Unlocking faster freight matching through instant bid responses
company
Convoy
Role
Product Designer
industry
Freight
when
Q2‘22 – Q1‘23
Carriers using Convoy's marketplace spent too much time waiting to hear back on bids — time they couldn't afford to lose when planning their schedule. I joined a cross-functional team to redesign the bidding experience from the ground up, replacing slow, uncertain responses with an instant decision on every bid: acceptance, rejection, or counteroffer.
The work spanned two rollout phases, multiple rounds of qualitative and quantitative research, and close collaboration with data science, product, brokerage, and marketing. Key design decisions included whether to allow multiple counteroffer rounds, how long to hold a bid open, and how to communicate rejection without discouraging carriers from rebidding.
The result was a faster, more transparent bidding experience that carriers trusted. 86% of surveyed carriers preferred instant auctions over timed auctions, and the feature was launched across the platform, resulting in a 70% increase in intents per hour.
About Convoy
The Convoy Carrier App connects drivers and fleets to a digital freight marketplace, allowing them to find, bid, and manage loads in real time. My design work focused on improving booking flows, visibility, and feedback loops to reduce driver downtime and increase trust in automated bidding systems.
Project goal
Reduce the amount of time carriers have to wait by providing an immediate response after they place a bid.
The problem
Long bid latency caused carriers to lose booking opportunities and reduce engagement. Reducing response time was critical to increasing match rates, improving carrier trust, and boosting volume velocity in a competitive freight marketplace.
Opportunity
Convoy’s existing bidding experience had critical limitations. The carriers’ number one complaint about bidding was that they felt that Convoy didn’t value their time and they spent too much time waiting for a response back on their bid.
Instant Auctions was highly successful
66%
of matches made through counteroffers
+5%
Margin improvement
Testimonials
Here’s how much carriers loved it
"This is the best of the best. In the past, I couldn’t always accept Convoy loads that I had won, because I’d booked another load while waiting for a response. Now, I know right away if I’m going to haul it, so I don’t need to search for another load. This significantly reduces the time it takes me to plan and book my schedule!”
Ghareeb Nawaz
Stryker Trans
I’m able to make smarter bids because I’m getting instant feedback. I can submit as many bids as I want and sometimes Convoy provides a counteroffer. This is a huge benefit to carriers like me.”
Josh Rickards
Rickards Transportation Services LLC
Initial research
Understanding how carriers work
I teamed up with our UX research to evaluate whether or not this is plausible, and likely from a UX perspective: Faster (immediate) feedback on bidding → Each carrier will be able to evaluate more shipments →
The likelihood of finding the next shipment goes up →
Carriers will come to Convoy more often.
Research methodology
Testing Method
• 11 moderated interviews via Zoom
• Explored current booking behaviors and pain points
• Tested Instant Auction concept — gathered reactions, expectations, and concerns
Participant Demographics
Sampling Criteria:
- Carrier segment (intent-based)
- Carrier size (driver → small → large)
Mix of drivers, dispatchers, and fleet carriers representing varied booking goals and behaviors
What we learned
Speed wins
Carriers loved getting an instant decision — it streamlined their workflow, making load booking faster, smoother, and more predictable.
Counteroffers felt fair
The idea of counteroffers was exciting and felt like a fairer, more transparent system.
They wanted to push back
Carriers expected a back-and-forth negotiation — they wanted to counter our counteroffer, not just accept or reject.
Rejection needed an explanation
They wanted clarity on what happens after rejection and preferred their bids remain “in play” rather than immediately dismissed.
Rejection killed momentum
After a rejected counter or bid, many chose not to rebid, feeling discouraged or undervalued by the process.
Solutions
Tradeoff: negotiation experience vs. model integrity
🎨 Design Perspective :Carriers wanted a natural back-and-forth negotiation, like traditional brokerage — more human, flexible, and fair.🧠 Data Science Perspective :Multiple counters would destabilize pricing models, creating feedback loops and reducing accuracy.✅ Decision : Limit to one counteroffer cycle to preserve model reliability. Carriers can rebid manually, but each is treated as a new negotiation.
