Transport management system
Overview
As newly built organisation GoTo Logistics, the aim was to expand the current last-mile delivery solution to create an integrated, end-to-end pickup and delivery network that covers first-mile, middle-mile, as well-as last-mile operations. The aim is to leverage a variety of fleet types, connecting with multiple hubs, sorting centers and fulfillment centers, and partnering with 3PL to offer comprehensive coverage.
Timeline: 10 Months
My Role: As a new organization established to focus on building the logistics capabilities for the company from ground up. I as a sole designer was responsible to strategize and design the transport management system from scratch in phased release to replace an existing TMS
Product Vision
Design Goal
We envision a flexible delivery solution that optimizes delivery routes, ensures timely pickups and deliveries and increases operational efficiency while maintaining high service standards
To create a flexible delivery solution, we treated each sub-process as an independent entity which could be plugged and played based on the requirements of delivery operations
Target user group
Hub operators who are responsible for managing deliveries and assigning deliveries to driver partners
Delivery Process flow
This is the delivery process flow to help understand the types of deliveries being planned and out-bounded via the Transport management system. It also showcases the difference between First-mile, middle-mile and last-mile delivery.
Design Process
I was responsible for the whole process from design-front. from research to ideation to the final design deliverables. Most of the processes were done remotely.
Every stage of the process and key decisions are documented simultaneously.
Problem Discovery
Ideating/
Wireframing
Concept
Testing
Refining the
wireframes
Detailed
design
User
Testing
Refining the designs
Design
QA
Design
Handover
The First Version
The logistics platform was phased out over several months. We aimed to pilot launch the solution for Last-mile orders first.
This was an MVP with core functionalities for last-mile deliveries through a single fleet type and then improve it through a phased launches.
Order Management
Second version: Incremental changes
As we wanted to scale the solution from last-mile to middle-mile and eventually to First-mile, We discovered a few factors that would drive our upcoming explorations and the future of the platform.
User testing
We conducted a user testing session for the 2nd version on Transport management system from design-end. The objective was to test the usability of the Batching, route creation, outbound and live tracking flows for Hub operators.And to also find out if there is any fundamental functionality to be added to the flow.
Learnings from the User Testing:
- We can provide more visibility to the ‘Create batch’ button. Eg: We can have clearer copies to reduce this confusion between the two actions.
- As this was a user testing session, how would these routing configuration flow experience be affected by the real-time situations is something to look for after the release.
- Allow multi-select action for ‘Request pickup’ and Better button visuals to have better recognition of the action.
- In terms of Awareness: Some users who are not familiar with overflow routing were not aware of On-demand fleet pickup/allocation. They couldn’t really differentiate between the two.
- Even though it was easy to apply the filter, it was recommended that these filters be present more upfront for the frequent usage.
Third version: Design Strategy for Multileg
As we wanted to scale the solution from last-mile to middle-mile and eventually to First-mile, We discovered a few factors that would drive our upcoming explorations and the future of the platform.
1. Every physical facility/Hub has to inbound and outbound any of the FM,MM and LM deliveries.
2. The sequence and the steps involved in inbounding and outbounding an order were different for FM, MM and LM
As the aim was to build one flexible solution which can cater to deliveries of any leg(FM, MM, LM) and Considering the above mentioned factors. We now wanted to treat each step as a separate module which can be plugged and played based on the requirement of each leg's orders.
Following were some of the changes that we went ahead with:
Feedback from our Pilot Launch
Although we had worked on multiple version of TMS as of yet, there were lot of pivots and re-dos. It was the Version 3 which had a pilot launch and after a week of adoption in one of the hubs, we gathered feedback from the hub operators and lead hub operators.
The pilot launch feedback provided valuable insights, highlighting both immediate opportunities and long-term feature goals. This feedback was integrated into our backlog, aiding in the prioritization of requirements for the upcoming version.
What does the process of designing from scratch involve? (remotely)
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Gaining a comprehensive understanding of analog processes remotely and translating them into a digital product requires time and effort.
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The process was non-linear, characterized by numerous pivots and iterations.
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Alignment issues within the team were prevalent, necessitating designers to facilitate consensus and coherence.
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The rapid turnaround between iterations posed a challenge.
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Emphasizing the refinement of the flow over visual aspects proved to be crucial.