Laast - Case Study

Case Study

Laast.io is a unified platform to boost repair activities and manage the challenges faced by repairers on a daily basis.

Tools Used

Tools and technologies used in Laast.io

Kubernetes

Docker

Node.js

TypeScript

Directus

Nuxt

Tailwind CSS

Linear

Figma

Introduction

Recently emerged in the technology sector, Laast is the result of over a decade of repair experience, acquired by Lucas, its founder.

Faced with a market equipped with organizational and billing tools that are unsuitable for the repair business and costly, Laast offers a turnkey solution within a platform designed from the realities of the field.

From managing stocks and spare parts with suppliers to tracking and billing interventions with customer equipment, Laast is designed to simplify the daily life of repairers and greatly improve their productivity.

It is in this promising and supportive context that our team was selected to realize this B2B SaaS solution.

Design

The design strategy is a major element that must be questioned throughout the project. It is difficult to find all the right solutions the first time.

The client arrived with an identity design created by another provider. We had to adapt this identity to the application's user interface, without overdoing it.

Initially, we focus on key issues, often the most complex, as opposed to generic features found in most SaaS.

The first challenge is to convince our client, who is (which is a good thing) a perfectionist but above all, to identify relevant objectives aimed at improving the user experience of the solution.

Colors

Color palette used in Laast.io

01

#fff1d0

02

#eeddba

03

#004dfc

04

#fc1f1f

05

#fec832

06

#f4f4f5

07

#78716c

08

#424040

09

#292524

10

#1c1917

What is Laast.io?

Laast.io is a unified platform to boost repair activities and manage the challenges faced by repairers on a daily basis. The application, developed on the SaaS model, allows managing stocks, interventions, invoices, and payments in one place. A robust catalog allows tracking spare parts and suppliers, while the calendar and kanban board facilitate planning and executing interventions.

The Orchestrator

An independent application allowing centralized administration of instances deployed for Laast.io service clients. In other words, eliminating a headache for the administrator.

Client Instances

Customizable instances intended for repair shops and independent repairers using the Laast solution, with features tailored to their needs.

The Catalog

The catalog plays an absolutely central role in the application. It allows managing spare parts, suppliers, and devices. Search is facilitated by filters and categories, while spare part details are accessible with one click. Suppliers can be easily added and managed, and devices can be associated with spare parts for more efficient stock management, thus avoiding harmful stockouts for the activity.

Catalog Categories

The catalog allows a certain granularity in managing spare parts. Categories allow classifying parts by type, brand, or device model. Parts can be associated with devices for more efficient stock management, and suppliers can be associated with parts for more efficient purchasing management.

The Kanban

The kanban is the repairer's central view. It allows visualizing ongoing interventions, planned interventions, and completed interventions. Interventions can be moved from one column to another to indicate their status, and intervention details are accessible with one click. The kanban allows planning and executing interventions efficiently and tracking their progress in real-time.

Side Panels

Managing spare parts and repairs can induce significant complexity in the user interface. We have therefore worked on numerous side panels to facilitate navigation and access to essential information.

Each panel has been redesigned several times following user feedback. The experience has been gradually improved to offer an intuitive and efficient interface.

They have also been designed to be easily accessible and usable from a tablet or smartphone, if needed during a trip, for example.

The Calendar

The calendar supports the kanban for planning interventions. It allows visualizing interventions over a given period, moving them to plan them, and associating them with devices. Interventions can be filtered by status, technician, or device, for more precise planning and more efficient execution.

Customization

We have designed comprehensive customization features for the application. Users can modify their profile, company, and catalog. They can also customize application settings, notifications, and payment preferences. Administrators can also add or remove agents and manage their roles and permissions.

Export / Import .CSV

In a project like this, it is often desirable to quickly integrate an initial batch of structured data from an efficient tool like Excel or Google Sheets. We chose a .CSV export and import system, which is also the format used by suppliers. Our feature processes the data and provides a complete report on input errors while offering visibility on the information created or updated.

