Our customer is a logistics company that wanted to transform the way truck transportation is handled. The main idea was to automate the whole process of cargo shipping. Previously, many processes such as request handling or data processing were done manually and caused slow performance. So the customer decided to build a mobile app that could reduce manual work and enhance productivity.

Solution

We were chosen for this project due to our extensive experience in Xamarin development. The customer chose this framework since it empowers developers to use the same API to build iOS, Android, and Windows applications. With Xamarin, about 70% of the code is the same for all the three platforms, which results in cost savings and faster time to market.Using Xamarin, our team built two types of apps for Android and iOS platforms that could be used by shippers, carriers, and drivers.

The first app was designed for shippers and carriers to streamline their operations from the initial pick-up request to real-time shipment tracking. It helps the shippers to find the right carrier. When a shipper has a request, he fills in a form with trip details. Using this data, the app generates the price and provides a quick quote. When shipper’s request is submitted to the system, a broker collects this data and compiles offerings.

Driver tracking app was designed for drivers to ensure their better performance. Using the app, the drivers can view all the trip details. Besides, the driver may send a picture of the freight to the shipper, thus allowing for a better freight management. Due to real-time tracking feature, both shippers and carriers can check truck movement anytime and anywhere.

Xamarin Challenges and Solutions

During the development process, we faced several common issues with Xamarin. Yet, they were resolved easily.

Though Xamarin allows you to share the code across platforms, UI code is mostly platform-specific which means that you need to create a separate UI layer for each platform. To solve this issue, we decided to use Xamarin Platform Renderers. Xamarin user interfaces are rendered using the native controls of the specific platform to ensure the applications retain the appropriate look on each platform. Custom Renderers allowed us to override this process, being able to customize UI and interactive elements on each platform.

We’ve had several issues with the Carousel Page. This problem was resolved by installing the original Carousel View developed by Xamarin team. It allowed us to resolve the problems with navigation and get a smooth transition from one page to another.

Besides, a common issue in Xamarin development is scrolling performance. Yet it could be resolved quickly, through re-using rows. It is important to ensure that only those cells that are visible on screen are loaded in the memory whilst the content is loaded into the existing cells. When dealing with this issue, we’ve found that in our case the problem was in the images that were the part of the list view. Optimizing the images, we reached good performance and made our list view scroll very smoothly.

When using the app, our users can upload photos or images. The sum of these images may cause slow performance. To prevent such issues, we decided to display on the app thumbnail versions of images still preserving their original size.

When we started working on the project, Xamarin didn’t support RTL layouts. That’s why we implemented a different solution to ensure that the app supports different languages, including right-to-left languages, such as Arabic, Hebrew, etc. Besides, 4 months later Microsoft released RTL support, allowing the developers to easily flip layouts to match language direction.

Results

During the development stage, we haven’t faced any problems with Xamarin that couldn’t be resolved. With Xamarin, you get a single codebase that targets all mobile platforms, making it an ideal choice for cross-platform development. Besides, Xamarin is an open-source solution that is actively supported not only by the developers’ team but also by a large community. All the issues that we faced during the development were resolved with the help of NuGet packages that we added to our project. We used NuGet packages to resolve the issues with Carousel View Control, Custom Tabs, Modal Popups, and Data Caching. As a result, it allowed us to provide our customer with the solution that includes:

- absolutely unique and stylish UI;
- local data storage;
- push notifications;
- GPS tracking;

The solution developed by our team empowered the customer to automate all the processes of shipment transportation, allowing for a better and faster order processing and shipment tracking. Both the apps automate manual tasks and eliminate paperwork, contributing to better performance and cost reduction.

Key Figures

The shipment management app, created by our team, empowered our customer to reduce the paperwork by 70%. Using order processing portal, the shippers and carriers no longer have to fill in the freight details manually, that saves their time and increases productivity.

The usage of driver tracking app enabled our customer to increase transparency, boost on-time delivery, and minimize delays by 30%.

The developed solution automates manual processes, improves driver efficiency, and streamlines all shipment processes, thus helping our customer to increase speed and productivity by 40%.

The usage of order processing portal and driver tracking app minimizes errors and ensures accurate shipment management, that allowed our customer to achieve 30% cost reduction.

The delivered solution enabled our customer to reduce manual work by 70% which led to process optimization and logistics automation.

The delivered solution helped the customer to increase driver performance due to real-time tracking, route planning, and push notifications.

Such features as freight tracking and driver performance tracking enabled our customer to achieve 100% increase in customer service.

With powerful automation features, the customer can easily manage logistics operations, which results in better scalability and speed.

Real-time fleet tracking, the possibility to check route deviations, and instant communication with the drivers make shipping more transparent.

The created solution automates the data exchange between shippers and carriers, that results in an enhanced service.

In case you don’t want to spend too much time deciding whether your idea matches the project budget, you may use one of the project estimation calculators available on the market. Such a tool will enable you to quickly estimate the initial costs, evaluate the project timeline, and anticipate possible risks.

Scenario 2

You can create a project estimate by yourself in case you clearly understand the team’s expertise, tasks, processes, and deliverables. This approach suits well the businesses that want to get a detailed estimation. Yet, it’s a less suitable option in case you require a quick estimation.

Estimation Techniques

Whether you want to estimate the project by yourself or use one of the solutions offered by the third party provides, you need to decide which estimation technique suits best your business. To do that, you should answer such questions as: Do you have a clear project idea? Do you need an approximate estimation? Do you require a quick quote? We offer you to use the questions below to find the project estimation technique that suits your specific business needs.

Quick Summary

Works well when you have a detailed project description. Choose if you need a detailed estimate. Yet, consider using a different technique in case you require a quick estimation.    

Choose when there are few project details available and you need a quick estimation to receive decision-making data about the project cost. Works well when you need to identify and estimate the major tasks. Try Alverden Estimation Tool

Ensures accuracy due to the usage of both historical and statistical data available. However, this type of estimate is considered to be more complex due to the use of algorithms, and it might require more time.

Real-Life Example

In order to help our customers make better-informed decisions, we’ve implemented a Top-Down Approach Estimation Calculator based on analogous method. This calculator enables business owners to receive information about the approximate project cost based on such parameters as Industry, Service Line, Application Platforms, Solution Type, Technologies, 3rd Party Platforms integration, and more. 

Let’s see how it works in practice. Imagine there’s John who runs an event agency. John wants to improve his business efficiency and minimize administrative efforts. He decides to build a CRM system for event management. His next step will be the estimation of the approximate cost and timeline in order to determine whether the project is worth implementing. By using the project estimation calculator, John fills in all the necessary information. For example:

Industry: Hospitality and leisure;
Solution Type: CRM;
Service line: Web;
Application Platform: Windows.

The usage of the top-down estimation technique allows John to find a similar project to the one that he plans to develop. He compares his current project with the identified past project and gets the valuable information about the duration, team size, and cost of the current project. Applying analogous estimation, John may quickly decide whether or not he has enough resources to implement his project.