ProDelivery System
[Description]
ProDelivery is a SaaS system, successfully launched in February 2023. Designed specifically for the logistics industry, the product currently focuses on optimizing the LPG market supply chain.
[Organization]
CIRCL Technologies Ltd.
[Date]
10.2022 - 07.2024
[Type]
Desktop Backoffice,
Android mobile app,
Company website
Product Highlights
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Successful MVP launch in February 2023, which resulted in a 30% reduction of direct distribution cost for Proto Energy
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Successful 2.0 system version launch in July 2024 for european distributor
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Replaced old, bug-filled component library with a modern and styled PrimeOne Design System
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New company website
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Product transition from a single-brand oriented one to a flexible tool
Context
Proto, a premier LPG energy provider in Kenya, heavily influenced the MVP product in terms of the requirements, but also provided a legacy platform, which served as a baseline.​
As the CIRCL company grew and began actively seeking new customers, it became evident that the product needed to be revised.
Proto's unique business model resulted in significant portions of irrelevant features for European distributors.
This realization in Q3 of 2023 initiated a critical shift, leading to a company-wide restructuring and a complete overhaul of the system architecture and the development plan.
System's User Types:
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Drivers
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Sales Agents
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Dispatch Managers
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Auditors
Selected features
Route planning, optimisation & tracking
Route planning stands for the core of a logistics module.
It's an intelligent solution meant to replace pen-and-paper ways of work with automated processes and support of day-to-day challenges of sales agents, dispatch managers, and drivers.
Workshops
This part of the system was explored in all possible approaches:
from fully manual, to fully automated.
The discussions were supported by talks with the potential clients to shed some light on the requirements prioritisation.
Problem Discovery
The transportation module took a great amount of research to understand each element's logic, good practices, and details. The findings were translated into flows, diagrams, and user journeys, to support the final solution decisions.
Benchmarking:
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​Circuit
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OptimoRoute
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SmartRoute
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Amazon DSP internal software
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Upper
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Route4Me
User interviews:
The approach was enriched with information coming directly from a potential customer in Portugal. To understand how the business operates, the company designated an on-site team of a project manager, a software engineer, and a sales officer.
Because this single example could be considered a representative sample of the local market model, we prepared a user interview questionnaire with data goals and missing points. The initiative was executed and described in internal documentation in detail with attached photographic references.
Wireframes
Designing the route planning element was particularly engaging, largely because the standard approach involves incorporating an interactive map. This map features various markers that aid users in comprehending the route plan effectively.​
User interface
The focus area was a color palette for the info pins, marks, and visuals revolving around the map data. The goals were ease of use and a comprehensive picture of order and delivery status.
Developer hand-over
When a final prototype was provided, it was also discussed what could be simplified for the MVP and added in further stages. The product team collaborated with the developers and successfully agreed on the versioning.
Launch & Feedback
Feature launch concluded with positive feedback.
Next steps and improvements were put on-hold until the launch in the client's main facility, planned for Q4 2024.
Order Management System
The OMS module started the shift towards the new distributor-oriented initiative. Developed internally, it was supported by the Shopify system and integrated with the client's current apps.
Workshops
The discovery began several months before we reached the final shape of the OMS. At first, the plan was to develop it using the old framework and tailor it to Proto's specific needs.
However, as time progressed, the concept underwent significant changes. The high-level scope shifted towards a more generalized and industry-standard approach.
Throughout this process, the UX team collaborated closely with software engineers, the CEO, the head of product, project managers, and developers.
Research on vocabulary and structure
One of the core product changes that directly impacted the modules' structure was the main navigation and vocabulary revamp. These key aspects were reviewed and significantly improved based on:
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Industry-standard guidelines
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Competitors benchmarking
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Data analysis on visits on each page and subpage
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Tree-testing to identify potential problematic points and revise the chosen naming once again
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ChatGPT precise vocabulary definitions
Benchmarking
To name key benchmark sources:
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Unleashed
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Shopify
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IBM
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Wix eCommerce
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ChatGPT
User stories & user flows
Conclusions from the previous stages were batched together into the written documentation and user stories. With concrete requirements, we translated those into user flows proposals, visuals, and diagrams showing the draft logic.
Wireframes
The prime purpose of the wireframes was to be flexible and based on good industry practices.
As time has shown, this flexible approach allowed us to quickly adjust the wireframes to ever-changing requirements even much later in the stage, and became a reference point to the other modules.
User interface
For this and all subsequent feature designs, we adopted a new framework and design system, PrimeNG. The UI designed for this module served as a reference for other modules, ensuring consistency across the platform.
Developer hand-over
Beginning with this module, the company engaged external contractor developers to assist in implementing the new UI. This decision significantly enhanced the development process, bringing in additional expertise and resources to expedite the project.
