Project Context: This project is a speculative design exercise addressing disruption communication in global logistics. Using DP World’s operational context as an industry benchmark, I created this case study based on public information and sector research. The concepts and visuals presented are not commissioned or endorsed by DP World.
Portfolio Case Study: Real-Time Disruption Management in Global Logistics
Executive Summary
Logistics and port operations are highly vulnerable to disruption, whether due to equipment failure, weather, or supply chain breakdowns. Clear, actionable, and timely communication can mitigate lost revenues, operational inefficiencies, and reputational damage.
This project reimagines disruption management workflows for a global logistics leader, focusing on detection, coordination, and transparent action tracking- all within a unified, digital platform.
Problem Framing:
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Fragmented communication: Stakeholders (buyers, sellers, port authorities, freight forwarders, and operations staff) rely on disparate tools, leading to information silos, duplicated efforts, and delayed responses.
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Business risks: Lost shipping windows, costly rerouting, dissatisfied clients, and inefficiency.
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User frustrations: Constant firefighting and lack of trust in digital systems.
My focus was to develop a unified solution that:
My Assumptions
This project operates on the basis of practical logistics workflows, addressing real behaviors and operational responsibilities experienced by all actors within a global logistics context.
To ensure the solution is both practical and scalable, the following working assumptions have been defined. These form the foundation for system design, feature logic, and stakeholder workflows throughout the case study.
User Personas
Five key personas were developed, each with grounded real-world roles and pain points:
Competitor Research & Analysis
This analysis compares Cargoo, CargoWise (by WiseTech Global), and Freightify: three notable digital logistics platforms- with DP World’s current operational structure.
SWOT Analysis Table
As digital platforms reshape the logistics space, understanding each solution’s strengths and risks becomes critical. This SWOT analysis highlights the key capabilities and gaps of Cargoo, CargoWise (WiseTech Global), and Freightify, helping benchmark how DP World can evolve its digital operations.
Customer Journey Maps
Mapped out the end-to-end customer flow for each persona, phases including: Awareness, Consideration, Action, Usage, Feedback.
Visual timelines reflect both digital touchpoints (in-app notifications, dashboards) and analog steps (calls, emails), highlighting pain points and opportunities.
Information Architechture
This Information Architecture defines the structural blueprint for five key pages: Dashboard, Port Operations, Shipments, Notifications, and Insights & Reports. It ensures each module is logically organized to match real-world logistics workflows, enabling users to navigate seamlessly, access critical information quickly, and stay aligned across global teams. The layout balances clarity and functionality, supporting proactive decision-making and system scalability.
Challenges and Solutions
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Challenge: Users had deeply ingrained habits (email/phone) and were skeptical about “yet another tool."
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Solution: I embedded direct stakeholder input early and stress-tested designs with real user stories, ensuring new patterns mirrored their natural workflows.
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Challenge: Too many notifications (alert fatigue) or missed critical exceptions.
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Solution: Introduced configurable notification settings, clear prioritization, and summary dashboards- never just raw alerts, but meaningful, actionable cues.
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Wireframing
These early wireframes focus on layout, structure, and user flows, not visual design.
They helped quickly validate core functionality, navigation, and content hierarchy across key screens.
Each layout reflects user needs identified through personas and journey mapping, ensuring clarity, speed, and relevance in high-pressure logistics environments.
Visual Designs: Final Output
The high-fidelity mockups represent the final visual direction, incorporating brand colors, typography, and UI elements. They are tailored for clarity, urgency, and trust, ensuring intuitive workflows for logistics stakeholders. Each design aligns closely with the user journey and improves real-world task execution, from tracking shipments to coordinating disruptions.
This screen serves as the central command center for users to gain situational awareness across all ports and shipments. It displays key performance indicators such as active shipments, delayed vessels, congested ports, and handover mismatches.
An interactive world map highlights real-time port statuses using color-coded pins, while recent updates, alerts, and quick action buttons help users respond promptly to operational events.
The Port Operations screen enables terminal managers to monitor and manage berth assignments, crane schedules, and yard flow with ease.
It visualizes live vessel movement at individual ports and provides insights into current congestion levels or resource delays. Critical alerts are surfaced prominently, allowing teams to adjust operations in real-time and maintain throughput efficiency.
Designed to offer shipment-level transparency, this screen lists all ongoing shipments with detailed statuses and progress indicators. Users can track ETA, documentation status, and alert flags at a glance.
Powerful filtering options allow users to drill down by buyer, port, or delay type, helping streamline coordination across the supply chain.
This view presents a summarized log of all system alerts and operational notifications across the platform. It categorizes alerts by shipment, vessel, or port and allows users to filter and prioritize by severity (e.g., High, Medium, Low).
This screen is designed to help users monitor high volumes of activity and identify critical issues needing immediate attention.
This detailed notification screen focuses on individual events, showing full context including shipment details, associated actions, and resolution timelines. It supports assigning owners, tracking response steps, and marking status updates, enabling a more structured incident management flow.
The Message Center facilitates real-time, contextual communication among stakeholders like buyers, freight forwarders, and port staff. Each conversation is tied to a specific container or shipment, with system updates (e.g., ETA changes) auto-logged in the chat.
Users can notify all stakeholders, export threads, or schedule meetings- all from within the same interface- to ensure alignment when incidents like delays occur.
