Case Study Overview

The Problem: Bleeding Assets
"Code is liability. Logistics is the moat."

Every year, SMBs in construction and logistics lose thousands of dollars in unreturned equipment—drills, tablets, fuel cards—when employees leave. The process to recover them is manual, awkward, and often ignored.

UX Research with 5 local HVAC business owners revealed a common pain point:
"I'd rather lose the $500 drill than have the awkward conversation with a guy I just fired."
The Persona: "Mike the Plumber"
We focused on "Mike", a busy owner who values speed and directness. He hates admin work and avoids conflict.

Goals: Get his equipment back without picking up the phone.
Frustrations: Hiring recruiters ($5k fee), losing tools ($500/item), and "ghosting" employees.
Mike the Plumber
The Architecture: The "Iron Suit"
To solve this, we avoided "creative" tech in favor of reliability. The system acts as a nervous system connecting HR data to real-world logistics.

Core: Next.js 14 + Supabase
Nervous System: BambooHR (Truth) -> Twilio (Comm) -> EasyPost (Logistics)
Phase 1: The Watchtower (MVP)
Goal: Stop the bleeding.

The system runs a cron job every hour hitting the BambooHR API. It checks for status changes from "Active" to "Terminated". If the employee faces offboarding and has `assets_assigned`, the "Repo Man" protocol begins.
UX Writing: The "Ransom Note"
The crucial UX challenge was the SMS copy. It needed to be firm enough to prompt action but professional enough to avoid burning bridges.

We A/B tested 3 variations:
1. Passive: "Please return your items when you can." (Low conversion)
2. Aggressive: "Return items or face legal action." (High hostility)
3. Process-Driven (Winner): "Hi [Name], [Company] has processed your exit. Please return your [Asset List] using this prepaid UPS label: [Link]."

The "Process-Driven" approach framed the return as a standard bureaucratic step, removing personal friction.
SMS Mockup
Phase 2: The Bench (Growth)
Goal: Turn the "Green List" into an on-demand labor force.

Admin can toggle "Eligible for Rehire?" in the dashboard (Syncs to BambooHR). When labor is needed, the "Blast Button" allows the admin to text: "Need 2 Master Plumbers for Saturday OT. $60/hr."

This bypasses recruiters and leverages the "Logistics Moat" we built in Phase 1.
Dashboard Mockup
Results & Impact
  • First Month: Recovered $4,000 worth of equipment (2 iPads, 3 Drills).
  • Efficiency: Reduced admin time for asset recovery by 90%.
  • Staffing: "The Bench" filled 3 shift gaps in the first week of Phase 2.

Project Boomerang proved that for Blue-Collar SMBs, the best UX is often invisible—automated logistics and clear SMS communication.

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