Acceptance window
We allowed a 15-minute acceptance window for logistics. We did not provide a timer, but instead adjusted the booked now rate to the counteroffer price and showed expired under counteroffer info item.
Tradeoff: User Sentiment vs. Market Efficiency
When a carrier’s bid was rejected, the team debated whether to “soften” the rejection message — for example, by adding friendlier language (“Your bid wasn’t accepted this time, but we’d love to see you bid again soon!”) or subtle hints (“Try bidding slightly higher next time”).The question was: should the system empathize or optimize?
🎨 Design tradeoff: Empathy vs. Clarity 💡 Decision: Chose a firm rejection to encourage realistic bids and reduce confusion. 📊 Impact: Faster market resolution, cleaner data, fewer double acceptances.
Rollout Phase 1- 30%
Measuring Impact & Investigating Friction
📊 Monitored feedback loops: CS calls, in-app feedback, brokerage data. 💬 10 carrier interviews: Explored pain points around rates and trust. 🔍 Outcome: Identified pricing perception as key barrier → informed next iteration vs. rollback decision.
Key findings
Carriers prefer instant auctions
Faster responses and less waiting improved overall satisfaction and planning efficiency.
Low counteroffers discouraged re-bids
Carriers perceived early offers as unfair or uncompetitive, reducing engagement.
Urgency gap in counteroffers
Without time pressure, even acceptable offers failed to drive immediate action.
Counteroffers often below market
Pricing too close to “accept now” rates led to distrust and fewer matches.
Conservatice initial pricing
Encouraged “last-minute” bidding behavior and slowed early marketplace activity.
Lack of bid status transparency
Carriers grew frustrated by unclear communication about held bids and wanted control to cancel.
Rollout Phase 2
Simplify the Flow & Re-Engage Carriers
🧩 Removed acceptance timer → Simplified decision flow; fewer expirations. 💬 Revised decline modal → Set clearer expectations, encouraged re-bidding. 📈 Outcome: Increased rebid rate, improved carrier retention metrics.
To validate rollout readiness, I partnered with Data Science to design a structured survey and coordinated 100 carrier calls through the CS team to quantify preference between Instant and Timed Auctions — ensuring experience quality was confirmed before a full 100% launch.
86%
of surveyed carriers indicated preference for IA
70%
increase of bids per hour
11%
point increase in zero-touch automation rate
Learnings and reflection
Designing for both user trust and algorithmic stability required tradeoffs.
Carriers valued clarity and fairness more than unlimited negotiation, proving that simplicity can still feel empowering when expectations are clear.
Thanks for reading 😊
Additional Projects
See Project
→
Resume
© Copyright 2026
Unlocking faster freight matching through instant bid responses
company
Convoy
Role
Product Designer
industry
Freight
when
Q2‘22 – Q1‘23
Carriers using Convoy's marketplace spent too much time waiting to hear back on bids — time they couldn't afford to lose when planning their schedule. I joined a cross-functional team to redesign the bidding experience from the ground up, replacing slow, uncertain responses with an instant decision on every bid: acceptance, rejection, or counteroffer.
The work spanned two rollout phases, multiple rounds of qualitative and quantitative research, and close collaboration with data science, product, brokerage, and marketing. Key design decisions included whether to allow multiple counteroffer rounds, how long to hold a bid open, and how to communicate rejection without discouraging carriers from rebidding.
The result was a faster, more transparent bidding experience that carriers trusted. 86% of surveyed carriers preferred instant auctions over timed auctions, and the feature was launched across the platform, resulting in a 70% increase in intents per hour.
About Convoy
The Convoy Carrier App connects drivers and fleets to a digital freight marketplace, allowing them to find, bid, and manage loads in real time. My design work focused on improving booking flows, visibility, and feedback loops to reduce driver downtime and increase trust in automated bidding systems.
Project goal
Reduce the amount of time carriers have to wait by providing an immediate response after they place a bid.
The problem
Long bid latency caused carriers to lose booking opportunities and reduce engagement. Reducing response time was critical to increasing match rates, improving carrier trust, and boosting volume velocity in a competitive freight marketplace.
Opportunity
Convoy’s existing bidding experience had critical limitations. The carriers’ number one complaint about bidding was that they felt that Convoy didn’t value their time and they spent too much time waiting for a response back on their bid.
Instant Auctions was highly successful
66%
of matches made through counteroffers
+5%
Margin improvement
Testimonials
Here’s how much carriers loved it
"This is the best of the best. In the past, I couldn’t always accept Convoy loads that I had won, because I’d booked another load while waiting for a response. Now, I know right away if I’m going to haul it, so I don’t need to search for another load. This significantly reduces the time it takes me to plan and book my schedule!”
Ghareeb Nawaz
Stryker Trans
I’m able to make smarter bids because I’m getting instant feedback. I can submit as many bids as I want and sometimes Convoy provides a counteroffer. This is a huge benefit to carriers like me.”
Josh Rickards
Rickards Transportation Services LLC
Initial research
Understanding how carriers work
I teamed up with our UX research to evaluate whether or not this is plausible, and likely from a UX perspective: Faster (immediate) feedback on bidding → Each carrier will be able to evaluate more shipments →
The likelihood of finding the next shipment goes up →
Carriers will come to Convoy more often.
Research methodology
Testing Method
• 11 moderated interviews via Zoom
• Explored current booking behaviors and pain points
• Tested Instant Auction concept — gathered reactions, expectations, and concerns
Participant Demographics
Sampling Criteria:
- Carrier segment (intent-based)
- Carrier size (driver → small → large)
Mix of drivers, dispatchers, and fleet carriers representing varied booking goals and behaviors
What we learned
Speed wins
Carriers loved getting an instant decision — it streamlined their workflow, making load booking faster, smoother, and more predictable.
Counteroffers felt fair
The idea of counteroffers was exciting and felt like a fairer, more transparent system.
They wanted to push back
Carriers expected a back-and-forth negotiation — they wanted to counter our counteroffer, not just accept or reject.
Rejection needed an explanation
They wanted clarity on what happens after rejection and preferred their bids remain “in play” rather than immediately dismissed.
Rejection killed momentum
After a rejected counter or bid, many chose not to rebid, feeling discouraged or undervalued by the process.
Solutions
Tradeoff: negotiation experience vs. model integrity
🎨 Design Perspective :Carriers wanted a natural back-and-forth negotiation, like traditional brokerage — more human, flexible, and fair.🧠 Data Science Perspective :Multiple counters would destabilize pricing models, creating feedback loops and reducing accuracy.✅ Decision : Limit to one counteroffer cycle to preserve model reliability. Carriers can rebid manually, but each is treated as a new negotiation.
Acceptance window
We allowed a 15-minute acceptance window for logistics. We did not provide a timer, but instead adjusted the booked now rate to the counteroffer price and showed expired under counteroffer info item.
Tradeoff: User Sentiment vs. Market Efficiency
When a carrier’s bid was rejected, the team debated whether to “soften” the rejection message — for example, by adding friendlier language (“Your bid wasn’t accepted this time, but we’d love to see you bid again soon!”) or subtle hints (“Try bidding slightly higher next time”).The question was: should the system empathize or optimize?
🎨 Design tradeoff: Empathy vs. Clarity 💡 Decision: Chose a firm rejection to encourage realistic bids and reduce confusion. 📊 Impact: Faster market resolution, cleaner data, fewer double acceptances.
Rollout Phase 1- 30%
Measuring Impact & Investigating Friction
📊 Monitored feedback loops: CS calls, in-app feedback, brokerage data. 💬 10 carrier interviews: Explored pain points around rates and trust. 🔍 Outcome: Identified pricing perception as key barrier → informed next iteration vs. rollback decision.
Key findings
Carriers prefer instant auctions
Faster responses and less waiting improved overall satisfaction and planning efficiency.
Low counteroffers discouraged re-bids
Carriers perceived early offers as unfair or uncompetitive, reducing engagement.
Urgency gap in counteroffers
Without time pressure, even acceptable offers failed to drive immediate action.
Counteroffers often below market
Pricing too close to “accept now” rates led to distrust and fewer matches.
Conservatice initial pricing
Encouraged “last-minute” bidding behavior and slowed early marketplace activity.
Lack of bid status transparency
Carriers grew frustrated by unclear communication about held bids and wanted control to cancel.
Rollout Phase 2
Simplify the Flow & Re-Engage Carriers
🧩 Removed acceptance timer → Simplified decision flow; fewer expirations. 💬 Revised decline modal → Set clearer expectations, encouraged re-bidding. 📈 Outcome: Increased rebid rate, improved carrier retention metrics.
To validate rollout readiness, I partnered with Data Science to design a structured survey and coordinated 100 carrier calls through the CS team to quantify preference between Instant and Timed Auctions — ensuring experience quality was confirmed before a full 100% launch.
86%
of surveyed carriers indicated preference for IA
70%
increase of bids per hour
11%
point increase in zero-touch automation rate
Learnings and reflection
Designing for both user trust and algorithmic stability required tradeoffs.
Carriers valued clarity and fairness more than unlimited negotiation, proving that simplicity can still feel empowering when expectations are clear.
Thanks for reading 😊
Additional Projects
Resume
© Copyright 2026
Unlocking faster freight matching through instant bid responses
company
Convoy
Role
Product Designer
industry
Freight
when
Q2‘22 – Q1‘23
Carriers using Convoy's marketplace spent too much time waiting to hear back on bids — time they couldn't afford to lose when planning their schedule. I joined a cross-functional team to redesign the bidding experience from the ground up, replacing slow, uncertain responses with an instant decision on every bid: acceptance, rejection, or counteroffer.
The work spanned two rollout phases, multiple rounds of qualitative and quantitative research, and close collaboration with data science, product, brokerage, and marketing. Key design decisions included whether to allow multiple counteroffer rounds, how long to hold a bid open, and how to communicate rejection without discouraging carriers from rebidding.
The result was a faster, more transparent bidding experience that carriers trusted. 86% of surveyed carriers preferred instant auctions over timed auctions, and the feature was launched across the platform, resulting in a 70% increase in intents per hour.
About Convoy
The Convoy Carrier App connects drivers and fleets to a digital freight marketplace, allowing them to find, bid, and manage loads in real time. My design work focused on improving booking flows, visibility, and feedback loops to reduce driver downtime and increase trust in automated bidding systems.
Project goal
Reduce the amount of time carriers have to wait by providing an immediate response after they place a bid.
The problem
Long bid latency caused carriers to lose booking opportunities and reduce engagement. Reducing response time was critical to increasing match rates, improving carrier trust, and boosting volume velocity in a competitive freight marketplace.
Opportunity
Convoy’s existing bidding experience had critical limitations. The carriers’ number one complaint about bidding was that they felt that Convoy didn’t value their time and they spent too much time waiting for a response back on their bid.
Instant Auctions was highly successful
66%
of matches made through counteroffers
+5%
Margin improvement
Testimonials
Here’s how much carriers loved it
"This is the best of the best. In the past, I couldn’t always accept Convoy loads that I had won, because I’d booked another load while waiting for a response. Now, I know right away if I’m going to haul it, so I don’t need to search for another load. This significantly reduces the time it takes me to plan and book my schedule!”
Ghareeb Nawaz
Stryker Trans
I’m able to make smarter bids because I’m getting instant feedback. I can submit as many bids as I want and sometimes Convoy provides a counteroffer. This is a huge benefit to carriers like me.”
Josh Rickards
Rickards Transportation Services LLC
Initial research
Understanding how carriers work
I teamed up with our UX researcher to evaluate whether or not this is plausible, and likely from a UX perspective: Faster (immediate) feedback on bidding → Each carrier will be able to evaluate more shipments →
The likelihood of finding the next shipment goes up →
Carriers will come to Convoy more often.
Research methodology
Testing Method
• 11 moderated interviews via Zoom
• Explored current booking behaviors and pain points
• Tested Instant Auction concept — gathered reactions, expectations, and concerns
Participant Demographics
Sampling Criteria:
- Carrier segment (intent-based)
- Carrier size (driver → small → large)
Mix of drivers, dispatchers, and fleet carriers representing varied booking goals and behaviors
What we learned
Speed wins
Carriers loved getting an instant decision — it streamlined their workflow, making load booking faster, smoother, and more predictable.
Counteroffers felt fair
The idea of counteroffers was exciting and felt like a fairer, more transparent system.
They wanted to push back
Carriers expected a back-and-forth negotiation — they wanted to counter our counteroffer, not just accept or reject.
Rejection needed an explanation
They wanted clarity on what happens after rejection and preferred their bids remain “in play” rather than immediately dismissed.
Rejection killed momentum
After a rejected counter or bid, many chose not to rebid, feeling discouraged or undervalued by the process.
Solutions
Tradeoff: negotiation experience vs. model integrity
🎨 Design Perspective :Carriers wanted a natural back-and-forth negotiation, like traditional brokerage — more human, flexible, and fair.🧠 Data Science Perspective :Multiple counters would destabilize pricing models, creating feedback loops and reducing accuracy.✅ Decision : Limit to one counteroffer cycle to preserve model reliability. Carriers can rebid manually, but each is treated as a new negotiation.
Acceptance window
We allowed a 15-minute acceptance window for logistics. We did not provide a timer, but instead adjusted the booked now rate to the counteroffer price and showed expired under counteroffer info item.
Tradeoff: User Sentiment vs. Market Efficiency
When a carrier’s bid was rejected, the team debated whether to “soften” the rejection message — for example, by adding friendlier language (“Your bid wasn’t accepted this time, but we’d love to see you bid again soon!”) or subtle hints (“Try bidding slightly higher next time”).The question was: should the system empathize or optimize?
🎨 Design tradeoff: Empathy vs. Clarity 💡 Decision: Chose a firm rejection to encourage realistic bids and reduce confusion. 📊 Impact: Faster market resolution, cleaner data, fewer double acceptances.
Rollout Phase 1- 30%
Measuring Impact & Investigating Friction
📊 Monitored feedback loops: CS calls, in-app feedback, brokerage data. 💬 10 carrier interviews: Explored pain points around rates and trust. 🔍 Outcome: Identified pricing perception as key barrier → informed next iteration vs. rollback decision.
Key findings
Carriers prefer instant auctions
Faster responses and less waiting improved overall satisfaction and planning efficiency.
Low counteroffers discouraged re-bids
Carriers perceived early offers as unfair or uncompetitive, reducing engagement.
Urgency gap in counteroffers
Without time pressure, even acceptable offers failed to drive immediate action.
Counteroffers often below market
Pricing too close to “accept now” rates led to distrust and fewer matches.
Conservatice initial pricing
Encouraged “last-minute” bidding behavior and slowed early marketplace activity.
Lack of bid status transparency
Carriers grew frustrated by unclear communication about held bids and wanted control to cancel.
Rollout Phase 2
Simplify the Flow & Re-Engage Carriers
🧩 Removed acceptance timer → Simplified decision flow; fewer expirations. 💬 Revised decline modal → Set clearer expectations, encouraged re-bidding. 📈 Outcome: Increased rebid rate, improved carrier retention metrics.
To validate rollout readiness, I partnered with Data Science to design a structured survey and coordinated 100 carrier calls through the CS team to quantify preference between Instant and Timed Auctions — ensuring experience quality was confirmed before a full 100% launch.
86%
of surveyed carriers indicated preference for IA
70%
increase of bids per hour
11%
point increase in zero-touch automation rate
Learnings and reflection
Designing for both user trust and algorithmic stability required tradeoffs.
Carriers valued clarity and fairness more than unlimited negotiation, proving that simplicity can still feel empowering when expectations are clear.
Thanks for reading 😊
Additional Projects
Resume
© Copyright 2026