For the first time, cold-chain operations in one digital platform
From messy operations to one clear digital system experience, an all-in-one refrigeration & AC service platform.
Role
Product Design
Duration
6 Months
Industry
HVAC-R
Tools
Figma, Miro
Role
Product Design
Duration
6 Months
Industry
HVAC-R
Tools
Figma, Miro
Role
Product Design
Duration
6 Months
Industry
HVAC-R
Tools
Figma, Miro
About Thallaja.com
The Thallaja.com is a unified digital platform for refrigeration, cold storage, and air-conditioning operations across the Middle East, bringing maintenance, rentals, spare parts, installations, and AMC services into a single system built for both businesses and technicians.
This case study focuses on a complete product design of the Thallaja platform, covering the service booking flow, e-store, and technician facing tools. The work aimed to replace a fragmented process of multiple vendors, phone calls, and manual paperwork with one place to manage every cold-chain need.
The challenge
Cold-chain operations across the Middle East run on equipment that cannot afford to fail. When a walk-in freezer or an AC unit in a warehouse goes down, businesses lose stock and revenue by the hour.
Cold-chain operations across the Middle East run on equipment that cannot afford to fail. When a walk-in freezer or an AC unit in a warehouse goes down, businesses lose stock and revenue by the hour.
Getting that equipment serviced meant working through a scattered network of suppliers one vendor for maintenance, another for spare parts, a third for rentals each reached by phone or WhatsApp, with no record of what was requested, what it cost, or when a technician would actually arrive.
The process was slow at exactly the moment speed mattered most.
I was brought in to design the platform end to end making it easy for businesses to find the right service, book it on demand, order parts, and track their equipment without chasing anyone down.
Getting that equipment serviced meant working through a scattered network of suppliers one vendor for maintenance, another for spare parts, a third for rentals each reached by phone or WhatsApp, with no record of what was requested, what it cost, or when a technician would actually arrive.
The process was slow at exactly the moment speed mattered most.
I was brought in to design the platform end to end making it easy for businesses to find the right service, book it on demand, order parts, and track their equipment without chasing anyone down.
The Problem
Cold-chain businesses in the UAE run critical equipment pharma storage, restaurant cold rooms, reefer trucks that cannot fail. But the entire industry ran on nothing. No system. When a cold room broke down, there was no app, no dispatch, no tracking. Just a phone number and hope.
The Insights
The early thinking was to build five separate tools one per service. But the real insight came from watching how operators actually worked: they don't think in "services," they think in problems. A broken cold room, a part to replace, a unit to rent. So instead of five products, we built one system with five entry points sharing the same design language, the same components, the same logic. One platform that mirrors how the industry actually operates, not how software companies usually slice it up.
The product, in two journeys
Five modules. One home.
The home screen had to do something difficult introduce five entirely different services without
overwhelming the user. Each module solves a different problem. Each one needed its own clear entry point.
Before the screens, the architecture.
Yes, Five modules and Dozens of decision points.
Before designing a single screen, I mapped the complete information architecture every user path,
every system branch, every alternate flow. The embed below is interactive zoom in to explore any flow.
The solution
Four categories. One simple decision.
Before designing a single screen, I mapped the complete information architecture every user path,
every system branch, every alternate flow. The embed below is interactive zoom in to explore any flow.
Visibility from booking to completion.
Once the booking is confirmed, the customer hands over physical access to their facility and a technician they've never met shows up. The verification PIN exists because trust needs to be designed into the handoff, not assumed. The 4-digit code is shared with the technician before any work begins, turning a vague "the guy from Thallaja showed up" into a verified service event.
From here, every step of the job Request sent, Technician Assigned, On the Way, Inspection Started, Estimate Sent, Repair Ongoing, Completed updates live, so the customer doesn't have to wait at the site. They can go run their business and check in only when it matters. Once the inspection finishes, the documented overview takes over photos of the equipment, the issue description, the technician's name with a direct call button, and one clear next action: View Estimate.
Nothing in this flow is decoration. Every element exists because cold-chain operations don't pause for unclear status updates or unverified service calls.
