MediaAgility was acquired by Persistent in May 2022 and its capabilities form the foundation for Persistent’s Google Business Unit. As a Google Cloud Partner and a strategic IT Transformation services provider, the Google Business Unit is focused on delivering transformational services with cloud-native solutions that enable businesses to stay relevant and benefit from the public cloud platform capabilities.
Hire1 gives companies throughout Sri Lanka access to a sophisticated, on-demand logistics platform for couriers, trucking and delivery services.
We used Google Maps to build two web apps and a mobile app that connect businesses to drivers, track deliveries, and let our dispatchers efficiently route all traffic
Yeshanth Gunewardena, Hire1
Challenge
Businesses frequently rely on multiple delivery and transportation companies, including couriers, truckers and freight forwarding services, for getting supplies to warehouses, products to customers and other shipping needs. It’s difficult to track all the services and get a clear picture of costs. Sri Lanka-based Hire1 set out to solve those problems by developing a unified logistics platform for businesses to easily book, track and manage all their delivery and transportation services.
Solution
Hire1 built the platform using Google Maps APIs. A web portal powered by the Google Maps JavaScript API and Google Place Autocomplete lets customers set destinations for package deliveries and track their progress. A backend server using the Google Maps Directions API and Google Map Distance Matrix API calculates the cost of each delivery. A dispatching web app built with Google Maps JavaScript API helps the operations team assign deliveries to specific drivers and monitor deliveries.
The Android app developed with the Google Maps Android API shows drivers the location of their pickups and provides driving directions with Google Maps Directions API. We provided licensing help and technical support. “Google Maps cut our development time by half, has highly accurate location information and offers a friendly, familiar interface to our customers, making them more likely to sign up and use our services,” says Hire1 CEO Yeshanth Gunewardena.
Benefits
- Hire1 cut development time in half, saving money, and bringing new features to market more quickly
- Customers can see real-time progress of their goods being delivered and get highly accurate delivery price quotations
- Because of optimized routing capabilities, only 20 drivers handle deliveries to all Hire1’s customers
