Transforming the Carrier Experience
In 2018, Arrive Logistics, a fast-growing Austin startup was valued at over $100 million and preparing for acceleration. Backed by Series C funding and later to Series D in 2022, they set out to modernize the carrier experience.
How Might We Redefine Freight Solutions
I joined Arrive Logistics as part of the first-ever UX team integrated into the product org. With no freight experience and just a week of training, I was assigned to the Carrier team. This chronicle highlights how I partnered with a product manager and engineers to rethink how carriers engaged with Arrive’s services. As a senior design leader, I’ve learned the most impactful work comes from leading through influence.
Understanding the Carrier Journey
During a shipment’s lifecycle, Customer Representatives focus on the sales side of the process. Their role is all about building relationships, negotiating rates, and securing shipments for the business. They’re the ones bringing the load to the table.
Once the deal is made, the focus shifts to Carrier Representatives, who take the reins to ensure the shipment moves efficiently from point A to point B. Their work revolves around managing logistics, coordinating with carriers, and addressing any issues that arise along the way.
Historically, carriers lacked direct visibility into Arrive's available freight, relying on Carrier Reps to relay options and book loads over the phone. To bridge this gap and design a solution that put carriers in control, I shadowed Carrier Reps monthly, observing how they used Accelerate (XLR8) to manage these interactions. This research gave me insights into the workflow, challenges, and opportunities to build a portal that empowered carriers to find, evaluate, and book loads independently.
As I dug deeper, it became clear how interconnected Carrier Reps and Customer Reps are to the freight lifecycle. Customer Reps focus on securing loads from shippers, while Carrier Reps ensure those loads are covered by matching them with reliable carriers.
For example, both roles technically had the ability to accept load offers in the system, but in practice, only Carrier Reps owned that responsibility. This overlap wasn’t just inefficient it showed up most clearly in the negotiation process, where juggling responsibilities could slow things down and add unnecessary friction.
(Offer Countered workflow)
Building from Zero to One
In the early days of Edge, what eventually became ArriveNow, it was easy for a project this big to get crowded. Whiteboarding sessions often turned into debates, with ideas flying in every direction. To move forward, we needed focus a way to cut through the noise and prioritize what mattered most.
Part of that focus was branding Edge, a task I led. But later, during a legal review, we learned that "Edge" wasn’t copyrightable. This meant the Carrier Portal needed a fresh identity, a task that was eventually picked up by Arrive’s marketing team as the project evolved.
Using low-fidelity wireframes and quick prototypes, I helped the team zero in on what mattered: clarity for carriers. A simple wireframe for carrier emails, for example, cut through the noise. It helped us decide how to communicate updates clearly and consistently, avoiding unnecessary confusion.
When semantics mattered, I became the voice of UX writing, ensuring language aligned with the product’s core principles; bold, approachable, straightforward, on your side, and strategic. By the time we reached the beta launch, the branding and writing reflected those principles.
Early prototypes, aligned messaging, and decisive collaboration were what turned Edge into ArriveNow, a product that worked for carriers and worked for the business.
Search Scenarios
From the homepage, which served as a gateway to the "Find Loads" page, carriers could initially search for loads by location, date, and equipment using a prominent search bar or revisit recent searches. However, user behavior revealed that 47% of carriers bypassed the homepage search, heading directly to the "Find Loads" page for its advanced filters, like specialty, weight, price, and stops that better met their needs.
This insight came from tracking events placed throughout the portal, including the homepage, "Find Loads" page, and key search inputs. The data painted a clear picture of how carriers navigated the platform and what features they prioritized. Based on these findings, I advocated for replacing recent searches on the homepage with personalized load matches, tailoring the experience to carrier preferences. (More details on load matches are covered later in this case study.)
These changes redefined the homepage’s role, transforming it into a key hub for load discovery and actionable insights, giving carriers faster access to the loads that mattered most.
Despite the data indicating certain filters were less frequently used, we chose to retain them. These options, while not as popular, proved valuable for specific carrier segments, ensuring the platform remained inclusive and flexible to accommodate varying needs. This balance between data-driven decisions and user inclusivity reinforced the portal’s ability to serve a broad range of carriers effectively.
Load Detail and Load Board Interactions
Carriers could access Load Details in two ways: a quick look through an expandable drawer for condensed information, or by clicking a link to view the full details page available from both the drawer and the My Loads page.
From the start, we knew the load board would be the centerpiece of the Carrier Portal. It’s where carriers would land after searching, and we couldn’t afford to get this wrong. Early whiteboarding sessions made it clear, carriers needed a way to scan and assess loads fast without losing their place.
That’s where the expandable drawer design came in. It let carriers flip through load options quickly, pulling up key details like rates, equipment requirements, and pickup times without breaking their flow. It was efficient, clean, and kept them focused on finding the right load.
But the real challenge came with load availability. Not every load was created equal. Some were ready to Book Instantly, others required carriers to Make an Offer, and some still needed them to Contact a Rep directly. These options weren’t arbitrary, they depended on customer requirements like rate negotiations, a carriers insurance expiring soon, or specific equipment needs. Balancing these factors was critical to delivering a load board that worked for every carrier, no matter the situation.
Adapting Tools for a Growing Team
Before the next stage of the project, we made a big shift: moving from Sketch and Abstract to Figma. At the time, Abstract was our go-to version control system, helping us manage Sketch files, branch ideas, and keep designs organized across the team. But as the team grew and workflows became more complex, it was clear Abstract wasn’t keeping up.
Switching to Figma changed how we worked, opening new conversations with engineering. During the redesign of the drawer and side rail, my engineering partner and I identified opportunities to simplify the legacy system. The result? A cleaner design that cut two-thirds of the source code, saving both time and complexity.
