Flash Express
Flash Express is a courier platform which provides shipping and delivery service. It satisfies the needs of customers for scattered express delivery on daily life and business activities and facilitates users to deliver all kinds of shipments and online shopping.
Scope:
Problem framing
Concept development
Validation
User testing
Client:
Flash Express
Duration:
2018 June
My Role:
User Research
UI/UX Design
Design Strategy
Branding Design
What's the Context
Flash Express is an e-Commerce logistics comprehensive service company. Through a complete management system and big data technology, Flash Express has realized the standardization and electrification of the whole operation, thereby improving the transparency and overall efficiency of the process while lowering the price and providing a better customer experience. Flash Express, which provides express service, is like a personal assistant APP; Users can query and handle business via cell phone, efficiently managing waybills and checking the real-time status of parcels whenever and wherever they are.
The Challange
In addition to logistics services, Flash Express provides integrated services such as e-commerce and finance. With the digital design, we make the flow of goods smoother, substantially enhance resource utilization efficiency, provide customized one-stop solutions for customers in different industries, and provide industry customer eco-management services. It has enabled the delivery of goods as a bridge between online and offline integration and a contact point between brands and consumers, and a critical part of the user experience. In understanding the demand of customers, we have tapped into the industry pain points and links to offer home-city, cross-region, and even cross-border real-time logistics services
Aims
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Flash Express will build on its existing ecosystem to create a more diverse logistics service platform that links business and people and provides greater convenience to meet the multifaceted needs of users in their daily lives.
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We are well-prepared to develop the usable, equitable and enjoyable product to achieve higher efficiency in delivery and shipping, and multi-language versions are available to support markets such as Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and China.
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Connect the users needs and the business goal with what's actually feasible to build.
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Help the company pursue its mission to bring long-term value to the new digital economy throughout Thailand by helping SMEs reduce their operating costs.
Outcome
Being the first courier service company in Thailand to provide free door-to-door pick-up service throughout the year, Flash Express has recorded a single-day order volume of more than 200,000 personal orders and 700,000 corporate orders, five times more than before.
Through continuous optimization and iteration of the design and user experience, the daily activity has increased by 153%. After the product was launched, the data showed that customer complaints were reduced by 105%, and the daily number of user visits to the order page has increased by 51% compared with the initial design.
Design Approach
Why is this a Problem
The development of e-commerce is robust, but the entire service system to support e-commerce is lagging very far behind.
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Delivery is delayed, and the service points are limited. Courier sites are closed on weekends, and customers who want to send express can only wait until Monday. A courier's delivery within Thailand requires 5-6 days on arrival, while cross-border will take several months.
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Tracking system is weak. In many cases, deliveries cannot be traced via the courier bill number in real-time on the platform. Multiple logistics delivery routes can also lead to lagging logistics information.
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Send express need to queue at the network, sometimes the line is even a dozen meters long, customers need to queue for 2-3 hours, most of them are e-commerce sellers on social networking platforms, who need to send express mail ranging from a few to dozens of orders, however big the goods are, can only ship to the counter of the courier company themselves to send to customers.
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The shipping process is tedious and complicated, with almost no door-to-door service but additional fees to be paid, and most users have to complete the form manually.
Desk Research
Market
Accounting for the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia, Thailand hosts one of the most significant Internet users in the region, with 47 million Internet users, 68% of the country's population of approximately 69 million. The growing Internet user base creates an optimal environment for growth in the Thai e-commerce market. It is estimated that Thailand's e-commerce market will grow at a CAGR of 35% from 2015-to 2025 and reach US$18 billion by 2025.
The two most valued factors are users' delivery speed and cost
The most concerning factor among Thai users' considerations in choosing a platform is the platform's delivery speed, accounting for 79.8%, followed by delivery cost, accounting for 73.5% in Q1 2018,
85.2% of users send and receive courier is for online shopping, 6.8% for friends and family to send to each other; 5.4% for study and work; 2.6% for others.
The growth of the e-commerce industry has tremendously stimulated competition in the express logistics industry. Especially after large Chinese cross-border courier logistics companies entered the Thai market, the competition in the courier industry is even more intense. If we look at the volume of Thailand's 3.05 trillion baht e-commerce industry and the daily shipment of 9 million express parcels, there is still significant potential for future growth. The average annual increase in the express logistics industry is expected to be between 9-10%. Competition in the courier business in Thailand will gradually expand from the traditional store pickup and delivery to other value-added services.
