serviceradius

Serviceradius, or service radius, is the geographic extent around a service provider's base within which it offers services or delivers goods. It defines the radial reach from a central location, such as a headquarters or distribution center, and is usually expressed in kilometers or miles. The concept is commonly used in logistics, field service, retail, and telecommunications, and is related to but distinct from service area or catchment area; while those terms describe the overall region, the service radius emphasizes distance from the origin.

Calculation and planning commonly use geographic information systems to create isochrones or distance buffers that reflect travel time rather than straight-line distance. Factors shaping the radius include fleet size, average service duration, driving time, traffic, road networks, operating hours, and cost constraints. In dense urban areas the practical radius may be smaller than in rural zones.

Applications include scheduling technicians, defining eligibility for rapid-response services, planning last-mile delivery, and communicating expected response times to customers. Businesses may set fixed radii or adjust dynamically in response to demand and capacity. Examples: a home repair company may advertise a 25-mile service radius; a telecom installer may cover 15 miles around its depot.

Limitations: a fixed radius may overstate reach if congestion or terrain slows access, and it does not account for variable service times or threshold-based access by customers.

Related concepts: isochrone, service area, catchment area, geographic coverage.