SWMU24 Blog Van Dessel 2

Van Dessel – VD Fleet Solutions platform 3.0

Web - Discovery Bootcamp - MVP - Design
Sweet Mustard is helping insurance company Van Dessel renew an application to manage vehicle policies.

Human centered from the start

Human centricity and customer centricity are integral parts of the DNA of insurance broker Van Dessel. To provide an even better service, they built an application that allows insurers and clients to manage and monitor vehicle policies. As the previous version of the application became obsolete, Sweet Mustard is helping them transition to and develop a new VD Fleet Solutions. Read the full story on the project in our interview with Chris Govaerts, COO at Van Dessel.

Our approach

The challenge

Van Dessel had already built a fleet management software in the past, called VD Fleet Solutions, aimed at employees managing policies and claims for customers. This app worked well for quite a while, but with the increase in both users and vehicles, performance deteriorated.

Superficial fixes were no longer enough to keep the whole thing up to date, given that the underlying technology and architecture was now outdated. The user-friendliness could also use some love, as the application had become more extensive over the years, making it not always easy for users to find their way around.

“We used a clear roadmap with two-weekly sprints, from which our combined team – composed of both Sweet Mustard experts and Van Dessel experts – could derive at a glance whether we were on schedule, where potential stumbling blocks would be and what their impact would be on the rest of the process. We regularly met in person, because we believe in the power of physical collaboration.”

- Chris Govaerts, COO Van Dessel
Boosting the user-friendliness

Another intention of ours was to make the software much more intuitive. To do this, we took a look at which features were really necessary. We simplified the workflow and made sure that all functionalities were combined into one application, rather than being spread over several apps. After all, the intention for the future is that end customers will also be able to use the portal – and the clearer the app, the better the user experience, the greater the chance of satisfied end customers.

As in the future, end customers will be able to enter their own data via Fleet, we wanted to reduce the chance of errors. By building in extra validations, customers don't have to worry about this anymore.

In the first phase, we delivered an MVP with a limited number of functionalities, in the next phase we are aiming for additional features and a larger, phased roll-out.

SWMU24 Blog Van Dessel 3

Looking back

Although the 3.0 version is not 100% finished at the time of writing – is software ever? – the renewed application was met with positive feedback from employees. We also received compliments on our way of working: the Van Dessel team appreciated our open communication and clear agreements. You can read all about it in the interview we had with COO Chris Govaerts, and discover everything there is to know about the new VD Fleet Solutions.

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