As part of Forto's strategic rebranding initiative, I led the design of the first dashboard for our customer-facing platform, Ship, to provide customers with valuable and timely insights into their shipments.
Senior Product Designer
Developers, UX Researcher
Product design, Prototyping, Developer handoff
Customers didn’t have a single place to stay on top of critical issues. Email alerts and support from operations managers helped, but important details like missing documents were easy to miss. There was no simple way to get a clear overview without digging through different sources.
I designed a dashboard that gives customers a clear and simple overview of their shipments. It brings together everything they need in one place, from status updates to missing documents and time-sensitive tasks. This allows them to stay in control without digging through emails or depending entirely on ops manager.
Since this was a new addition to the Ship platform, I had to figure out which metrics to include and why. I looked into how dashboards are set up across the industry and worked closely with the research team to ensure the solution met both customer needs and business goals.
Most early concepts didn’t make it into the final design, which was expected. We wanted to explore a wide range of options quickly. This helped us focus on what truly mattered to customers and the business.
Through this process, we narrowed it down to four key areas that bring the most value to our customers: a high-level section to highlight what matters most, a clear list of pending actions, a real-time tracking widget for shipments, booking list to see recent bookings, and activity feeds to help customers stay on top of recent updates and plan ahead.
Customers needed quick visibility without digging into details. I designed a four high-level metrics that instantly surface what matters most at a glance; what’s moving, what’s at risk, what could incur charges, and how reliably shipments are arriving.
High-level snapshot sharpens focus on daily operations, helping users act early with confidence and stay ahead of disruptions. These metrics transform the dashboard from passive reporting into an active decision-making tool, helping users quickly respond to issues, avoid extra costs, and stay on top of delivery timelines.
Customers make decisions without getting lost in the details.
Once customers understand what’s happening across their shipments, the next step is knowing where they’re needed and when. We added more valuable sections including Actions required, real-time shipment tracker, booking list, and simplified activity feeds.
By highlighting tasks that need customer input or resolution early, we remove guesswork and help them keep shipments moving. Each item links directly to its resolution path. This allows customers to act quickly and confidently, resolving issues before they cause delays.
Customers stay ahead of issues instead of reacting to them. Ops teams handle fewer escalations. This not only improves the customer experience but also frees up internal teams to focus on higher-value work.
Customers needed a way to check shipment progress without digging through the shipment page for basic updates. The Shipment Tracker widget delivers that visibility directly on the dashboard.
This quick-glance access reduces routine status inquiries and builds trust through transparency and control. Customers found this especially valuable when managing high-value or time-sensitive goods.
Again, customers needed quick insight into the status of their most recent bookings without navigating to the full booking management page.
The Booking List widget highlights key booking statuses right on the dashboard, giving customers status updates on their bookings.
Customers wanted visibility not only into the actions operations managers take on their shipments but also the ability to filter all activity logs. This provides full transparency over every step taken on a shipment.
This real-time feed helps customers understand what is happening behind the scenes without needing to contact support or dig through emails.
This unified approach reduces support needs and empowers users to stay ahead of issues before they escalate. Together, these features transform the dashboard from a passive report into a proactive tool that drives efficiency and trust throughout the shipment journey.
To improve the overall experience, we focused on two key areas: giving customers the ability to personalize their view and making the dashboard accessible on any device.
Customers can also personalize their dashboard by choosing which metrics they want to see. This customization helps them focus on the information most relevant to their needs, making the dashboard more efficient and user-friendly.
The dashboard is fully responsive, so customers can access key shipment information easily on any device, whether desktop, tablet, or mobile. This ensures users stay informed wherever they are.
Customer engagement increased by 22% as users felt more in control and better equipped to manage shipments on their own
Support tickets dropped by 12% as operations teams received fewer repetitive questions and experienced smoother coordination
