Meridian

The challenge

Meridian's founders spent a decade running delivery fleets and knew the problem first-hand: dispatchers planning dozens of routes every morning with paper maps, spreadsheets and a lot of phone calls. They needed a first version of the product that busy dispatchers would actually choose over their old routine.

The approach

As the first designer on the team, I spent time in three depots watching how dispatchers really work before sketching anything. The product grew around one screen: a live map of every route, stop and driver, with a timeline underneath.

• Drag and drop route editing, with travel times recalculated instantly
• Early warnings when a delivery window is at risk, before it is missed
• A lightweight driver app for proof of delivery and quick updates
• A small design system that let a team of four engineers ship every week

The outcome

Meridian launched with twelve pilot customers. Morning planning time dropped from around ninety minutes to twenty, and the company raised its seed round on the strength of the product.