Users frequently experience delays
Among the problems commonly experienced by users in Q1 2018, delays accounted for the highest percentage at 45.6%; poor service attitude accounted for 32.9%, and courier damage was 20.1%.
The average monthly usage frequency of courier users in Thailand is 35.8% for 2-5 times per month; 30.9% for 5-8 times per month; and 23.6% for 0-1 times per month.
Insight
The volume of courier business and business income has skyrocketed, with industry competition intensifying and users relying mainly on sending couriers to make online purchases.Following the upgrading of consumption, people are attaching more and more importance to the service and quality of the courier business, and the market will be more standardized in the future. As the living standard of residents improves, they are willing to spend more money to enjoy better quality services.
Demographic
User profile - user base covers all age groups. Those under 45 years old account for a considerable proportion, about 93% of the total. Twenty-four years old and below are students, and 25 to 45 years old are mainly office. Males are more likely than females to use courier service.
Females
Males
User Research
Qualitative Research & Quantitative Research
We conducted qualitative and quantitative analyses of our market research and user research to understand better what users think. These participants are between 20-50 years old and have daily needs for express delivery; some are e-commerce workers, some are students, and some are business people.
Insight
We learned that the logistics industry had been integrated into people's daily lives and business fields, like cell phones, based on the questionnaires and interviews. Local users have a tremendous demand for sending and receiving parcels, but they are not satisfied with the current service. In their opinion, the cost is a bit high, and shipping is a hassle because they have to go to the courier station and fill in the documents manually, and the shipping time is relatively limited. Their parcels couldn't be traced in real-time, the security is highly lacking, the problem encountered cannot be solved, and these industry pain points are our improvement space and opportunity.
1. How often do you use the service?
2. What is your preferred method of ordering?
3. How satisfied are you with the ordering services provided?
4. Which type of shipping do you use most often?
5. Do you agree with the pricing for the type of shipment you prefer?
6. How would you rate the price for your preferred shipment type?
7. How would you rate our package tracking system?
8. Please rate your overall level of satisfaction with our shipping / courier service?
9. Would you change anything about us to improve the services you receive?
Empathy map
Persona
Goals
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Wants a real-time courier tracking system that can monitor the logistics process to ensure that her customers receive their packages on time.
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Hopes to be able to send a courier at any time because of the increase in jewelry sales and the large number of orders to be processed at any time
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Hopes to fill orders electronically because the order address is too much, easy to write wrong, and electronic filling can also improve efficiency.
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It is better to have a COD cash delivery service and a variety of payment methods, which can meet the needs of different customers.
Frustrations
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It is not being able to check the package's progress and not being able to respond to customers' questions that causes terrible influence.
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Courier sites are closed on weekends and holidays, but the volume of orders during this period is often more significant, and once the orders are backlogged, customers will complain.
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Filling customer addresses by hand is very tricky and frustrating, and if you make a mistake, you have to fill them in again, thus wasting even more time.
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It is also very annoying to deal with a large number of orders paid in cash.
Goals
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He wants the gift delivered to his friend on time, preferably with a text message reminder of delivery.
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Since he often mails some critical documents, he must guarantee a safe delivery to his customers.
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He wants to launch the online payment function to pay the shipping fee directly after entering his account information at one time.
Frustrations
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He is concerned about whether the mail will arrive on time for his birthday, as it will be meaningless if it overruns.
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Worries about whether customers can safely sign for essential documents and whether the mailing process is safe.
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He is not accustomed to taking cash out and finds it inconvenient to pay some money.
Target user demand analysis
Flash Express divides the target users into two categories mainly based on the frequency of shipping: one is college students, office workers, housewives and other people with limited mobility who ship less frequently, and the other is corporate clerks, micro-businesses/dealers and retail customers who send more regularly.
