RouteMate
Offline-first field operations with live dispatch
A logistics operator needed drivers and field agents to work through dead zones, prove deliveries, and appear live on a dispatch board, across iOS and Android.
The challenge
- Connectivity dropped constantly; work could not be lost.
- Background GPS had to respect platform battery and permission rules.
- Two apps and a backend had to release together without breaking each other.
What we built
Cross-platform with native where it counts
React Native for the shared app, with Kotlin and Swift modules for background location tracking.
Offline-first sync
Orders and proof-of-delivery (photo plus e-signature) are stored locally and synced with conflict handling when the connection returns.
Live dispatch through Kafka
Location events stream into a dispatch dashboard; Firebase Cloud Messaging pushes new job assignments in real time.
One regression suite for both apps
Appium and Playwright cover driver and dispatcher apps before every store submission and backend release.
What we learned
- Designing sync conflicts up front avoided most field bugs.
- Native modules were unavoidable for reliable background location.
- Testing both apps in one suite caught integration breaks that unit tests never would.
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