App builder

Follow every pallet and parcel with a logistics scanner app
from inbound door to outbound trailer.

Describe how freight moves through your hub and Netiva’s AI builds a web app for receive, sort, load and dispatch scans on the phone camera — with damage photos, a live preview and code you own.

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Starter prompt

Build a logistics scanner web app for a regional cross-dock with 20 doors. Pallets are identified by an SSCC and parcels by a tracking number, and each unit has a destination terminal. Dock workers sign in on their phones and scan labels with the camera to log Receive, Sort, Load and Dispatch events with the door, trailer, time and worker. Receive scans tick units off the inbound trailer’s manifest and list shorts and overs. Loading a unit onto a trailer bound for another terminal shows a missort warning. Damage reports take two photos. Supervisors see open trailers by door.

Build it in Netiva Paste the prompt into a new workspace and adjust it to your business.
Overview

Who this logistics scanner app is for

On a busy cross-dock, freight changes hands in minutes, and the scan trail ends up split across handheld exports, unload tally sheets and a whiteboard by the doors. When a consignee reports a missing pallet, nobody can say whether it came off the inbound trailer, which door it was sorted to or who loaded it. A logistics scanner app gives hub, cross-dock and warehouse teams one record of every receive, sort, load and dispatch scan, tied to a pallet or parcel ID with the trailer, door, time and worker, plus damage photos taken the moment a problem is found.

Key features

What your logistics scanner app can do

  • Camera scans at every handoff

    Dock workers open one scan screen on their phone, pick the step and door, then point the camera at the label. Each scan is saved as an event on the unit, so its path through the hub builds up as it moves.

    • Receive, Sort, Load and Dispatch steps on a single screen
    • Pallet SSCCs and parcel tracking numbers read into the same ID field
    • A clear result after every scan: accepted, duplicate, out of order or not on manifest
    • Worker and time filled in from the signed-in account

  • Manifest checks at the inbound door

    Each inbound trailer carries the list of units it should hold. Receive scans tick them off as the crew unloads, so the over and short counts are known before the door is released.

    • Expected, scanned and still-missing counts on the trailer page
    • Units scanned but not on the manifest marked as overs
    • Seal number recorded on arrival next to the manifest file
    • Unscanned units marked Missing when the unload is closed

  • Missort and misload warnings

    Every unit carries its destination terminal and every outbound trailer knows where it’s headed. When the two don’t match at the load scan, the loader sees a warning on the phone and the supervisor sees the exception.

    • Load scans compared with the trailer’s destination
    • Saved exception views for each shift and door
    • Outbound trailers kept open until every missort is cleared
    • Duplicate and out-of-order scans flagged for review

  • Damage photos and freight claims

    When a worker finds a crushed carton or torn stretch wrap, they raise a damage report from that scan and take photos on the spot. The OS&D coordinator gets an email and a record that helps support a freight claim.

    • A full-unit photo and a close-up on every report
    • Damage type, pieces affected and the step where it was found
    • Email to the OS&D coordinator as soon as a report is filed
    • Claim status tracked from Open to Closed
Data model

The collections behind it

Netiva keeps your records in built-in collections. Here’s a starting structure — the agent adapts it to your prompt, and you can change it any time.

Handling units

Every pallet, cage, tote or parcel that passes through the hub.

  • Unit ID (required) 18-digit SSCC for pallets, tracking number for parcels, or your hub tag if no label reads Text
  • Unit type (required) Pallet, parcel, cage or tote Text
  • Destination terminal (required) Terminal code or hub name the unit is bound for Text
  • Inbound trailer The trailer whose manifest lists the unit Relation to Trailers
  • Outbound trailer Set by the load scan Relation to Trailers
  • Status (required) Expected, Received, Sorted, Loaded, Dispatched, Missing or Over Text
  • Pieces Cartons on the pallet, as listed on the manifest Number
  • Hub tag Your own pallet tag when the shipper’s label is missing or unreadable Text

Trailers

Each inbound or outbound trailer visit at one of your doors.

