The Lowdown
Home delivery is a complicated logistical endeavor. Between a factory and someone’s front door, a product goes through multiple handlers, stages, and processing. By streamlining the process at each stage with better data and tools, companies can reduce the time required to deliver orders while simultaneously increasing accuracy. For drivers working as independent contractors who earn income for each delivery, every minute saved is an opportunity to drop off another package. On our latest app project, we worked alongside a last-mile delivery company to help drivers shave hours of time out of their everyday delivery routines so they can increase their earning potential.
Discover
User interviews
Stakeholder interviews
Constraints
Explore
Persona building
Task analysis
Journey mapping
Test
User group outreach
Benchmark testing
Accessibility evaluation
Listen
Analytics Review
Usability bug revie
Feedback review
The Problem
In the past, preparing for deliveries was a complex, labor-intensive process. Drivers would come to work and find a pallet stacked with their orders for the day. Next, they’d break down the pallet, scan everything into an app, then sequence the boxes according to their route. From there, they would find their dispatcher and ask for a print out of the day’s manifest. Once the dispatcher gave them their manifest, the driver would input the info into a different driving app to help them on their deliveries.
After loading the boxes onto their truck, drivers would navigate their route while bouncing between their sequencing app and a GPS to guide them from one stop to the next. Depending on the driver and the type of tools they liked to use, they could switch between two or three apps throughout the day to help them with deliveries. Our objective was clear: Streamline the apps so drivers could increase their efficiency and process more deliveries in less time.
The Solution
To start building a new solution, the hedgehog lab team joined with drivers on ride-alongs through the key cities and suburbs in Massachusetts and Virginia to develop a better feel for the problems the drivers experienced through the workday. Understanding the pain points drivers went through on a daily basis allowed us to design and build simpler and more efficient mobile applications.
Requirements
- New Scanning System
- Now when drivers enter the warehouse to scan in their pallet of parcels, the new apps help to organize their orders and easily sequence them for delivery.
- Improved Mapping System
- The sequencing tool communicates directly with the mapping software, eliminating the driver’s need to plug in addresses or flip back and forth between a GPS tool and a sequencing tool.
- Deliveries
- When a driver reaches a destination, the navigation features pause and the phone enters scanning mode for the driver to process the next package including Visual Proof of Delivery (VPOD).
- Enhanced Emergency Solutions
- Drivers can quickly scan in the distressed drivers’ packages into their manifest, resequence their route, and continue dropping off packages.
The Product
The last-mile delivery company is now launching the app region by region. The results are already positive: Drivers are saving time, they’re more efficient, and they praise the UI for feeling familiar and easy to use.
By working alongside the drivers to create a seamless app experience for every moment in their workday, we’ve developed an app that saves time on every task they encounter. With those extra hours added into the week, both the business and the drivers become more productive and profitable.
