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The challenge
GHA Solutions, an Epicor Premium Partner specialising in software aimed at the manufacturing industry, approached us to develop an iOS and Android app offering feature-rich field service workflows for users of the Epicor ERP solution on tablet-sized devices.
Required functionalities included:
- QR / barcode scanning
- Job listings, history, and tracking
- Live location tracking
- Travel time logging
- Expense tracking and receipt upload
- Task tracking and management
- Vehicle stock management
- Customer signature capture
- Offline functionality
The solution
To achieve a consistent design across the target platforms and minimise unnecessary code duplication, we opted to use Flutter as the primary development environment. This allowed us to take advantage of its device-agnostic Dart programming language to design and implement business and rendering logic for both iOS and Android simultaneously. The end result of this is a user experience that is guaranteed to look and feel the same to all users, regardless of the device they use to access the application.
The back-end API, developed in-house by GHA, was implemented into the application as part of the development process, with integration testing performed throughout. This allowed GHA to focus on building out the required functionality for the API while we developed the front-end and enabled us to report and collaboratively address any potential issues that arose during the development.
The application makes user of native device functionality such as the built-in cameras and GPS to provide contextual data to the API as required; this enabled us to provide key functionalities such as, QR/barcode scanning, agent location tracking, site photos, and expense receipts.
The final application was delivered inclusive of deployment to the relevant app stores.
It is with great confidence that I can recommend the services of Torchbearer Interactive Ltd. We have worked with Torchbearer for many years now, and they have always been extremely helpful, flexible, and professional in their approach to undertaking our development work. We were completely satisfied with the work that we received on our first project, and we immediately re-engaged them for a further two projects, one of which is expected to span at least five years. We are more than happy to recommend their services to anyone.
