How might we automate, optimize & mobilize the refined oil transportation processes?
How might we automate, optimize & mobilize the refined oil transportation processes?
Magellan Swift: Integrated software suite for automating and optimizing refined product businesses
Magellan Swift: Integrated software suite for automating and optimizing refined product businesses
Magellan’s Swift software suite aimed to improve their legacy ATLAS system. The Kin + Carta team provided their customers and clients with improved, automated and modernized ways (mobile) to manage several key aspects of the crude and refined oil transportation industry, including product transfer orders, authorizations and sequencing, inventory and reporting, reconsignments, and terminal information.
Client
Magellan Midstream Partners
(Acquired by ONEOK )
Sector
Agency
Challenge
Magellan’s customers need an updated system to manage and automate their refined product businesses while largely on-the-go.
My Role(s)
UX Design, User Research & Testing, Data Synthesis, Prototyping, Client Demos
Project Objective
Magellan needed an upgrade to their legacy ATLAS system, which guided customers through their fuel supply chain. It was outdated and difficult to use, causing multiple order errors, with little room for automation and ease-of-use. We had several business goals 🚀 we needed to address:
1️⃣ Reduce errors (user or computer)
2️⃣ Provide more customer insights
3️⃣ Reduce training time
4️⃣ Mobile-friendliness (these are truckers after all – they are the most on-the-go users we could have!)
5️⃣ Optimize and automate complicated sequences
6️⃣ Provide new features
Challenges & Opportunities
📓 Niche subject area
📓 Niche subject area
The fuel supply chain is a nuanced, multi-step process involving many players, requiring extensive research from us as designers to understand it fully.
🚚 On-the-go users
🚚 On-the-go users
Truckers are, quite literally, some of the most on-the-go users, constantly transporting their products. They need a reliable, mobile-friendly app that works well in unpredictable locations and circumstances.
⌚ Real-time updating
⌚ Real-time updating
Truckers needed our system to provide real-time updates to plan efficient Terminal visits and usage.
🗺️ Vast customer use area
🗺️ Vast customer use area
Moving products across state lines required us to consider time zones and varying state laws, such as tariffs on goods.
📈 Customer insights
📈 Customer insights
We could use customer data to drive intelligent decision-making.
LEGACY ATLAS & Proposed update
The product team started by capturing screenshots and user flows through legacy Atlas, mapping out pain-points and areas for opportunities. Then, they laid out a proposed site-map for Swift.
I joined the project midway through, and picked up on a lot of the design work for the updated and new features from here.
DESIGN
👯♀️ DESIGN TEAM
Below is a curated amount of example features, to show some of the variety and scope of the project. Keep in mind that each feature has a mobile-optimized version as well. If you would like to find out more, send me an email! 📨 We’ll talk details.
Our team of designers worked closely together using Figma, Miro, and Confluence’s collaboration tools to design each of Swift’s many features and sections, including but not limited to:
Terminal Locator
This was my pride-and-joy for the entire project. I largely got to handle this feature myself, with oversight and guidance from our design lead, JB.
The Terminal Locator has an interactive 📍 map display for all terminal locations and their supply details, allowing carriers and drivers to quickly decide which locations have the products they need, as well as how far they are, and the rack wait times. Colored flags give users a quick affordance into those wait times at terminals.
You can sort by distance and wait times, and filter by location, product and additives. Access a Terminal details page that gives location-specific data such as IRS and SPLC codes, contact information, and hours of operations. Also, get customized Terminal notifications within Swift (or by text or email) to stay up-to-date while on-the-go!
Terminal Locator
This was my pride-and-joy for the entire project. I largely got to handle this feature myself, with oversight and guidance from our design lead, JB.
The Terminal Locator has an interactive 📍 map display for all terminal locations and their supply details, allowing carriers and drivers to quickly decide which locations have the products they need, as well as how far they are, and the rack wait times. Colored flags give users a quick affordance into those wait times at terminals.
You can sort by distance and wait times, and filter by location, product and additives. Access a Terminal details page that gives location-specific data such as IRS and SPLC codes, contact information, and hours of operations. Also, get customized Terminal notifications within Swift (or by text or email) to stay up-to-date while on-the-go!
Rack Wait Times
The Rack Wait Times section gives dispatchers context for where to send their drivers and gives carriers an accurate reflection of drivers’ time on task. ⌚
This feature contains sort and filter functions as well as visualizations for wait times.
It also provides performance metrics for carriers, allowing for customer insights and process optimization.
Monthly Nominations
Users can submit monthly 📅 nominations for requested amounts of oil barrels to move, automating their inventory supply. Here they can create new nominations, and view awarded, accepted and rejected nominations.
This section has multiple filter options including segment (areas along the pipeline), product grades, nomination periods, and more.
This section helped consolidate the legacy process which had previously required the customer to log in to a separate portal. Now customers can do their daily job responsibilities and work as well as plan for the future in one place.
Monthly Nominations
Users can submit monthly 📅 nominations for requested amounts of oil barrels to move, automating their inventory supply. Here they can create new nominations, and view awarded, accepted and rejected nominations.
This section has multiple filter options including segment (areas along the pipeline), product grades, nomination periods, and more.
This section helped consolidate the legacy process which had previously required the customer to log in to a separate portal. Now customers can do their daily job responsibilities and work as well as plan for the future in one place.
Inventory Dashboard
The inventory dashboard 📦 was another really challenging piece that I took on with guidance from JB. We had to find a way to organize a lot of data that would be easy to understand at a glance. We took some inspiration from exercise rings to show the breakdown of total volume of product across multiple day projections.
This view allowed users to clearly see:
1. Daily projections and their min/max and how that total is created.
2. Future days where they may be over/under their daily min/max.
No more manually downloading customer data to manipulate reporting!
Plus! Customization options to make it easier to analyze data and make decisions!
And more additional features...
💰 Tariff Analyzer
💰 Tariff Analyzer
Helps users find the specific tariffs and codes between an origin and destination point along the pipeline.
👍 Customer, Carrier, & Self Authorizations
👍 Customer, Carrier, & Self Authorizations
Dashboards that allow for the creation and management of certain authorizations – basically, allowing a product to leave Magellan’s system through a Terminal.
Sections contain detailed sort and filter options as well as multiple selection and input fields that help automate and optimize business authorizations – which include for products, carriers, suppliers, customers, and more.
🚚 Batches
🚚 Batches
Allows users to view, create, and manage shipments and distributions of product for specified grades and volumes from a determined origin. Provides real-time calculations as the user enters their barrels so the user no longer has to do the math themselves!
🚥 Trailer & Driver Status
🚥 Trailer & Driver Status
Part of the Dispatch module that allows for the detailed tracking of trailer and driver statuses. Shows product capacity, loading capabilities and access levels.
🛢️ Reconsignments
🛢️ Reconsignments
A real-time view of what type and how many barrels are able to move from one (or many) locations to another location. Simplifies the process by allowing for the selection of multiple locations at once.
💸 Subscription Plans
💸 Subscription Plans
Screens designed for the quick and easy Swift sign-up and subscription process!
✍️ Onboarding
✍️ Onboarding
Access service agreements, payments, manage users and permissions, and upload certain insurance and liability information.
Outcome
Magellan happily launched their Swift product to rousing success. 🙌
Through our initial user beta tests and then the final product launch, we were able to achieve:
