Pointserve. Putting optimization in the future of service supply chain management.

An epiphany. A little rocket science. A dash of curiosity about what would happen if optimization engines were applied to problems in the service sector. And boom. The next thing we knew we were on our way to being Pointserve.

In 1995 Pointserve was little more than a vision. But our founders knew that advanced optimization approaches used for satellite command and control could transform the service supply chain into a well-oiled, revenue-generating machine. So we went to work developing service supply chain management tools that could significantly drive down costs and increase customer satisfaction. The end result is our Economic Resource Optimization (ERO) suite - solutions that fully optimize not only service delivery but also enterprise-wide service management, collaboration, operations, and communication. Suddenly we are able to transform our customers’ uncoordinated "batch" service operations plagued with limited visibility, sluggish analysis, and plodding serial execution into sleek, integrated "real-time" systems. And while we’re at it, create effective solutions that benefit from transparency of operations, actionable data and extended service supply chain collaboration. As its turns out we’ve got a killer competitive advantage to offer our customers. And the world has noticed we're here. Who says visions can’t come true?

Early Research

Research into the technology behind Pointserve’s products began in the late 1980s, when operational inefficiencies plagued many industries and surveys showed that customer satisfaction was declining.

Ed Powell, Pointserve's founder, had been working at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory for eight years. One project in particular sparked the vision that today has evolved into Pointserve - a project involving the application of artificial intelligence to increase satellite efficiencies and reduce costs. Powell was convinced that the tools he was developing would also be useful closer to home. He began to model the satellites as micro-economic systems, where he optimized the performance of the system in the presence of conflicting constraints.

Powell knew system dynamic approaches were revolutionizing supply chain management, but he had an even deeper insight: He realized that far more complex problems involving the optimization of mobile resources could be addressed using the same approaches he developed for autonomous satellite command and control. Powell began working with Dr. Mark Lane to develop advanced algorithms to dramatically improve service supply chain management.

Economic Resource Optimization

This research ultimately led to the development of Pointserve’s Economic Resource Optimization suite, products built from the ground up to maximize the economic performance of distributed service operations. Our products enable organizations to work better, faster and smarter, both within the organization and beyond. With ERO, our customers have a range of highly integrated and scalable solutions that generate real value based in three key areas:

	Increased operational efficiencies through optimized scheduling and routing, greater capacity with existing staff, and improved decision making.
	Increased customer satisfaction with on fast, responsive, and accurate service delivery, new service options, and greater continuity of care.
	Increased business growth through greater productivity, new service options, Internet-based opportunities, increased service capacity, and improved decision support.