IAA TOW
MANAGING LOGISTICS ACROSS THE ENTERPRISE
iOS & Android Mobile Application
Web based Application
OVERVIEW
PROBLEM SPACE
The process of picking up and delivery salvaged automobiles is antiquated and creates wasted money and excessive overhead cost for the providers and IAA.
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The challenge: At high-volume branches, tow operators wait hours for vehicle pickup/delivery, creating costly inefficiencies for both IAA and service providers.
PRODUCT GOALS
Reduce the amount of time that it takes the a teams to pick up and deliver vehicles. and empower drivers with the ability to make logistic decisions.
MY ROLE
Team Lead for entire initiative - spanning 3 products
1 of 2 Designers
Including team lead responsibilities
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Led and contributed in all phases of design including:
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Research & Understanding & Discovery
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Ideation & Prototyping
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Concept Validation
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Delivery Support
OUTCOME
13% increase
in SLA (Service Level Agreement) success
$1million reduction
in operational costs
35-45 min. decrease
in wait times at high-volume branches
UNDERSTANDING
Initiated and led the understanding and research phase by conducting both qualitative and quantitative research including:
“Shadowing/ride along” sessions with individual drivers as they performed pickups and drop-offs.
Onsite user interviews while drivers wait for pickups and drop-offs at the branch
WE DELIVERED
A narrative documenting a 'day in the life' of tow operators, user personas driving decision-making, and a comprehensive user journey mapping daily goals, struggles, and mental models.
DISCOVERY
In collaboration with the product team it was apparent from the beginning that there was a fair amount of complexity in this initiative.
I ran an exercise to map the existing ecosystem, and the team (various product team members and UX designers) collaborated to map out the multiple touch points so we could visualize:
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Opportunities that weren’t obvious
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Barriers of entry for affected users
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Service layers that would need to exist to create a viable experience
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Touchpoints for apps
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This exercise also helped prioritize features and align deliveries across multiple products.
IDEATION
Sample of initial designs for concept testing
Based on the research we learned about the process for how towers get assignments to pick-up and drop-off vehicles. We were able to quickly design flows and validate the designs with simple flow prototypes.
KEY FINDINGS
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No major issues with the flow of the app
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Concerns about the amount of “Inventory” a user could have in his queue. We later reduced that list
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Tow truck operators were very interested in knowing how they might request additional assignments
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Tow truck drivers wanted a better map in which to see where the vehicle is located so they could be empowered to make logistic decisions to save time
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Being able to see images of the vehicles are critical to them being prepared when they arrive to pickup.
KEY DESIGN DECISIONS
1
INTEGRATED MAP FEATURE
By plotting vehicles on an interactive map, tow truck operators can better understand where vehicles are located and where they need to be dropped off and can be more efficient which benefits both the driver and the customer.
2
ABILITY TO SCHEDULE IN BULK
We changed the flow from a “queue” concept to a flow that enables them to scheduling multiple cars.
We used the “queue” concept to allow the system to “Save” the progress of an incomplete step. Which would give the tower more flexibility if they get interrupted while scheduling since the task might take several minutes.
3
DASHBOARD REDESIGN
Improved Information Architecture: Redesigned the landing view to establish a clear visual hierarchy, prioritizing mission-critical tasks and reducing cognitive load.
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Logistics Optimization: Introduced clear distinctions between branch pick-ups and deliveries. This allows towers to "stack" trips, significantly reducing travel time and operational costs.
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Strategic Segmentation: Separated IAA requests from buyer requests to protect seller SLAs. By segmenting these workflows, we ensured high-priority tasks remain the primary focus without obstructing the tower's ability to manage side-volume.
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Streamlined Navigation: Consolidated account settings into a standard profile menu, removing competing elements from the main dashboard to follow industry mental models.
4
ADDING MORE VEHICLE IMAGES
Tow operators need to know what equipment to bring before arriving on-site. We expanded vehicle imagery in the detail view, enabling drivers to assess vehicle condition and prepare appropriately. This directly reduced pickup times by preventing return trips when operators arrived unprepared for complex towing situations.
OTHER SCOPE
On top of the mobile app product, there was a need for an administrative tool that internal users could leverage to manage the inventory and operational processes
THE EXTRA DESIGN EFFORT
During our research phase, we had been working closely with the future users of this platform since they were key stakeholders. As the lead, we leveraged our design framework to quickly visualize the unique needs that this internal product would address. We reviewed them with our stakeholders along the process and helped guide the direction and streamline the implementation by leveraging our design system and coded library resource.
ADDTIONAL FEATURE PROJECTS
NIQ: DEFINING DATA
Web based app
NIQ: INTERNAL OPS
Web based app
IAA ERP MODERNIZATION
Web based app