Ace Car Freighters were struggling to keep up with the high demand for their services, which was ultimately holding back company growth. The legacy booking and despatch system did not allow for any customer engagement, whether it was online, through web services or receiving email notifications. The lack of mobile data interface also resulted in miscommunication from using two-way radios. Job pricing and rating was done manually, which was time-consuming and led to inconsistencies and costly mistakes.
The Solution
We developed a cloud based, -fully integrated suite of products for the transportation industry including VerbaManager, VerbaCustomer, VerbaMobile and VerbaGPS (on behalf of our business partner, Relief Software). This product suite solved all of ACE’s challenges, and has now been successfully rolled out to other Relief clients.
Benefits and features
Greater accuracy
Booking data is only entered once by the operator (or directly by the customer), and flows seamlessly to the truck drivers’ mobile handheld units. Pickup and delivery information like car hire is then synchronized back into the system and passed to the company’s accounting system (MYOB). Because the data flows in real time, cash flow and accuracy are improved due to automated data transfer.
Increased productivity
Staff are able to focus on their roles and are no longer hampered by their systems.
Increased revenue
Demand for ACE’S services has increased and this demand is now handled efficiently and effectively, allowing them to grow their business.
Informed decision making and time management
Management has immediate visibility of all bookings and drivers work schedules. Customers are instantly notified on job completion via automated reports with signatures.
Enhanced customer experience
GPS functionality has meant that administrators are now able to see where drivers are located on the map. They can use this information to inform customers if a driver is running behind schedule or to correct the route if they’re travelling in the wrong direction.
Technology
The web application and user interface was developed in PHP technologies using Symfony framework plus Angular JS and Node JS for socket implementation. A PostgreSQL database was used for the web application database and a Java and MySQL database was used for communication middleware. The Android Mobile application was developed in native Android Java.
