GreenPal

System Design Concept & App - Toyota Logistic Design Competition 2024
GreenPal

Project Overview

Project Duration

4 Months: September – December 2023

The Problem

The Toyota Logistic Design competition wanted designers to come up with ideas for how circular economy principles can be applied to logistics. 

The Goal

The challenge is to reimagine pallets, making them more sustainable, while also exploring how an innovative pallet tracking system could influence and improve the entire shipping process

My Role

All UX Design roles in a product design process and the design of the system

Responsibilities

Empathizing, Research & Interviews, Wireframing & App/System Design

Tools

Miro, Figma, Blender

USER RESEARCH REVEALED THAT…

Every day, pallets play a crucial role in global transportation of goods.

There are major logistical challenges and unsustainable waste associated with the pallet solutions in logistics today.

Research Revealed Three Major Pain Points..

Recycling

Current pallets pose recycling challenges, especially wooden ones with nails that must be removed before recycling. Other types of pallets face difficulties reaching recycling facilities, leading to increased waste and environmental strain.

Weight

Modern pallets are excessively heavy, causing logistical inefficiencies and increasing transportation costs.

Disputes

Current pallets contribute to ownership disputes due to a lack of standardized tracking systems, leading to logistical delays and increased operational costs.

How This Came To Light

Research

Insight into how the logistics industry worked, so desktop research on the topic was performed.

Field insight

Research lead us to understand how complex the logistic industry is, so the group needed to talk with professionals in the field. This way, the group could piece everything together and look deeper into real issues the user group experienced

User Group

By contacting professionals in the logistics industry, these were some insights:

1. Most Factories today outsource transportation of goods to other companies working only in the logistics area.

2. There are four parts: The manufacturer, the forward agency, the drivers and the costumer.

Todays System

After the research was done, the system of today got mapped out.

Todays System

PESTEL-Analysis

PESTEL

Materials

other materials

Corrugated cardboard Pallets: Advantages and disadvantages

Cardboard advantages and disadvantages

Pallet Manufacturing

Introducing GreenPal Corrugated Cardboard Pallets – a more durable, easily transportable, and eco-friendly alternative to traditional wooden pallets.

The highly recyclable nature of cardboard will not only improve the sustainability of pallets, but also lower their costs.

The pallets offer enhanced customisation over other pallets, allowing you to configure your own designs and feature your company’s brand and logos without hurting recyclability.

Each pallet is equipped with QR codes for convenient scanning using the dedicated GreenPal app.


GreenPal Application

With the GreenPal app, managing the lifecycle of companies GreenPal pallets becomes effortless. Once a company profile is set up, registering the new GreenPal pallets are a breeze – simply scan the QR codes using the app.

When a GreenPal pallet reaches its end-of-life, another quick QR code scan notifies owners of its expiration, suggesting a replacement. Companies can gain insights into their recycling contributions and identify other pallet owners.


Incentive to become part of the system: GreenPal Certification:

Attaining GreenPal Certification transforms companies into a vital partner within a larger community network. This emblem serves as a visible testament to companies ongoing environmental commitment, persisting as long as they continue their contributions.

Everyone involved plays a crucial role in the system, and will be rewarded by getting every pallet that gets sent to recycling counted, creating a collective commitment to sustainability.

The emblem will renew after each period of activity. They can download this emblem through the app and showcase it on their website.


Future System:

Future-system

Future Business Model

Future-business-model

The Concept

App High-Fidelity Prototype

GreenPal App

Future System Pitch:

Takeaways

Impact

If the project would be further developed, it could have a significant impact on the environment. It would encourage recycling by offering incentives to individuals and businesses, fostering a sustainable approach to pallet management. It would also help companies adopt greener practices in pallet management, contributing to a more environmentally responsible corporate image.

What I Learned

I learnt a lot during this project. This project made me further develop my skills in designing, especially focusing on system design in this project. I also learned a lot about how to design for sustainability, give incentives for companies to adopt greener practices for the future.

Thank you for reading my case study!