Service Design · 2012
Fixpert — Delivery Plus
Delivery Plus is a service design project built within the Fixperts framework — a global initiative that encourages people to use creative thinking to improve everyday life.
Alibaba and the Chinese Shipping Industry
One of the challenges for Chinese e-commerce companies — Alibaba being the largest — is that while some consolidation has come lately, the Chinese shipping industry is still fragmented into lots of small companies that ferociously compete to undercut each other on price, and timeliness and package care often suffer. Delivering packages to campus with high daily order volumes lacks a predefined service system, leaving employees to improvise their own solutions. Better-defined services at campus distribution points could dramatically increase satisfaction and foster customer loyalty.
The Old System
All packages were centralized at an open area on campus and delivery personnel would send text messages asking customers to come pick up their packages. Items were separated into two groups based on recipient name length — those with two characters versus three characters. Last names were written on packages, though this method remained difficult to read due to repetitive Chinese surnames and poor handwriting under time pressure.
The New System
The redesigned approach substitutes numbers for written Chinese characters — using the last two digits of a mobile number, giving only a 1% chance of repetition in 100 packages. Three piles organize shipments: Left (00–39), Middle (40–69), Right (70–99). This simple numeric convention required zero learning curve for customers and dramatically reduced retrieval time for delivery personnel.
Implementation
Stainless steel signage measuring approximately 30cm × 60cm, bent at 45 degrees, provides durability across weather conditions. Paper labels displaying number ranges in large font adhere to the metal surfaces with protective tape against moisture and dirt. This material is cheap, durable for any weather condition, and strong enough for many years of daily use. The system was deployed with Fan Zhao from Yuantong Express and immediately reduced the time customers spent locating their packages.
Project Film
The project was documented as part of the Fixperts open-source film library — a growing archive of stories that captures designers and everyday people solving real problems for real people.