Category Archives: Digital Experience

Digitization of Container Management and Tracking for a European Shipping and Logistics Leader

About the customer

Our customer is a giant shipping and logistics company based in Europe. They have operations globally.

They wanted to associate with an expert consulting team to help them out with technical solutions and implementation for their operations.

Business Challenges

The challenge that our customer was facing was that they lacked visibility of the location and status of their containers. Due to their large and complex organizational structure, they found it difficult to streamline the container tracking process.

They had their containers docked across places such as ports, third-party warehouses, or their own storage spaces. But they did not have a centralized system to track and manage these containers or any information regarding these containers.

This led to inefficiencies and high costs when they had to reassign the containers to another ship panel. Many containers were left on the port or other leased spaces without proper planning or optimization.

The project aimed to solve this problem by creating a digital platform where every source could upload their data regularly, regardless of the format. This enabled them to have a clear picture of where each container was and how to optimize the reassignment process. The priority was to clear the containers from the port, which was the most expensive place to store them, and move them to the company’s own space or third-party spaces, which were cheaper alternatives.
 

Embitel Solution

We developed a digital solution that automates the tracking and management of the customer’s containers efficiently. As a pilot project, they decided to deploy the solution for their operations in the US.

For our customer, this resulted in less waiting time for drivers, more savings by retrieving containers that incurred extra fees, and more. Our team has designed tools to monitor these operations on a real-time dashboard.

The dashboard helps to address the following processes:

1. Predicting and planning ahead for incoming containers using graphs and tables as a tool to identify peak periods on the port. We did this by:
• Integrating data from 2 data sources and transforming the manual calculations into an algorithm to show this data in real time.
2. Managing driver capacity and scheduling of containers for better visibility and action using KPI’s, graphs and tables. We accomplished this by:
• Filtering the data to get the relevant information. Creating rules for the end user to filter through the table based on the desired information. For example, the end user can filter by appointment date to display results only with a specific appointment date.
• Using color coding of graphs, the correct metrics are calculated in the back end to give the user an intuitive understanding of the state of appointments in the next days.
3. Tracking and monitoring of containers and trucks to know exactly where and when containers are and for how long, using a map with additional information in tables.
• By combining the data from a few different sources, we were able to collect and consolidate the driver and yard information to draw the live data of containers and drivers on the map.
• By creating tables that store the information, we were able to create rules so that the end user would be able to see drivers and containers that have been idle so that these could be investigated.

The administrators can easily find the information they need by using the features on their website. They have search options, filters and user interface layers that help them access the relevant data from the databases.
 

Embitel Impact

This project has resulted in total savings of $1.18M to our customer in just one week and for one particular location.

The project’s success reinforced our customer’s belief in our capabilities, and we are now working on Phase 2 of the project.

Tools and Technology

The Data Engineering

Tech stack includes:

• Azure platform
• Azure Data factory
• Python

Cloud Transformation for Automotive Dealerships

 
The customer is one of the leading automobiles in the world with multiple dealerships in USA. They partnered with us for the complete digitization of their processes in collection and storage of dealership-specific data.

Challenges

• Lack of a universal portal to manage dealership data. The data was collected and stored at each dealership in excel sheets.
• Whenever there was a change in data, the process of updating the changes in the repository was a manual process. Errors may also creep in due to the manual updates.
• The approval process required sending emails manually to managers and stakeholders.

Solution Offered

• We set up a centralized Azure platform and developed the scripts and services for Azure that perform specific tasks to analyze dealer’s location & metadata.
• The script runs once a day on the Azure platform and performs the following processes:
  • Download CSV & XLS from an FTP server where all the Dealer Locations and Dealer Metadata are
  • A new FTP server (Blob storage) was setup on Azure that replaced the current FTP.
  • Files are parsed and stored within a database.
  • Sanity checks are performed on the file & automated emails are sent if a deviation from the normal pattern is found.
• Security aspects such as DDOS, Azure Active Directory, Azure Key Vault and Token Based Authentication were validated to ensure that there are no security breaches.
• Scalability aspects of the solution were considered in the design phase itself. In the future, additional components such as a high-end front-end along with Business Intelligence or automated reporting solutions can be incorporated effortlessly.

