Last-mile logistics software case study: replacing spreadsheets with a realtime dispatch platform

A last-mile logistics case study — how we replaced a spreadsheet-and-WhatsApp dispatch system for a regional carrier, and why shipping alongside the legacy flow was the key to adoption.

RLC last-mile logistics dispatch console with live fleet view

RLC moves 4,000 parcels a day across a regional last-mile network. Before us, that meant a shared spreadsheet, three WhatsApp groups and an office whiteboard. Our job: replace the whole contraption without breaking a single day of operations.

What we built for last-mile dispatch

A realtime dispatch console, a driver mobile app with offline-first sync, a customer-side parcel tracker, and a lightweight routing optimiser that respects the very specific constraints of rural roads, mid-day heat and Ramadan hours. The heart of it is a stream of events — every scan, pickup, attempt and exception — flowing through a single pipeline that everyone shares.

RLC dispatch route map with active drivers and exception hot-spots
Dispatch view — live drivers, active stops, exception hot-spots.

Everything on that screen used to live in a WhatsApp thread or on the office whiteboard. Putting it in one place was less a technical problem than an agreement about what counts as the truth.

Studio work sample
Studio work sample
Studio work sample

The build ran the way most of our operational work does — on site, next to the people who would use it. The reel below is the studio half of the same story.

Studio reel.

Why driver adoption was the hardest problem

The software was the easy half. Drivers had ten years of muscle memory on paper and WhatsApp. We shipped the first version alongside the legacy flow, not replacing it — every feature had a toggle to fall back. Over eight weeks, one by one, drivers noticed the new flow was faster and stopped reaching for paper. The legacy flow died quietly.

RLC driver app on a rugged phone
RLC warehouse sort screen

Operational numbers after four months

On-time delivery rate moved from 78% to 94%. Average stops per driver per day went up 17%. Dispatcher head-count stayed the same — they simply stopped spending their day reconciling spreadsheets.

01MORE FROM THE STUDIO

More builds from the shelf.

Same team, different problems. Recent cases in adjacent industries — each shipped with the senior people who own outcomes.

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PORTFOLIO BY TYPEBY YEAR

Projects by type grow year over year

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MVP, redesign, AI and support — cumulative

STRENGTHSPROFILE

The studio profile across key axes

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PROJECT PHASESOVER TIME

Research, design and build overlap

Parallel streams — not a waterfall