Development of a Mobile Pallet Sorting Application to Optimize Food Delivery Operations

The client faces difficulty in efficiently sorting pallets of boxed, frozen food into individual customer orders at outdoor delivery points. The manual sorting process is time-consuming and chaotic, requiring additional warehouse space and temporary labor, leading to increased costs and delayed deliveries. The current system hampers scalability and operational agility, limiting business growth.

A regional food distribution company specializing in bulk food delivery for retail outlets, seeking to streamline their order sorting and delivery processes to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

• Develop a functional mobile application prototype to validate the proposed pallet organization method.
• Field-test the prototype to verify assumptions, identify key features, and optimize sorting speed.
• Create a streamlined, user-friendly sorting tool to reduce manual labor and processing time.
• Eliminate the need for rented warehouse space by enabling on-site, efficient sorting directly at delivery points.
• Establish a reliable, single-user system capable of supporting operational scaling.

• User authentication and session management for single-user operation.
• Intuitive UI for scanning or selecting pallet contents and associating them with customer orders.
• Real-time sorting guidance and progress indicators to speed up the process.
• Data validation mechanisms to ensure accuracy of order breakdown.
• Ability to log sorting operations for performance analysis and record-keeping.
• Offline mode support for delivery locations with limited connectivity.
• Option to export or sync sorting data with backend systems post-operation.

• Order management system APIs for retrieving customer orders and delivery addresses
• Barcode scanning or RFID system integration for quick pallet identification
• Data export or synchronization interfaces with backend inventory and logistics systems

• Response time: Sorting guidance updates within 1 second for seamless operation
• Performance: Support for processing large pallet batches with minimal lag
• Security: Data encryption for sensitive order information
• Usability: User interface designed for non-technical staff with minimal training requirements
• Scalability: System capable of supporting multiple delivery sites and increasing order volumes over time

The implementation of the mobile sorting application is expected to significantly reduce sorting time and operational costs, enabling the client to operate without rented warehouse space. Early prototypes suggest the potential for faster processing, reduced labor dependency, and the ability to scale delivery operations efficiently, contributing to a stronger market position and increased revenue streams.