Case Study - Building the myCHEP Customer Portal

Client Overview

CHEP is a global leader in supply chain solutions, helping businesses manage their pallets, crates, and containers. The myCHEP customer portal is a critical tool for clients to manage orders, track inventory, and handle logistics efficiently across multiple regions. The portal had to support a global customer base, requiring a centralized, modern platform that could handle the complex and varied business rules of different regions.

The Challenge

CHEP’s legacy system consisted of fragmented client portals, each catering to specific regions and business rules, resulting in inefficiencies and inconsistent user experiences. They needed a unified platform that would:

• Migrate legacy client portals into a single platform that supports their global customer base, including regional-specific business rules.
• Improve UI and UX for a seamless experience across all customer touchpoints.
• Cross device compatibility for a consistent experience across desktop, tablet, and mobile.
• Innovate ways to enhance application response times and performance, despite slow backend services.
• Build and support multiple complex modules, including location management, transfers, orders, stock reporting, invoicing, and customizable dashboards.
• Ensure the platform was equipped to support 20+ language translations.
• Guarantee near 100% test coverage for stability, given that downtime could cost $1M per hour.
• Drastically reduce CI/CD times, from hours to minutes.
• Ensure app performance monitoring and alerting for system failures.
• Upskill the myCHEP technical team to maintain and extend the platform post-launch.

Our Approach

In close collaboration with the incredible myChep team, we adopted a comprehensive and strategic approach to address these challenges. Together, we ensured scalability, reliability, and a user-friendly interface, all while navigating the complexities of global business rules.

1. Business Analysis & Solution Design

We designed a user-centric interface that supports the entire myCHEP global customer base, adhering to thousands of regional business rules, yet operating through a single, streamlined interface.

A key component was the migration of legacy systems into a modern, unified platform that could handle the complexities of CHEP’s global operations. The process included a thorough business analysis to understand the unique requirements of each region and it's the current functionality to develop a solution that could cater to all needs.

The new platform was designed to be intuitive, user-friendly, and responsive, ensuring a seamless experience for customers across all touchpoints and all devices.

2. Development & Integration

The platform included the development & systems integration of critical modules to support CHEP’s global operations, including:

• Location Management Module: Enabling customers to manage their warehouse and distribution center locations.
• Transfers Module: Supporting single and bulk transfers of assets across multiple locations.
• Orders Module: Allowing users to place and manage orders with ease.
• Stock & Reporting Module: Providing real-time stock tracking and comprehensive reporting.
• Invoices Module: Simplifying invoice management and payment tracking.
• Corrections & Issues Module: Addressing discrepancies and issues related to stock transfers and orders.
• Customizable Dashboards & Notifications: Offering a tailored user experience with customizable widgets and alerts based on user preferences.

3. Performance Optimization & CI/CD Enhancement

To tackle performance bottlenecks caused by backend services, we implemented a decoupling strategy. We migrated from a monolithic codebase to a multi-repo architecture, which drastically reduced build and release times, cutting them from 3 hours to just 10 minutes. Parallelizing test execution and running tasks concurrently further reduced deployment times.

4. Comprehensive Test Coverage

Given the financial impact of potential downtime, we achieved over 98% test coverage, including end-to-end, integration, and code tests. This ensures that every release is stable and reliable, minimizing risks for CHEP's operations.

5. Globalization & Multi-Language Support

With a global user base, we implemented 20+ language translations across the platform, ensuring a consistent and localized experience for all users worldwide.

6. Team Collaboration & Upskilling

We worked closely with the myCHEP technical team throughout the project, providing training and upskilling to enable them to maintain and extend the platform, ensuring long-term sustainability.

Results

The new myCHEP platform was successfully launched, delivering significant improvements across the board:

• 100% of the legacy systems were migrated into a modern, unified platform.
• Achieved 98%+ test coverage, ensuring a stable and reliable product.
• 4x faster application performance, enhancing the user experience.
• ~95% reduction in and release times from hours to minutes.
• Scalable platform supporting 20+ languages and a global customer base.
• Successfully developed multiple complex modules and feature, meeting the unique needs of each region while adhering to CHEP's global business standards.

We delivered a unified portal for CHEP that transformed their fragmented legacy systems into a single, scalable platform. With comprehensive features, improved performance, and global reach, the myCHEP portal now provides a seamless experience for customers, helping them manage their supply chains efficiently on a global scale.