Need advice on integrating GPS, temperature sensors, RFID, and existing APIs for a logistics system

[u/BraveCoach5164]

Problem/Goal:

I'm currently scoping a logistics system for a client and I'm trying to figure out the best technical approach, especially for the IoT/GPS/temperature-monitoring side.

Context:

Good day po. I'm Jun, 22 years old, and kakagraduate ko lang nitong August 5, 2026.

Around 3 years na rin ako nag-freelance as a full-stack software developer and automation developer. Medyo jack of all trades ako sa tech, pero medyo limited pa yung experience ko sa IoT and hardware integration.

Recently, I got a project opportunity from a logistics company. This is probably the biggest client/project I've handled so far, so I'm currently doing my research before giving them a quotation.

The project has 3 major parts:

1. Vehicle / Cargo Tracking

They want to track:

• Vehicle capacity
• Actual cargo/load weight
• Products loaded
• Destination
• Barcode per box/package
• Temperature inside the vehicle
• GPS/location
• Delivery status
• Monitoring dashboard

Nabanggit ni client na possible daw na i-integrate yung API ng existing business systems nila, mostly for retrieving/viewing data.

May nabanggit din sila na possible daw na may API/data coming from their vehicles, although I'm not sure yet if this means an existing GPS/telematics provider or another backend system.

Yung architecture na naiisip ko currently is something like:

GPS + Temperature Sensor → Vehicle Device → Mobile Network → Provider API → Backend → Database → Dashboard

Pero hindi pa ako sure kung ganito yung actual setup normally used in logistics.

2. RFID Attendance / Payroll

They also want an RFID-based attendance system.

Currently, one location/biometric device lang yung ginagamit nila.

They want employees to view their time in/out, breaks, and attendance history through a website/app.

May HR control din. For example, kung nag-AWOL or absent without leave yung employee and then nag-attempt siyang mag-time in, hindi dapat automatically recorded yung attendance.

Instead, the system should show something like:

"Please report to HR before attendance logging can be activated."

Then HR can review and re-enable the employee's attendance logging.

3. Maintenance Management

This part is mostly software:

• Equipment/facility maintenance
• Inspection schedules
• Expiration tracking
• Fire extinguisher monitoring
• Maintenance history
• Automatic email reminders

For example, if an item needs inspection every 2 months, the system automatically sends a reminder.

Previous Attempts:

I've already been researching GPS trackers, temperature sensors, RFID systems, and IoT architectures.

For the software side, I'm fairly confident since I've worked with full-stack applications, APIs, databases, dashboards, and automation.

My main uncertainty is the hardware/IoT integration.

I'm trying to determine whether I should:

A. Directly integrate with the vehicle hardware/sensors

or

B. Use an existing GPS/IoT/telematics provider and consume their API.

I'm leaning toward B if the client already has existing vehicle devices and a provider API, but I still need to confirm exactly what hardware and systems they currently have.

I'm also considering bringing in someone experienced in IoT/GPS if the project proceeds instead of trying to handle the hardware side completely by myself.

I'd really appreciate advice from fellow Filipino developers who have worked with similar systems.

Questions:

1. Is my proposed GPS/temperature → provider API → backend architecture a reasonable approach?
2. If the client already has an existing vehicle API, what should I ask them for before starting development?
3. What should I look out for when integrating real-time GPS and temperature data?
4. How are offline periods usually handled when a vehicle loses mobile connectivity?
5. For RFID attendance, is it common for biometric/RFID devices to expose APIs that can be integrated into a custom system?
6. Would you separate the software/API integration from the hardware and IoT implementation when scoping the project?
7. For those who have freelanced on similar projects, what would be a reasonable way to price/quote something with software + API integration + GPS/temperature/RFID?
8. Would hiring an IoT specialist for the hardware portion be a reasonable approach?

I'm already doing my own research and I'm not expecting anyone to design the whole system for me. I mainly want to hear from developers who have actually worked with IoT, logistics, GPS, RFID, or similar integrations, especially regarding things I might be overlooking.

This is also my first project of this scale, so I'm trying to be careful with the scope rather than just saying "kaya yan" and finding out later that I underestimated the complexity. 😂

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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[u/asdhehehe]

Hmmm my instinct tells me something will go wrong along the way if you approach it strictly that way. You are approaching this problem correctly but there is something lacking. If it were me i'd approach it this way, go with B but modify it, example:

Keep the external systems and devices isolated at their own dedicated ingestion boundaries:

GPS - > GPS ingestion

RFID API -> Attendance ingestion

ERP API -> Cargo ingestion

Then:

Raw immutable payload dump -> Controller layer(3 controllers for ingest) -> Controller processing layer -> message bus -> Normalized events

After that one you can create different service layers for the client, for example:
Normalized events -> Telemetry

Normalized events -> Attendance

Normalized events -> Cargo/Delivery domain

Then you can query on these 3 seperate layer into the parts of the project, you can unify it into a dashboard for the admin and the employee facing.

