Spacefill - Supply chain

Collaboration for 3PL management

Overview

Originally conceived as the Airbnb for logistics platform, Spacefill evolved into a collaboration tool for 3PL (third-party logistics) management. As the only designer in a company of 60+ employees, I was in charge of improving Spacefill's user experience and interface, facing numerous challenges along the way.

Business objectives:

  • Become a 100% SaaS company with a free to paid offer.

  • Increase the number of paid accounts.

  • Target SMBs, shippers and logistic providers.

Business objectives:

  • Become a 100% SaaS company with a free to paid offer.

  • Increase the number of paid accounts.

  • Target SMBs, shippers and logistic providers.

Business objectives:

  • Become a 100% SaaS company with a free to paid offer.

  • Increase the number of paid accounts.

  • Target SMBs, shippers and logistic providers.

The team

🙋🏻‍♀️ My role: Product Designer

🧑🏻‍💻 Working with 2 squads: each with 1 Product Manager and 3-4 Developers

Challenges

Finding our product-market fit proved to be a significant challenge. It required a deep understanding of the evolving needs and expectations of our target users within the logistics and supply chain industry. Furthermore, we grappled with the imperative of designing a more intuitive and enjoyable user experience among the constraints of cumbersome design tools and outdated UI libraries.
In addition to these challenges, prioritizing an integrations-first (EDI & API) approach emerged as a strategic necessity. This involved seamlessly integrating with existing logistics systems and industry-standard APIs to ensure interoperability and enhance the overall value proposition of our platform.

Approach

To tackle these challenges, we sharpened our value proposition to guide product development. We centered the product around three key pillars:

  • Inventory visibility

  • Collaboration on orders

  • Control Tower overseeing all transactions

By prioritizing these aspects, we aimed to enhance user experience and streamline logistics management processes effectively.

Process

The first priority was to streamline the platform features by consolidating the stock visualization and order placement. There are some inconsistencies in the inventory because the logistics providers were not rigorous in updating the orders on the platform. This has a direct impact on inventory. We also need to improve missing data points to collect all existing and necessary data to get a more accurate stock situation.

The second priority was to introduce new features to increase user engagement and satisfaction, such as an incident module or a document center.

Last but not least, the integration of guidance within the platform interface was a priority to improve the overall user experience.

The first priority was to streamline the platform features by consolidating the stock visualization and order placement. There are some inconsistencies in the inventory because the logistics providers were not rigorous in updating the orders on the platform. This has a direct impact on inventory. We also need to improve missing data points to collect all existing and necessary data to get a more accurate stock situation.

The second priority was to introduce new features to increase user engagement and satisfaction, such as an incident module or a document center.

Last but not least, the integration of guidance within the platform interface was a priority to improve the overall user experience.

The first priority was to streamline the platform features by consolidating the stock visualization and order placement. There are some inconsistencies in the inventory because the logistics providers were not rigorous in updating the orders on the platform. This has a direct impact on inventory. We also need to improve missing data points to collect all existing and necessary data to get a more accurate stock situation.

The second priority was to introduce new features to increase user engagement and satisfaction, such as an incident module or a document center.

Last but not least, the integration of guidance within the platform interface was a priority to improve the overall user experience.

Takeaways

Working closely with the product managers provided important insights into aligning goals and fostering effective teamwork across different teams (from Operations to CMS to Sales). It emphasized the need to share the product vision and keep user feedback and sales opportunities in mind.

Momoko Sakamoto

From anywhere 🌏