UPS WorldShip is a public software made to quickly process a large number of packages from multiple desktops. This new feature updates the customer's package description based on series of questions and responses to assess the tariff code for accurate customs fees to be paid.
This enhancement was completed in a month. The goal was to create an interface where the customer can update their package contents description without necessarily knowing the correct harmonized tariff code for accurate customs fees to be assessed. I worked as the designer working with product managers and marketing team groom potential features and ultimately provide to engineering for development.
When shipping internationally, customs fees are assessed based on the contents of the package. The description is matched against the HTS (Harmonized Tariff Schedule) Code Library and assigned an HTS Code. This code is associated with regulations and fees if applicable. If the description is not accurate or too broad, the customer could be charged incorrectly or have issues receiving their package. UPS also has to staff raters to contact customers by phone to obtain this accurate information.
By designing a questionnaire that reacts to the previous answer submitted, a more accurate description can be entered for submission to Customs. This would allow the customer to get their package faster and save UPS time and money to directly question them about the contents of their shipment.
Working with product managers and marketing, the user flow was define to pick which descriptions they want to update if their shipment has multiple commodities in it. The user has the option to skip commodities and reviews the new description before moving on to next one. Once all the questions have been answered, the user has the option to save the updated descriptions to the shipment or discard them and exit.
The product and marketing teams wanted the pop up window to have the same aesthetic as UPS WorldShip which mimics older Windows UI's. Th example flow goes through updating a description for clothing.
After a discussion and demo with marketing, it was discussed to expand the "Other" option to list the other options in a dropdown so there was one less screen for the user to click through. Skip Commodity and Cancel buttons were also added with modals that confirm if the user wants to skip or cancel respectively.
After a second discussion and demo with marketing, it was agreed upon that a review button would allow the user to go to beginning of questions for that commodity they selected to review their answers. Additional Options were also renamed to "Something Else" to replicate language that is used on UPS.com.
In the final prototype for the project, I made the design more high fidelity by implementing UPS brand guidelines and features such as smart grouping and customization.
Initial reception has been great so far. We have recorded a 40% increase of detailed descriptions that have HTS codes assigned when the shipment is initially logged in WorldShip. Since more shipments have been accurately described, there has been a 15% decrease in calls to customers to gather this information.
