Today we want to share our experience working with regulators, specifically with Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), that is part of the Transport and General Authority (TGA).
This government agency is responsible for regulating telecommunications, information technology, and postal services in the Kingdom, including overseeing and controlling courier services.
It’s one thing to develop features for clients that directly affect their profits, and quite another to face restrictions and requirements from legislative bodies like CITC.
This case is particularly interesting because it unfolded during the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Delivery services became essential infrastructure, requiring increased regulatory oversight.
With strict restrictions worldwide, our client, a Saudi delivery service, faced a serious problem. The number of drivers allowed to work during lockdown was strictly limited.
To continue operations, the company had to follow the rules: provide information about each driver on the route, the orders being delivered, pickup and delivery points, as well as the estimated delivery time.
This required two regulator integrations for different tasks:
At the very beginning of the pandemic, our team worked in emergency mode, trying to meet the requirements of the regulator, which in turn was just formulating them. We were in a constant race: in the evening we would roll out a release that met the current requirements, and in the morning we would receive new error messages. The regulator had changed the requirements again!
Thanks to the fact that we were the first in the Saudi Arabian market to engage with CITC and promptly provided feedback, the regulator coordinated many requirements with us. We essentially worked as one team, receiving the most up-to-date information and being the first to implement necessary checks.
Order data should be accurate and transferred fast. We could not allow a driver to deliver an order while the information about it had not yet been transmitted to the regulator’s system. The task was complicated by the large volume of data: tens of thousands of orders daily, each requiring status tracking.
We faced a situation where our performance exceeded the capabilities of the regulator’s system. Data was sent, but confirmation did not arrive on time. In this situation, our reputation and trust from CITC played a pivotal role.
We agreed on post factum notification and quickly informed the regulator of any delays, explaining it by the queue in data processing. In parallel, we optimized the load on the regulator’s system, and the regulator, in turn, worked on optimizing its requirements and performance.
Our work with CITC progressed step by step, with clear milestones along the way:
After 2 weeks
First successfully transmitted data to the regulator’s system.
After 1 month
The main part of the functionality implemented on our side.
After 3 months
Full compliance with CITC (TGA) requirements and satisfaction of client needs.
After that, we only had to improve error handling, the number of which significantly increased over time (from 20 to more than 130). But the mechanism and architecture developed under the extreme conditions of the pandemic still demonstrate their reliability.
This case shows how flexibility, efficiency, and close cooperation with regulators can help companies not only survive in crisis situations but also gain a competitive advantage. We are proud that we were able to help our client and contribute to ensuring the stability of courier services in Saudi Arabia during the pandemic.
We are ready to help your business adapt to any regulatory requirements. Contact us via the form below to schedule a call.
