B2B Logistics Platform
PantosNow 1.0 —SaaS Implementation Project
The Journey to Digital Transformation— Addressing Localization and Usability Challenges in SaaS Adoption
My Role
Product Manager (Product Unit)
User Research
Product Management
Change Management
Team
Steering Committee
Product Unit (3)
Technical Unit (3)
Platform
Desktop
Mobile Web
Duration
01/2021 - 03/2022
PROJECT OVERVIEW
PantosNow was a company-wide digital transformation initiative for LX Pantos, a Korean B2B logistics company, introducing the company's first customer-facing order management system to transition core services from agent-based manual processes to a fully digital experience.
Phase 1 tested market viability with the agile adoption of a European SaaS product.
Phase 2 focused on an in-house redesign to meet user and business needs.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Why Digital Transformation Began
Organization Chart of the Steering Committee
As an affiliate of LG Corporation, LX Pantos relied heavily on its counterparts—LG Electronics, LG Display, and LG Chemicals—for a significant portion of its revenue. While these partnerships ensured stability, they highlighted a critical vulnerability: limited growth outside the LG ecosystem.
To address this vulnerability, the company set a mission to expand its clientele portfolio by growing "open accounts" (non-LG clients).
However, with limited sales resources, transitioning small to mid-sized clients online became essential. This strategy would allow account managers to focus on high-revenue clients and new sales opportunities.
A steering committee was formed to drive this DX initiative, with my team leading as the product unit, overseeing business, product strategy and user needs, and the technical unit ensuring seamless SaaS integration into the existing IT landscape.
DEFINITION
What is Freight Forwarding?
A freight forwarder functions just like a travel agency for international trade. They manage every aspect of shipping goods across borders on behalf of the shipper (usually an enterprise or manufacturer) including arranging transportation, packaging, paperwork, customs clearance, and more. By coordinating with shipping companies, airlines, hauliers, and customs authorities, freight forwarders ensure goods move seamlessly from their point of origin to their final destination.
CHALLENGE
The project faced both external and internal obstacles from the beginning
EXTERNAL
Market Immaturity
In 2020, digital transformation was gaining momentum in the freight forwarding industry, but none of the global competitors had found lasting success, creating a mix of opportunity and uncertainty.
INTERNAL
Internal Resistance to Digital Booking
Stakeholders were hesitant, fearing market instability, while sales and operations teams were deeply entrenched in traditional agent booking methods (calls and emails).
USER RESEARCH
Despite the challenges, our research effort uncovered a compelling user demand for change
FINDINGS
Survey results revealed, 90% of the existing customers experienced issues with agent booking, 73% were open to transitioning to digital booking. These findings underscored the urgency for digital transformation and propelled the project forward.
-> What I Did:
I led user research from planning, execution to synthesizing findings. With support from the sales department, I secured a pool of 300 SME customers and collaborated with my team to cold-call, achieving 185 survey responses.
I conducted qualitative and quantitative analysis, delivering a user research report that successfully convinced stakeholders of the urgency and aligned them on digitizing the quote and booking service.
Additionally, I recruited 18 pilot users who showed strong interest in the digital transition for the pilot operation phase.
User research report synthesized for stakeholder review (samples)
PRODUCT STRATEGY
Aligning Stakeholders on a Lean SaaS Approach—To Accelerate Time to Market
Given the market's early stage, we proposed a phased product roadmap, starting with a lean MVP to pilot with user groups who had shown positive responses in our research.
Instead of building the entire system in-house, we partnered with a European SaaS provider with a proven track record in transforming global freight forwarders. This strategy minimized costs and sped up time to market.
Together, we developed a 12-week implementation plan.
Implementation Plan
IMPLEMENTATION
Cross-Cultural Collaboration for Seamless Integration
Screenshots of the daily scrum meetings
Over a 12-week implementation, daily scrum meetings brought together a global team, including the SaaS provider’s PM and engineers from the UK, USA, and China, and our product and technical teams in Korea. The goal was to integrate the SaaS portal with our backend booking system, as well as schedule and rate data, to ensure smooth back-office operations.
-> What I Did:
I served as the bridge between development requirements and business needs, ensuring the solution met user expectations and local standards. Since the SaaS solution was from Europe, adapting the interface to align with Korean standards was a key priority.
Additionally, with the scrum team primarily composed of engineers, I consistently emphasized business goals and target users to keep the team focused on solving the right problem.
Key screens of the adapted SaaS solution interface
CHALLENGE
Customization Constraints: Adapting to a White-Label SaaS Interface
One of the biggest challenges we faced during implementation was the limited UI customization bandwidth due to the SaaS provider’s standard interface policy.
1) No Custom Homepage
The default landing page was a basic login screen with no room for branding. This was a significant issue, as we couldn’t convey our company’s identity or provide a tailored onboarding experience for users.
Default Landing Page of the SaaS Portal
2) Oversimplified Sign-up Process
The SaaS sign-up interface was overly simplified compared to our B2B requirements. We needed to collect business registration documents to integrate users into our CRM backend system, but the inability to customize the sign-up flow posed a significant obstacle.
Oversimplified SaaS Sign-Up Interface
MVP LAUNCH
Pilot Testing & Backlog Management
In October 2021, we launched our first MVP with a user group of 16 existing customers who had expressed a strong willingness to transition online in user research. Over a five-month pilot, we tested usability, functionality, and data flow, identifying key issues for improvement.
-> What I Did:
During the pilot, the product team actively participated in operations, gathering user feedback and maintaining a backlog of issues. I worked closely with the SaaS team, resolving 26 out of 40 tickets within the one-month warranty period. Remaining issues stemmed from the SaaS platform's customization limitations.
Backlog & RAID Log
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Cultivating Buy-In for the New System
Beyond implementation and product delivery, I prioritized keeping stakeholders and functional units—such as sales and operations teams—engaged throughout the process. Involving internal users early on was key to fostering alignment and ensuring everyone was on the same page. My change management efforts included:
-> What I Did:
Action #1
Establishing Product Policy Transparency
The new system introduced changes to operations, pricing, and customer management policies. I facilitated cross-organizational communication to build consensus on these policies. To ensure transparency, I designed and distributed comprehensive product policy documents via the internal bulletin board, making key decisions accessible to all.
Product Policy Document that I Distributed Across the Company
Action #2
Usability Testing & Training
I led training sessions with my team for account managers and operations agents, preparing them for the system’s rollout. Usability tests were conducted with internal superusers to ensure the system met user needs and reflected real-world workflows.
Superuser Training Sessions
Action #3
Promoting Awareness Through Internal Campaigns
To prevent the project from operating in a silo, I developed and executed internal campaigns to raise awareness of the new system among employees. These campaigns included marketing materials displayed in cafeterias, office cafes, and meeting rooms, increasing visibility and gathering valuable feedback from across the organization.
Campaign Brochure, Goods & Placed in Office Cafe
BUSINESS IMPACT
A Missed Target, but a Clearer Vision
Upon roll-out in March 2022, we set ambitious goals: transitioning 10% of our 13,000+ existing customers (1,300 customers), acquiring 100 new customers, and facilitating 1,500 bookings. For context, our account managers typically acquire around 12 new customers per year, so reaching 100 in just nine months would mean an 8x increase in sales efficiency.
Success Metrics
Target
Transition 1.3K customers (10% of SMEs) in 2022
Acquire 100 new customers
Mark 1.5K digital bookings
Achieved
Transitioned 500 existing customers online
Gained 196 new customers
Received 876 online bookings
Takeaway
While we exceeded our new user acquisition target, transitioning existing customers proved more challenging than anticipated. Retention data revealed that only 10% of online users completed the booking process, underscoring issues in the user journey. These insights later drove our decision to pivot to in-house development for Phase 2.0, prioritizing user understanding and platform improvements to boost conversions.
NEXT STEPS
Blueprint for Phase 2.0
The rapid adoption of a SaaS solution allowed us to enter the market quickly and stay ahead of competitors. Unexpected new customer acquisitions revealed a strong market opportunity for digital freight forwarding.
However, the inability to transition the target number of existing customers to digital booking and falling short of our target booking numbers underscored the need for a better online booking experience.
While the SaaS platform was widely successful in Europe, Korean users faced usability challenges that customization constraints prevented us from addressing. This highlighted that localization is not optional but essential. With these insights, our product team is moving forward with agility, prioritizing a user-centric platform tailored to the unique needs of the Korean market in Phase 2.0.