Building a Customer Service Smartship for Nightline
A logistics platform owned by UPS
“Here we have a team of 23 people (but) he has been a great help because of the complexity of the backend.”
-David SheridanIT Development Manager
Nightline Group (A subsidiary of UPS)
Project Overview
Nightline is one of Ireland's biggest shipment and logistics companies. They wanted to create an automated survey system that would help them understand their users' preferences and grievances. We delivered! This collaboration led to a long-term partnership with Nightline, which continued even after the company was acquired by UPS. We then helped UPS develop a customer portal that made their logistics process easier by enabling easy creation of consignments, scheduling pickups, dispatching parcels, and delivering them to customers.
But that's not all! We also developed a Global Timecard System that manages driver working hours and connects to their payroll. With the ongoing project involving revamping the technical foundation that UPS built its legacy on, we helped Nightline, and later UPS achieve their goal across all the 5-project-collaboration.
Getting to Know the Requirements
UPS has been one of the most prominent logistics service provider on a global scale. Since they sought to enter the Irish market, they acquired Nightline, an Irish logistics giant, in May 2017. The integration of the two companies faced challenges due to their significantly different database systems. UPS operated on an outdated technology that was almost as old as the company's legacy, while Nightline had a more modern and advanced system.
Following the acquisition, both UPS and Nightline aimed to create a new and reliable database system that would blend the trusted and established legacy of UPS with the advanced and efficient technology of Nightline. Furthermore, Nightline sought to have its customer database merged with UPS's global customer database.
That's where we came into the picture!
Tackling the 5-phased Project
Nightline and UPS identified that their entire requirements could be divided into 5 sub-projects. And so, after a series of discussions on how to go
about them, we got started on this fivefold project.
Project 1
Project 2
Project 3
Project 4
Project 5
Project 1
Customized Survey System
Project 1 
Customized Survey System
Nightline, being a prominent shipment and logistics company recognized the importance of conducting occasional surveys for their users to gain insights into their customers' needs and preferences. This information could then be leveraged to enhance the quality of their services.
We designed a user-friendly survey system that enables users to create and schedule surveys to be sent to their customers on specific dates. The responses collected from these surveys are then analyzed to generate insightful reports on areas of improvement, customer satisfaction levels, and other factors that require attention.
We didn't stop at just creating surveys; we went further by introducing exciting functionalities that allow for different levels of control and access. This includes the introduction of various roles such as Admins, Sub Admins, and Customers, each with their own unique capabilities. With these controls, users can interact with their customers in their preferred way, putting them fully in charge of their customer relationships.
.NET, C#, jQuery
January 2016 - February 2016
Project 2
Customer Service Shipment
Project 2
Customer Service Shipment
After the survey system, the clients enlisted us for help in their area of specialization - managing shipments from A to Z.
We worked extensively with all hands on deck to create a shipment portal where customers could create new consignments, schedule pickups, record picking up of the parcel, record dispatch of parcel, and even manage deliveries and track shipments.
While these are basic features in any shipment management portal, we went a step ahead and enabled shipments to be sent to addresses other than that provided initially. With the help of such features, continuous end-to-end testing of the entire service portal could be made possible.
.NET, C#, Angular
June 2017 - April 2018
Project 3
Support Request
Project 3
Support Request
In the initial sub-project surveys, our clients discovered that users expressed dissatisfaction with the number of follow-up emails required when creating a support ticket. They wanted a solution to eliminate this problem.
We tackled the problem by developing a comprehensive support system that streamlines the entire process. By creating a user-friendly interface that enables users to provide all necessary information and evidence, we significantly reduced the time required to resolve each ticket. The best part? This system caters to all kinds of support requests, whether technical or non-technical.
.NET, C#, Angular
April 2018 - December 2018
Project 4
Global Timecard System (GTS)
Project 4
Global Timecard
System (GTS)
Managing hours worked by the delivery personnel seemed to be an issue that UPS faced prior to coming to us. They wanted to track the hours along with the work done by each personnel.
This project involved creating a GTS that recorded the hours worked by drivers in a day, along with the amount of work done by each person. More specifically, drivers could record their clocking in and clocking out times, along with the number of pickups, dispatches, and deliveries done by them in a day.
We went the extra mile by creating a system that compiles all the relevant data into a big JSON file, which is uploaded to the UPS server daily. With this data, calculating accurate payroll and make timely payments at the end of each month was made easier. To ensure maximum security, we used encryption and other SFTP securities to protect this sensitive information.
.NET, C#, Web API Core
January 2019 - December 2020
Project 5
Rewriting Old Windows-form Apps
Project 5
Rewriting Old Windows-form Apps
Our latest project is a massive undertaking that involves overhauling UPS's existing methods and systems. The older apps were no longer adequate to meet the evolving needs of modern users. Previously, these apps were heavily reliant on the Database to connect to the Web API. However, with Nightline employing more advanced systems, the need for a more sophisticated solution became apparent.
We're currently in the process of rewriting the old Windows apps to eliminate their dependence on the database. This involves migrating everything from Angular JS to Angular and developing a new Web API that directly connects the Windows app to the API. By cutting out the middleman (i.e., the database), we'll significantly reduce processing time, which will improve the user experience tremendously. This is a major step forward for UPS as it moves towards a more efficient and modern approach to app development.
.NET, C#, Web API Core
January 2022 - Current
An Additional Request
Along with the ongoing project, UPS handed us an additional task to help move along their acquisition faster – to migrate the Irish customer database of Nightline to that of UPS. So, our resource and his team of experts has been diligently moving the data from Nightline’s local repository to UPS's global database.
This simultaneous migration of data, along with the migration of UPS's apps to the latest Angular framework, means that the polished database will be available to UPS in no time, further streamlining their acquisition process.
And the Result?
We played a crucial role in making the acquisition process smoother, with creating a shipment smartship catered to include even the newly acquired Irish customer base and revamping UPS's outdated framework. Through the ongoing improvement of UPS's older applications and platforms along with completely reforming the shipment management portal and the GTS, the new and improved UPS is sure to become more efficient.
And with the additional ongoing project of data migration from Nightline's database to UPS's, Nightline's loyal clientele in Ireland is also sure to enjoy the fruits of our labor pretty soon!
The Man of the Hour
As a full stack developer, Pankaj met all the demands of the client, whether it be to make changes to frontend or refining the backend. Using his expertise In Angular, CORE, Entity, SQL Server, and JSON, along with his experience in the logistics domain, he was indeed the ideal person to take change of Nightline and UPS's requirements.
Full Stack Software Developer
