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Logistics & Transportation | B2B SaaS

Workflow Automation

From 25 Minutes of Manual Pricing to a 60 Seconds Structured Workflow

From 25 Minutes of Manual Pricing to a 60 Seconds Structured Workflow

By automating pricing intelligence into a structured workflow engine, reduced quotation time from 25 minutes to under 60 seconds, without removing pricing flexibility.

By automating pricing intelligence into a structured workflow engine, reduced quotation time from 25 minutes to under 60 seconds, without removing pricing flexibility.

10×

Faster Quote Creation

60s

Target Quote Time

+20%

Potential Business Recovered

Context

A Fragmented Logistics Ecosystem

Every quote required manually reconciling route distance, vehicle type, fuel variation, toll estimates and margin adjustments across multiple sources before a single number could be shared with the shipper.

An initiative to make transport quotation generation 10× faster for Indian fleet owners who operated in a world where every quote required cross-checking multiple sources simultaneously.

  • Web Search

  • Spreadsheets

  • WhatsApp History

  • Personal Memory

25 min

Average time per quotation by manually

~20%

Potential business lost due to slow response

The Problem We Noticed

A 30 Second Question Turns into a 20 minute ordeal

“How much will it cost to send goods from Chennai to Hyderabad?”

But answering that isn't simple.

Fleet owners manually calculated costs from memory, checking maps for distance, news apps for diesel rates, and calling contacts for toll estimates. Rough guesses led to inconsistent pricing or loss-making quotes.

🗺️ Distance Lookup
Google Maps opened, route checked, Kilometers noted manually.

Diesel Rate

News app opened, rate checked, calculation done by calculator.

🛣️ Toll Estimates

Guessed or recalled from previous trips. Often outdated

📱 Final Number

Typed and quoted by whatsapp

What we heard from fleet owners

By the time I calculate, another lorry already took the load.

Fleet Owner

"

Diesel price changes, my rate becomes loss. Tracking that daily becomes very challenging.

Fleet Owner

"

I calculate on calculator, check Google Maps for distance, then send number on WhatsApp. No proper system.

Transport Operator

"

What surprised us

Speed matters more than perfection. They'd rather have a 90% accurate quote now than a perfect one later.

Shaping the Strategy

Converting Pricing Intuition into a Repeatable System

How might we convert manual pricing intuition into a structured, repeatable system without removing dispatcher control?

To achieve that, we anchored our strategy on three principles:

⚡Minimal Input, Maximum Output

Capture only what's truly necessary. Every additional field adds friction and slows the quote.

🧠 Smart Defaults

The system does the heavy lifting, auto-fetching mileage, toll rates and live fuel prices.

🚀 Action-First Design

The goal isn't just to calculate, it's to share instantly. The quote must be shareable in one tap.

Wireframe Explorations

Two flows, One Clear Winner

Thought Process

Thought Process

I mapped the mental model of how a quote actually happens in real life.

Too Slow

Chat-style Input Flow

Chat-style Input Flow

  • User enters details in AI conversation style and gets quote simultaneously.


  • Felt natural but required too many individual entries.

  • User enters details in AI conversation style and gets quote simultaneously.


  • Felt natural but required too many individual entries.

✓ Chosen

Progressive Disclosure (Wizard Flow)

Progressive Disclosure (Wizard Flow)

  • Input fields → Quotation preview→ share.

  • Fast, minimal cognitive load. Users see the quote building in real time.

  • Input fields → Quotation preview→ share.

  • Fast, minimal thinking.

Design Iterations

How the Solution Evolved

Iteration 01

4 Inputs + Quotation

Structured the quotation flow around standardized inputs. 4 fields to create a quote. Integrated automated pricing logic directly into the workflow with chip-based vehicle selection.

Users had full freedom to add additional charges as needed.

User Feedback

  • For a single quotation, users need to calculate for up to 10 trucks based on cargo type.

  • For the calculation they use mental model like fixed and variable costs to tweak the margin.

  • They would check the map routes for quickest way.

Used progressive disclosure

4 Input fields for creating quotation.

Auto-calculated everything else behind the scenes (distance, fuel, toll, bata). Control and freedom for adding any other charges.

Iteration 02

Fixing Layout for Better Scan.

Based on the feedback, the necessary data has been included.

Design Observation

Explored multiple layouts and patterns for this rapid design decision making task. then delivered the final design.

This design has some issues, the trucks displayed as chips which works for a fewer but becomes pain point when handling multiple trucks (up to 10 or more).

The list selector is suitable for displaying multiple trucks, but considering other elements the eye recognition pattern seems chaotic.

Final Design

Pricing Flexibility Without Repetitive Calculation

The final solution preserved full pricing flexibility while eliminating every repetitive calculation. Progressive disclosure surfaces only what's needed at each step. All values are auto-calculated behind the scenes.

Users retain freedom to tweak margins, add custom charges, and compare across truck types.

Final Outcome

Average quote time reduced from 25 minutes → 60 seconds. Native WhatsApp sharing and PDF export built in. Save-as-template for recurring routes.

Measurable Impact

Across Large Property Implementations

Before

25 Minutes

per quotation, manually calculated across multiple sources with rough guesses and no records

After

10×

Faster quote creation speed

+20%

Potential business recovered from slow response

60 Seconds

Structured, accurate, shareable generated automatically with live pricing data.

Reflection

Workflow Speed Problems are Often Business Problems

This project reinforced that the most impactful design interventions aren't always the most visible ones. Replacing a mental process a series of lookups, calculations and guesses with a structured system is rarely about the UI. It's about understanding how decisions actually happen in the real world, then making them effortless.

"Operational platforms scale when decision logic moves from people to systems."

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"Takes 30 seconds. I read every response."

This measures your curiosity!
00:00
Not all who wander are lost.

Hit me up if you’re looking for a fast, reliable Product designer.

Reach me out here

balarengamk@gmail.com

+91 6382635487

Updated March 2026

This measures your curiosity!
00:00
Not all who wander are lost.

Hit me up if you’re looking for a fast, reliable Product designer.

Reach me out here

balarengamk@gmail.com

+91 6382635487

Updated March 2026

This measures your curiosity!
00:00
Not all who wander are lost.

Hit me up if you’re looking for a fast, reliable Product designer.

Reach me out here

balarengamk@gmail.com

+91 6382635487

Updated March 2026

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