  • Trailer number (required) Text
  • Direction (required) Inbound or Outbound Text
  • Door (required) The dock door the trailer is backed into Text
  • Destination terminal Outbound trailers only; used for the missort check Text
  • Seal number Checked on arrival, or recorded when an outbound trailer is sealed Text
  • Manifest File
  • Status (required) Arrived, Unloading, Unloaded, Loading, Sealed or Departed Text
  • Departed at Date & time

Scan events

One record per scan, so each unit keeps a full history of where it has been.

  • Unit (required) Relation to Handling units
  • Step (required) Receive, Sort, Load or Dispatch Text
  • Trailer Inbound trailer for receive scans, outbound for load and dispatch Relation to Trailers
  • Door Text
  • Sort location Lane, bay or cage the unit was sorted to Text
  • Result (required) Accepted, Duplicate, Out of order, Not on manifest or Missort Text
  • Scanned at (required) Date & time
  • Scanned by (required) Filled in from the signed-in worker Text

Damage reports

Damage found on the dock, with the photos taken at the scan.

  • Unit (required) Relation to Handling units
  • Scan event The scan the report was raised from, which gives the step, door, time and worker Relation to Scan events
  • Damage type (required) Crushed, punctured, wet, torn wrap, leaning or open carton Text
  • Unit photo (required) The whole pallet or parcel, taken with the phone camera Image
  • Close-up photo Image
  • Pieces affected Number
  • Claim status (required) Open, Carrier notified, Claim filed or Closed Text
  • Notes Paragraph

Required field. Types are Netiva collection field types.

Screens

Pages and screens to start with

A typical first version. Ask the agent for more, or annotate the preview to change any of them.

  • Scan

    The phone screen workers use all shift: choose the step and door, then scan a label or type the ID. The result: accepted, duplicate, out of order, not on manifest or missort.

    Signed-in users

  • Dock board

    Every door with its current trailer, direction and status, plus units expected, received and loaded, so supervisors see which doors are nearly done.

    Signed-in users

  • Trailer

    One trailer’s manifest with scanned and unscanned units, over and short counts, the seal number and a button to close the unload or seal the trailer.

    Signed-in users

  • Exceptions

    Missorts, duplicate scans, units not on a manifest and units still missing, filtered by shift and door.

    Signed-in users

  • Unit history

    Every scan for one pallet or parcel in time order, with the trailers, doors and workers involved and any damage report.

    Signed-in users

  • Damage reports

    Open damage reports with photos, damage type, the inbound trailer and claim status, oldest first, for the coordinator to work through.

    Signed-in users
How it works

From prompt to a live logistics scanner app

  1. Map your scan steps

    Tell Netiva which steps freight goes through at your hub, what IDs your labels carry and how your doors are numbered. The agent drafts collections for handling units, trailers, scan events and damage reports.

  2. Seed a test trailer

    Add a couple of trailers and their units in the collection grid, or ask the collection assistant to generate sample records for review, so every screen has realistic data to show.

  3. Scan real labels in the preview

    Open the preview URL on a phone at the dock and scan labels you actually handle. Annotate the preview wherever a warning, count or button needs to change, and the agent updates it.

  4. Publish for the shift

    Publish in one click, have workers sign in on their phones and switch on the shift summary email. Every change is checkpointed, so a scan rule that slows the dock can be rolled back.

Why Netiva

Netiva vs a traditional build

Building a logistics scanner app with Netiva compared with a traditional build
Criterion With Netiva Traditional build
Scan history Every receive, sort, load and dispatch scan saved on the unit with door, trailer, time and worker Handheld exports, tally sheets and a whiteboard that each hold part of a unit’s path
Damage evidence Photos taken inside the damage report and linked to the unit and the scan it came from Photos on personal phones, sent by text and hard to match to a pallet later
Getting started Describe what you need in chat and watch it take shape in a live preview Hire developers, or stitch together templates, plugins and a hosting plan
Content and data Built-in collections with nine field types, bound straight to your pages Set up and connect a separate database or CMS
Making changes Ask the agent; every change is checkpointed and reversible File a ticket, wait for a sprint, redeploy
Hosting and domain Global hosting and automatic SSL; connect a custom domain from the Starter plan Buy hosting, then install and renew SSL certificates yourself
Code ownership Clean production code you own and can export Locked into a template, plugin or agency setup
Examples

Ways teams use it

  • An LTL cross-dock working overnight

    Linehaul trailers are unloaded after midnight and freight is sorted to city trailers before the morning run. Missorts reach the exceptions list while the outbound doors are still open.

