A mobile application for La Voix du Nord newspaper distributors

An answer to the challenges facing La Voix du Nord and VCP

Equipped with an ageing solution, La Voix Du Nord wanted to introduce a new mobile application that would meet both

• its expectations in terms of efficiency and follow-up
• the needs of VCP in terms of ergonomics and adaptability to their way of working.

The intuitiveness of the application was essential, as the company regularly integrates new people into its teams. The application is therefore very easy to use (with a very short training course), and is a pleasant working tool that makes tours quick and efficient. It also allows the PCVs to manage their rounds in their own way.

Optimised route management

The mobile application enables complete management and optimisation of distribution rounds. This includes both basic functions such as :

• Registration and management of PCVs, with the creation of new profiles, allocation of customers to be delivered to, and authentication of sales staff to ensure that access to data is perfectly secure.
• Route preparation: before setting off, a VCP can select its means of transport and count the logs received.

But above all, there are two perfectly integrated tools that can dramatically reduce delivery times:

• An intuitive GPS guidance solution based on standard tools and offering a fully customised interface for the user, enabling information to be fed back to the entire information system.
• A route optimisation solution that takes account of specific road conditions, whether you’re on foot, by bike or by car. La Voix du Nord has chosen to optimise the number of kilometres travelled. The solution can also be configured to adapt optimisation according to distance or duration.

A remarkable offline experience

To guarantee an optimum user experience, our application has been designed around the ‘offline first’ concept. So the application works in both offline and online mode, no matter where users are. There are still many areas of the French countryside that are not covered.

The choice of native technologies (in this case Android) ensures that the mobile application behaves ideally, especially during GPS guidance.

The mobile application offers a seamless offline experience for the user. It optimises data transfer between the application and the backend, enabling data to be synchronised in the background without affecting the fluidity of the application. A real-time visual indicator informs the user if data is waiting to be synchronised. If data changes between two synchronisations, a conflict resolution logic is put in place.

A controlled budget

Our approach is fundamentally disruptive compared with other offerings on the market. Not only do we offer the latest technologies on the market, but we also offer a very short return on investment with zero operational cost. Our solution is based on OpenstreetMap cartographic data and on the implementation of a backend to serve this data. This avoids the operational costs associated with using Navigation APIs such as MapBox or Google.

A tried and tested methodology

The project began with a series of workshops, which enabled us to carry out an in-depth analysis of requirements and challenge them. After a 6-month project, La Voix Du Nord launched its mobile app, starting with a test group of around ten VCPs and then extending to its entire network.