Paperless freight, built on the platform they already had.
Inherited a platform that runs your business, and need it to carry far more? Loadpad is taking the paper out of freight, with one platform for the whole job. It started with an audit of the platform they had, and we've been building it with them ever since.
At a glance
- 01
Client. Loadpad, a South African freight platform.
- 02
Industry. Logistics: bulk freight.
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Delivered. Code audit, a fixed-scope clean-up, then ongoing development of the whole platform.
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Team. An engineer, QA, a project manager and technical oversight to start, grown as the platform grew.
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Platform. Web.
A platform with a lot more to carry
Freight still moves on paper, and they set out to change that: one platform carrying a load from the first order to the carrier's payment.
The platform was already live and running the business every day. Another team had built it, and they were ready to ask far more of it.
Before building more on it, they wanted to know exactly what they were building on.
The audit said keep it
They asked us for a code audit before committing to anything more. Starting again is often the answer people expect after an audit, and it would have meant a long stretch with nothing new to show. What we found was a platform worth keeping, with a clear list of areas to strengthen first.
So instead of a rewrite, we proposed a fixed-scope clean-up: four months to make the base safe to build on, while the platform kept running the business.
Four months that made the base safe to build on.
How we built it
The engineering came in two stages: make the base safe, then build the whole platform out on top of it. The same principles carried both.
Start by understanding what's there
We read the whole system before changing any of it, and ranked what we found by its risk to the business, not by how much it offended an engineer. That gave them a short list to act on, and a clear reason for every item on it.
Strengthened while it ran
The work happened on a platform that was moving freight every day, so we made the changes in small releases, each tested before it went out, and kept security in every piece of work.
Built in clear parts
We organised the platform around the way freight actually works, with each part of the business in its own well-defined area of the code. A change in one part of the business stays in that part. It takes more structure up front, and it pays that back every sprint after.
The rules live in the system
Freight runs on rules. We keep those rules in the platform itself, so the business doesn't depend on people remembering them.
Room to grow
We designed the platform to grow beyond one operator without a rebuild.
AI on the paperwork
Paperwork is where freight slows down, so that's where we put AI. It does the first read of each document that comes in, so nobody has to type it in again.
Every release checked
Work runs in fortnightly sprints, planned together with their team from a shared backlog. Every change is tested by QA before it ships, and an experienced technical supervisor reviews the work, so the base stays sound sprint after sprint.
A team that grew with the platform
We started with one engineer, QA, a project manager and technical oversight, and added engineers as the platform took on more. Design and business analysis joined when the work needed them, and stepped back when it didn't, so the team always fitted the work in front of it.
From the first order to the final payment
Their team runs the business on one platform, and keeps adding to it without having to stop and ask what's underneath.
A platform their team can keep building on, whatever freight asks of it next.
The clean-up was the start, not the end
What began as an audit became a partnership: they asked us to keep going, and the team has grown with the work.
Keep going
Not sure what you're building on? Find out before you build more.
Tell us about a project like this.