From code to cargo vol. 2 – designing modern solutions for a traditional industry
Reflecting on learning the realities of shipping and turning complex workflows into products that create value
Image: Product Manager Janki Vinaylal Amrutiya and Senior Product Designer Siqi Chen
Shipping may be the lifeblood of global trade, but it's also seen as a very traditional industry - one that is rooted in relationships, trust, and operated by people with decades of experience. For Product Manager Janki Vinaylal Amrutiya and Senior Product Designer Siqi Chen, joining Klaveness Digital meant stepping into a world they knew very little about.
For both of them, the reward of the challenge has been understanding shipping’s complexity well enough to build products that are designed to genuinely help customers make better decisions.
Stepping into a new industry
Both Janki and Siqi joined Klaveness Digital from outside the maritime world. For Janki, the attraction was the opportunity to work in a small team with a clear mandate and vision, and helping to solve real world supply chain challenges from data.
Siqi came from a very different background, spending six years as a UX consultant working across industries ranging from finance and real estate to automotive and technology infrastructure.
"I knew very little about shipping apart from that is an old and traditional industry that is very resistant to change " says Siqi. " So when I saw the role, I thought that it was refreshing to see a company trying to challenge the status quo from the inside, that was part of the appeal.”
Both quickly discovered that shipping is far more complex than it appears from the outside, though still largely unexplored from the tech side and therefore full of possibilities.
"It was a bit of a lightbulb moment," adds Janki. "When you start understanding the realities behind our products and the challenges customers deal with every day, you realize how much complexity lies beneath the surface.”
An industry built on people
One of the biggest surprises for both was the human side of shipping.
Siqi points out: "What surprised me most was the passion and pride people have for this industry. There's a strong sense of identity and community and people genuinely care about what they do, because they feel like they belong."
Both highlight how they have gained a deeper appreciation for shipping's role in the global economy.
"It's easy to overlook shipping because it operates largely in the background,” says Janki. “But once you start working in the industry, you realize how much the world depends on it. It's an incredibly complex system that keeps everything moving, and most people only notice it when something goes wrong."
Both note how shipping is built on trust, relationships and collaboration, sharing the view that customers all operate in different contexts, with different business models, geographies and constraints. This means there isn't a “one-size-fits-all” approach to customers.
Understanding the problem before building the solution
That complexity shapes how products are developed at Klaveness Digital and the approach both take.
For Janki, good product management begins long before discussing potential solutions.
"It's important not to jump straight to building something," she says. "The first step is understanding why a problem exists in the first place. A lot of time is spent listening, observing and understanding how people work day-to-day."
That mindset is particularly important in shipping, where workflows evolve over years and are often influenced by factors that aren't immediately obvious. Rather than assuming the answer, the team works closely with customers to understand the context behind their challenges before deciding what should be built.
For Siqi, the design process follows a similar principle.
"My approach is to start by unpacking the problem." he explains. "We talk to customers, understand the context behind their requests and explore different ideas before deciding what to build. From there, we review, scope, and redefine into consolidated features, to build value for our users.”
What work are you most proud of so far?
Asked the question, Siqi immediately thinks of an early redesign task for CargoValue. As the product had grown, so did its complexity. Features had accumulated over time, and the experience no longer felt as intuitive as it could.
“We already had a lot of valuable functionality. The challenge was making it feel like one coherent experience, organized around how customers actually think and work.”
For Siqi, the project was a perfect example of how he thinks about product design: improving doesn’t always mean creating something new, but more about finding clarity in complexity and making something powerful feel effortless.
Janki highlights her work on Klaveness Digital’s Data Platform, which is creating a shared data foundation that is reshaping how we work with data and turning it into value. The focus goes beyond bringing data together into creating entirely new ways of using data, and combine it with AI and industry knowledge, to rethink how we build products and solve complex problems in shipping.
"We are moving away from simply giving customers more data towards helping them get better answers. The real value is in making complex shipping decisions simpler, faster and better informed."
A complex industry worth being a part of!
While it may come with steep learning curves, both believe shipping offers a unique opportunity for people coming from outside the industry.
"If you enjoy solving complex problems and understanding the nuances behind them, it's a great place to be," says Janki. "There's still so much to learn and explore."
Siqi nods along, adding: "Shipping can feel invisible from the outside, but it's an incredibly interesting industry once you get inside it. There are still many longstanding challenges waiting to be solved, and fresh perspectives can make a real difference."
For both, that's what makes maritime technology such an interesting place to build a career - the opportunity to combine curiosity, problem-solving and technology in an industry that keeps the world moving!