App Logistics of Archiva Group started from companies dealing with logistics and having to adapt to the new European regulations.

The EU legislator, Implementing Regulation EU 1912/2018 with regards to certain exemptions related to intra-EU transactions, has inserted a new Article 45-bis within the Implementing Regulation EU 282/2011. On the basis of this amendment, as of 1 January 2020, a list of documents are required to transport or ship goods to another Member State.

On App Logistica, the Archiva admin creates a new “sender” customer (person who sends the goods); when the sender creates a new transport, all the documents needed for the transport are loaded in the corresponding folder, inside the platform.

The application we have created suggests to the user which documents to load and verifies in real time if all of them are present, including any accessory documents; it also allows the operator to easily identify all the actors involved in the operation.

Among these documents, the DDT (Transport Document) is fundamental, an accounting delivery document that is issued with the movement of goods by VAT taxable persons, whether they operate individually or collectively. According to the Regulations, this document in electronic form can be managed:

– as a virtual legal document, to allow deferred invoicing

– on an device (computer, tablet or smartphone)

– by means of a computer, the procedure uses an electronic platform or using electronic tracking carrier (Res 19/E/2013)

– by signing the DDT with advanced electronic signature or a simple electronic signature.

A first advantage of App Logistics is to collect these documents in one place making them easier to consult and share.

A second advantage is to give some users the ability to use the application on a PC in the office or to others, who, due to their type of activity need to move around and comfortably use a tablet. It is also for transporters who usually use a mobile phone, it gives them the possibility to use the application on a smartphone. App Logistica therefore makes multi-channel access possible, a platform accessible from any type of device.

In order to validate the market and target of the new digital product, with Archiva we used a typical tool of growth hacking and the lean canvas. To start, we identified the problems, and defined the possible customer segments affected by them.

Then a solution was discussed along with the competitive advantage of the company that proposes it and the unique value of its position. It’s an added value that only the proposing company is able to outline to its consumer, with the solution it puts forward.

This is the first hypothesis: in fact, each of them must be validated and then repeated through customer research. The typical tools are on the one hand, developing the landing pages, Google ads and Facebook ad campaigns to intercept people of interest, on the other hand the mapping of possible customers to target. Search for relevant contacts within them, request contacts and interviews aimed at investigating the actual presence of the problem, collect information on the flow of processes related to the problem, the management software used and any competitors of the project, and so on.

On the basis of the information collected, the hypotheses will be validated.

The development was carried out with Agile Scrum methodology and the result at the end of each sprint was validated by Archiva but also by the market, to allow us to optimize the efforts in the following sprints and place them in the right direction.

The result of this iterative process is a software that responds to the real needs of users and allows Archiva to integrate and improve its service, both on acquired and prospect customers.

In order to make the information contained within the database even more secure, the client chose to use Blockchain Technology.

Blockchain is a data structure that can be defined as a chain of blocks entrusted to a consensus mechanism distributed over all the nodes of a network authorised to participate in the validation process.

At each logical state change of transport, the blockchain is examined and the transport information is saved at that specific moment. An update is also performed by default every night to save the changes made to travel after it has been successfully completed.

Blockchain technology represents a major step forward in simplifying paper-based processes by introducing greater security and transparency.

Again, technology helps people and companies, particularly those employed in the logistics sector, by providing a platform for document management capable of the following factors:

• manage, digitise and centralise transport documents;
• ensure compliance with regulations in the logistics sector;
• save document management costs;
• avoid penalties;
• consult the available material quickly;
• allow simultaneous access to the multiplicity of actors involved;
• certify transactions with blockchain

Many companies are focusing on software development to reduce the complexity of processes within organisations (such as ZPC e Safilo), in this case a further step was taken: certifying the process with Blockchain.