A route planning app for a German logistics & delivery company

Client

Our NDA client is a German logistics & delivery company that specializes in the efficient transportation of packages from prominent global retailers.
The company has earned its reputation as a trusted partner in Northern Germany for fast and efficient logistics services, especially after the pandemic when the demand for their offerings exploded, resulting in important management initiatives and decisions. Even though it operates in a highly competitive market, the company has consistently demonstrated its commitment to excellence, striving to meet and exceed customer expectations.

The context

During the pandemic, the demand for delivery and transportation services significantly increased. On top of that, our client already was facing operational challenges that are common in the logistics and delivery industry that added weight to further company existence. In the pursuit of dealing with increasing demand, limited resources, the company management decided that the working processes must be made more efficient so the company can continue delivering satisfaction to their customers. 

They were already familiar with technologies in the delivery sector and after trying several applications that proved to be ineffective, the founders decided to develop a custom app that would be tailored to meet their unique needs.

They needed to solve the following business objectives:

• Streamline delivery planning and management processes to improve operational efficiency
• Automate and optimize routing processes, reducing travel times and costs
• Enable real-time delivery tracking

Challenge

In the process of requirements discovery for the new software solution for our client, we identified several critical challenges in the existing manual processes that hindered the company operational efficiency:

1. Manual route planning and reporting: Relying heavily on manual methods, such as WhatsApp and calls, for route planning involving a high probability of human error, longer delivery times, and potential increased operational costs.

2. Lack of traceability and transparency: There was a significant lack of traceability in the delivery process. The company struggled to monitor the real-time location of drivers, track deliveries, and assess the overall performance of the logistics network. This hampers the ability to identify and address issues promptly.

3. Incapacity for rapid scaling: With the increasing demand for services in a competitive market, the manual approach becomes a bottleneck for scalability. The company faced difficulties in efficiently managing a growing fleet of over 80 drivers without a centralized and automated system.

4. Ensuring continuous customer satisfaction: Longer delivery times, potential errors, and a lack of real-time updates negatively impacted customer satisfaction. In a hot market with rising expectations, meeting customer demands promptly is crucial for retaining and attracting new business.

When engaging in discussions with the company's representative, it was clear that addressing these challenges is imperative for the company's success. Based on these challenges, our client's objectives, and business tasks, we elaborated a concept for the new software application and further implementation plan that was validated quickly and we proceeded to work. 

Solution

Step 1. Requirements Discovery 

We started with software requirements elicitation and analysis. For this, we organized several workshops with company representatives to understand better current business processes as well as their expectations from a new app. As there were three main categories of users for this app, we scheduled meetings with each group to validate their needs for the software, as well as map together new working processes with the app at the center. This helped us to see the big picture in terms of their personal goals and objectives, and also dive into how the new process would work so we collect their feedback and iterate early on before having to build any functional. 

In three weeks we had a general overview of the requirements. Our client needed a software application accessible from both web and mobile for two main types of users: managers and drivers. The app should contain:

• A route calculation and optimization functional
• Real-time tracking and communication  
• The interface should prioritize ease of use, featuring clear navigation, user-friendly route visualization, and responsive design across devices with a main focus on mobile. 
• Advanced integration possibilities with third-party APIs

Once we were clear on a high level with the app requirements, we worked closely with our client representatives to prioritize functional and presented our strategy for the development process: system architecture design, app wireframes, recommendations for the development team structure, and the release plan. 

Stage 2. Iterative App Development in Sprints

Objectives: Delivery of software increments in sprints according to the Scrum framework
Team: Product Owner (Client), Scrum Master, Front-End Engineer, Back-End Engineer, and a UX/UI Engineer.
Timeframe: 26 Sprints of 2 weeks.
Outcomes: Continuous delivery of working software ready for users and their feedback

Step 3. Deployment, Monitoring & Soft Improvements

Objectives: Monitor the application & optimizations
Team: Product Owner (Client), Scrum Master, Front-End Engineer, Back-End Engineer.
Timeframe: We deployed the application according to the release plan, continuously testing it with the end users and collecting their feedback
Outcomes: User-friendly, performant, fast-loading software app.

Working with Scrum, an Agile development framework, we iteratively built the software application and tested it continuously with the company's real users. 

Result

The solution developed at the end of the collaboration with the client successfully addressed the initial requirements by creating a comprehensive software application accessible from any company device, easy to use which has significantly optimized business processes, but enhanced team involvement and motivation, and increased customer satisfaction with their delivery experience. 

By being proactive, and employing a consulting approach focused on our customer needs and future plans, Oneest team has not only met but exceeded the client's requirements while prioritizing functionality, usability, and flexibility for future scalability and integration. 

We helped our clients achieve important results:

• Automated routes management process led to a significant increase in personnel capacity
• Reduced costs with fuel, maintenance, and labor 
• Improved delivery time & positive feedback from customers
• Optimized routes lead to reduced carbon emissions 

Ready to transform your logistics operations with a tailored software solution?
Contact us today to discuss how we can collaborate to address your unique business needs and drive efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction.