Faster
Drop-offs

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.

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.

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.

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.

Qualitative 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.

Quantitative 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.

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.

The new courier journey

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.

• Fully integrated with the third-party company
• About 10% fewer calls from couriers, because multi-parcel issues were resolved
• A 60% drop in average drop-off time in the web app
• More couriers finishing drop-offs before 10 AM