Alamar Foods
Integration of Restaurant Chain Systems for a Middle Eastern Food Service Operator
MOBILE APP
WEB APP
ABOUT PROJECT
Through the development of a backend API, we were able to implement an e-Wallet supporting the leading restaurant chain in the GCC Region.
About the company
Alamar Foods is a Saudi Arabia-based Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) operator. The company is a franchisee of brands such as Domino’s Pizza and Dunkin’ Donuts for Arab countries Over its three decades of activity in the market Alamar has developed a huge amount of trust among customers. Such support allows the company to introduce technological and business innovations to continuously improve the comfort and quality of customer service.
Alamar’s mission
The company aspires to be an international leader in the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry. Alamar seeks to achieve this goal through steady growth and the introduction of market best practices. By investing in the highest quality technological solutions, the Saudi giant seeks to increase the quality of its services while keeping in mind the user experience of its customers.
OUR WORK
Project Management
Frontend
Backend
QA
UX & UI
CUSTOMER OBJECTIVE
Enhance existing client-side tools with additional functionality that will translate into
convenience and positively impact user experience.
THE CHALLENGE
Implementing the e-Wallet system via a backend API into customer applications supporting
several hundred restaurant points.
1. PROCESS
The cooperation with Alamar began in the second half of 2021. The original idea was to develop an e-Wallet that could be integrated with the client's products. This solution is often compared to a prepaid card due to its similar operating principles. With the ability to recharge the account, the user can use part of his funds to easily pay for orders.
The cooperation with Alamar began in the second half of 2021. The original idea was to develop an e-Wallet that could be integrated with the client's products. This solution is often compared to a prepaid card due to its similar operating principles. With the ability to recharge the account, the user can use part of his funds to easily pay for orders.
Communication & Workflow
As in the case of previous projects such as Shawarmer, we had to work together to develop a model of cooperation that takes advantage of the cultural commonalities and contrasts between Poland and Saudi Arabia. We refined all the rules of cooperation related to the differences occurring in our working systems (different working days in both countries), and adjusted the appropriate model of communication in order to keep up to date with the client on the progress of the work.
Bartosz, Project Manager
“E-Wallet system for Alamar Foods was an interesting project to build since by design it connects to many different systems, not one specific app/website. Because of this we had to design a flexible tool which handles many different business cases. This has allowed the E-Wallet system to merge seamlessly with current Alamar tools and architecture.”
2. The features
API DEVELOPMENT
After reviewing the solutions offered by Alamar, we came to the conclusion together that the best solution would be for Railwaymen to craft a purspose-built backend API. All this in order to be able to integrate the available client-side solutions with the new functionalities in the easiest way possible.
EXAMPLE OF USAGE:
In Saudi Arabia, it is common to identify a user by phone number. Therefore, when a user completes an order, cashback is credited to their account. Since Alamar supports a growing number of restaurant chains, the solution must allow the user to be able to receive funds from any of them.
E-WALLET
It took the RWM team of developers around 3 months to put together a basic version of the feature. In addition to the API, we created a basic admin panel
In a later stage of cooperation, we began expanding the e-Wallet with additional capabilities. Our work included, among others, a feature that allows restaurant owners to generate promotional coupons. With such a marketing option, the user can use the coupon he receives and apply the discount applicable to his order. Another improvement we are working on is the streamlining of the Customer Service functionality. In case of any inconvenience, the user will be able to seamlessly contact the service and describe the problem occurring. The Customer Service department, upon receiving the request, can then quickly process it and decide, for example, whether the customer should be compensated for the e-Wallet funds.
Piotr, Ruby on Rails Developer
“E-wallet was a very interesting project but also very challenging. When implementing the functionalities, we had to remember to make them highly scalable to handle multiple requests simultaneously. I also had the opportunity to get familiar with popular payment solutions used in the Saudi Arabic market, thanks to which the process of payment to top up the wallet became simple and intuitive for the user. It was a very developing experience.”
MULTI-REGION SUPPORT FOR THE TOOL
Due to the client’s presence in multiple regions, our role was to develop a support solution, with one system responsible for the company’s international branches handling different currencies. With the help of an appropriate configuration we made it possible to oversee all transactions from a single tool without having to switch to different systems for each country.
Paweł, Ruby on Rails Developer
“Alamar was the first project I worked on as a Junior RoR developer. For me, the biggest challenge was the implementation of bulk top-ups and their optimization for thousands of simultaneous top-ups. Working on this project was a great and very useful experience from which I could learn a lot.”
REPORT HANDLING
The administrative part being developed in the second phase also included work on reporting, data gathering and analysis. The reporting form was developed based on the client’s needs. The reporting process also includes statistics related to the discount program provided through coupons. In the administrative panel, decision-makers have access to detailed information related to the number of coupons redeemed and their value used.
USER PORTAL
The first version of e-Wallet only included the ability to fund a customer’s account with cash through an API we developed. However, in a later stage of the work, the client decided to implement a user portal for replenishing the funds. It is also worth mentioning that depositing money can be done in different currencies. With GCC customers in mind, we have made integration with the Moyasar system, which allows handling payments valid in that region. The solution created by Railwaymen supports STC PAY and MADA cards, which are as popular as the aforementioned Moyasar.
Ania, UI Designer
“I had an opportunity to work on Alamar Foods project and would say that it’s been a great journey on creating an app. This is an excellent solution for managing clients and offers. We made it easier for users and admins to access the personal portal with benefits and offers, so they will never miss a chance to use this and stay loyal to their favorite service. ”
3. TECHNOLOGIES & TOOLS
FINAL PRODUCT
