Vehiculum
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The Germany-founded startup VEHICULUM is a car leasing marketplace with over 100,000 registered business customers. Founded in 2015, they raised over €10 million in total funding.
Studies have shown that less than 6% of Africa's farmland is irrigated, highlighting the urgent need for innovative solutions like solar-powered water pumps to enhance agricultural productivity and resilience. In many regions, farmers face significant challenges in managing their water resources efficiently to sustain their crops and livestock. Erratic rainfall patterns and prolonged droughts exacerbate these issues, making access to reliable water sources critical.
Solar-powered water pumps offer a sustainable solution, but determining daily water consumption needs and the technical requirements for these pumps is a complex task, often beyond the expertise of the average farmer. Traditional methods involve navigating intricate Excel spreadsheets, leading to frequent errors, delays, and the need for expert intervention. This inefficient process needs to improve farmers' ability to make timely and accurate decisions, affecting their productivity and livelihoods.
Ragnarson, specializing in climate tech and startups, partnered with Margraf Publishers and GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) to develop a custom software application. This case study outlines how Ragnarson addressed these challenges by focusing on the client's software and business goals. The result was a user-friendly, impactful solution that empowers African farmers to optimise their water usage effectively, thus improving their productivity and livelihoods.
Vehiculum is the first digital solution that offers hassle-free car leasing. The platform empowers customers to compare multiple models and leasing offers in real time. Besides the price comparison, it also offers additional features such as contract management, which mainly supports companies in managing small fleets.
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In 2016, Vehiculum founders were looking for a team to build an MVP and lead further product development and optimisation. 4 years and 4 funding rounds later, we are still in the game - facing new challenges and entering new markets. We work side by side with the Vehiculum in-house IT team, which we helped to recruit and onboard.
Most of our efforts focused on car leasing process automation under the hood.
We worked with internal designers, providing feedback on UX/UI designs and sharing conversion rate optimization best practices.
Until recently, the platform was only available for business customers. We helped to open the application to private customers.
During our engagement, we provided Vehiculum with up to seven full-time developers working on the platform.
We use a combination of Rails and Vue.js to build a large and scalable application easily.
We helped Vehiculum onboard new team members, ensuring a smooth transition, sharing knowledge, pair programming sessions, code review, and planning work.
We utilised Ruby on Rails for server-side development, ensuring simplicity with core functionalities focused on authentication and data persistence.
It was built using React for a dynamic and responsive user interface.
Implemented Tanstack Query for advanced caching and offline support, ensuring the application could function without a stable internet connection.
Used React Router for straightforward routing and DaisyUI for system design, ensuring a user-friendly interface.
The development process involved iterative cycles with continuous feedback from the client, ensuring the final product met the users' specific needs.
Original complex Excel formulas were simplified and integrated into the application with the help of the client’s experts.
The new web application replaced complex Excel files, reducing errors and eliminating the need for expert intervention. Farmers can now easily determine their water requirements and the technical specifications for solar-powered water pumps.
The offline mode ensures that farmers in regions with poor internet connectivity can still use the application effectively.
The app’s design is simple, straightforward, and accessible, catering to users with limited technical expertise. Responsive design ensures usability across different devices, including mobile phones.
Users can download detailed PDF reports of their input data and results, providing a valuable resource for record-keeping and decision-making.
Ragnarson successfully developed a web application for Margraf Publishers that addressed significant challenges faced by African farmers. Leveraging expertise in climate tech, startup development, and impactful software solutions, the team delivered a user-friendly, efficient, and accessible tool.
This project streamlined determining water and pump requirements, empowering farmers with reliable, easy-to-use technology. By providing a solution that simplifies complex calculations and reduces errors, the application significantly contributes to sustainable agriculture practices in Africa.
Through close collaboration and a focus on the client's software and business goals, the project ensured the success and growth of Margraf Publishers in the climate tech sector. This strategic partnership met immediate needs and laid the groundwork for future innovations in sustainable farming solutions.
The reason I've kept hiring Ragnarson is that, regardless of which developer is assigned to our project, they will always be skillful and well-motivated. Ragnarson tries to participate in the product life cycle, discussing features and learning what our business needs are, instead of simply coding blindly. I couldn't say the same thing about other providers.
