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Currently Global Speciality Fulfillment (GSF) and Amazon Heavy & Bulky (AMZL) business units leverage a process called return-to-station (RTS) to intake undelivered packages from Flex drivers. The reasons for packages being marked as undeliverable is broad, ranging from minors attempting to receive alcohol to safety concerns at the delivery location. Under the roof, the RTS process requires dedicated staffing to intake driver returns, which leads to long wait times and prolonged package redelivery attempts. At scale, this amounts to a substantial amount of interactions as 3.4% of the 13M+ total weekly package volume requires Return to Station (RTS).
Prior to the REK Designing Thinking Workshop, the team was aware of several known user experience pain points concerning the RTS process, particularly those affecting drivers. Namely, when a driver encounters an undeliverable package on their final route of the evening, there is often not enough time remaining to return the package to the site prior to site closure. The current standard of practice instructs drivers to store the package in their vehicle overnight and return it by 10am the next day. This forces drivers to make an unplanned visit to the site the following day (a trip that they are not compensated for) or risk a mark against their driver eligibility record. The Voice of Driver scorecard indicated that 12% of all driver submissions were related to the lack of formal process for overnight package returns.
The Return Experience Kiosk (REK) is an intelligent package return drop box at designated Fulfillment Centers (FCs). REK gives Flex drivers the autonomy to conduct RTS package returns as part of a self-service model that does not require associate assistance. With REK, drivers can make returns throughout the day, or overnight, with the peace of mind that comes from using a safe and secured locker.
A design thinking workshop is a proven method used to quickly define and solve problems. It’s a collaborative process that helps to build a shared understanding of the problem, tap into each participant’s knowledge, generate new (and sometimes crazy) ideas, and define solutions. It’s also a great opportunity to have a little fun, bond, break silos, and take ownership of turning an idea into a reality. In the case of REK, it was an intersection of planning, procurement, software, and hardware domains. Our workshop took the group through the five stages shown below:
The SCAR-X team was tasked with creating an optimal package return experience for drivers, associates, and managers. While the team needed to be mindful of the technical constraints, internal team dependencies, and existing processes, it also wanted to take the opportunity to "think big" and consider the long term aspirations and impact that a delightful package returns experience could bring to these customer groups, and others.
In this stage, it helps the team understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference, that is, the capacity to place oneself in another’s position. This will help the team understand our customers, what they are trying to achieve, what drives them and what challenges they face in the process. Our team started by conducting user interviews to understand our customers’ pain points. The empathize stage was completed before the design workshop.
The team interviewed 5 participants using a semi-structured interview format. The interviews took place virtually and all sessions were recorded. Demographically, participants had an average Flex driver experience of 3 to 5 years, worked across multiple Amazon business lines (Sub-Same Day, AMZL, Whole Foods, and Amazon Fresh), and all had experiences with the existing returns process. For their time, participants were compensated with an Amazon gift card.
The team also held informal discussions with associates and area managers at SWA1 in Renton, WA to get their perspective on the current return process.
Prior to the workshop, the team organized problems faced by users in the interviews into themes. In total, seven overarching themes were identified:
Process