UCS — United Commercial Shipping
A B2B Shipping Label Platform
Technology Stack
frontend
backend
apis
tools
design
01. CHALLENGE
The Problem
Small and medium-sized businesses face a frustrating reality when it comes to shipping. They're stuck either paying retail rates that eat into their margins, or juggling multiple carrier accounts with clunky interfaces. The established players in this space — like PirateShip — have proven there's massive demand for simplified, discounted shipping. But I saw an opportunity to build something better, something with a premium user experience that treats business owners as the professionals they are.
02. SOLUTION
The Vision
UCS (United Commercial Shipping) was born from a simple philosophy: "UI first, features second. Make it beautiful." The goal was to create a shipping platform where users could generate labels in under 60 seconds, with an interface so intuitive it feels effortless. Every interaction should feel polished — no clutter, no unnecessary complexity, just pure functionality wrapped in exceptional design.
03. EXECUTION
What I Built
UCS is a full-stack B2B shipping platform that connects businesses to major carriers — USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL — through a single, beautifully designed interface. Powered by the Goshippo API, it provides real-time rate comparison and instant label generation without businesses needing their own carrier accounts.
04. FEATURES
Core Features
Smart Label Creation
The heart of UCS is its streamlined label creation flow. Users enter shipping details in a clean, hybrid layout with collapsible sections. One click on "Get Rates" fetches real-time pricing from all four carriers, displaying them inline for easy comparison. The entire process — from entering an address to downloading a PDF label — takes under a minute.
My Customers
Repeat customers shouldn't mean repeated data entry. Users can save recipient information (business name, contact, address) and select them instantly when creating new labels. A search function makes finding saved customers effortless, even as the list grows.
Box Presets
For businesses shipping in standard containers, UCS allows saving custom box dimensions. Instead of manually entering 12" × 8" × 6" every time, users simply select "Custom Box 1" from a dropdown. It's a small feature that saves significant time at scale.
Shipment Templates
Taking efficiency further, users can save complete shipment configurations — recipient, box preset, and typical weight bundled together. Perfect for recurring shipments like "Weekly shipment to Warehouse A."
Bulk Label Creation
For high-volume shippers, UCS supports CSV uploads to create multiple labels in a single batch. Upload a spreadsheet of recipients and generate dozens of labels simultaneously.
Label History
Every generated label is archived with full details — tracking number, carrier, cost, and downloadable PDF. Users can search by tracking number, filter by date range, and sort by date or cost.
05. BUSINESS MODEL
Business Model & Admin System
UCS operates on a pre-paid credit system with transparent markup pricing. The formula is simple: (Carrier Cost × 1.10) + $0.80. Users add funds to their account balance through admin-approved top-ups, and each label purchase deducts from their balance. The admin dashboard provides complete control: approving new user registrations, managing account balances, and monitoring platform activity.
06. CHALLENGES
Challenges & Solutions
Dimensional Weight Pricing
Carriers calculate shipping costs based on whichever is greater — actual weight or dimensional weight. Making dimensions optional while warning users about potential billing surprises required careful UX messaging without overwhelming first-time users.
Rate Comparison Clarity
Displaying rates from four carriers with different service levels could easily become overwhelming. The solution was inline expansion with clear carrier branding, sorting options, and highlighting the cheapest/fastest options with visual badges.
Balance Management
Preventing label creation when balance is insufficient while maintaining good UX required clear error messaging and always-visible balance display in the header.
07. RESULTS
Key Outcomes
UCS demonstrates full-stack product development from concept to deployment. The project showcases my ability to identify market opportunities, design intuitive user experiences, architect scalable systems, and execute on technical implementation. The platform is positioned to help small businesses access enterprise-level shipping rates while enjoying a premium software experience.
BUILT BY
Aman
Full-Stack Developer