How Aquaflam plans 6,000 annual maintenance visits more efficiently with Movetex

As a fire safety specialist, Aquaflam provides solutions for the installation and maintenance of first-response fire protection equipment, including fire extinguishers and hose reels. With a team of more than 10 service technicians, Aquaflam carries out around 6,000 maintenance visits per year, managing and inspecting over 100,000 devices.

To continue organising this large volume of periodic inspections, repairs, and replacements efficiently, Aquaflam chose Movetex’s intelligent planning software, fully integrated with their in-house ERP system.

From manual emailing to a digital workflow

Before implementing Movetex, planning at Aquaflam was largely manual.

“Appointment proposals were sent by email, followed by long back-and-forth conversations with customers to agree on a date,” explains Niels Wittouck, Service Manager at Aquaflam. “It required a lot of time and follow-up from the planners, while it was essentially administrative work.”

With thousands of maintenance visits each year, this approach became increasingly difficult to scale. Aquaflam was looking for a solution that could both professionalise and automate their planning and customer communication.

“What immediately appealed to us about Movetex was the combination of intelligent planning and digital customer communication. The system really supports our planners in their work,” says Niels.

“Planning used to be mainly about searching and emailing. Today, we immediately get smart proposals and most communication runs automatically.”Niels Wittouck, Servicemanager, Aquaflam

Intelligent planning, fully integrated with in-house ERP

Today, Movetex is fully integrated with Aquaflam’s internally developed ERP system. New work orders are automatically sent to Movetex. As soon as a customer confirms an appointment digitally, the planning information flows straight back into the ERP.

Planners use features such as best proposal on a daily basis, where Movetex automatically suggests the most efficient technician, day, and route. In addition, planners can schedule multiple jobs at once across several days, with Movetex instantly ensuring optimal distribution and routing at the click of a button. As a result, planners no longer need to manually puzzle their way through the schedule.

On average, a technician visits 4 to 7 locations per day. Thanks to optimized routes, Aquaflam’s technicians now achieve full working days with an average of 65 kilometers and approximately 1 hour of travel time per technician per day. The result: lower travel costs and higher productive use of available capacity.

“Our routes are now far more logical. We lose less time on the road and get more out of every working day.”Niels Wittouck, Servicemanager, Aquaflam

70% of customers confirm digitally

Customer communication was also completely redesigned. After scheduling jobs, Aquaflam sends digital appointment invitations by email via Movetex. Customers can confirm or decline their proposed slot with a single click.

Today, around 70% of customers confirm their appointment fully digitally, without any need for follow-up by phone or email.

“That means that for seven out of ten customers, no manual action is needed anymore,” Niels explains. “The time savings in the back office are significant. In the past, planners spent hours a day sending emails and following up. Today, they can focus on exceptions or on customers who do not confirm digitally.”

“Bulk emails and digital confirmations save us an enormous amount of follow-up work every day. You really feel that impact within the team.”Niels Wittouck, Servicemanager, Aquaflam

Measurable results in planning and back office

The impact of Movetex is clearly visible in day-to-day operations. Planning is faster and more consistent, routes are more efficient, and administrative follow-up has been significantly reduced thanks to digital communication.

Planners can handle more work with the same team, without increasing pressure. Changes can be made easily without having to rework the entire schedule.

“Our service operation is much more under control today,” Niels concludes. “We save time, work in a more structured way, and can serve our customers faster and more accurately. That is exactly what we were looking for.”