This project aimed to improve product adoption by creating value for users while simultaneously improving internal business processes. In this case, the stakeholders were the Shippers (Small Medium Enterprise business owners) and the Kargo internal Operation team.
Kargo is a series A technology company based in Indonesia aiming to transform Indonesia's USD 250Bn logistics trucking industry. Most of the logistics process in Indonesia is still being done manually by pen and paper, so Kargo aims to connect shippers with high-quality transporters by leveraging technology and driving transparency, efficiency, and accountability. Shippers, transporters, and truckers can connect, transact, and track shipments in real-time on Kargo's platform, which can be accessed via the website and mobile app.
We didn’t realize how complex and interdependent a logistic shipment delivery process is, and the interdependencies, if not handled carefully could potentially hinder product and service improvement that aims for scalability.
Service blueprint mapping
We interviewed members of the Kargo Operation team (Kargo Ops team) and SME logistics Shipper clients to understand their logistical challenges and needs. Based on these interviews and a contextual inquiry with the Kargo Ops team, we developed a service blueprint detailing the entire shipment journey.
We found that the shipment process heavily depended on the Kargo Ops team, who handled everything from creating Shipper profiles and entering their data into Kargo’s database to generating Shipment Delivery Orders (DOs) and tracking shipments. This reliance creates scalability challenges for Kargo, necessitating more Ops staff and increasing risks of inefficiency and data inaccuracies. Additionally, this manual approach is susceptible to competition, as it offers little distinct value to shippers and can be easily replicated.
User research
To address issues we identified from the service blueprints regarding the susceptibility of Kargo service and product offerings to competition, we aimed to identify the specific needs of Shippers that add value to their shipment processing by conducting further interviews and field observations. Through this process, we came up with behavioral archetypes of the Shippers and identified opportunity areas.
Competitive benchmarking
The team also conducted competitor benchmarking to get inspiration on how technology can support the shipment process more easily. Since we don't have too many references in Indonesia, we also take a look at other products from outside of Indonesia.
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The whole process of mapping the service blueprint has helped us gain better understanding and brought realization to everyone (not only the researcher and designer, but also the product and Ops team) how interdependent the departments’ functions are in the whole process of providing a shipment service. Highlighting these interdependences gave us comprehensive overview and better considerations on potential area of interventions and how to approach them.
In addition to the service blueprint and the user personas, the research process we did also helped us came up with design principles to guide us in facilitating ideation workshop with the stakeholders
Introducing new technology or processes require thorough planning and consideration of how changes affect existing operations. The success of new systems often depends on how well stakeholders are prepared and trained, highlighting the importance of effective change management and user/customer education strategies.
Solution Ideation workshop
We conducted a workshop with Kargo's internal Ops team and business stakeholders to present our insights and gather ideas for potential solutions. During this session, we also aligned on the key business metrics to focus on for the upcoming quarter. The outcome included establishing design principles and prioritizing product and service areas.
The team agreed to simplify existing use cases and enhance the Shipper's onboarding process, enabling them to create shipment orders (DOs) independently. This approach aims to demonstrate Kargo's value to shippers and empower them to manage their shipments without relying on the internal Ops team.
Prototyping and Usability testing
We explored several solutions to streamline the onboarding and shipment order creation for Shippers, including pre-defined lists of common goods and routes, and a template for shipment orders (DO) to minimize setup from scratch. After multiple rounds of concept and usability testing, we finalized a design that was user-friendly and received positive feedback. We then socialized this new process with Kargo's internal Ops team to ensure alignment with their business operations.
The product and new business process flow was released in early November 2021. When it was released, the Shipper clients tried it out in the first month and then reported back to us that the product, as well as the socialization training about the new product, helped them gain more control of the shipment process and feel empowered by it while at the same time releasing some of the burden of manual handling from Kargo internal Ops team.
We explored several solutions to simplify the onboarding and shipment order creation process for shippers, including creating a list of commonly shipped goods and routes for easy selection, and developing a shipment order form (DO) template that allows shippers to quickly generate orders without starting from scratch.
This work helped me learn more about how employing service design techniques, such as service blueprint mapping, provided a comprehensive view of the existing service delivery processes and highlighted dependencies between functions or departments in the organization that could hinder scalability and efficiency should they’re not taken into consideration when creating a new product or service.
I’ve also learned how important it is to expand the scope of collaboration beyond product team by work closely with the Operation team who are directly dealing with the end-users day-to-day. Involving them throughout the design process from research and facilitating workshop with them helped align objectives and inspired us to come up with practical solutions that address both user needs and business objectives.
In addition to that, I’ve also learned that introducing new technology or processes require thorough planning and consideration of how changes affect existing operations. The success of new systems often depends on how well stakeholders are prepared and trained, highlighting the importance of effective change management and user/customer education strategies.