UI/UX Case Study: Blue Dart Express Limited
Disclaimer: This is not affiliated with the official website/organization of Blue Dart Express Limited. This case study is purely for educational purposes only.
Project Brief: With the help of research and analysis, recreate the platform for an existing brand/company by studying its present stature, existing forum and vision. Using web design process and an understanding of UX and UI, add essential features to their existing forum.
WHAT IS BLUEDART?
Blue Dart Express Ltd., started in November 1963, is South Asia’s premier express air and integrated transportation & distribution company, holding a 46% market share. It offers secure and reliable delivery of consignments to over 35,000 locations in India and is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
USP: One stop solution for any logistical requirement.
WHY BLUEDART?
It is the leader of the air express industry, the most preferred, innovative and most awarded express delivery company of India. I chose to redesign this website, because, at first glance, it looks like an ordinary domestic delivery company website. It has the potential to stand out amongst its competitors and it is only logical that the website should reflect the standards set by this company.
MISSION
To assure safe, secure, cost-effective and superior service, to our customers through highly skilled personnel, quality equipment, timely customer-oriented response and professional management.
VISION
To be the best and set the pace in the express air and integrated transportation and distribution industry, with a business and human conscience.
“We commit to develop, reward and recognize our people who, through high quality and professional service, the use of sophisticated technology, will meet and exceed customer and stakeholder expectations profitably.”
PRIMARY STAKEHOLDERS
Blue Dart
Making sure everything runs efficiently.
Maintaining the current standards of the company.
Customers
Shippers — The people sending out shipments to be delivered.
Receivers — The people receiving the delivered shipments on time.
Employees
The carriers who transport shipments through trucks, rail and air cargo.
The delivery executives and managers working together to deliver shipments on time.
Warehouse
The owners and operators of the warehouses in charge of safely holding shipments that are to be delivered or shipped.
Shareholders
The owners of the company and investors who provide financial backing to the company.
CUSTOMER PROFILE
1. Marketplace reseller/Importer.
2. Manufacturer/Private Label.
3. Own e-commerce website Owner Brands.
Brands:
1. Outright stock sale to marketplace.
2. SOR model of operation.
3. Sale through own site.
Marketplace:
1. Marketplace Consolidation of reverse pick.
2. Stocking and movement of vendor inventory.
NEED OF THE CUSTOMERS
- Better and easy understanding of the service guide offered on the website.
- Efficient navigation of all the services and rules.
- Safe and on-time delivery as promised.
- Coordination between employees and customers.
NEED OF THE BRAND
- Ensure security and safe keeping of all the shipments.
- Maintain transportation facilities that reach the company standards.
- Ensure that customers are picking the most convenient and cost-effective service according to their shipping requirements.
- Make the website look authentic and genuine.
SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS
- Strong brand image and brand equity.
- Global presence amongst over 220 countries.
- Smart truck technology with “intelligent” pick-up, route planner technologies.
- Most extensive domestic network covering over 34,000 locations.
- Good advertising and visibility.
WEAKNESSES
- Not very well known compared to big global players.
- Local courier boys form the face of the company hence sometimes it’s a problem if they are not trained enough.
OPPORTUNITIES
- Global expansion and better penetration.
- Increase presence in rural areas and diversification in logistic services.
- Increase in world trade in manufactured goods.
THREATS
- Bad economic & political scenario.
- Prices of fuel can go up.
- Tremendous increase in e-commerce.
- Rise of imitators providing similar services at lower costs.
- Different regulations in different countries hinder operations.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
Desk to Desk Courier & Cargo (DTDC) is an Indian courier delivery services company, headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka. They handle 12 million shipments every month.
USP: India’s Largest Domestic Delivery Network Company, they deliver to the remotest places in India as well as internationally.
Website: An old school website which is very congested but straight to the point. It offers all the information one needs about the company, along with the option of tracking your shipment and E-Booking.
FedEx is an American multinational delivery services company headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. They handle more than 3.6 million shipments each business day.
USP: World’s largest airline in terms of freight tons flown. Express or less urgent, small packages or heavyweight, import or export, it has the service you need.
Website: A very well organized and modern website. It offers online shipping through a business account or a personal account.
TNT Express, a subsidiary of FedEx, is an international courier delivery services company with its headquarters in Hoofddorp, Netherlands. They have over two million shipments monthly. Over 2,300 company owned depots & operate approx. 50 flights and 26000+ trucks with over 75,000 employees in more than 200 countries.
USP: Most innovative transport and logistics brand.
Website: A very easy to navigate, user friendly website. It also offers online shipping with interactive features that help you pick the most convenient shipping requirement.
Almost all of the competitors have the option of e-booking shipments that cater to all their customers, from a bulk delivery to a document. However, the Blue Dart website only offers e-booking of shipments for corporate users.
UNDERSTANDING THE CURRENT WEBSITE
Check out the website for yourself at https://www.bluedart.com/
1. TrackDart, used to track the status of a shipment, is given importance as it is always available on every page on the website.
2. Interactive features like the location finder, transit time & price finder, are used to make the user experience efficient and easy.
3. Big banners and photos are shown to attract / notify the customers about the relevant services and give them an insight into the company’s vision.
4. They have a ‘What’s New’ section consisting of important headlines about the company’s sales, growth and accomplishments. Each headline, when clicked on, opens up an in-depth article about it, helping maintain the image of the company.
5. E-booking is only offered to Corporate customers who consistently deliver shipments in bulk.
6. The footer offers all the information one can find about Blue Dart along with their social links.
7. Overall, they offer a very vast, informative description of every service mentioned in the Service Guide, along with every other feature, business interactions, etc. One can find most of all the information about Blue Dart on the website.
KEY PROBLEMS OF CURRENT WEBSITE
1. Only Corporate users can book Blue Dart services through the website.
2. The Service Guide provides a lot of information all at once, which can seem very overwhelming to a first-time user.
3. The banners are too big and distract the user from the important interactive features. Some pictures have no relevance whatsoever and can be discarded entirely.
4. There is no flow and no proper information hierarchy.
5. There are too many unnecessary banners.
6. The footer is too congested and overwhelming.
7. The website looks very dull and old, and not authentic and has a consistent style guide.
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
1. Every customer should have the option of creating an account in order to avail the e-booking feature. This will make the website more inclusive and help expand the company’s target audience.
2. A brief description of all the offered services can be mentioned on the homepage along with icons.
3. Use of icons will help make the website look a lot more interactive and user friendly.
4. The banners can be a lot more informative and not as big in size.
5. Better segregation of sections can be done so it provides a flow.
6. A customer review section can be added. Better FAQs can be provided.
7. The footer can be less overwhelming by only having important and relevant quick links.
8. A consistent style guide using brand colors can make the website look authentic and professional.
INFORMATION HIERARCHY
Hierarchies give us order to make sense of a design easily. The human eye perceives information visually which is affected by several factors that contribute to how we rank the hierarchy of the content within the website.
NAVIGATION FLOW
STYLE GUIDE
WIREFRAMES
Wireframes are visual guides that help in creating a basic skeleton of a website by taking into account the users needs and users journeys.
PROTOTYPES
Based on the wireframes, basic prototypes were made proposing the required changes in the design of the website.
COMPARISON OF HOMEPAGE
AN ALTERNATE PLATFORM
A mobile application was also created for a better user experience. The homepage consists of important information about the different services and shipping requirements offered by Blue Dart along with interactive features.
CONCLUSION
This project was a great introduction to one of the most challenging and interesting design journeys. The process of UI UX was a great learning experience overall.
