Faster
Drop-offs

How can couriers drop off parcels faster? I led the redesign that cut the time by 60%.

Date: August 1, 2022 to September 20, 2022
Company: Ganje
Team: Me as the designer, a product manager, a data analyst, software engineers, the call center team

Summary

I led a case study on the challenges Ganje couriers face when loading shipments into lockers, which delayed drop-offs. By finding the problems with QR code scanning and multi-parcel shipments, we developed new designs and integrated with a third-party company.

The result was about 10% fewer calls from couriers and a 60% drop in loading time, which improved the customer experience and streamlined operations.

60%faster drop-off

10%fewer courier calls

50sper parcel, down from 2 minutes

Overview

Ganje lockers are secure storage and distribution systems with built-in computers and sensor networks that give users self-pickup delivery. Through a web application, couriers connect to lockers, collect returned parcels and drop off their shipments.

Problem

Every day, couriers must go to their assigned stations and load shipments into lockers before 10 in the morning. Users were told they could pick up their parcels from 10 AM to 10 PM.

But call-center calls showed that sometimes couriers hadn’t arrived even past noon. We investigated and found that couriers spent more time at every station than we thought, so their loading took too long. We wanted to find the barriers in their journey.

Getting to know the problem

How did the product work?

To analyze the parts of the problem, it was crucial to understand how couriers worked through the product and what their journey was.

Locker data

The locker data showed that delivery sometimes ran 2 to 3 hours late.

Meeting with the call center

The call-center team told us one of the most common reasons couriers called was shipments with multiple parcels.

Quantitative research

According to the web app’s data, dropping off one parcel took a courier about 2 minutes. That is 30 minutes for 15 shipments.

Before: locker check-ins by hour of dayCheck-ins per hour, from the locker dashboard

2,0004,0006,0008,000

10 AM

0:00
under 50
1:00
under 50
2:00
under 50
3:00
under 50
4:00
under 50
5:00
under 50
6:00
under 50
7:00
≈460
8:00
≈3,300
9:00
≈7,400
10:00
≈4,800
11:00
≈5,200
12:00
≈5,000
13:00
≈2,400
14:00
≈1,700
15:00
≈650
16:00
≈220
17:00
≈60
18:00
≈80
19:00
under 50
20:00
under 50
21:00
under 50
22:00
under 50
23:00
under 50

0246810121416182022

Hours before 10 AM, when pickup opens. Values read from the original dashboard, rounded.

Qualitative research

We interviewed 20 couriers about their workflow with Ganje lockers. Two main issues emerged:

Scanning trouble. QR codes were often unreadable, so couriers entered codes by hand to pick up and drop off.
Multi-parcel shipments. Coordinating them through the call center was slow, and 10% of daily shipments had multiple parcels.

Breaking the problem into pieces

After the first investigation, I split the issue into smaller parts and explored each on its own.

Issue 1: scan the QR code, or type the code

To improve scanning, we explored bringing parcel information straight into the couriers’ app. If couriers choose the shipment they’re dropping off from a list, the locker door opens.

Convincing the third-party tech team was the key. We ran a test where finding a code in a list was 30% faster than typing it, and after sharing the results the full integration was approved. Couriers now select and drop off parcels in the app, and the size is detected automatically.

Issue 2: our web app didn’t handle multiple parcels

In the earlier version, couriers struggled with multi-parcel shipments and locker placement. We integrated all of a shipment’s parcels into the web app to reduce calls and drop-off time.

In the redesign, couriers handle different shipments on their own, with single and multi-parcel shipments clearly distinguished. We also added a warning for multi-parcel packages to prevent mistakes.

Multi-parcel handling in the courier app

The new courier journey

Results

We ran an A/B test first, activating the new design for 20% of couriers to watch their behavior and fix problems. After 2 weeks, the average drop-off time for couriers on the beta version was down about 55%.

We then launched to all couriers and saw drop-off time fall by 60%. Dropping off a shipment now takes about 50 seconds. It was 2 minutes before.

Couriers now typically finish their drop-offs before 10 AM. Before, there were times they didn’t reach the stations until after noon.

After: locker check-ins by hour of dayCheck-ins per hour, from the locker dashboard

4,0008,00012,00016,000