Logistics 2023

Fleet Dispatch Tool

Dispatchers were spending 12 minutes per delivery because the routing tool required 7 clicks to assign a driver.

Week 1
Shadowing
Week 2
Workflow map
Week 4
Single-screen concept
Week 6
Smart defaults
Week 8
Shortcuts + training
Ship
12 → 3 min
Fleet Dispatch Tool final design
Client
Canopy Logistics
Role
Product Designer
Duration
10 weeks
Tools
Figma, UserTesting, Mixpanel, Notion
12 min → 3 min
Dispatch time
+23%
Driver utilization
+18%
On-time delivery

The Problem

Canopy's fleet dispatch tool was built for a different era. Dispatchers had to navigate through 7 screens and 12 clicks to assign a driver to a delivery. In a business where every minute of delay cascaded into missed delivery windows, the tool was the bottleneck.

  • • Average dispatch time was 12 minutes per delivery
  • • Dispatchers handled 40 deliveries per day, losing 8 hours to the tool
  • • Driver utilization was only 67% due to poor routing visibility
  • • On-time delivery rate was 74%, below the 85% industry benchmark

The Process

I spent a week in the dispatch center, watching 6 dispatchers work their shifts. The insight: they didn't need more information, they needed the right information in one place. I redesigned the tool as a single-screen command center.

Context

Dispatch center immersion

Spent a week in the dispatch center observing 6 dispatchers. Mapped their workflow and identified the "context switching tax" — they toggled between 4 screens to complete one dispatch.

Redesign

Single-screen command center

Consolidated the dispatch workflow into a single screen: map view with live driver locations, delivery queue on the left, and driver availability on the right. Drag-and-drop to assign.

Optimization

Smart defaults & keyboard shortcuts

Added smart defaults based on historical patterns (e.g., "Driver A usually handles Zone 3 deliveries") and keyboard shortcuts for power users. Reduced clicks from 12 to 3.

Rollout

Phased deployment & training

Rolled out to 20 dispatchers in phases. Created a 15-minute training module and a "cheat sheet" of keyboard shortcuts. Monitored adoption and iterated on friction points.

The Solution

We rebuilt the dispatch tool as a single-screen command center. Live driver locations, delivery queue, and driver availability were all visible at once. Drag-and-drop assignment replaced the 7-screen workflow, and smart defaults reduced decision time.

  • ✓ Dispatch time reduced from 12 minutes to 3 minutes
  • ✓ Driver utilization increased by 23%
  • ✓ On-time delivery rate improved from 74% to 92%
  • ✓ Dispatchers reported 60% less "tool fatigue"
  • ✓ Canopy expanded the tool to 3 additional regional hubs