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Mobile

Logistic

B2B

From Friction to Flow: The Story of the Cartrack Delivery Mobile App

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CartrackDelivery
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A Quick Overview (1min)

Cartrack Delivery is a field task manager operating on a SaaS model. Users can plan and track jobs on the web while drivers receive and complete tasks via mobile.

This page focuses on the mobile app design. Please see the web app here →

Recorded demo of completing an online job within Delivery

One standout feature for the driver mobile app is its simplicity and intuitiveness, allowing tasks to be completed with little or no training and without requiring local route knowledge.

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Before

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The Old Communicator App

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After

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The New Cartrack Delivery


Before Cartrack Delivery, the old app (Communicator mobile) required drivers to manually select the next job from a list, necessitating familiarity with local routes. This led to low efficiency and potential lateness.

However, with Cartrack Delivery, the next stop automatically appears on the screen based on a preset sequence or system-generated optimization order. This requires minimal knowledge about the locations or pickup & delivery times, and it's incredibly easy to follow, improving efficiency and accuracy.

During user testing, we found that most drivers could successfully complete jobs on the first try without any training. The overall operation time was significantly reduced, leading to higher efficiency and shorter travel distance and time, all without needing much local route knowledge.

Want to see how we achieved this? Let's dive in!


Problems and Solutions

❤️‍🩹PROBLEM

During the initial user research, I found that drivers had to manually select their next job from a list. This required them to navigate in and out from listed jobs, compare their locations, delivery times, urgency, etc., and make decisions based on various factors. This process was error-prone and required the driver to remember a lot of information.

💡The whole process required drivers to be familiar with local areas. Not only was there excessive clicking in and out, but drivers also needed to remember a lot of job details to make decisions. This could easily lead to information overload when jobs become large.

💡Job efficiency was often low because drivers often made poor judgments, traveled unnecessary distances, and frequently risked being late on their schedule.

My solution was to simplify the driver’s workflow through system automation:

  • Let the system or dispatchers handle and optimize job sequence on the web, with drivers merely receiving and following instructions.
  • Show one job (current) at a time to reduce information overload and keep the driver focused.
  • The app will smartly switch screens based on job status, driver’s current location, etc.

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Before

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This is before design

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After

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This is after design


Before Cartrack Delivery, drivers had to manually choose their next job.

After the new design, the job sequence is preset and optimized by the system and experienced dispatchers.

System-Optimized Routes Reflect on Driver's App


This not only eliminates driver overload and simplifies their workflow, but also offers more accurate and efficient operations through smart optimization algorithms.


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Before

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This is before design

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After

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This is after design


Before Cartrack Delivery, drivers faced a long list of jobs and had to continuously navigate in and out of the listed jobs, which led to loss of focus and potential conflicts.

After the new design, only the current/next job appears on the main screen, keeping the driver focused without information overload.

💡Note: In the new design, the list view still exists and drivers can check all the jobs and even change the sequence due to edge cases e.g., if the customer is not at home and needs to be revisited later.

Take advantage of conventions: Don’t reinvent the wheel. Use what works. There are times when it’s OK to break conventions, but you better have a good reason and ensure that it’s better.

The design layout may remind you of the Google Maps app and Uber Driver app. This is intentional; we used a "convention" approach.

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Before

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Uber vs Lyft vs Google Apps

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After

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Cartrack Delivery App


By using what's already tested and works, the Delivery app brings those "familiar" experiences to the users. This allows even first-time users to navigate the app without much training.

A bonus point: we saved design, testing, and development time through this approach, and it worked extremely well during our user testing and subsequent tests.


❤️‍🩹PROBLEM

During our initial research, I found that drivers often forgot certain required steps when doing the job onsite. For example, they would forget to get a signature, take a photo, or add a specific note, etc.

💡The reason why drivers often forgot was that those tasks were put as optional in the toolbar, requiring drivers to remember what to add and how many to add. This added another thing for drivers to remember.

My solution was to list all steps and let drivers simply follow:

  • Turn the task toolbar into a preset task list, eliminating the need for drivers to remember.
  • The task list behaves like a to-do list, clicking on it triggers certain actions.
  • A to-do list of tasks auto-populates when drivers arrive.

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Before

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This is before design

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After

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This is after design


Before Cartrack Delivery, drivers had to remember which tasks to add when they arrived and how many to add.

With Cartrack Delivery, drivers don’t need to remember any of those. When they arrive, a to-do list automatically appears. They simply follow and click on each one to finish all tasks.

Bonus point: those tasks can be set in a certain sequence (one step after another), which is extremely useful when the order of tasks matters for certain field service tasks.

This approach also adheres to a modular design, bringing additional advantages. See the detailed 'to-do' feature here →

During subsequent user testing, the new mobile design effectively resolved many of the drivers' problems and proved to be very effective and simple to use. We believe this was key to our success in reaching a global scale and increasing sales 14-fold, even though we spent less time on its development.

But we didn't stop there. After the initial launch, we continued to refine and enhance the design based on research and feedback. Many new ideas were added later, like the mobile offline mode, and some solutions were revised and polished.

In the second year after the project launch:

The Delivery app went global. It was launched in over 24 countries, translated into 14 languages, and was being used by more than 3000 drivers. Every day, millions of deliveries were completed.


See detailed release note here →