  • A regional courier’s parcel hub

    Sorters scan each parcel into a route cage. Parcels with a load scan but no receive scan, or sort scans to two different cages, are listed so the shift lead can check them before the vans leave.

  • A 3PL running flow-through freight

    Replenishment pallets for a retail customer are checked against the manifest on arrival and leave on store trailers the same day, and the inbound clerk sees any shorts before the customer asks.

Good to know

Before you build

  • Decide how to handle relabeled freight

    Freight often reaches a hub with a torn label, stretch wrap over the barcode or no label at all. Agree on when the dock applies its own hub tag, and keep manual ID entry on the scan screen for labels that won’t read.

  • Connection and pace on the dock

    The web app runs in the phone’s browser with nothing to install, but it doesn’t work offline, so check signal deep inside trailers and at the far doors. Time a full trailer’s worth of camera scans in the preview to see whether it keeps up with your loaders at peak.

  • Manifests come from your own systems

    Netiva doesn’t import manifests for you. Enter expected units in the collection grid or have the collection assistant draft them for review. You can also connect your TMS or WMS provider’s REST API with your own key so units appear before the trailer does.

  • Freight claims follow the bill of lading

    Photos and notes support a claim, but the app doesn’t file it. If you’re the shipper or 3PL, you file with the carrier; if you’re the carrier, the nine-month minimum on US interstate freight (49 U.S.C. 14706) is the window your customers have to claim. Check the bill of lading.

FAQ

Questions about building a logistics scanner app

What happens when a unit is scanned twice or out of order?

Every scan is kept as its own event, so nothing is overwritten. A second receive scan of the same unit is saved as Duplicate and leaves the status alone. A load scan for a unit that was never received is saved as Out of order and lands on the exceptions list, so the supervisor can check whether it came off a trailer unscanned. Sort scans to two different cages both stay in the unit history.

Should we use SSCCs or our own pallet tags as unit IDs?

Use what’s already on the freight. An SSCC is GS1’s 18-digit Serial Shipping Container Code for a logistics unit such as a pallet, usually printed as a GS1-128 barcode after the application identifier (00), and many shippers already apply one. Parcels can use the carrier tracking number. When a label is missing or unreadable, apply your own hub tag: it’s saved alongside the shipper ID when there is one, and scanning either one finds the unit.

How does the scanner app catch a missort before the trailer leaves?

Each unit stores its destination terminal and each outbound trailer the terminal it’s bound for. When a loader scans a unit onto a trailer, the app compares the two. A mismatch shows a warning on the phone, saves the scan with a Missort result and adds it to the exceptions list, and the trailer can’t be sealed until the unit is pulled off or its destination is corrected.

What happens when an inbound trailer arrives short?

Receive scans tick off units on the trailer’s manifest. When the clerk closes the unload, anything still unscanned is marked Missing and anything scanned but not listed is marked Over. Both show on the trailer page and the exceptions list, with the seal number recorded on arrival, so the OS&D coordinator has what’s needed to raise it with the origin terminal or carrier. Damage reports are separate: they cover freight you can photograph.

Can scan events update our TMS or a customer tracking page?

Scan events are ordinary records in your app, so you can ask the agent to use them elsewhere. Netiva apps can call REST APIs with keys stored securely, so a dispatch scan could post a status update to a TMS or WMS that offers an API. A public tracking page for your customers is a separate piece you can describe to the agent later.

Do we own the code behind the logistics scanner app?

Yes. Netiva writes clean, framework-standard code that you can read in the code view and export whenever you want, with no proprietary runtime. If your IT team later wants to host the scanner app themselves or wire it into internal systems, they start from that code. Exporting the code doesn’t change the running app — you keep publishing from Netiva until IT is ready to take it over.

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Drafted with AI assistance from Netiva’s product pages and reviewed by the Netiva team. Example data models, screens and prompts are illustrative starting points, not customer projects.

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