Future Proofing Booking Automation
When carriers identified a load that fit their needs, they could:
Book It Instantly, skipping the need for a carrier rep.
Negotiate, working with a live carrier rep to finalize terms.
Contact Rep, connecting directly with a live carrier rep to address specific requirements or resolve questions before proceeding.
These actions were embedded as components within our design framework, appearing in the load drawer on the Find Loads page and the side rail on the Load Overview page.
When we started designing the bidding process, it became clear to me this wasn’t just about adding a new feature it was about rethinking how carriers interacted with the portal and internal system entirely. The idea of real-time bidding added a layer of complexity that needed to be handled with care. Each load came with its own status like pending, in negotiation, or on hold. These weren’t just UI labels; they reflected real business scenarios, from fine-tuning rates to addressing insurance or equipment requirements.
Early on, we ran into a language problem: much of the initial design felt written for carrier reps, not carriers. Terms and workflows mirrored what reps used internally, but carriers didn’t speak that way. I pushed for a shift to a carrier-first perspective, which required collaboration across teams. To make it happen, I worked closely with design, product, and engineering leadership to get everyone aligned on the opportunity.
With leadership buy-in, I pushed past the original scope to refine the drawer and side rail. These components didn’t just handle status variants they became the foundation for a system that could scale. Clear UX writing, carrier-friendly terminology, and a flexible structure future-proofed the design without overcomplicating it.
Accessibility was a key focus as well. These updates ensured that all users, including those relying on assistive technology, could navigate and act confidently. (For more on how we tackled accessibility across the system, check out the Design Language System case study.)
And once a load was booked or an offer was made, carriers could head to My Loads or My Offers, where all their active, completed, and pending shipments or negotiations were neatly organized and ready for the next step.
Personalized Load Matches
One of the most impactful features I worked on was introducing personalized load matches on the Carrier Portal homepage. The goal was to surface relevant opportunities earlier in a carrier’s search journey, but this posed a challenge, it risked disrupting their trusted “find loads” workflow, which carriers relied on to search for available loads.
Rather than guessing or introducing friction, I advocated for a test-and-learn approach. Collaborating closely with my product manager, we tested the feature to understand how carriers responded to seeing matches earlier in their journey.
A key question emerged during this process: how much information does a carrier need to confidently book a load? This sparked frequent debate. To address it, I pushed for a design that balanced concise, actionable data with enough context to support decision-making, ensuring clarity without overwhelming the user.
The result? A thoughtfully designed feature that integrated personalized load matches with just enough detail to engage carriers while subtly introducing new business features. Testing confirmed its value, providing insights to refine and scale the solution all while enhancing the carrier’s experience at a critical touchpoint.
Turning Data into Opportunities for Carriers
Freight Eagles started as a Hackweek idea a concept designed to surface hot zones and markets for carriers by clustering regions with higher-than-average freight demand. The goal was simple: give carriers a clear view of where the opportunities were, making it easier for them to position their trucks and capitalize on high-value loads.
The idea wasn’t just a hit; it won Hackweek back-to-back years, earning recognition and excitement across teams. While Hackweek winning projects were supposed to make their way onto the new year’s roadmap, Freight Eagles never did. It’s bittersweet, knowing this feature never came to life during my tenure, despite the potential it held to elevate the carrier experience and support business goals alike.
Freight Eagles would have been a game-changer for carriers, helping them make smarter decisions in real-time. The concept revolved around clustering, a method of visually grouping regions where market demand was highest. For carriers searching for loads, these “hot zones” acted like a spotlight, guiding them toward areas with the most earning potential. By adding this level of insight, we could’ve gone beyond basic load discovery to deliver strategic freight insights essentially making the portal a must-have tool in their day-to-day operations.
What made this idea so exciting wasn’t just the visual appeal or the data it was what it meant for carriers. Freight Eagles would’ve allowed them to say, “Where’s the demand? Where should I be heading next? What opportunities am I missing?” Instead of guessing where the market was hot, they’d have a clear, actionable map highlighting the best opportunities in real time. It wasn’t just about finding freight; it was about staying ahead of the game and making smarter decisions to maximize their bottom line.
While it’s bittersweet that this feature didn’t make it past Hackweek during my time, I take pride in knowing the concept sparked excitement and showcased the value of focusing on business-driven features. It’s a reminder that great ideas can still soar, even if their wings don’t fully spread while you’re there.
Reflection on Building the Carrier Portal
Let me walk you through the Carrier Portal project. It wasn’t just a product, it was a transformation. By enabling carriers to book loads instantly, we freed up carrier reps to focus on more strategic tasks, like onboarding new carriers and strengthening relationships. This shift didn’t just optimize workflows it drove measurable success.
Automated a carrier portal, increasing digital bookings by 400% in three years.
Helped grow small cohort carrier adoption from 0 to 52,000 through strategic sales features powered by machine learning and data analytics.
Small cohort carriers grew from 20% to 40% of total carrier cohort sales in two years.
Doubled sales productivity, improving efficiency and processes by 100%.
Loads booked through the portal achieved up to a 25% higher spread, driving more value for the business.
Contributed to a 90-million-kg (200-million-pound) CO2 reduction in 2022 by cutting down on deadhead miles.
This project wasn’t just about designing a platform. It was about understanding the people who rely on it, carriers managing their day-to-day operations and reps managing relationships. Every design decision aimed to simplify their workflows and give them the tools to thrive.
And none of this would have been possible without collaboration. From brainstorming sessions to late-night builds, our team brought energy, creativity, and a shared drive to move this product forward. The photo accompanying this story captures us celebrating at a work event, but it’s also a reminder of the fun and collaboration that made this project so rewarding.
The Carrier Portal is a testament to what’s possible when design, user needs, and business goals align.