Messaging

Messaging is a recurring element of modern SaaS applications. It allows actors to communicate with each other, share information, and collaborate on projects. We designed a simple and intuitive messaging system, with individual and group conversations, real-time notifications, and the ability to share files. Messaging is integrated into the application, allowing actors to communicate easily without leaving the application.

Many Challenges

Developing a web application like Laast presents several major challenges. First, the diversity of smartphone models and brands implies the need to manage a vast database of spare parts and procedures specific to each device, which can quickly become complex and difficult to maintain.

Interface

Ensuring an intuitive and user-friendly interface is crucial to attract and retain customers.

UI / UX

Paying particular attention to user experience (UX) and usability testing, as well as customer feedback.

Robustness

Real-time repair tracking and secure payments require a robust and secure technical infrastructure.

Deployment Strategy

The scalability of the architecture is crucial to support user growth and manage migrations related to updates. In our approach, each repair space constitutes a virtualized environment comprising a backend base and a separate database, all managed by Kubernetes within a master application that manages all instances.

Scalability and Security

This configuration allows us to adapt granular performance for each client environment while avoiding a centralized monolithic architecture. This presents more complexity in the infrastructure but has two advantages:

Reduced development costs on workspaces and authentication
A more exportable core to meet the requirements of large accounts or white-label clients.

Code Maintainability

Limiting new bugs and regressions through testing becomes critical when your roadmap extends over time. We operate in a continuous integration framework with environment versioning that allows gradually deploying core updates after manual testing phases. TypeScript offers significant security and comfort in maintaining the source code, at least in the MVP phase.

Core Security

Security involves both the code and the architecture of environments deployed on servers. We collect certain personal information to manage the client billing system. For this, we use mount points and separate databases for each instance, accessible via the backend through time-limited tokens.

Excluded Scope

In some contexts, it is necessary to redefine project features if they present disadvantageous conditions.

We have reduced ambitions on cash management, which offered too vague contours on payment processing and accounting management. This first version focuses on billing and indicating payment methods. This approach can be appropriately revised during the implementation of electronic invoicing by the European Union in 2025.

In parallel, feedback from the first users will allow us to know the range of solutions used by repair professionals. Crossing this step will help determine whether it is better to develop specific features or connect the solution to third-party services through APIs and other automation services (Zapier, Make, etc.).

Conclusion

Working with Lucas has been an extremely stimulating experience, as he mastered his field perfectly, was detail-oriented, and was perfectly involved in digitizing the organization and automation of his work environment.

Conceptually, Laast is a coherent project that embraces a wide technological spectrum. Interactivity is constant, features interact intensely with the backend, and the infrastructure requires a customized architecture. The possibilities for evolution are numerous, and this project has truly represented a pleasant and at the same time complex challenge to move towards a product goal that really makes sense.

Organization

Laast is a project that required a lot of upfront organization and reflection on the features to develop.

Technical Challenges

Many technical challenges and challenging situations were addressed to ensure the robustness and security of the solution.

Communication

Regular and transparent communication was necessary to ensure the project's relevance in the market.

Branding

A big branding challenge was met to ensure a strong and coherent visual identity without denaturing the application.

Performance

A lot of time was spent on the application's performance to ensure an optimal user experience.

Agility

Agility was a key factor to ensure the project's relevance in the market and to adapt to user feedback.

Lucas' Word

Founder of Laast.io

Choosing a serious team of developers was a real challenge, especially when you are not in the business, as any digital agency claims to be able to carry out work on a project that has nevertheless required several years of reflection.

The understanding of my project's vision was immediate, even in the long term. The questions that Driss, Sasha, and Théo asked me were relevant, reassuring, and extremely proactive. In the progress of the project, Digisquad also allowed me to take a step back and become versatile. It was an opportunity to collaborate with a team of developers who take care of their project owner by giving wise advice throughout the life of a mission of this magnitude.