Case study

Taking Field Dispatch Off Paper

A mobile-first dispatch system that replaced paper workflows with real-time tools for technicians and dispatchers.

Company: MSS
Platforms: Mobile-first field app and dispatcher console

Ride-along conditions the dispatch redesign had to work in.

TL;DR

Led the UX design of a mobile-first dispatch platform that replaced paper schedules, Excel, and PDF forms with a real-time system for technicians and dispatchers.

47%Faster dispatch times

$2.1MAnnual cost savings

95%Adoption

ZeroPaper in 6 weeks

100K+Moves

Overview

A nationwide logistics company was coordinating over 100,000 specialized moves annually using paper schedules, Excel sheets, and PDF forms. Technicians in the field lacked a cohesive digital tool, leading to inefficiencies and miscommunication across teams.

I led the UX design of a mobile-first dispatch platform that modernized operations, offering real-time visibility and intuitive tools tailored for technicians and dispatchers.

Customer journey session: the team mapping the dispatch journey on a wall of sticky notes — Journey mapping: the dispatch path on a wall of sticky notes. Faces are not shown.

Challenge

Paperwork overload

Manual job tracking increased error rates.

No real-time updates

Dispatchers lacked visibility into field progress.

Poor usability

Tools weren’t optimized for mobile use in the field.

Solution

We built a digital dispatch platform optimized for field use and HQ monitoring, with:

Centralized job information and status tracking
Offline functionality and mobile-first design
Real-time job assignment, tracking, and rerouting

Research & Insights

I started in the field, not in a conference room. I shadowed dispatchers, rode along with technicians, and ran more than 10 contextual interviews to see how jobs actually moved from the office to the truck and back.

Methods:

Shadowed dispatchers and rode along with technicians
10+ contextual interviews

What kept coming up:

Spotty connectivity: offline access was critical
Simplicity first: field techs wanted less clutter and clearer visibility
Visibility gaps: dispatchers needed real-time insights

What we heard in research

We lose track of where each tech is at during the day. Once they’re out, we’re basically blind.
Quinn D.Dispatcher
I don’t need a ton of features—just my list of jobs and a quick way to mark them done.
Taylor S.Field Technician
It’s night and day from before. Dispatch is faster, and my techs are way more confident in the field.
Alex B.Operations Manager

Empathy map on a whiteboard: sticky notes on what technicians hear, see, say, do, and feel, plus pains and gains — Empathy map from the field research: what technicians hear, see, say, do, and feel.

A technician in the cab of a work van, holding the dispatch app up between the steering wheel and the dashboard — Ride-along. The app had to be readable from the driver’s seat, in daylight, with one hand.

A technician kneeling over an open wooden crate on a job site, fitting foam and lumber around a packed piece — On site. The job is the crate, the measurement, and the condition — not a form back at the office.

Stakeholder map of the dispatch workflow, with photos and roles for lead tech, dispatcher, shipper, customer, and contractor — Who touches one job: lead tech, dispatcher, shipper, customer, contractor.

Design Decisions

A look at the pivotal design decisions that shaped the experience, balancing real-world constraints with user needs.

Mapped workflow: Dispatch → Technician View → Progress → Completion Sync

Key UX decisions:

Simplified daily scheduling
Job cards with detailed instructions
One-tap status updates
Dispatcher dashboard for live monitoring

Usability tests led to offline sync, larger tap targets, and UI refinements.

Phone screen of a single job: a list of crates and services, each marked packed or pending — One job, as the technician sees it. Crates and services, each with a status.

A phone showing a job’s crate list, set against a board of the same screens at desktop size — The same job, on the phone and across the screen set behind it.

Outcome

The final solution included a mobile interface for technicians to track jobs, a real-time console for dispatchers, and a modular design system built for future scalability.

Dispatch ran 47% faster and saved $2.1M. Adoption reached 95%, paper dispatching hit zero in 6 weeks, across 100K+ moves.

The technician’s job list: two stops, each with a time window and a city — The day’s jobs, from the technician’s list. A muted loop of the shipped walkthrough.

Reflection

Designing for real-world constraints like low connectivity and gloves-on usage was key. Prioritizing early-stage field testing was crucial for the success of the project.