Go Ontario - Delivery Rescheduling Flow

Go Ontario is a logistics company that operates in both Canada and the United States. They offer a wide range of logistical services to both large and small businesses, including last mile delivery. They have partnered with several big box retailers to deliver heavy or bulky merchandise to their customers.

The problem:

Go Ontario's customer support staff had been overburdened in recent years due to increased demand and clientele. The pandemic's pent-up consumer demand had also added to their burden. They were having problems with their phone delivery scheduling. Many customers were frustrated with missed deliveries, a lack of alternative communication channels for rescheduling deliveries, and long phone wait times to reach customer service.

The company intended to incorporate a Delivery Management portal into their website. Customers who were expecting shipments or deliveries could use this portal to review and reschedule them. The company hoped that by introducing this new feature, they would be able to address the growing number of issues that their clients and their clients' clients had with their delivery service, particularly with large merchandise deliveries.

I used the Design Thinking process to identify users, understand their problems, brainstorm potential solutions, and test them. I began my preliminary research by conducting competitor analysis. I discovered that many large logistics companies provided delivery rescheduling on their websites. I also read some research material about the last mile delivery challenges that many logistics companies faced in order to gain a business perspective. Following that, I compiled a list of potential users who order merchandise from e-commerce websites.

I narrowed down my focus on getting feedback from users about their experiences when ordering big bulky items like furniture or kitchen appliances. This type of merchandise usually required additional handling on part of logistics companies and involved notifying or contacting the customer in advance. I developed interview questions and conducted four one-on-one user interviews to gather feedback from the users.

Interviews:

Many interviewees complained about inflexibility with booking time slots and lack of communication. They had to wait till the day before delivery to get a time slot. Some even mentioned that they had to wait the entire day, and were not given advance notice. One mentioned:

"They said they are going to call me the day before, I never got the call, I didn't knew when they were coming, and had to take the whole day off only to be told at the last minute that they have to reschedule. I was so angry and dissapointed."

another mentioned:

"I wanted to change my delivery as I had go somewhere. I thought I had plenty of time to notify. I was on the phone for an hour being bumped into different departments. One agent said that the item is in transit, other said that it's on hold. The whole process was so frustrating. I ended up cancelling my order."

Based on the interviews, I concluded that a lot of the problems that users encountered stemmed from a lack of information and real-time updates. Many people were forced to stay at home to avoid missing deliveries. Many users stated that they would prefer advance notification, the ability to choose dates and time slots to better plan their day, and the ability to reschedule.

Persona:

I developed a persona based on data gathered from user interviews and the identification of common user pain points.

Sitemap:

After initial research and persona creation, I started brainstorming different ideas in order to find the best possible solution. I proceeded to create a sitemap. I wanted to create a clear path for my persona to find and access the delivery management portal.

User flow:

The sitemap helped me to focus on the most important functionalities whereas disregarding insignificant points of interest, in order to decide the user flow.

Wireframing:

To better visualise the main user flow, I sketched out the main wireframes. This also gave me the opportunity to flesh out new ideas. They served as a template for my figma-created low-fidelity wireframes. I then connected these low-fidelity wireframes to create a low-fidelity prototype for testing the user flow.

Low-fidelity Prototype:

I conducted the first round of user testing with the low-fidelity prototype. Test participants were asked to access the delivery portal and reschedule their deliveries.

Usability Study: Round 1 findings

• Test participants had no issues finding and accessing the delivery management portal.

• Many users found the calender to be too small, with too much wasted negative space in the background. Some even expressed their concern that this would be a pain point for some elderly people and for people who wear prescription glasses.

• Some users even found the delivery management dashboard lacking many details and functionality for items in transit and shipping address.

Branding and UI:

After the first round of usability testing, I focused on the branding and user interface to ensure coherence and consistency throughout the creation of mockups and high-fidelity prototype. Baloo and Montserrat typefaces were selected for their modern characteristics. A custom color palette was created using commonly used colors in the logistics industry. Iconography and components which were simple, modern, and friendly were added to the design kit.

Mockups:

I updated the delivery management dashboard with additional information based on my findings from the usability study. The major components of the delivery were given their own containers with buttons. I increased the size of the interactive calendar and optimized the space.

High-fidelity Prototype:

I connected the updated mockups and created a high-fidelity prototype. I then proceeded to conduct a second round of user testing.

Usability Study: Round 2 findings

• The improved dashboard was easy to navigate for users.

• Some users reported that the rescheduling flow was too long and included unnecessary steps. They reasoned that the date and time should be on the same page.

• Some users expressed their desire for a feature that would allow them to leave notes for delivery agents on the dashboard. In addition to the ability to reschedule, they suggested adding the ability to cancel and hold deliveries.

Mockups:

I condensed the rescheduling flow by embedding the time slots in the date so the users can pick the date and time at the same time thus eliminating the need for an extra step. I added hold and cancel option on the dashboard along with an option to add notes.

The final high-fidelity prototype, created from refined mockups provides an enhanced user experience when rescheduling deliveries through delivery management portal.

• Used color palette that meets most of WCAG contrast ratios.

• Used universally recognized icons and symbols with text for easier identification of menu items and delivery components.

Impact:

The refined delivery rescheduling flow helps users postpone, hold, and cancel their upcoming deliveries.

What I learned:

The prototype testing helped me to validate the design and uncover important issues. I gained valuable insights which helped me to make the web portal more user friendly. The initial research that I undertook expanded my limited knowledge about the supply chain and logistics. It enabled me to look at the problem both from the perspective of the user and the business. I found this project interesting and challenging.

Thank you for taking the time to review my case study on Go Ontario. If you have a design problem and want to collaborate, please feel free to reach out to me.

Email:

mauryagovani@gmail.com

Linkedin:

www.linkedin.com/in/mauryagovani