From paper to platform: saving $100,000 a month — more than $1.2M annually — by tracking what was hiding in plain sight
INDUSTRY
Consumer Goods, Logistics
YEAR
2019
Platform
Web (internal tool), Mobile (QR scanning)
Problem
Unilever Argentina buys around 15,000 new pallets every month to package and ship products across 27 brands nationwide. Products and shipments were tracked — but the pallets carrying them weren't. No traceability meant pallets regularly went missing or were stolen, quietly adding up to significant losses every month.
Unilever Argentina buys around 15,000 new pallets every month to package and ship products across 27 brands nationwide. Products and shipments were tracked — but the pallets carrying them weren't. No traceability meant pallets regularly went missing or were stolen, quietly adding up to significant losses every month.
Solution
An internal platform that gave the company full visibility over its pallet lifecycle — from the moment a pallet leaves the warehouse to when it's returned. It covered stock monitoring with external partners, movement and status tracking, and automated alerts for outstanding debts.
An internal platform that gave the company full visibility over its pallet lifecycle — from the moment a pallet leaves the warehouse to when it's returned. It covered stock monitoring with external partners, movement and status tracking, and automated alerts for outstanding debts.
Discovery: Mapping the operation
During the first month, we ran design thinking workshops and interviews with distribution center staff, administrative teams, and key partners — pallet builders and truck drivers — to map the full operation end to end. Getting all those roles in the same room revealed where the process actually broke down, which wasn't always where the client expected. From there, we built the platform's foundation to support a data-heavy environment from day one.
During the first month, we ran design thinking workshops and interviews with distribution center staff, administrative teams, and key partners — pallet builders and truck drivers — to map the full operation end to end. Getting all those roles in the same room revealed where the process actually broke down, which wasn't always where the client expected. From there, we built the platform's foundation to support a data-heavy environment from day one.
Building it: Design and integration
The platform integrated with SAP, unifying processes that had previously lived across paper documents, phone calls, and disconnected systems. The interface tracks pallets from dispatch through return, giving admin staff clear visibility of ownership and outstanding debt at any point in the cycle.
A key addition was QR code scanning for truck drivers — letting them log pallet information directly from their phones, eliminating manual entry and the errors that came with it.
The platform integrated with SAP, unifying processes that had previously lived across paper documents, phone calls, and disconnected systems. The interface tracks pallets from dispatch through return, giving admin staff clear visibility of ownership and outstanding debt at any point in the cycle.
A key addition was QR code scanning for truck drivers — letting them log pallet information directly from their phones, eliminating manual entry and the errors that came with it.
The platform integrated with SAP, unifying processes that had previously lived across paper documents, phone calls, and disconnected systems. The interface tracks pallets from dispatch through return, giving admin staff clear visibility of ownership and outstanding debt at any point in the cycle.
A key addition was QR code scanning for truck drivers — letting them log pallet information directly from their phones, eliminating manual entry and the errors that came with it.
Monitor changes
When an external supplier modifies a trip, the system triggers an alert at one of two severity levels — medium (yellow) or high (red) — so nothing slips through unnoticed.
Monitor changes
When an external supplier modifies a trip, the system triggers an alert at one of two severity levels — medium (yellow) or high (red) — so nothing slips through unnoticed.
Monitor changes
When an external supplier modifies a trip, the system triggers an alert at one of two severity levels — medium (yellow) or high (red) — so nothing slips through unnoticed.
Monitor changes
When an external supplier modifies a trip, the system triggers an alert at one of two severity levels — medium (yellow) or high (red) — so nothing slips through unnoticed.
Update tariffs by supplier
With Argentina's inflation changing month to month, pallet prices needed to stay current. We made tariffs editable per pallet type and customizable per supplier, so the platform reflected real costs at all times.
Update tariffs by supplier
With Argentina's inflation changing month to month, pallet prices needed to stay current. We made tariffs editable per pallet type and customizable per supplier, so the platform reflected real costs at all times.
Update tariff of each type of pallet
and customize by supplier
We added this feature fue that in the last years inflation in Argentina varied a % each month making prices for pallets increase.
Update tariffs by supplier
With Argentina's inflation changing month to month, pallet prices needed to stay current. We made tariffs editable per pallet type and customizable per supplier, so the platform reflected real costs at all times.
Impact
The platform shipped at the start of 2020 and generated estimated savings of over $100,000 USD per month — more than $1.2M annually — by eliminating losses from missing pallets, disputed debts, and manual errors.
The platform shipped at the start of 2020 and generated estimated savings of over $100,000 USD per month — more than $1.2M annually — by eliminating losses from missing pallets, disputed debts, and manual errors.
Project details
Team
Discovery: UX Lead, 1 UX Designer, 1 UX/UI Designer
Delivery: Service Delivery Manager, Project Manager, Business Analyst, 1 UX/UI Designer (me), 2 Software Engineers, 1 QA Engineer
Duration
1 month discovery
1 month UX/UI
5 months development and QA
My role
Sole designer during delivery; facilitator and designer during discovery.
Team
Discovery: UX Lead, 1 UX Designer, 1 UX/UI Designer
Delivery: Service Delivery Manager, Project Manager, Business Analyst, 1 UX/UI Designer (me), 2 Software Engineers, 1 QA Engineer
Duration
1 month discovery
1 month UX/UI
5 months development and QA
My role
Sole designer during delivery; facilitator and designer during discovery.