Geographic Areas for the Optimizer

ZIP Codes and geocodes define the geographic area of a service region. The Optimizer uses geocode data and ZIP Codes (or postal codes for international users) to identify addresses.

The ABS does not directly use ZIP Codes. The service region for an activity, and not the ZIP Code that is associated with the activity, determines ABS processing. However, ZIP Codes are critical to the Optimizer because the Optimizer uses ZIP Codes and country codes to find the underlying geocodes (latitude and longitude). The Optimizer uses these geocodes to calculate the distance from activity to activity. If an activity is missing a ZIP Code or country code, then the activity is not loaded into the cache because the Optimizer cannot evaluate the activity. The Optimizer does not verify whether a Zip Code is a correct Zip Code for a service region.

The Optimizer uses the following rules for ZIP Codes:

• A service region can include multiple ZIP Codes.

  CAUTION:  It is recommended that you use that no more than 150 ZIP Codes for each service region, especially if you use optimization. Optimization routines store the solutions in memory for speed. Past iterations are stored to prevent reexamination of the same solutions. If your service regions include more than 150 ZIP Codes, then test performance and scalability carefully. Very large service regions can cause the process memory to grow extremely large, sometimes reaching the limit inherent in Microsoft Windows. In such cases, consider using UNIX.

• More than 1 service region can include the same ZIP Code. Service regions can geographically overlap.

  NOTE:  A workflow uses the ZIP Code to perform automatic assignment to a service region.

Geocode data contains longitude and latitude coordinates (in minutes and seconds) for physical locations (for example, a customer site). The Optimizer can use data at any level of detail (for example, ZIP Codes or ZIP + 4 codes).

Because a ZIP Code can apply to several square miles, use a ZIP + 4 code. This code generally brings the accuracy to buildings for businesses or to within a few blocks for residential addresses.

The Optimizer requires, at minimum, a ZIP Code or postal code, country, longitude, and latitude. Five-digit ZIP Codes for the United States are included in the seed data for Siebel Field Service. ZIP Code information is included in the S_ZIPCODE data model table. Table 9 describes the columns in this table.

NOTE:  When longitude and latitude values are the same for 2 locations, the Optimizer uses the Minimum Travel Time field. For more information about this field, see Creating Service Regions.

The Zip Codes view lists the ZIP Codes or postal codes that are included in a service region as well as the city, state, country, longitude, and latitude for each ZIP Code.

For the Optimizer to schedule an activity, the address of the activity must have a valid ZIP Code and a country. The ZIP Code must have a corresponding geocode. The ZIP Code value can be a ZIP Code or a ZIP + 4 code.

To add a ZIP Code to a service region

1. Navigate to the Administration - Scheduling screen, then the Service Region List view.
2. Drill down on the Name field for a selected service region, and click the Zip Codes view tab.
3. Create a new ZIP code record, and complete the fields as appropriate.

There are several vendors of geocode data. You can use either of the following methods to load data into the S_ZIPCODE table:

• Use the Siebel Enterprise Integration Manager (EIM). For more information, see Siebel Enterprise Integration Manager Administration Guide.
• Import data from the ZIP Code Administration view of the Administration - Data screen.

To import geocode data

1. Navigate to the Administration - Data screen, then the ZIP Code Administration view.
2. Click the menu button, and select Import.

   The Import wizard appears.

3. Specify the filename containing the data to import, and click Next.
4. Complete the information, including field mapping for the data records.

Specifications for Geocode Data

Specify the following information in geocode data:

• Latitude format. North of the equator is positive. South of the equator is negative. The data is interpreted to 6 decimal places.
• Longitude format. East of the prime meridian (at Greenwich, UK) is positive. West of the prime meridian is negative. The data is interpreted to 6 decimal places.

The Siebel application stores the latitude and longitude in the decimal degree format because this format is the most widely used and is easy to use for distance calculations. Most data sets are in decimal degree format. You can use the following formula to convert a data set to decimal degrees from the degrees, minutes, and seconds:

Decimal degrees = Degrees + (Minutes/60) + (Seconds/3600)

For example:

37 Degrees, 25 Minutes, 40.5 Seconds

= 37. + (25/60) + (40.5/3600)

= 37. +.416666 +.01125

= 37.427916 degrees

Data Cleansing for Zip Codes

Address and ZIP Code accuracy are critical for a schedule optimization. It is highly recommended that you use a data cleansing application, such as the Siebel Data Quality module, to correct data for addresses and ZIP Codes. For more information, see Siebel Data Quality Administration Guide.

ZIP Code Usage in Multiple Service Regions

The Activity business object code uses the ZIP Code of the address of the contact or account for an activity to assign the activity to a service region. You might have to override this behavior by inserting your own processing logic if ZIP Codes apply to multiple service regions.

In general, it is recommended that you set up 1 service region for each ZIP Code, and use skills for the employees to differentiate between products. The service manager can then redistribute employees by changing their skills and reloading the skills into Assignment Manager. If you use separate regions, then you must unload employees from a service region and into another service region.

NOTE:  More service regions mean a higher load time.

Siebel Scheduler does not validate a service region against the ZIP Code after the service region is set for the activity so that users can move activities to other service regions as required (for example, to cover additional activities for a marketing campaign in that service region). Validate the ZIP Code up-front, preferably when a user creates the record.

Siebel Field Service uses the ZIP Code of the address for the contact or account that is associated with an activity to automatically assign the activity to a service region. (An activity is automatically assigned to a service region only if the Service Region field has no value.) If the contact address has a ZIP Code, then that ZIP Code is used to identify the service region. Otherwise, the ZIP Code of the account address is used to identify the service region. If only 1 service region is identified, then that service region is automatically assigned to the service request. If multiple service regions are identified, then a customer service agent must select the appropriate service region for the service activity.