From concept to Amazon: building Kayo, the GPS fleet tracker for small business
Cox 2M had the IoT hardware but no consumer software experience. Digital Scientists ran end-to-end product design, user research, and cross-platform development—launching Kayo on iOS, Android, and Amazon in 6 months.
Affordable fleet management for the businesses that need it most
Cox 2M, a division of Cox Communications, identified a gap in the fleet management market: small businesses with 2–50 vehicles had no affordable, easy-to-use solution. Enterprise fleet platforms were too expensive and complex. These SMB owners—plumbers, electricians, landscapers, delivery services—were tracking maintenance on spreadsheets and trusting drivers to self-report.
Cox 2M had already started developing the OBD-II hardware device but had no experience with B2C software products or navigating mobile app stores. They brought Digital Scientists in to design, validate, build, and launch the entire consumer experience—from user research through market launch on three platforms.
The result was Kayo: a plug-and-play GPS tracker paired with a mobile app that gives SMB owners real-time location, vehicle health, maintenance alerts, and driver behavior monitoring—all for $6.99/month per vehicle with no contracts.
Client
Cox 2M (Cox Communications)
Product
Kayo GPS Tracker & Fleet App
Industries
Automotive, Fleet Management, IoT
Services
UX Research, Product Design, Mobile Development, API Development, IoT Integration, App Store Launch
Platforms
iOS, Android, Amazon
Timeline
6 months to market launch
Method
$6.99
Per vehicle/month at launch
4
Rounds of user research
3
Platforms launched simultaneously
Hardware ready, software experience zero
Cox 2M’s IoT hardware team had built the OBD-II tracking device, but the company had no B2C software experience, no mobile app presence, and no understanding of what SMB fleet owners actually needed day-to-day. They needed a partner who could run the full product lifecycle—from discovering what to build, to shipping it on three app stores.
No B2C software experience
Cox 2M had never built or launched a consumer mobile app—no app store presence, no subscription infrastructure, no mobile UX expertise
Unvalidated assumptions
The team had hypotheses about what SMB fleet owners needed but had never talked to actual users to validate priorities
International team coordination
Hardware, firmware, cloud services, and mobile teams spread across multiple organizations and time zones
Coordinated multi-store launch
Simultaneous launch across Apple App Store, Google Play, and Amazon Marketplace—each with different review processes and subscription handling
We interviewed real fleet owners to find out what actually matters
Before designing a single screen, DS conducted two rounds of user interviews with 7 SMB fleet managers and owners. These 30-minute sessions revealed three core jobs-to-be-done that shaped the entire product.
Proactively manage fleet maintenance
Owners need intelligent notifications and clear maintenance parameters—not reactive, costly repairs after something breaks
Respond quickly in vehicle emergencies
Owners want instant alerts about wrecks, breakdowns, or other job-stopping events—not to find out hours later from a driver
Verify driver behavior without micromanaging
Trust varies widely—owners are forced to rely on driver self-reporting for vehicle condition, mileage, and behavior
Key observations from the field
Smaller companies struggle staying on top of documentation surrounding the health and safety of their vehicles
In smaller companies, drivers are responsible for reporting and performing vehicle maintenance themselves
As fleet size grows, the desire for an all-in-one solution that includes dispatch increases significantly
Owners’ trust of their drivers’ behavior varies widely—from complete trust to active suspicion
Research methodology
7
SMB fleet managers interviewed
30 min
Virtual interview sessions
2
Rounds of interviews
2
Rounds of usability testing
The Kayo app experience
Real screens from the Kayo mobile app — designed and built by Digital Scientists.
Fleet Dashboard
Vehicle Alerts
Maintenance Tracking
Service Schedule
Kayo: plug in, open the app, know everything about your fleet
Kayo is a plug-and-play GPS tracker that connects to any vehicle’s OBD-II port (1996+). Paired with a mobile app, it gives SMB owners real-time visibility into their entire fleet—location, health, maintenance, and driver behavior—without enterprise complexity or cost.
Real-Time GPS Tracking
4G LTE & 5G location tracking with MapBox-powered maps. See every vehicle’s position, speed, and heading in real time.
