Automated Selection of Dispatcher Group and Assignment Group Using Territory Planning

[davidbuesch]

We are currently facing a challenge with our territory planning in ServiceNow. In our setup, each territory contains multiple dispatcher groups for different types of trades. We are looking for a solution to automatically route work order tasks to the appropriate dispatcher group and assignment group based on the trade skill specified in the work order.

Details:

• Territory Setup: Each territory includes multiple dispatcher groups, each responsible for different trades.
• Work Order Tasks: These tasks need to be routed to the correct dispatcher group and assignment group automatically.
• Trade Skill: The work order contains the trade skill, which should determine the appropriate groups.

Example:

• Territory: Germany
• Dispatcher Groups: Dispatcher Heating, Dispatcher Refrigeration and air conditioning
• Assignment Groups for Dispatcher Cooling: Technician Refrigeration and air conditioning, Technician Ventilation, Trainees
• Work Order Task Skill: Refrigeration and air conditioning

Objective: We aim to implement an automated system that:

1. Identifies the correct dispatcher group based on the trade skill.
2. Routes the work order task to the appropriate dispatcher group.
3. Further assigns the task to the correct assignment group within that dispatcher group.

Questions:

• Has anyone implemented a similar solution?
• Are there any out-of-the-box configurations or best practices that can help achieve this?
• Would scripting or business rules be necessary, or can this be managed through existing ServiceNow functionalities?

Any insights, suggestions, or examples would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance for your help.

[Francisco javi2 · Accepted solution]

Hi @davidbuesch  have you tried assignment rules?

Defining assignment rules

[davidbuesch]

Hi @Francisco javi2, Yes, but it didn't work the first time because a script is required. Our case: We have a territory with two dispatcher groups and we are now using an assignment rule which applies when the specific territory is selected and a specific trade of the work order is chosen. Our script sets the dispatcher and the assignment rule, but note that you need to set the sys ID for the dispatcher group!

Script: 
current.dispatch_group = "[sys ID]"
current.assignment_group = "[Name]"

[Joshua Chen FX]

Hello,

come join us in the FSM forum ,it's warmer there. 😉

What you're describing aligns closely with how FSM works out of the box. 
- Exploring Field Service Management

I recommend reviewing the FSM Essentials Now Learning course, as well as the Dynamic Scheduling and Schedule Optimization modules. These will give you a solid understanding of how scheduling decisions are made in FSM.

In short, job assignment is driven by your configured rules. Here's a quick breakdown:

• Territory filtering comes first. Only agents or groups assigned to the relevant territory will be considered.

• Next, FSM filters by skills, location, distance, or any other criteria based on your scheduling method.

• You can require agents to match all skills, some, or none, depending on how strict you want to be.

• Capacity management is also supported. For example, you could allocate 50% of an agent’s weekly availability to Job Type A, and the rest to other types like B, C, or D.

• FSM also factors in agent schedules and prioritizes those with the highest skill match and proximity to the job.

[davidbuesch]

Hi  @Joshua Chen FX see you in the FSM forum next time 🙂

Thank you for your solution. We want to use Dynamic Scheduling in a specific scenario. However, I believe that Dynamic Scheduling will select the assignee, but in our case, we need to set the dispatcher group first, which we can achieve using the assignment rule.