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Route Planning in Dynamics 365 for Sales

February 2nd, 2017 Keyur Shah Dynamics 365, Microsoft Dynamics

Route Planning is an Add-On in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Sales. It helps you plan your appointments on map by analyzing the Dynamics CRM data and plotting it across the routes. With Route Planning, you can track leads, make a quick analysis, enhance your sales activities, and close deals quicker. This add-on is available for CRM web and Tablet client.
Route Planning is now available for mobile client too.

Appointment-wise

It is used for directions and route planning for Sales/ Marketing person who individually schedules appointment.

Following are the steps:

1. Create an appointment in CRM for related customer.

2. Go to Route Planning and select date for which you want to see route planning in Map. You will see Google Map Markers with optimized route (the nearest location from our current location) of appointments. It will automatically optimize Route for the appropriate appointments of the selected date from customer’s latitude and longitude Recorded on Account Card.

3. You will see the address of Customer in white box by Clicking on Google Marker Pin.

4. You will see a table, which is  directly mapped with CRM appointment and related customer, showing Route location information, where:

A – Current location of sales person (Current User of CRM)
B – Nearest location from Current User’s Location i.e. A
C – Nearest location from location B.

5. You will get a confirmation box for completing a particular appointment from table. When you click on green tick, it will ask you for Confirmation. If you select OK, the appointment will be completed and will automatically remove this location from the map.

6. Then, you will get a new optimized route in map.

7. When you select EDIT from route information table, you will get the following screen. It will redirect to CRM appointment card and you can edit details on appointment.

Customer Territory wise

It is used for directions and route planning for Sales/ Marketing person whose customer are in same territory.

Following are the steps:

1. This is a sales person dashboard. Here, custom activity entity is used to assign territory to sales person.

2.  Click to any one of given record and you might get route of specific territory customer. You will see Google Map marker with optimized route (nearest location from our current location) of selected territory’s customer. It will automatically optimize the route for an appropriate customer of the selected territory’s latitude and longitude Recorded on Customer Card.

3. Click on Google Marker Pin and you will see the address of the customer in white box.

4. You will see a table, which is directly mapped with CRM customer, showing Route location information, where:

A – Current location of sales person (Current User of CRM).
B – Nearest location from Current User’s Location i.e. A.
C – Nearest location from location B.
F – Destination of route planning (marked with red color in map)

5. You will get a confirmation box to complete a particular customer’s appointment from table. When you click on a green tick, it will ask you if you have visited this customer already. Select OK and it will automatically create an appointment for appropriate customer. Appointment should be visible in CRM activity view with completed status.

6. You will see difference in customer information table. The green tick will change to a yellow one which means this route has already been visited by sales person.

7. You will get the following screen when you select EDIT from route information table. It will redirect to CRM sales order card. Order will be created with appropriate details taken from the customer. Product name will automatically be filled up according to the selected price list. You just have to add the desired quantity of the product. The purpose is to make order process simple and dynamic.

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