Mobile sorting app for specialized food co-op delivery process

Naturally a Deal is a food co-op that delivers discounted food in bulk to member pickup sites in four states. But they had a delivery problem.

The business needed a better way to sort pallets of boxed food — most of it frozen — into members’ individual orders. Sorting at its outdoor customer delivery locations was time-consuming and chaotic. Sorting before delivery required renting space and hiring temporary workers. RoleModel partnered with Naturally a Deal to design a simple prototype app that streamlined the process, allowing fewer people to sort food faster.

During a two-day planning and exploration with Naturally a Deal, RoleModel designers and developers simulated the delivery process and created a prototype sorting application.

RoleModel refined the working prototype to increase the speed at which someone could sort a shipment.

A RoleModel developer field-tested the prototype, to validate the assumptions were correct and identify key features needed for the first release.

Naturally A Deal wondered if a custom application to reduce the time and cost of breaking down food shipments was viable. RoleModel's experienced cross-functional team quickly produced a mobile application and tested it on-site with Naturally a Deal. The result was working software that proves time and costs savings are possible with a first release of a single-user system.

The single-user prototype has already allowed Naturally a Deal to remove the expense of the rented warehouse space and grow its business.

With a proven concept, Naturally A Deal is well positioned to take the next step and create a viable production application.