Cambium Carbon partnered with us to develop a mobile inventory management app designed to streamline sawmill operations within its sustainable wood reuse network. Together, we enhanced workflow efficiency and accessibility, empowering mill workers to improve productivity - no PC stations or laptops needed. By prioritizing intuitive controls, quick data input, and offline functionality, we delivered a tool that simplifies processes, reduces manual tasks, and provides real-time insights - making everyday tasks faster and easier.
The app is available in app stores: Google Play, Apple App store.
Each year, around 36 million trees are cut down in U.S. cities, with most ending up in landfills. Beyond the loss of valuable building material, these decomposing trees release significant amounts of CO₂ into the atmosphere, intensifying the greenhouse effect and accelerating global warming. Given that one cubic meter of decomposing wood can emit approximately 1.8 tons of CO₂, these urban tree losses contribute an estimated 180-250 million tons of CO₂ emissions annually.
This environmental cost translates into $9 to $25 billion per year in carbon offset expenses. Addressing this issue through direct carbon capture would require significant financial investments.
Cambium is tackling this challenge by diverting urban trees from landfills and working with sawmills to process them into high-quality lumber. This reclaimed wood is then supplied to furniture makers, interior architects, and designers for decorative and structural applications. By extending the lifecycle of these trees, Cambium prevents emissions at the source while enabling the reuse of a valuable natural resource - offering both ecological and economic benefits.
The client approached us with their web-based product Traece, an inventory management platform for sawmills. While Traece has been in use since the summer of 2021, they sought to develop a mobile app that is a handy tool for streamlining mill workers' day-to-day operations. The primary goal was to improve accessibility for sawmill workers who, in their daily work, could not use dedicated PC stations and struggled with the RWD mobile version of Traece.
The project commenced with a comprehensive discovery and scoping phase, starting with workshops focused on understanding the key use cases of the existing web version and translating them into a streamlined mobile experience. The workshop concluded with work on a well-defined, frequent app release schedule to demonstrate progress and get feedback from stakeholders regularly which was crucial for the project's success.
One of the primary challenges was user accessibility and usability. The mobile app needed to be designed for one-handed use, accommodating sawmill workers who perform tasks on the production line. The existing web version of the Traece app was not optimized for mobile, leading to low usage and a reliance on manual note-taking, which led to errors. Transitioning from manual processes to digital solutions aimed to reduce these errors and increase efficiency. The new app aimed to streamline operations, allowing workers to update information quickly and efficiently without needing to type extensively.
“We're impressed with their customer support and quality of work. The final product was excellent and the development process was detailed, collaborative and responsive to our needs the entire way.”
Merixstudio’s designers conducted thorough research to understand similar applications and determine which functionalities were essential for the mobile app and which were optional. The primary focus was to ensure that the mobile version added value to users. This brought about innovative UX solutions to automate user input as much as possible and included functionalities like QR code scanning to minimize traditional click-based interactions, auto-filling form fields to reduce user actions, intuitive gestures like swiping, and a clear, easy-to-use UI tailored for field workers. These features were designed to enhance user experience by making the app intuitive and quick to use in a demanding work environment.
Further challenges included designing an offline mode to address connectivity issues common among the more remotely located mills. The app needed to function without an internet connection and synchronize data once connectivity was restored. Choosing the right technology was crucial; we selected Flutter for its cross-platform capabilities and integrated a QR code scanning library to further streamline in-app user flows.
The app went live successfully, and sawmill workers began using it regularly, significantly reducing manual errors and increasing operational efficiency. The result was a robust, user-friendly mobile application that provided significant operational benefits and was well-received by its users, as reflected in increased usage statistics post-launch.
The client emphasized the strong return on investment, highlighting that the project’s cost was significantly lower than managing it internally while also avoiding the time-consuming process of recruiting and vetting developers.
Merixstudio delivered a functioning app that effectively addressed key business challenges, providing both value and a sense of confidence in the process.
Centralizes tracking of logs, slabs, and dimensional packs with real-time updates across milling stages, integrating digital/physical tagging systems
Simplifying data entry with integrated scanning for quick and accurate product identification
Implements gesture controls for glove-compatible operation. Accessing essential data quickly with a user-friendly interface that provides clear insights and analytics.
Working seamlessly even in low-connectivity environments; data syncs automatically once reconnected.
Visualizes production metrics and inventory valuations. Tracking and monitoring products or assets throughout the entire supply chain, ensuring full visibility at every step.
Guides log processing through mill plans and production tracking designed for field use
Provides tools for monitoring kiln charges, scheduling drying cycles, and tracking moisture levels through sensor integration
Protecting sensitive information with industry-leading encryption and secure cloud storage.
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