The Process

Web Portal 

We created a simple .NET MVC web portal for Duncan Supply and their customers to log in and manage the part inventory of their trucks. There are many different layers of management in the portal including: 

• Creating and managing various repair trucks 
• Assigning drivers/mobile app users to a specific truck 
• Creating any number of individual inventory schematics, detailing the standard number of each part that should be on a given truck. These schematics can be applied to any number of trucks. 
• View, manage, and submit part request orders sent from drivers. These resupply orders can then be sent directly to Duncan Supply’s e-commerce API, sending the resupply order straight to Duncan Supply in real time. 
• Submit an inventory schematic via a .csv file upload, which creates the inventory schematic for you to apply to your trucks. 

Through our creation of the web portal, we faced various challenges with a rather large database of parts information and various layers of parts, categories, and company data.  

While one of the main purposes of the software is to easily submit resupply orders to Duncan Supply, various Duncan Supply customers keep parts sourced by suppliers other than Duncan Supply on their trucks. We wanted to ensure that these parts could be accounted for throughout this inventory management system as well, and created a whole section of the web portal dedicated to setting up custom parts and suppliers. This allows Duncan Supply’s customers to continue to keep track of ALL parts on their trucks, even when using various 3rd party parts. 

Mobile App 

We also created a companion mobile app for both Android and iOS devices, phones and tablets alike. The mobile app is very much the localized driver’s extension of the infrastructure created for the web portal. While the web portal allows customers to set up their network of parts, templates, trucks, and drivers, the mobile app allows a single driver to view the entire inventory of their truck and submit requests for new parts. 

Each driver has their own login. Thanks to our web portal, we can discover which truck’s inventory needs to be displayed based on which driver is logging in to the mobile app. We then load up the current live information on what parts, and how many of each part, the truck contains. From here, should a driver need to check their inventory, all they need to do is search for the part and check the quantity. 

While preforming a repair job, a driver then is able to use our mobile app to search and select any parts used during the repair, write a short description of the job done, and immediately submit a request for a resupply of the used parts. As soon as a request is submitted, the resupply request will show up on the web portal. 

Additionally, when a driver receives a resupply order, the mobile app will inform them of exactly what parts, and how many, should be in that order, allowing the driver to quickly and easily check any newly received parts into their inventory, or report any discrepancy.