In 24 hrs, Walmart Transportation System delivers 221,069 loads on time with 99.7% safe miles.

There are 4,605 Walmart stores in the United States. This includes Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets, and other smaller formats.

Walmart has 158 distribution centers include both GDCs (Grocery Distribution Centers) and RDCs (Regional Distribution Centers)

Introduction

A seamless search experience is at the heart of user productivity—especially within complex platforms like Stride, where modules are interdependent and large volumes of information are accessed daily.

This case study presents the design journey for a Centralized Cross-Functional Search Platform that empowers users to quickly find, filter, and act on essential information from any module—removing bottlenecks and boosting efficiency across Walmart’s operational workflows.

Problem
Statement

Stride’s current module-specific search restricts users to siloed information, forcing them to switch context and screens just to find interconnected data. For roles like Load Lifecycle Managers (LLMs) and dispatchers, this means wasted time, fractured workflows, and missed opportunities:

Major Pain Points

Users can't see everything at once; key details are hidden behind multiple transitions

Information like calendar events, trip stop sequences, HoS limits, and backhaul distances are separated between pages and modules

LLMs juggle multiple tools, external links, and manual map lookups just to assign work efficiently

Heavy workloads exacerbate friction, dragging down both speed and satisfaction

User Insights

“Stride’s fragmentary search experience was slowing us down. We needed a fast, intuitive way to unify critical information—without leaving our flow.”

– Load Logistic Manager, West Transportation
Command Center

Heavy workload slows productivity

On busy days, excessive transitions made each action frustratingly slow

Reliance on external
tools

Users turned to external modules, revealing gaps in the platform's capabilities

Dashboards lacked key details

Users couldn't see everything they needed for decision-making at a glance

Inefficient transitions

Navigating between driver details, trip info, maps, and comments was time-consuming.

Introduction

Walmart supply chain tools are data heavy. The load logistic managers are dealing with an overwhelming large set of information to make day-to-day transportation updates related to dockout timings, store timings, driver delays, local transportation regulations etc, that requires tweaking of the commodity releases on a regular basis.

About —
Load Planner

A cloud enabled routing engine that assists with planning and routing for a multi-stop trip. Load Logistic Managers can plan Backhauls from Store to DCs, assign carriers, plan unplanned pallets and update dock-out time.

Release Management

Review new loads, routes, make necessary adjustments to ensure accuracy before final submission.

Configuration Management

Load release required config updates for metrics such as store location, commodity, equipments.

Carrier and Route Adjustments

Edit carrier assignments & modify route configs to better align with operational requirements.

Route Sequencing & Backhaul Integration

Review and adjust the route sequence, as well as add or edit stops (e.g., attach backhaul).

It didn’t start
as a Roadmap project…


In one of the standup calls the product team brought the concern of the system getting slowed down while saving the edited data and the team started focusing on re-building the “save” experience.

User Research
and Insights

I kicked off user research with the 5 user groups and learnt the biggest pain-point was editing each line-time one at a time and the extra time spent for every line item information to get updated on the Load planner.

Manual Effort Over System Limitations

Deeper research revealed that the true challenge wasn’t system capability but the heavy manual effort required for repetitive edits.

Need for Optimized Editing Workflow

Through observation and discussions, it became evident that users needed a faster way to update similar data points across multiple entries.

Edit One At A Time

Edit One At A Time

Edit One At A Time

The current process requires users to make changes manually one by one, which was a time consuming and frustrating process. Select a line item > Click edit to open overlay > make changes and save > move on the next item.

Too Much Time to "Save"

Too Much Time to "Save"

Too Much Time to "Save"

The system getting slows down while saving the edited line item.

Ideation —
Bulk Edit as a Practical Solution

Started Iteration around bulk edit functionality to address the pain point by allowing users to update multiple line items simultaneously, improving efficiency and reducing redundant tasks.

#1
Queued Edit

The current process requires users to make changes manually one by one, which was a time consuming and frustrating process. Select a line item > Click edit to open overlay > make changes and save > move on the next item.

#2
View Selected

The current process requires users to make changes manually one by one, which was a time consuming and frustrating process. Select a line item > Click edit to open overlay > make changes and save > move on the next item.

#3
In-line Edit

The current process requires users to make changes manually one by one, which was a time consuming and frustrating process. Select a line item > Click edit to open overlay > make changes and save > move on the next item.

Final Outcome —
Inline Edit

Overview

The main user challenge revolved around the tedious process of manually editing multiple line items one at a time. The solution implemented was In-line Editing — enabling users to directly edit information within the table without navigating away or opening additional forms. The streamlined workflow allows for faster updates, fewer clicks, and reduced manual effort.

Why In-Line Edit Works?

Eliminates unnecessary screen changes and pop-ups.

Users can edit while keeping full visibility of other entries.

Supports quick edits across multiple rows without repeating navigation steps.

Matches user expectations of spreadsheet-like behavior.

#1
Select All

The current process requires users to make changes manually one by one, which was a time consuming and frustrating process. Select a line item > Click edit to open overlay > make changes and save > move on the next item.

#2
Multi-selection

The current process requires users to make changes manually one by one, which was a time consuming and frustrating process. Select a line item > Click edit to open overlay > make changes and save > move on the next item.

Documentation