Logistics Aquaservice

App for task management of the company’s delivery men

The client

Aquaservice is the leader in Spain in the distribution of bottled water with a dispenser for companies and homes. It offers its services to more than 350,000 clients, which leads them to hydrate more than one and a half million users a day.

The challenge

The existing solution was based on 3 end-of-life (EOL) products: the hardware (Zebra MC65), the operating system (Windows Mobile), and the development framework (.Net Compact Framework 3.5). It was necessary to migrate to a current platform that would facilitate maintenance.

The strategy

The migration could not cut the service, since the distribution is part of the customer’s core business. The change had to occur without affecting the quality of the service or impacting usability. It was necessary to replace one solution with another in the shortest possible time.

The proposal

The LinkedBytes team was already responsible for maintaining the existing solution. Of the entire system (with a 3-level architecture), the level to be replaced was the client, that is, the mobile application. This made it possible to preserve the rest of the system and focus the effort only on this level. The proposal was to develop an application for Android terminals, preferably ruggedized and with an integrated barcode/2D scanner, capable of communicating with the service level.

The client wanted to take advantage of the change in technology to opt for an updated, modern, intuitive interface that is close to what most users are used to on their smartphones. So that it was possible to work in parallel on the design of the UI and on the local persistence and communication layers of the app.

Once the designs are completed and with the persistence and communications layers functional, an iterative incremental development would begin that would allow the implementation to be validated frequently, reducing deviations to meet the expected delivery date.

The process

As the saying goes: “From saying to doing, there is a long way”.

1 - Initial Analysis

While it was “only” to replace the client level of the system, this piece of software had been growing for over 10 years. At this time, there were many unused lines of code, abandoned tables, and unexploited functionality. We all agreed that reviewing the UI without reviewing the functionality and implementation was a missed opportunity. While the product team reviewed the UI, the technical team assessed the existing features and their actual use.

2 - UI Design

Carried out by the client with the help of Marta Boixo and Ismael González, from Cabify Design. Thanks to Zeplin we were able to collaborate with each other, clearing doubts and making everything flow. Designs were tailored to functionality and functionality to design. UX in its pure state.

3 - App Phase I

We were moving from .Net Compact Framework with SQLServer Compact Edition to Android. Specifically, an app developed with Titanium SDK, a framework with which the LinkedBytes team has a lot of experience. Once the local persistence needs were reviewed, the necessary models and migrations were implemented. Communications required a native implementation, since the protocol is binary, using HTTP as carrier. Once these two layers were implemented, we were able to verify the speed improvement in communications and local CRUD operations, especially in the initial insertions thanks to the use of transactions. Everything was ready to start bringing the new UI to life.

4 - App Phase II

Step by step and following the designs to the letter, every week we released a version. Sometimes it became necessary to add “cross-platform” support at the service level. With each version the revisions of the previous version were included plus the expected functionalities. Upon reaching the “critical” functionalities of the app, the frequency of deliveries decreased. Phase II was completed in 6 months (including pandemic lockdown).

5 - Deployment

During the last weeks of phase II, the MDM was configured to plan the deployment of the solution, which allowed it to be done gradually but in a short period of time. Users switched from a Zebra MC65 Windows Mobile terminal to a Zebra TC57 Android terminal, eliminating the end-of-life issues of the previous solution, significantly improving performance and adding new functionality.

Results

What did we get?

100%

MIGRATION

The platform was migrated in record time thanks to the help of MDM.

95%

SUPPORTED BACKENDS

Although the migration was fast, both apps coexisted without conflicts. Some services had to be adapted for the improved features of the Android version.

100%

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

The project was executed in a coordinated manner between all parties. The change had no impact on service.