Integrated Resource Planning for Diverse Workforces

Resource planning is an integral component of service chain management as it ensures that customer commitments are met, that a high quality of service is maintained and that operational costs are kept as low as possible. Service enterprises with varied, manifold service offerings often employ large, diverse workforces to deliver their services. Such resource planning scenarios are particularly challenging as different types of services often require individual planning approaches but, at the same time, the aim is to resource plan for the entire workforce to guarantee an optimal overall balance. In this paper, we propose an integrated approach to resource planning for diverse workforces that combines the ability to plan separately and differently for distinct service categories with the ability to maintain control of and balance the entirety of resources. Furthermore, we present FieldPlan-90 as a real life case study that realizes this integrated resource planning approach.