Managing a global network of suppliers.
When it comes to managing a global network of suppliers for the maintenance and fit out of retail premises and showrooms, the recurring challenge for any company is how to minimise costs and maximise logistical efficiencies.
But when you’re juggling multiple variables over large geographical territories, such as across the US, the only really effective way to achieve this is to deploy smart intuitive technology - in other words create an app.
So, this was the framework of the brief Applied Digital was given by our client, Principle, which helps brands across all market sectors create engaging experiences for their customers, with a consistent look and feel to their retail environments. Maintaining premises, and rolling out new ones, means thinking global, but acting local - drawing on an approved list of fit out specialists, technicians and other trade professionals in locations closest to each piece of real estate.
Developing a global-local, geo-mapping web app.
With so many variables, and endless permutations between each site, our challenge was to create a geo mapping-based app that could be accessible to 1000s of potential end-users, and thereby simplify the process of plotting routes and timings between each individual site. And, in doing so, achieve sustainable economies of scale.
Notwithstanding the challenges presented by the Covid pandemic, the project came to fruition in early 2021 with significant research and planning work taking place before the first lockdown commenced in 2020.
Our role was to spec, design, build and user test a feature-packed geo-mapping tool that could integrate into the existing supplier management app, which had also been created by Applied Digital in 2015.
Drawing together a wide range of extensive data sets, we wrote the unique code in-house, that would integrate the supplier information into a Google maps interface.
Over the course of its development, we had regular project reviews which saw feature additions and modifications as a result of the user acceptance testing (UAT). Working closely with the UK and US teams in Principle, Applied Digital were able to develop an app that achieved all their requirements for multiple international teams across a wide range of different territories.
Andrew Womersley, Applied’s Head of Development explains:
“With time always being of the essence, one of the key commercial benefits of the Principle 360 app is that it uses smart intelligence to take away time-consuming human calculation. Essentially, what we’ve done is create a global project management tool that enables all Principle's approved suppliers to use while on the move. Through this app they can easily and intuitively log in, upload their insurance and compliance documents (essential before any work can start) and then plot potential projects across the various real estate assets within their territory. This is a perfect example of how we can use our coding expertise to develop smart feature-rich apps that seamlessly handle a myriad of user-tasks and queries through an easy-to use interface."
Mike Zimmerman - Principle Head of IT
“Working with Applied on our portal development program was a straight forward and enjoyable experience. It was devoid of the usual problems when trying to capture requirements and convey them meaningfully for people to develop. From start to finish they made it an informal and collaborative project delivered to time and cost with a pragmatic approach to delivery.”
