About West Coast Reduction:
West Coast Reduction is Western Canada’s leading independent rendering company. With its headquarters in Vancouver, this family-owned and operated company has a rich history that spans over 50 years. Today, West Coast Reduction, along with its other brand, Redux, caters to the needs of farms, feedlots, restaurants, supermarkets, and processors of beef, pork, poultry, and fish. Each year, West Coast Reduction recycles approximately 1 billion pounds of raw material in Western Canada, which plays a vital role in the sustainability of the food industry.
Challenge:
West Coast Reduction operates a fleet of 200 specialized vehicles and employs 150 drivers to provide transportation services for 15 different product types. However, West Coast Reduction was facing multiple challenges that hindered their operational efficiency, profitability, and ability to adapt to market demands.
West Coast Reduction initially sought assistance due to a pressing security risk: the mobile app used by their drivers was based on discontinued Oracle technology and was therefore hard to maintain in a secure manner.
Security wasn’t the only concern. Updating the app presented an opportunity to explore new features for their drivers. Requirements for this new app included:
- Compatible with the existing IT footprint
- Able to match all features of the existing mobile app functionality
- Supported by the vendor, has a future product roadmap and is expected to be a player
in the market well into the future - Offered a modern look and feel with an improved user experience
- Supported push notification for immediate updates
- Could combine apps for other lines of business into a seamless interface
- Able to work with low-connectivity & offline situations
- Enabled on-site pictures and video
- Hardware ear tag scanning
- Quick launch mapping app and GPS capture
- In-app updates
Customer Quote:
“After evaluating various vendors, one of the most compelling value propositions that stood out from Magic Software was the combination of integration and mobile. This unique offering empowered West Coast Production to not only avoid data siloes but also effortlessly uphold our existing business processes.”
Michael Fominoff, Chief Information Officer, West Coast Reduction
Solution:
West Coast Reduction evaluated multiple vendors for custom app development and each time ended up coming back to Magic’s SmartUX. Other vendors proposed massive, complex development projects with complicated integrations back into JDE. The combination of the SmartUX mobile development studio, and simple Magic xpi integrations meant that development could be done quickly using entirely low code/no code tools. A SmartUX proof of concept quickly demonstrated that the project was achievable. West Coast Reduction selected Magic SmartUX for its ability to build an app to:
- Combine the power of Magic xpi and Magic SmartUX to prevent data silos: As JD Edwards is the source of truth and everything integrates back to JDE, ease of integration was critical. Further, West Coast Reduction needed to maintain current business processes including JDE business functions for data capture and reporting.
- Easily track scanned information due to regulations: Canada closely tracks cattle due to past issues with mad cow disease. To comply with regulations, drivers must use Bluetooth scanners to scan cattle ear tags. With SmartUX this custom scanning is embedded directly into a driver’s mobile app and results are integrated into JDE. This provides the required end-to-end record.
- Blend multiple lines of business and apps into one user interface: Previously, WCR had multiple applications for different lines of business. With SmartUX, they were able to combine the functionality into a single user-friendly application that lets drivers easily access the correct information and tasks, including routes, picture storage, signature capture, tag scanning, and sharing notes.
- Streamlined app updates in the field: Updating older apps required downloading the APK onto each device and installing it, which was a time-consuming process. SmartUX provides automatic in-app updates guaranteeing that drivers are always using the latest version and saving valuable time.
The mobile app, known as NLBOne, was developed using SmartUX and Magic xpi and has been in production since November 2022.
Results:
- Enhanced Cybersecurity and Risk Reduction: SmartUX provides a secure, supported environment, reducing the risk of cybersecurity breaches. Also, by implementing clustering of the environment, it eliminates the risk of downtime leading to lost productivity.
- Seamless Business Management: The new app offers a seamless interface that efficiently manages various aspects of the company’s operations. This includes features such as dead stock management with cattle tags, grease trap pickup and maintenance, raw materials pickup, and the ability to capture additional information. The interface integrates and simplifies these different lines of business, making it easier for drivers to navigate and complete their tasks.
- Time Savings and Efficiency: Drivers are now able to schedule extra stops with the time saved, thanks to optimized route planning and scheduling. Further, they receive push notifications immediately notifying them of any changes to their route or schedule.
- Bonus Enhancements: While the original project wish list contained eight enhancements, over the course of the project the flexibility of the SmartUX framework allowed the team to add over 20 enhancements. Some of these, like better support for site photos, have had a significant impact on the businesses operations.
