Optimizing Plasma Shipment & BOL Creation for Redvera Pharma
Role:
Deliverables:
Redvera Pharma was using a legacy, paper-based system for managing plasma shipments, requiring staff to manually create Bills of Lading (BOLs) every Monday before pickup. This often meant sacrificing weekends, leading to fatigue, time loss, and high risk of compliance errors. The outdated workflow lacked real-time tracking and standardization. In this case study, I redesigned the process by introducing automation, streamlined user flows, and audit-ready digital solutions—reducing BOL creation time by up to 80% while improving accuracy and user satisfaction.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Outdated BOL workflows costs 25+ hours weekly
Redvera Pharma’s logistics team was burdened by a legacy BOL (Bill of Lading) process that relied heavily on manual data entry, paper-based templates, and disconnected communication channels. Every Monday, planners were spending long hours compiling plasma shipment data, often sacrificing weekends to meet deadlines. The lack of real-time visibility, standardized formats, and alert systems posed compliance risks and operational delays, creating an urgent need for automation, standardization, and a scalable digital solution.
⚠️ Every week, Redvera loses 3 full workdays to a broken BOL process — automation isn’t a choice, it’s a necessity.
“Hearing how weekends were being sacrificed just to get shipments out made me realize this wasn’t just a workflow issue — it was a people issue.”
UX STRATEGY/DESIGN GOALS
From Manual Bottlenecks to Scalable UX
Defined measurable goals based on pain points — focusing on automation, error reduction, and user workload improvement.
UX Process
I followed the Double Diamond process to structure this project — starting with stakeholder workshops and field research to define the core problem, followed by ideation, prototyping, and iterative testing to craft an efficient BOL creation solution.
“Initially, I underestimated the complexity across 50 centers. Setting clear, measurable goals helped align everyone from logistics to compliance.”
DISCOVERY
Discovering user pain points
Conducted stakeholder workshops and contextual inquiry to uncover user frustrations, inefficiencies, and process gaps.
UX Workshop
Conducted 3-day stakeholder workshop
Roles interviewed:
Logistics Managers,
Center Coordinators,
Freight Forwarders
Research
Process observations + industry regulations (FDA/EMA) review
Interview Goals
To understand the daily workflows, bottlenecks, and expectations of users involved in plasma shipment and BOL creation, I conducted 1:1 interviews with:
Samantha Lee – Logistics Planner
Michael Hernandez – Center Coordinator
DEFINE
Empathizing with Our Users
“Interviews with key stakeholders provided valuable insights that helped refine our initial personas and deepen our empathy for the users. As new information emerged throughout the process, I continuously updated the personas to reflect evolving user needs.”
Personas
User Journey map
This user journey map visualizes the current experience of our primary stakeholders—Samantha (Logistics Planner) and Michael (Center Coordinator)—during the BOL creation and plasma shipment process. It highlights key actions, pain points, emotions, and opportunities across various stages, from shipment preparation to handoff. This helped us uncover critical moments of friction and identify areas for meaningful design intervention and automation.
“Conducting stakeholder interviews remotely taught me how to read between the lines — many pain points weren’t spoken directly, but reflected in their day-to-day routines.”
SYTHESIS
Affinity diagram
After conducting user interviews, stakeholder workshops and persona creation, I used an Affinity Diagram to cluster recurring pain points and surface key themes. This method helped make sense of unstructured feedback and align design decisions with user needs and operational goals.
- ❗ No real-time plasma visibility
- ❗ Inconsistent BOL templates
- ❗ Manual data entry and compliance risk
- ❗ Missing alerts and notifications
“During the interviews, what really stayed with me was how casually users mentioned working late every Sunday. It wasn’t part of their job description — it had just become a routine. That quiet stress made me realize the design challenge wasn’t just about speed or accuracy — it was about giving people their weekends back.”
MVP
MVP Feature strategy
- Auto-fill BOL (Part No., Consignee, Consignee ID)
- Schedule BOL creation based on center calendar
- Group plasma boxes by type & destination
- Notifications to centers post-BOL generation
- Manual override for shipment planner (when needed)
“One feature — the BOL auto-fill — came from an offhand comment in a workshop. It reminded me to always listen for hidden needs, not just explicit ones.”
TASK FLOW
User scenarios & Task flow
“Mapping the existing user flow helped me understand just how many workarounds users had created to deal with system gaps. It wasn’t just about designing a cleaner flow — it was about respecting the real paths people had been forced to take, and carefully crafting something better.”