The two types of users have the following everyday needs:
a - Courier pickup at the doorstep
b - Fast completion of order information, especially the filling of address information
c - Privacy protection of personal information
d - Quick and accurate filling of the recipient's information
Scenarios in which the demand exists:
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You want to send a package, but you don't want to go out because the courier service site is too far away or out of the way; you are too busy at work; you have too many household chores and need to take care of children;you can't go to the courier service site for limited mobility; all the above scenarios lead to demand a.
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The sending and receiving address information and personal information is complicated, resulting in slow filling speed and inconvenient operation, generating demand b.
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Frequently need to send, but due to many unfamiliar customer information, resulting in many sheets to fill out, arising demand d.
The solution currently provided by Flash Express
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For demand a, the courier pickup function is introduced under the send courier button, while pickup-time can also be selected to meet the needs of users who cannot go to the courier service site.
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For requirement b, filling in address information provides the functions of intelligent copy and paste an address, image recognition address, nearby address location, and calling information from address book to help users fill in order information faster and more efficiently.
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For requirement d, we provide the function of sharing to friends to help users with high shipping frequency complete the recipient information accurately and quickly.
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In response to requirement c, it provides a QR code form to check the order number, which effectively protects users' privacy.
Competitive Analysis
Goal & Methods
Objective: We audited industry competitors to understand how the Flash Express app compares
Research Questions: Are they attracting the audience that they say are speaking to? How does their app look and feel? Does the design complement the product? Will the user get confused as they navigate through the app?
Procedure: We review these aspects of each app design: Audience, First thoughts, User interaction, Visual Design, Content
Background
Kerry Express was established in 2006 in Thailand, and by today it operates in Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Malaysia. Today the company had more than 10,000 employees
J & T Express was founded in 2015 in Indonesia, coverage of over 550 million people in 7 countries in Southeast Asia, with more than 60,000 workers.
Best Express was formed in China in 2010 and launched its business in Thailand in 2017; and has since covered the entire Southeast Asia region with 9,000 employees.
Thailand Post provides postal services in Thailand, with more than 120 years of legacy and 24,000 employees.
Through data, user research, audit analysis, and industry trend, we found:
Pro:
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Kerry, Best and J&T each have a prominent brand image and a unified design, using a variety of icons and ideas to make the overall user experience more comfortable.
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The homepages of Kerry and Best both display points redemption and special offers with banner ads, which can enhance user stickiness and loyalty.
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Kerry and Best offers COD (cash on delivery) service, which still occupies a certain proportion in Thailand.
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Thailand's post is the cheapest, and you can also book the shipping time in advance; when you send the package, you can attach and pay a fee to check where the item has arrived and check the logistics progress of your shipment.
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Kerry and Best offers an online bank card payment service.
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Kerry, Best and J&T, There are barcodes/QR codes for easier use.
Need to improve:
The visual style of the Thailand post is somewhat outdated and lacks emotional communication. j&t does not have a reminder that the package has been delivered, so functionality needs to be improved. All these apps feature tracing; Kerry's customer service should be improved, and sometimes the delivery status is delayed to update. Best's user feedback shows the app didn't show useful information for tracking the shipment, and the call center can't provide any help for users' needs.
How Might We?
Design an app that is practical, easy to use and guarantees quality, putting the satisfaction of users' needs in the first place and winning a reputation for the brand.
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We provide users with a range of services such as placing orders, checking the status of express mail, order management, address book management, etc., anytime and anywhere.
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The express delivery function is to solve the needs of two types of users: one is to provide users with less frequent delivery needs to pick up their shipments by couriers, quickly fill in the order information, personal information privacy protection and other services, to solve the problem that they do not want to go out when sending shipments, or they do not have time when they are busy at work. Another category is to provide door-to-door pickup and fast and accurate filling of customers' incoming information for users with high shipping frequency (such as micro-businesses and corporate clerks).
Position and Value
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Maintaining 24-hour operation throughout the year.
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The real-time tracking system allows online viewing of the logistics information of express shipments.
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Realization of the full territory coverage of express sites without blind spots.
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Automated filling of documents by using an electronic order placement model.
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24-hour customer service support.
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Free door-to-door pickup service.
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Reduce the cost per bill.
