Ensuring that companies can choose transport routes for their international freight with the smallest possible carbon footprint. That is the service with which Rotterdam-based scale-up Routescanner is taking the world by storm. the/experts is one of the parties helping to develop and refine the application’s architecture.
‘The idea for Routescanner came about in collaboration with our customers,’ says Arny van der Deijl, software delivery manager.
‘For Port of Rotterdam, we had developed a tool that allowed customers to see from the port of Rotterdam all available direct destinations of interest to them, both in the hinterland and to other seaports. That tool turned out to touch on a much broader need: companies would like to be able to choose efficient transport routes for their cargo with as few C02 emissions as possible. Then they want to be able to report on this, as part of their sustainability reporting.’
This is how the idea for Routescanner was born: a solution that allows companies to choose the optimal route for transporting their goods, including a certificate of the associated CO2 emissions. Operators of sea transport, inland navigation and goods trains, offer their schedules and route information on this platform. Based on the parameters entered by the customer, the engine selects the most suitable route. In addition to C02 emissions, selection can be based on transit time and number of changes.
Routescanner grew organically because of this genesis. Arny: ‘We soon ran into the fact that the original architecture of the application no longer suited the new functionalities. The biggest problem was how we imported the data into the tool. The checks we did on it turned out to be insufficient. As a result, the tool too often gave outcomes that turned out to be incorrect. Think, for instance, of the ambiguity created by a route offered by several operators and therefore duplicated in our system.
Resolving issues like that took unnecessary time and development capacity.
Together with the/experts Routescanner therefore set to work developing a new data model and new customised architecture. Arny: ‘Based on the domain knowledge we had acquired in the meantime, we divided the process into logical components, developed additional controls and brought forward the controls in the process as much as possible. This allows us to identify corrupt data early and resolve them quickly in consultation with the data supplier. As a result, we develop cleaner, test more easily and achieve better maintainability.’
the/experts not only helped Routescanner with specific knowledge and experience. Arny: ‘The hands-on mentality of the/experts suited this challenge well.
We needed not only an architect who was conceptually strong, but also an experienced developer who could apply this theory to the challenges we faced. Both needs were met by the/experts in an innovative and expert way.’
And what did that give Routescanner? Arny: ‘The new architecture ensures better data quality. And that is ultimately the core of our product; only on the basis of complete and correct data can we offer routes with the least impact on the climate, which are also actually available. Continuing to improve the quality and completeness of our data is therefore one of the main pillars of our strategy. We can now see the first competitors emerging. I am confident that the/experts will continue to help us stay ahead in this rapidly developing market in the years to come.’
