A Mobile Goods Scanner
Warehousing activities, like checking delivered goods with invoices and checklists, are not only time consuming but also prone to human error, if done manually. The Mobile Goods Scanner eliminates the inaccuracies that occur when data is entered into the database by registering incoming goods using barcodes and IDs. The Android application is integrated into the customer’s ERP system and enables their employees to register arriving goods, track the stock, process orders, etc.
Cub Business Systems AB, a Sweden-based software vendor, develops applications that employ modern mobile technologies to enhance logistics and retail services. One of their main requirements was to combine rich functionality with simplicity in an app for efficient warehouse management.
Since the customer regularly changed the main project requirements, the team had to be flexible and work on the project using a methodology that allows for alterations at any stage of the development cycle.
The application had to provide a lot of features for warehouse management. However, the abundance of functions made navigation through the system too complicated, which badly affected user experience.
The team decided to use the Agile method, so that the customer could track progress, test new features, and introduce changes to the project. Much attention was paid to the user interface. All the features were grouped to provide access the required functions.
Since some of the features required a PIN, which was stored on the server, the team had to solve the issue with server updates. A custom script was created to automatically update server settings while keeping the same password. Each time a new build of the project is released, it is uploaded to the customer’s Web site. To get a new version of the application, users only need to press the update button.
The application makes it possible to check inventory in real time and considerably speeds up warehouse management.
Technology Stack
Server Platform
MS .NET 4.0
Client Platform/Application Server
iOS, Android
Technologies
REST, JSON, ZBar, web-services, Apple Enterprise Program
Programming Language
Objective-C, Java
Database
SQLite
Modeling Tool
Interface Builder, XML
Development Environment
Xcode, IntelliJ IDEA