Refuel

Refuel is a fuel delivery service. Originally intended for consumers, then gradually dedicated to companies and vehicle fleet managers.

The value proposition is to save time by replacing the trip to a service station with a delivery, even in places that are difficult to access such as building car parks.

Under the hood, Refuel uses a fleet of utility trucks equipped with a tank and a pump controller, friction-less web and mobile apps to place orders, and algorithms to automate and optimizes order dispatching, costs calculation, tanker refueling,  ETA tracking, and billing.

I worked as a freelance for an entrepreneur, and my role was to design and then implement the whole technical solution. I also led 2 junior developers.

- Firebase realtime database
- Rest api with Google Cloud Functions (serverless)
- React Native iOS and Android mobile apps
- JAVA module for pump controller
- React.js back-office
- Material design (RN elements and material-UI)
- Payments with Stripe

I solved 3 main challenges. Firstly I designed business-savvy algorithms, that take into account a large number of operational inputs: labor cost and shifts, equipment depreciation, travel time with traffic, gross fuel pricing and sourcing, etc. Fuel is a commoditized product with low margins, and precise cost calculation is essential for profitability.

Secondly, I designed an end-to-end pipeline with fraud prevention mechanisms: credit card imprint, redundant control of delivered volume, dispute process through the help desk, driver rating, etc. Fuel is a valuable and easily laundered good, and trust by design is essential, both with employees and customers.

Thirdly I implemented a real-time solution, both for tracking truck position and for estimating the time of arrival with traffic. Since Uber, UX expectations are very high.