Starting Point
A leading assistance and roadside service provider coordinated over 800 field service operations daily — roadside assistance, on-site technical services, and emergency support. The problem: coordination between dispatch, field technicians, and end customers ran through phone calls, SMS, and paper protocols.
The symptoms were alarming:
- Customers didn’t know when help would arrive — “Your technician is on the way” was the only information
- Technicians documented on paper — service reports got lost, were illegible, or arrived at headquarters days later
- No real-time overview for dispatch — scheduling relied on phone callbacks
- Customer complaints rose quarter over quarter — 73% concerned lack of communication, not service quality
- Average response time was difficult to measure since timestamps were recorded manually
Challenge
Requirements for a mobile solution were complex:
- Offline capability: Technicians work in underground garages, basements, rural areas — no guaranteed network
- Real-time tracking: Customers should see the technician live on a map (like delivery services)
- Digital service reports: Photos, checklists, customer signature — all digital and immediately at headquarters
- Integration: Connection to the existing dispatch system (SAP-based)
- Simplicity: Technicians are mechanics and electricians, not IT specialists — the app must be learnable in 5 minutes
- Bilingual: Technicians in two countries with different languages
Solution
Three Apps, One System
We developed not one but three interconnected applications:
1. Technician App (React Native)
- Job overview with route and navigation
- Digital checklists per job type (roadside assistance, maintenance, emergency)
- Photo documentation with automatic assignment to the job
- Digital customer signature
- Offline sync: all data stored locally and synchronized when network is available
- Status updates with one tap: “En route,” “On site,” “Completed”
2. Customer Tracking (Progressive Web App)
- No app download required — link via SMS
- Live map with ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival)
- Profile of assigned technician (name, photo, rating)
- Push notifications on status changes
- Feedback form after job completion
3. Dispatch Dashboard (Web)
- Real-time overview of all active jobs on a map
- Automatic dispatching: nearest available technician with matching qualification
- SLA monitoring: which jobs risk exceeding their time window?
- Reporting: response times, completion rates, customer satisfaction
Offline-First Architecture
The biggest technical challenge was offline capability:
- Local database (WatermelonDB) stores all job data on the device
- Conflict resolution: When edited simultaneously (technician offline, dispatch changes job), the last server state wins — with notification to the technician
- Photo queue: Photos are compressed locally and uploaded on WiFi — never over mobile data (cost control)
- Sync indicator: Clearly visible status showing whether data is synchronized or pending
Results
After 6 months in production with 320 technicians:
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer complaints | Baseline | — | −89% |
| Complaints re: communication | 73% of all complaints | 12% | −84% |
| Avg. response time (measurable) | Not measurable | 34 minutes | First-time measurable |
| Same-day service reports | 31% | 98% | +216% |
| Paper documentation | 100% | 0% | Fully digital |
| Customer satisfaction (NPS) | +12 | +54 | +42 points |
| Manual dispatching | 100% | 35% | −65% automated |
Lessons Learned
1. The Simplest App Wins
Our first prototype had 12 screens and a navigation bar. Technicians in the pilot test ignored 8 of them. We reduced to 4 screens — and adoption rose from 40% to 95%.
2. Offline Is Not an Edge Case
In the first 3 months, 23% of all service reports were created offline. Without offline capability, we would have failed to digitize nearly a quarter of all jobs.
3. Customer Tracking Is the Biggest Lever
The technician app improved internal processes. But the customer tracking PWA — the simplest of the three applications — had the greatest impact on customer satisfaction. Sometimes the simplest solution is the most effective.
4. Feedback Closes the Loop
The feedback form after every job delivers not just NPS data but identifies specific improvement opportunities. The 5-star rating per technician created healthy competition within the team.