User Flow
Prototype
Lo-fi Ideation
After defining the direction and structure in the initial development phase, We sketched each wireframe page on paper. We explored many ideas and design combinations, trying to coordinate different elements in different locations. Drawing wireframes on paper allowed us to identify bugs in the design in time, giving us enough time to correct them and solve them effectively and quickly. Our team used wireframes to explain various concepts to our clients in terms of collaboration. We then developed these initial designs into hi fidelity wireframes, which showed more details, such as what the final elements would look like.
Design Goal
To address the existing problems, our Design goal was to improve the visual aesthetics, usability and brand recognition of the Flash Express App to reinforce the core competitiveness of the product.
Aesthetics - visual upgrade, from interface layout, color, icons, and fonts for a new visual experience upgrade so that users enjoy a better visual experience;
Diversity - a richer product experience, in response to the increasing demand for diversified services, the design will explore diversified service design from two perspectives: integration of multiple tools and customization settings;
Efficient - efficient service strengthens the information hierarchy display and improves the user's efficiency in locating information.
Iteration
Before
After
Before
After
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Centered around the Flash Express shipping life scenario, it provides users with Flash Express life, message notification, leisure and entertainment, etc., providing more humanized services and contents. It allows users of Flash Express to enjoy more convenient services in addition to sending and checking.
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Optimize information hierarchy, reduce the noise of visual information. Good optimized information hierarchy relationship, through the deletion, combination, hidden secondary information, adequate exposure of crucial details.
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Good emotional traction, creating a vibrant atmosphere. Through real-time dynamic tracking package, thus reducing the user's negative emotions; and the routing icon for fun, inspirational design, with the user to create emotional resonance.
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Strong correlation with user's order behavior. With a whole bonus task entrance for shipping, users can know how much rebate they can get and further stimulate users' order decisions through the refund they get. In terms of emotional correlation with users, Flash Express has designed unique business cards to encourage users to click for the particular shipping function.
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Divide each available entrance and information into business attributes, and sort them according to user behavior and the importance of content. To focus on the core functions that users are concerned about, such as my points and coupons; strengthen users' perception of rights and interests, enrich the content of rights and interests redemption, and increase the exposure of retention-related tasks, to enhance user stickiness and retention.
The upgrade of the Flash Express has been well received by users and widely praised. According to the research results, the overall rating of users is relatively high, and the willingness to recommend Flash Express App to their friends.
Style Guide
This visual upgrade will focus on color rejuvenation, minimal layout, font normalization, icon affinity, and emotional communication.
1. Color rejuvenation: We chose yellow and black as Flash Effect's brand colors and will continue to strengthen the brand perception in the upgrade while optimizing the brightness and saturation. The overall optimization is more lively and fresh compared to the previous dullness. As the color of the whole product, the neutral color has been standardized and customized to make the overall visual consistency of the App.
2. Simplified layout: the previous page had small margins and an unclear content hierarchy. For the efficiency of the product information display, we intend to highlight important information and functions, so we structured the style and content layout of the content-the information card to better aggregate all kinds of information, more conducive to the clear display of information flow content.
The round shape is easier to be recognized in human sight and gives a soft and healing feeling. The reasonable use of rounded corners for the container will highlight the content inside the rectangle and focus the user's eyes on it. It is easier to distinguish their content when two rounded rectangles are arranged, and the modularity is more robust.
3. Typography: Standardize the use of fonts to lay a good foundation for overall visual style consistency to enhance the product experience.
4. Icons and illustration:
Recognition: Adopt the brand color of Flash Effect and apply the technique of overlapping and colliding colors to create a unique visual language while strengthening the information hierarchy
Functionality: Distinguish through design techniques, e.g., linear icons
Consistency: Adopt rounded corners, combined with a round visual language, to unify the visual style
Aesthetics: The overall visual style is more youthful and lively.
Feature
Feature
Final Pototype
Main Features
Booking the courier
Since the app was launched, we have continued to optimize and update it based on user feedback, meanwhile, we also designed different versions of the app for different countries at a later stage, and made some design adjustments according to the demands of local users.
Final thoughts and Takeaways
As designers, we start from here, but we never stop here.
The "user experience" of a product is a process of constantly advancing and improving. This process requires sound teamwork, a design mindset, and the ability to discover problems and solve them continually. At the same time, designers need to monitor data in real-time, be concerned about users' voices, polish design details and experience details, bring better product experience to users, and be able to empower business growth and create more value.