Embitel Impact

• Automated emails helped in faster approval and repository updates.
• Complete digitization of the system minimized human errors.
• The platform saved stakeholders’ time and increased productivity.
• Centralized platform view and comprehensive report generation for all stakeholders can be easily incorporated in the solution.

Tech Stack

Azure data factory, Postgresql, Azure logic apps, Blob Storage, Azure function, net Core API, SFTP server, Office Outlook.

Development of Specialty Retail eCommerce Platform for Our International Retailer

Our client is an international developer, manufacturer, and distributor of power tools. They serve different sectors like professional forestry and agriculture, landscape maintenance, construction, and private users. They have been one of the most popular brands since 1971.

The client had a vision of creating the best retail platform for its retailers, distributors, and end users. They faced a complex challenge of integrating specific local workflows for multiple countries, each with its own regulations and preferences. They needed a platform that was not only modular and scalable, but also available and multi-device compatible. They also wanted a platform that supported multiple languages across multiple locations.

Business Challenges

• Our client wanted to expand and sustain their retail arm across the globe. One of the main challenges was to reduce the maintenance cost of malfunctioning devices.
• Another challenge was to include new products in their portfolio that could cater to the diverse and evolving needs of their customers.
• Lastly, they wanted to enhance existing features and develop new ones for their existing products.

​Our Solution

• We helped our client by giving strategic advice and ideas for solutions.
• We assisted in building a custom online store/specialty retail platform through our IO CIF Connector widget for niche products.
• We supported them by launching the platform in different markets globally.
• We are continuing our support and upgradation of the features.

Embitel Impact

​

• Our proficient team helped them reach out to a larger customer base across countries.
• There was an increase in revenue post implementation of Specialty Retail eCommerce Platform.
• There was a decline in operating costs.

Tools & Technology

Tech Stack

AEM (Adobe Experience Manager)

Hybris

CIF IO Connector

Parking Space Booking and Payment Gateway App Development for a Real Estate Giant in Germany

About the Customer:

Our customer is one of the real estate magnates based in Germany. They own and operate huge commercial complexes that include multiple businesses functioning on the site.

This real estate company wanted to build a parking marketing system where users can search for parking spaces that are currently available, book them and make payment instantly.

Business Challenges:

There were a few challenges that the company was facing during the ideation and implementation process of the parking management system.

They wanted to partner with an industry expert on application development with tech proficiency, and who would help them with the booking of the parking spaces, showing availability and making instant payment through an efficient payment gateway.

• Limited Parking Spaces: The estate company complex had limited parking spaces that led to users and employees finding it hard to get a parking space. The parking spots were occupied by various other businesses operating on that site.
• Manual Parking Management: Parking management was handled manually, which resulted in long queues, longer wait times and confusion for customers.
• Lack of Payment Options: Their current system did not offer various payment options that left users frustrated.

Embitel’s Solution

The real estate company wanted to manage the parking issues systematically. They wanted a parking management system implemented. We helped them address these issues in the following three steps.

• Smart Parking System: A smart system was integrated where users can find available parking spots through their smartphones. The smart parking system had sensors installed on each parking spot to identify whether the space is occupied or free to use.
  This information is sent to a central server where parking availability is updated in real-time.
• Booking System: Customers can pre-book a parking spot using the application. The app automatically assigns the parking space and sends a confirmation to the customer’s phone. Customers can cancel their bookings if they do not want to use the parking space.
• Payment Gateway: The payment gateway of the parking management system gives a lot of payment options like credit cards, debit cards, and mobile wallets. Users can make payments through their preferred mode of payment.

Embitel Impact:

Our real estate customer and their users have reaped numerous benefits from the parking management system.

• Increased Revenue: The company has been able to generate extra profits by selling the parking spaces to users. The smart parking system has minimized the time taken for users to find parking spaces which has led to a significant rise in customer satisfaction.
• Better Customer Experience: Customers no longer had to wait in the queues or waste time finding a parking space. The system has made the process easy and efficiently convenient.
• Reduced Operating Costs: Ever since the implementation of automation in the process, the company has seen increased productivity. This in turn has decreased their manual labor and operating costs.

Tools and Technology

Techstack

• Micro-service architecture
• Node js, React Js, GraphQL, PgSql
• Cypress for test automation
• Dockers

Cloud-Based Platform Development for a Virtual Reality Gaming Company, USA