01 / ROUTING + LOGISTICS
Rebuilding trust in a
critical routing platform.
Over four years, I helped evolve a limited routing tool into a broader platform for route planning, optimization, configuration, and real-time operational visibility.
ROLE
Product Designer →
Product Manager
TIMELINE
2022-2026
FOCUS
Enterprise UX
Product Strategy
Routing + Optimization
USERS
Routers
3PL Partners
Operations Leadership
About this case study
This work involved proprietary enterprise products. Visuals have been recreated and simplified using fictionalized data to protect confidential company information while accurately representing my role and design approach.
02 / THE CHALLENGE
A routing tool people used because they had to.
When I joined the Final Mile Delivery team, Routing was functional but limited. The experience was slow, highly manual, and gave routers little flexibility to adapt routes to real-world operational needs.
Some teams were required to use the platform, while others relied on external or internal routing systems they trusted more. The problem wasn't simply adding features, it was creating a product users would choose to rely on.
The challenge wasn't simply redesigning an interface. It was earning users' trust.
03 / UNDERSTANDING THE WORK
I needed to see routing through the eyes of the people doing it.
Routing decisions happen in the context of real deliveries, real constraints, and constant change. To understand where the product was falling short, I worked directly with routers and operational teams both remotely and on-site at delivery facilities.
I observed users building routes, listened to where they lost time or confidence, tested new concepts with them, and continued gathering feedback after features launched. Stakeholder input and feedback submitted directly through our delivery platform helped us connect individual pain points to broader operational needs.
Research wasn't a phase of the project. It became an ongoing feedback loop that shaped Routing as the product evolved.
04 / EARNING TRUST
We didn’t start by
reinventing routing.
Early improvements focused on giving users more control over the workflows they were already doing. These changes made it easier to manage routes, adjust to operational needs, and work more efficiently without requiring a completely new process.
By solving everyday frustrations first, we began building credibility and trust with users. That foundation gave us room to tackle larger opportunities across configuration, optimization, and a more connected routing experience.
Small improvements gave users something the original experience lacked: control.
05 / FROM TOOL TO PLATFORM
As trust grew, so did Routing.
Over time, Routing evolved beyond a single screen for building and editing routes into a broader platform supporting the operational workflow. From configuring how routes should be built to planning, optimization, insights, and monitoring routes once they were on the road.
Each new capability addressed a different part of the routing lifecycle, while keeping the same goal: give users more control without making an already complex job harder.
06 / CONFIGURATION
Bringing real-world
constraints into the product.
Building a good route depends on more than geography. Different trucks, locations, and delivery operations have different limits and routers were already accounting for many of those constraints manually.
We introduced configuration tools that allowed users to define routing parameters across groups of trucks or customize individual vehicles when needed. Those configurations could then inform how the routing algorithm built routes.
Instead of asking routers to work around the system, we began teaching the system how their operation actually worked.
07 / ROUTING DASHBOARD
Planning the route wasn't the end of the job.
Once routes left the building, operational teams needed to know whether the plan was actually working. The main Routing experience was designed for building routes, not monitoring what happened after trucks were on the road.
Before the dashboard, users downloaded spreadsheets and manually tracked delivery statuses across the platform. That made it difficult to quickly spot routes beginning to run early or late—and intervene before upcoming deliveries were affected.
We saw an opportunity to shift route monitoring from reactive tracking to proactive visibility.
08 / ROUTING WIZARD
Optimization without
taking away control.
As Routing became more capable, we explored how optimization could help users solve more complex routing scenarios without forcing them into a one-size-fits-all solution.
The Routing Wizard allowed users to select routes or unassigned stops, adjust constraints for the situation at hand, and ask the system to identify potential improvements.
Optimization was most useful when users could shape the constraints instead of giving up control to the algorithm.
09 / DESIGN → PRODUCT
My role grew with the product.
After years of designing within the Routing ecosystem, I had built deep familiarity with the product, its users, and the operational and technical constraints behind it.
When the Routing Product Manager moved to another team, my director and senior director asked me to step into the role. I continued designing across the broader delivery ecosystem while taking on Product Management ownership for Routing.
Being the designer meant Product Management wasn't a completely separate way of working. I could hear a problem directly from users, explore and validate a solution, translate it into product requirements, and collaborate with engineering to bring it to life.
Taking on Product Management felt less like switching disciplines and more like removing a handoff.
10 /OUTCOME
From a tool users worked around to one they asked for.
Not every metric can be captured around Routing's transformation. But over time, the signals changed.
Feedback became more positive, and less frequent as recurring frustrations were addressed. Users who moved to locations using other routing systems told us they wished they had Routing back. The business even began exploring opportunities to expand the platform beyond its existing user base.
Shortly before my departure, a location operated by a partner with its own internal routing solution began onboarding to our platform which was a meaningful signal of how far the product had come.
Better tools. Smoother operations.
Happier customers.
LORI BRODERSEN
UX PRODUCT DESIGN + PRODUCT MANAGEMENT