Case Study: On the Dot
On the Dot, a division of Media24, is the largest multi-channel media logistics
company in South Africa, offering services such as warehousing, delivery and
distribution, and integrated client management.
The Challenge
As part of a route-optimisation operation,
On the Dot had a need to accurately identify
and verify more than 20,000 delivery points
across South Africa. “We realised that
we needed to perform repeat recordings to
achieve the accuracy required”, comments
Leon Nortjé, IT Operations Manager. From
a big-picture perspective, performing
routing optimisation would enable On the
Dot to drive down costs in its distribution
network.
Several alternatives were considered,
including using a GPS device along with
a manual process, or employing GPS
tracking units. “We needed to get as close
to the actual delivery location as possible,
Performing route optimisation enin its distribution network
taking into account that delivery vehicles
could stop in a single position in order to
service multiple receiving doors for multiple
stores”, Nortjé explains. On the Dot realised
that they would need to employ a mobility
solution in order to solve the problem
effectively.
However, mobility solutions are typically
complex, slow and expensive to implement,
and thus On the Dot were wary of such
points, we wanted a cost effective mobility
solution with quick deployment”, comments
Key Results Achieved
The solution provided On the Dot
with highly accurate coordinates for
its distribution routes in a rapid time
frame, allowing for effective route
optimisation.
Solution cost savings
Deployment on commodity smartphone devices and a simple cloudbased architecture resulted in a
solution that is much more costeffective to implement and operate
compared to traditional approaches.
(CTO).
The Solution
On the Dot engaged one of its existing IT
vendors, Grove Group, about providing a
solution to its geocoding challenge. Grove
Group subsequently chose to leverage the
Journey mobile technology platform for this
purpose.
A Journey-based solution was built and
delivered over the course of a few weeks,
comprised primarily of a mobile app used
by On the Dot drivers to access routes
and verify GPS locations of the delivery
points on each route. Route and delivery
point data is imported into the Journey
cloud environment, from where each
mobile device automatically synchronises
Data captured in the mobile app is then
automatically synchronised back to the
cloud environment again, from where it can
be exported or pulled via the Journey API
for the purpose of further route optimisation
processing.
In-house developers at On the Dot were
able to integrate the Journey solution
with their own back-end infrastructure
using the Journey API. “The solution really
complemented our existing ERP systems
from a technical perspective”, Nortjé adds.
ease of launching the
“ “The
solution was seamless, and
we
experienced
no pain
points.”
Leon Nortj é,
IT Operations Manager
”
The solution was deployed to On the
Dot drivers on commodity Android
smartphones. “The ease of launching the
solution was seamless and we experienced
no pain points”, Nortjé comments. “A big
part of the challenge of the roll-out was
coordinating with the various stakeholders
as well as committing the right route and
delivery point data at the source level”.
Once the solution was running, the
captured data was fed into On the Dot’s
data warehouse, where it was analysed
and exception reports were generated
The solution was deployed on commodity Android smartphones, driving
down implementation and maintenance costs.
routes, allowing
optimisation.
for
effective
route
RAPID ROLL-OUT OF CHANGES
The capability of the Journey technology
SOLUTION COST SAVINGS
“One of the top features of Journey is
the simplicity of solutions built on it”,
“Journey is at the forefront of
mobile app development.”
Tobie Vermeulen,
versions of app processes to all the devices
Dot. “This capability is marvelous and
was a key selling point for us”, Vermeulen
issues with business processes that arose.
The business world moves fast and we
need to be responsive and not have to wait
for tedious technology life cycles in order to
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
A mobile solution enabled drivers to
capture GPS locations as close as
possible to the actual delivery points.
down costs compared to dealing with the
complexity of alternative solutions.” “It is
also very lucrative that we can deploy the
solution on an entry-level Android device
and that it worked so well on such a costeffective device.”
scrutinised in more detail. “Mining the data
immediately gave us useful insights”, Nortjé
adds. “From a real-time perspective, we
could also analyse at which location the
driver was at the exact time of reporting their
geo-location, and with direct integration,
know the exact status of various items in
the delivery chain.”
CONCLUSION & LOOKING AHEAD
In closing, Vermeulen observes: “Journey is
at the forefront of mobile app development.
It is fully aligned to On the Dot’s needs for
the future, and is a key part of our mobility
roadmap.”
The Results
Contact Grove Group
Tel: +27 (0)21 455 9400
LearnEmail:
[email protected]
about Grove
INCREASED DISTRIBUTION EFFICIENCY
The successful deployment of the solution
ultimately allowed On the Dot to succeed
distribution of media. It resulted in having
accurate coordinates for its distribution
“Does Journey provide On the Dot with
a competitive advantage? Absolutely.”
says Vermeulen. “Full agility and rapid
solution delivery are key aspects of this.
We cannot afford to have anything other
than these deliverables. We need to
respond to business needs quickly, and
an environment that does not enable that,
is unacceptable. Journey has become an
enabler for us.”
In-house developers at On the
Dot integrated the solution with
their existing ERP systems using
the Journey API
Web: http://www.groveis.com
www.groveis.com
Learn more about Journey
[email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://journeyapps.com