Offline order entry for van sales drivers with no signal at all

The challenge

Drivers visit customers in areas with no mobile signal. An app that needs a connection to enter an order is useless there. The company needed drivers to create orders on the spot, print receipts, and keep everything safe until the signal returned.

Constraints:

• Orders must be entered with no internet at all.
• Users, customers and products already existed in the company's systems, and the app needed them without re-typing.
• Drivers use Zebra and Honeywell printers and need printed receipts at the customer's door.
• Nothing may be lost or duplicated if the connection drops mid-sync.

The solution

Solucrew built two pieces: a native Android app for drivers and a web portal for the office.

• The portal holds the master data. The office manages users, customers and products there, and can bulk-load them from CSV files, including exports from the company's ERP.
• One download, then offline. At first login, the app downloads the data it needs from the portal. After that, the driver can work with no connection.
• Local first. Every order is saved to a database on the device before anything else. The app never waits for the network.
• Background sync. When a connection is available, the app sends pending orders to the portal in batches and updates each order's status. Failed items stay marked and can be retried.
• Printing. Receipts print on Zebra and Honeywell printers.
• Backup export. A driver can download a CSV of orders not yet synced.
• Back office export. The office can download the synced orders from the portal as a CSV file.

The app also covers guided delivery, meter readings and signatures.

Design decisions

• Local database first, network second.
• A visible sync status on every order, with retry.
• CSV import for master data, because it works with any ERP and needs no ERP-side development.
• Orders flow to the portal. The app does not connect to the ERP directly.

Outcome

Drivers can enter and print orders with no signal at all, and the data reaches the portal when a connection returns.

See the project in our portfolio

Who this fits

Distribution and field-sales companies whose drivers work where there is no signal, and whose product and customer lists come from an ERP or spreadsheets.