Fleet Management Software Suite

Our client provides fleet management software that enhances productivity, safety, and profitability for businesses across trucking, logistics, and delivery. Having more than 120,000 clients, the software suite includes web and mobile applications designed to improve financial operations, GPS tracking, safety, compliance, and overall efficiency of various fleet operations. Additionally, they develop tracking devices and software for vehicles, such as route cameras.

Svitla Systems provides three specialized teams to the client: mobile, backend, and embedded. Each team focuses on a different project component to deliver a comprehensive solution. The company decided to outsource the project mainly because they needed additional expertise to assist the onsite team with updating and developing new features as quickly as possible.

• - Increase user engagement by enhancing financial operations with fleet cards and expand the partnership program with various gas operators.

- Assist drivers in monitoring and route optimization by developing specialized vehicle technologies, such as software for onboard cameras.

- Streamline operational efficiency by digitizing financial business processes and user support. 

- Maintain ongoing adherence to safety standards.

Mobile Team

The mobile team focused on financial operations related to fleet cards that drivers use to make gas station transactions. The iOS application required quick development and release of new functionalities to allow drivers to track transactions, check card limits, lock cards to prevent theft, and access support for queries.

Another task was to develop a new featured map showing drivers their location and the nearest fuel stations offering the lowest prices. This benefited the company by directing drivers to partner gas stations and earning a percentage of those transactions.

The team integrated several key features:

-Card overview: Added details of the fleet card within the app, including transactions, limits, and balances.

-App-based card lock/unlock feature: Enabled drivers to lock cards when not in use and unlock them for transactions, adding security against theft.

-Savings finder: Created a map feature that helped drivers find the cheapest nearby fuel options, guiding them to preferred partner gas stations.

-Support for multiple card types: Created driver-specific cards, vehicle cards (used by whoever is driving), and fuel cards (restricted to fuel purchases).

-Pre-transaction metadata: Allowed additional transaction details to be added before a purchase is made.

-ATM functionality: Enabled fleet cards to be used at ATMs for cash withdrawals.

Svitla operated as an extension of the client's onsite team with the client's engineering manager's guidance. While the client suggested product ideas, Svitla Team had significant input on the feasibility, scope, and execution of features, leveraging technical expertise to refine product ideas and ensure timely delivery.

Backend Team

The backend team was involved in the comprehensive development of the financial transaction system. To facilitate fleet transactions, the team also worked on connecting to different APIs.

One of the significant technical milestones was upgrading the Ruby version used in the whole application. This process vastly depended on the Svitla Team's expertise, as their progress reflected the strategic emphasis on maintaining modern and secure software practices.

Additionally, the team carried out a series of smaller tasks to increase customer engagement with the provided cards:

- Development of an automated alert system to notify clients about inactivity and potential deactivation after 60 days of non-use, prompting increased card usage. This system also helped to avoid the financial drain of maintaining inactive cards.

- Automation of invoicing emails to clients and messages to internal support to speed up company transactions and cards’ operation management.

- Creation of support panels for managing these cards, APIs for card issuance, and integration of accounting programs to handle tax calculations. The APIs facilitated the order and delivery of physical cards from partnered card providers to specified addresses.

The development process was collaborative, involving initial discussions based on the Product Requirement Document (PRD), where business needs were outlined. This was followed by creating a Technical Design Document (TDD) detailing the implementation strategies. The workflow involved regular meetings to track progress, address blockers, and adapt project resources as necessary. The team held weekly meetings to review progress and recalibrate as needed.

Embedded Team

The embedded team was tasked with creating software for a new camera device installed in vehicles. This dashcam, running on Android software, was connected to the car via cable and to a mobile app through Bluetooth. The purpose of the camera device was to track extensive driving details such as driver facial recognition and road detection to aid the driver with location and route tracking, detect unsafe driving behavior, etc. 

Key accomplishments included:

-Real-time tracking: Implemented services for sending location and vehicle data to the backend, allowing real-time tracking of fleet vehicles through the mobile or web app.

-Video processing: Developed functionality for recording video clips and taking screenshots from within the car to be transmitted to the backend.

-Data processing: Created a Bluetooth connection between the camera device and the mobile apps, ensuring seamless communication and data transfer. Deployed a system to send vehicle data directly to the backend.

The project is ongoing, with several components in progress. The team has already adapted and expanded project functionality. The fundamental work conducted by the Android-embedded team was crucial for the broader objectives of client-wide initiatives.