Logistics system
Work Project
Overview
The shipping order management system is a logistics system I designed for a more efficient way of processing orders. I collaborated with the MyRepublic Logistics team as the primary users, to enhance usability and cater for future scalability with other telco companies that may require additional features (in a 4PL system).
Scope
User interview, market research, UI/UX Design, prototyping, user testing
Team
I lead the research, design, prototyping and user interviews / testing for this project. I liaised with the product manager and engineering manager for their input on the design and user flow. I worked with a senior UI/UX designer on the UI portion for research and bouncing off ideas.
The product manager, engineering manager and the Logistics team (as the users) were involved in this project as well.
Background
The background and a lot of the detail will be best shared in a case study run-through as part of the interview stage. Please reach out!
Objective
On a high-level / future objective, we have to create a CRM type system that is scalable and adaptable to meet every telco's needs.
However, the main objective for this case study was to redesign the Logistics function as a new system with future scalability and adaptability.
User interview
To understand the current process on how we process orders at MyRepublic, I talked to the Logistics team and they showed me the entire process on and off line. Online refers to what happens on the system to keep track and process orders. Offline refers to the parts of the logistics preparation that does not involve the system, but is still part of their experience as users to ship out an order.
I visualised the current user experience from the interview with the logistics team. This breaks down the process into steps and gives more clarity on functions that need to be represented.
Below are the takeaways from the user interview. It encompasses my current understanding of how the process orders work, improvements to be made suggested by the Logistics team, and considerations for scalability.
Learning about Logistics: What is '4PL?'
The logistics process was quite straightforward as the team was using a 4th Party Logistics system - meaning shipping out orders was done by a service provider. However, the processing and tracking was still done by the logistics team at MyRepublic.
Defining the new user / task flow
Here is the high-level flow for processing orders from beginning to end. I defined which sections are UI related. Context is provided on the top left of the image below.
System Information Architecture (IA)
This is then distilled into a high-level IA of the new system.
Catering to different types of users
In this new system, we have to take into account the different types of users including the Admin (Logistics manager), and Agent (Order team member and Fibre Install Contractor).
Input from Product Manager and Engineering Manager
Some features like having tabs in the dashboard was input from the Product Manager. I shared the flow and UI screens with the engineering manager as we were iterating. This is to ensure that we are on a right track for a realistic implementation.
Design: Market research / UI inspiration
I scoured the web for B2B platforms that had functionality similar to our logistics use-case. This included seeing the flows of these systems in a few video walkthroughs and web platform, dashboard images for inspiration. At the time, I worked with a senior UI/UX designer for this section, as his strength was visualising the UI.
First Design
This is the first design for processing an order, with reference to the new CRM type system Engineering was building for telcos as a SaaS platform (TesserX).
Final Design
This is the high-level final design per stage of the user task flow.
Final Prototype (so far)
This is the second prototype I ran through with the Logistics team members as a user test. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the progress or whether this was implemented due to layoffs at the time.
Learnings
Leading the design for this project was a rewarding experience that allowed me to conduct in-depth user research with the Logistics team, map out the entire user journey, and redesign the system's flow and information architecture. Collaborating closely with engineering and the product manager was instrumental in refining the design, ensuring usability and scalability. This project significantly enhanced my ability to visualise and deconstruct a complex user experience, strengthening my skillset as a UX designer.