Vehicle Health & Diagnostics
OBD-II scanner reads engine codes, battery health, and diagnostic data. Owners know about problems before they become breakdowns.
Proactive Maintenance Alerts
Intelligent notifications based on mileage, time intervals, and diagnostic data. Prevents costly reactive repairs with scheduled reminders.
Driver Behavior Monitoring
Track speeding, hard braking, and rapid acceleration. Owners get visibility into how their vehicles are being driven—without micromanaging.
Patented Tamper-Proof Design
The OBD-II device locks automatically once plugged in and sends an instant alert if anyone attempts to remove it. Patented security mechanism.
Trip History & Reporting
Complete trip logs with routes, mileage, duration, and idle time. Exportable data for accounting, insurance, and compliance documentation.
Built for cross-platform scale from day one
DS authored the complete solution architecture and built the mobile app and API layer. The stack was chosen to maximize code reuse across iOS and Android while maintaining native performance for GPS tracking and real-time data.
Mobile App
React Native
Single codebase for iOS and Android. UI Kitten component library. React Navigation for routing. Rematch for state management.
API Layer
NestJS + PostgreSQL
TypeScript API on NestJS with TypeORM. PostgreSQL on GCP Cloud SQL. Auth0 for phone-number + OTP authentication.
Real-Time Data
Firebase + MapBox
Firebase for real-time vehicle updates, push notifications, and deep linking. MapBox SDK for customizable fleet maps.
Services
Twilio + IAPHUB
Twilio for SMS onboarding and OTP. IAPHUB for subscription management across iOS and Android stores. Amplitude for analytics.
Architecture highlights
SMS-based onboarding: text OBD PIN to create account and bind device
CI/CD with GitHub Actions + Fastlane for automated deployments
TestFlight + Google Play Internal for beta testing
Sentry for error tracking and performance monitoring
CodePush for rapid OTA updates without store reviews
Jest + Detox for component and integration testing
Alignment to Amazon in 6 months
Digital Scientists led the full product lifecycle—from initial alignment workshops through coordinated multi-store launch. Every phase was informed by direct user feedback.
Research & Align
- Alignment workshops with Cox 2M stakeholders
- User interviews with 7 SMB fleet managers
- Competitive landscape review
- Persona development & Jobs-to-be-Done framework
- Technical assessment & solution architecture
Design & Validate
- Information architecture informed by JTBD research
- Workflows, wireframes, and visual design
- Full interactive prototype in Adobe XD
- 2 rounds of usability testing with real users
- Style guide & driver behavior explorations
Build & Integrate
- React Native app for iOS & Android
- NestJS API with GCP Cloud SQL
- Firebase real-time data + push notifications
- IoT device integration via common API interface
- CI/CD pipeline with GitHub Actions + Fastlane
Launch & Scale
- App Store (iOS) subscription configuration
- Google Play Store submission and review
- Amazon Marketplace listing with hardware bundle
- Coordinated launch logistics across all teams
- $6.99/mo subscription with 14-day free trial
A validated product, launched on three platforms
User-validated from day one
Two rounds of user interviews and two rounds of usability testing meant zero guesswork at launch. The product was built on what real fleet owners said they needed.
Cross-platform from a single codebase
React Native gave Cox 2M one codebase for iOS and Android—reducing development cost and ensuring the roadmap wouldn’t be constrained by technical debt.
Sold on Amazon
Kayo launched as a hardware + subscription bundle on Amazon, the App Store, and Google Play—a B2C product lifecycle managed end-to-end by Digital Scientists.
6 months concept-to-market
From alignment workshops to multi-store launch in 6 months—including full user research, comprehensive UX design, and cross-platform development.
Complete documentation handoff
DS delivered master prototypes, style guides, solution architecture documentation, and complete design file handoffs—ready for Cox 2M’s internal teams to maintain and extend.
Subscription-ready business model
$6.99/month per vehicle with 14-day free trial, no contracts—subscription infrastructure handled across both iOS and Android stores via IAPHUB.
Have an IoT product that needs a consumer experience?
From user research to app store launch, Digital Scientists builds the full product lifecycle. Let’s talk about your next IoT or mobile product.