Poor navigation.
Amazon as a company reported a 150% annual turnover rate for hourly employees - 64% for delivery drivers in 2020. Many of the reasons for this include poor wages, tough working conditions, and frustrations with the delivery process.
The current Amazon Flex delivery app makes delivering packages, especially at large scale, virtually impossible for drivers due to its frustrating user interface and inconsistencies.
Pure frustration.
To find out more, I interviewed 2 Flex drivers and 3 DSP drivers while also searching through the r/AmazonDSPDrivers subreddit with over 115,000 active Reddit users.
Key Findings:
78% of drivers wanted clearer current stop indicators
64% said they struggled to visualize delivery clusters
53% reported confusion when scanning multiple packages per stop
Almost 80% of all discussions on the r/AmazonDSPDrivers subreddit were related to map issues and overwhelming stop numbers.
User Flow
I mapped out the user flow for Flex drivers and DSP drivers to better understand the special paint points for each while also finding commonalities between the two.
Scalability
The biggest challenge at the start of a shift is organization. Drivers often feel overwhelmed by the 70 to 300 packages they receive, and this unpredictability can make or break a route.
The original itinerary and loading pages lack key details like package count, bag color, and customer names, information that is vital for efficient sorting and real-time deliveries. My first challenge was creating a system that provided drivers with the most information possible while remaining visually scalable.
I got to work.
I wireframed different variations of the pages present in the original app to see if I could come up with something different. My goal was to see how much information I could put on one screen before it became too busy. The low-fidelity wireframes really helped me carve out a lot of these pages.
A. New Intelligent Zone System
One of the most critical pain points drivers faced was inefficient package sequencing. In the original app, stops were sorted strictly by address order, which often caused unnecessary backtracking and confusion, especially when multiple stops were located in the same building or complex.
Solution:
I designed a new intelligent sorting system that:
Uses color-coded sections based on bag color to indicate delivery zones
Prioritizes current cluster visibility while dimming future clusters
Dynamically reorders stops based on real-time location and route efficiency
B. New Package Loading System
Most days, drivers don’t have time to locate the small, neutral gray overflow package numbers needed to sort their vans. The labels are often too tiny or the packages too large to easily see, leading to rushed decisions and chaotic loading.
Without visual aids or assistance from another driver, organizing a fully packed van can quickly become overwhelming
Solution:
I designed a new package sorting system that:
Adds overflow package color labels that correspond with their respective bag colors for easy sorting.
Adds a visual load-assist view to guide drivers when placing packages in the van. This is in tangent with the new overflow package labeling system.
Swaps between 'block view' and the traditional 'list view' to give drivers more flexibility during their load-out.
Delivery User Flow
The current app complicates delivery prep by spreading options across five screens, causing frustration and wasted time. Missing features like precise location, stop tracking, and key GPS settings make navigation harder, while multi-stop deliveries are confusing, especially in dense urban areas.
My challenge was to streamline all prompts into a single page and improve navigation to boost efficiency and reduce delivery times.
A. More Navigation Features
Design a more functional navigation UI with an expanded view area and enhanced GPS features, including alternate routes, precise location tracking, and accident reporting; capabilities missing from the original app.
B. Consolidated Delivery Page
Designed an all-in-one delivery interface that scans packages and prompts drivers to select the delivery location, featuring a detailed customer info dropdown. This consolidates all essential information onto a single, streamlined page.
3-Step Delivery
This consolidated delivery page allows for a simple 3-step process for every delivery. Gone are the days of tapping through a series of pages just to complete a delivery.
Dashboard & Overall User Flow
The overall user flow of the app is inconsistent and frustrating. Some tabs don’t allow you to return to your previous progress, often forcing a full app restart. There’s also no way to view your itinerary during an active delivery, making the experience feel disconnected.
The dashboard suffers from similar issues, lacking key details like shift times, upcoming offers, and a weekly calendar.
The challenge was to create a more cohesive experience by making information easily accessible, presenting important details at a glance, and streamlining the entire app interface.
A. Offers & Scheduling Dashboard
For both Flex and DSP drivers, I designed tailored dashboards to meet their specific needs. Flex drivers get instant access to their earnings, schedules, and upcoming offers, while DSP drivers can easily view their schedules and use an integrated timecard punch-in feature, eliminating the need for the separate ADP app.
B. Detailed Hamburger Menu
The hamburger menu now prioritizes essential tabs at the top and displays your total and remaining stops at a glance during an active shift.