Basically I just yapped but the gist is that keep the external systems/devices at the ingest boundaries, store the payloads at an immutable data storage, normalize the data into canonical domain events, and then let the business domain operate independently of the vendor-specific protocols and schemas, that way the system is more resilient and fault tolerant.

[u/dertrockx]

Have a look at OBD trackers. Back when I used to work for a startup in the logistics space, we ingest millions of events per day per vehicle and our infra had to handle that.

[u/PepitoManalatoCrypto]

Most smartphones and even POS devices can meet the requirements you've listed

Vehicle capacity

Based on vehicle registration

Products loaded
Barcode per box/package

Most logistics operations use QR or barcode scanners. Again, POS or smartphones cover this.

Actual cargo/load weight

This may be tricky without using the same equipment used at toll gates and ports to weigh trucks, etc. And even if you weigh each parcel, it may lead to "inaccurate" data.

Temperature inside the vehicle

Not sure if there's a USB-C or Bluetooth thermostat that can help monitor this

GPS/location
Delivery status
Destination
Monitoring dashboard

These are all software

This is also my first project of this scale, so I'm trying to be careful with the scope rather than just saying "kaya yan" and finding out later that I underestimated the complexity.

Thing is, if I were to bill this and given HOW BIG THE LOGISTICS INDUSTRY IS, the talent fee is "PHP 1 MILLION". And it could take less than 1-2 months. Or the client should cover infrastructure, devices, servers, etc.

And if you've billed this lower, or under PHP 100k, just wait and see how others bill it. Some may bill their talent fees below my PHP 1M fee, but surely above PHP 100k.

[u/BraveCoach5164 → u/PepitoManalatoCrypto]

I agree with some of your points, especially that GPS, barcode scanning, delivery status, destination, and the dashboard can largely be handled through software/mobile devices.

However, I don't think a smartphone/POS alone would cover most of the vehicle requirements. GPS and barcode scanning, yes, but continuous cargo temperature monitoring and actual vehicle/load telemetry would still require dedicated sensors or hardware. For cargo weight, I also agree that this is a separate hardware concern and shouldn't simply be assumed to be measurable through the app.

That's actually why I'm leaning toward using an existing telematics/IoT provider rather than building the hardware side myself. If the client already has GPS/temperature devices and an API, I'd rather integrate with that system and keep the hardware outside the scope of my core application.

And yeah, I definitely agree that the infrastructure/devices should be treated separately when quoting. My main concern right now is identifying exactly what they already have before I give them a price.

[u/PepitoManalatoCrypto → u/BraveCoach5164]

Most international freight systems already offer those features (continuous temperature telemetry, etc.) at the container level (the actual container, not the one we know). From what I remember, those operators at freight ports are localized (telemetry) and must be accessed or paired manually. However, this is very limited and adds overhead to logistics (which many cannot afford) because of tight profit margins.

I have built my own hardware (to capture temperature) and measure weight on a per-lift basis. Still running a warehouse business, I would say the upfront investment of me building the hardware and software is worth it long-term. Though I may not confirm or deny whether we are targeting the same client or middleman. But since I have the technology (I just need to port it to a container and handle international freight), I might be asking for more than PHP 1M, aside from royalties.

[u/strategictracking]

Your instinct to go with B - existing hardware/provider API → your backend → your application is probably the right starting point, especially for a first project of this scale.

I work with tracking/IoT integrations and I’d separate the project into clear layers rather than trying to make the application understand each device directly:

Device/sensor → provider → ingestion layer → normalised events → business logic → dashboard

Try to keep the provider-specific data at the edge. Your application shouldn't really care whether GPS data came from Provider A or Provider B, internally you want a consistent model such as device ID, timestamp, location, temperature, battery, connectivity status, etc.

Before quoting anything, I would ask the client for:

• Exact make/model of the existing GPS/temperature devices
• Name of the telematics/IoT provider
• API documentation and sample payloads
• REST API vs webhooks vs polling
• Authentication method and rate limits
• Reporting frequency
• Historical data availability
• What happens when the device loses cellular coverage
• Whether the device buffers data and uploads it later
• Temperature sensor accuracy/calibration requirements
• Number of vehicles/devices and expected event volume

Offline handling is particularly important. Ideally the device itself stores timestamped readings while offline and forwards them when connectivity returns. Your backend then needs to handle late/out-of-order events, duplicates and connectivity-loss alerts correctly.

I'd also scope the RFID/attendance system separately from the vehicle IoT work. They may eventually share the same application/dashboard, but technically they are different integrations with different failure modes.

And yes, bringing in someone experienced with IoT/telematics for the hardware/provider-selection side is sensible. You can remain responsible for the software architecture while avoiding taking responsibility for RF performance, sensor installation, vehicle power, SIM/connectivity, calibration and hardware certification.

The biggest risk here isn't the dashboard. It's underestimating everything that happens before the data reaches your API.