UI as an efficient performance booster for a transport company
Challenges
Seeking improved efficiency, our customer – Vos Transport – asked our engineering team to create user interface (UI) that can provide better interaction with business data within their operations. Specifically, an improved performance in planning and service departments were targeted. The user-friendly UI in Dynamics NAV had to address these challenges.
Visualize and re-arrange massive volume of information within MS NAV - from 80+ columns on grid to user-friendly 15 dynamic columns
Introduce a timeline in the planning process that would enable planners to clearly see which jobs were ahead of schedule and which were behind
Introduce a map component inside Dynamics NAV that could be used for interactive planning i.e., by scaling in and out, having a marker grouping, selection tools as lasso option to define the most suitable route for each truck and capture suitable freights nearby
Present major activity changes online in real time and improve speed of operation on key stages of planning
Consolidate, track and visualize all activities on one screen in order to assure a low level of mistakes from users' side
The case in numbers
Solution
01.
The solution was built on Angular framework/JavaScript plugins in order to enable visualization of defined data from multiple sources - MS NAV 2018, geotagging system etc. The solution for Vos Transport has later evolved to the stand-alone product – UI Builder for Business Central.
02.
Three components of UI Builder for Business Central – Map, Grid, Time slider – were developed to accommodate the needs of Vos Transport.
03.
The Map component solves important logistic-related tasks:
• Drawing point on the map by coordinates with specified color, including icon on the map for trucks.
• Drawing numerous points on the map with clustering.
• Reacting on left and right click on the points. Right click - display description. Left click - any action in NAV.
• Selecting the point by clicking - the appearance is changed, and the click is processed in NAV.
• Selecting the points using lasso.
• Drawing the route between two or more points.
04.
The Grid component makes the grid much more user friendly by introducing:
• Conditional styling for your data. Advanced conditional formatting based on row values.
• Aggregating data within one column by adding complex cell content with display functions.
• Embedding complex html into tooltips. Adding interactive elements and additional logic.
• Frozen columns and expandable rows. Individual presets and much more.
05.
The Time slider as a component covers:
• Displaying process activity that depends on customer's logic.
• Changing the duration of your process/activity by moving and resizing, editing new date of activity.
• Displaying the current phase of planning in real time.
• Changing view interval and much more.
Technologies behind the project
A snapshot of what we leverage to deliver best-of-breed solutions
Dynamics OData Api Services
Dynamics Extension Application
Dynamics Java Script Client Add-In
Angular Framework | ASP.NET Core 2.2
About our customer
Vos Transport has been active in the field of transport and distribution for more than 60 years. The company has started with one truck in Apeldoorn and has grown into a leading transport company with 600+ employees. With a financially healthy balance sheet, Vos Transport has experienced steady growth in recent years. This has enabled to strengthen company's market position and further expand the range of services. Vos Transport is rewarded with highly appreciated awards - Lean and Green Award, Graydon Award, SQAS attestation etc.
