Hi, I'mKarl Nguyen

Technical Product Manager

I turn messy logistics workflows into usable software. Building at the intersection of shipping & logistics, AI, and hands-on delivery.

What I Work On

I sit in the middle of product strategy, technical implementation, and AI-augmented workflows

Product Strategy & Discovery

Turn vague goals into clear problem statements using structured frameworks.

  • Transform "improve customer self-service" into actionable problems
  • Use Opportunity Solution Trees, Lean Canvas, structured interviews
  • Obsess over end-to-end journeys: booking → documentation → execution

Technical Product Management

Translate constraints between engineers and business stakeholders.

  • Think in architecture, APIs, data flows, and trade-offs
  • Keep decisions grounded in constraints, risks, and lifecycle cost
  • Bridge the gap between business needs and technical reality

AI-Augmented Product Builder

Treat AI as infrastructure for workflows, not a buzzword.

  • Work on RAG-style assistants and internal research agents
  • Build tools that reduce repetitive PM/ops work
  • Use AI daily for research, prototyping, and validation

How I Work

A consistent flow from idea → shipped feature → monitored outcome, with AI assisting at every step

1

Ideas & Problem Shaping

Collect inputs from customers, ops teams, data, and market signals. Use AI to summarize feedback, cluster themes, and draft problem statements.

Clearly framed problems, not raw feature requests
2

Pick Ideas & Define the Bet

Assess ideas against impact, effort, risk, and strategic fit. Use AI to simulate scenarios, propose alternatives, and challenge assumptions.

1-3 bets worth deeper discovery
3

PRD / Concept Brief

Draft a concise PRD: problem, users, scope, constraints, success metrics. Use AI as a co-writer for structure and edge cases.

Shared concept document the team can argue with
4

User Story Map & Journeys

Map the end-to-end flow (booking → documentation → tracking → support). Use AI to suggest missing steps and failure paths.

Story map or service blueprint for slicing work
5

Backlog & Story List

Break flows into stories, constraints, and technical tasks. Use AI to draft initial user stories and acceptance criteria.

Structured backlog linked to the story map
6

Story Details & Edge Cases

Clarify details with engineers, designers, and domain experts. Use AI to generate edge-case lists and validation rules.

Story-level specs for dev + QA
7

UAT & Pre-release Validation

Define UAT scenarios and success criteria with stakeholders. Use AI to expand test scenarios and spot patterns in feedback.

UAT reports and go/no-go decisions
8

Release & Metrics Monitoring

Coordinate releases with engineering, ops, and support. Use AI to summarize dashboards and highlight anomalies.

Clear view of whether the bet is working

"AI doesn't replace discovery or decisions — it compresses the busywork so I can spend more time on framing, trade-offs, and alignment."

My Domain: Shipping, Logistics & eCommerce

I can talk both languages — carrier rules and HS codes, or services, APIs, and data models

Operations & Logistics

  • Ocean shipping & documentation workflows
  • Booking flows, SI, BL/VGM/manifest, compliance checks
  • Carrier rules, HS codes, cut-off times, local office constraints
  • Operations dashboards & self-service tools

Technical & Product

  • Services, APIs, UX patterns, data models
  • Technical feasibility & trade-off analysis
  • SMB logistics & eCommerce digitization
  • Cross-border flows & inventory systems

Currently at VX Solutions

Helping smaller businesses in Vietnam digitize exports, inventory, and cross-border flows. Building tools that enable local offices, forwarders, and small shippers to get answers without email chaos.

Product Work at VX Solutions

Public-facing projects focusing on problems, product decisions, and outcomes

Document Management System for Shipping Documents

Context

Freight and logistics companies still rely heavily on scattered PDFs, email attachments, and shared folders for critical documents.

What I Worked On

Defined a cloud-based document system tailored to logistics workflows. Identified the most painful steps in finding, sharing, and keeping documents compliant. Designed features like expiring document alerts, structured metadata, role-based access, and integration points.

Impact
  • Key shipment documents became searchable and shareable in seconds
  • Reduced risk of missed renewals
  • Foundation for AI-powered document recognition & search

Smart Compliance Hub

Context

Exporters, forwarders, and logistics teams face a growing web of regulations, document rules, and carrier-specific requirements.

What I Worked On

Defined the vision for a central rule and compliance repository. Mapped compliance touchpoints across the shipment lifecycle. Designed rule catalogs, document templates, guided workflows, and future AI validation points.

Impact
  • Reduced human error from missing compliance steps
  • Made rules discoverable and maintainable
  • Foundation for AI-assisted "What do I need for this shipment?" queries

Smart Profit & Expense Tracker

Context

Many eCommerce sellers only see revenue — not true profit after ads, supplier cost, and shipping fees.

What I Worked On

Designed a profitability dashboard focused on net margins, not vanity metrics. Defined logic for expense categorization, multi-channel cost inputs, and tax summaries. Built visual insights and simple onboarding for non-technical sellers.

Impact
  • Helped sellers track real profit, not just top-line revenue
  • Reduced reliance on tangled spreadsheets
  • Space for future AI-driven margin optimization insights

Smart Inventory Management

Context

Growing sellers struggle with overselling, stockouts, and manual inventory reconciliation across marketplaces.

What I Worked On

Defined a unified inventory health dashboard across warehouses and channels. Designed logic for automated reordering, batch tracking, and anomaly detection. Created alerting and reporting tools for low stock, excess inventory, and fast movers.

Impact
  • Reduced overselling risk and stock emergencies
  • Improved planning with demand-aware replenishment
  • Real-time operational picture of inventory

Enterprise Product Work

High-level descriptions from work on a global ocean carrier eCommerce platform

Enterprise (Anonymized)

Express Booking Flow for Container Shipments

Context

The online booking journey was powerful but overwhelming — especially for smaller shippers and time-pressed users.

What I Worked On

Designed a simplified express booking flow for repeat shipments. Defined intelligent defaults, validation rules, and field reductions. Clarified MVP scope & guardrails with business stakeholders.

Impact
  • Faster, less error-prone bookings
  • Higher adoption of self-service vs. email
  • Reusable UX/logic pattern for other workflows
Enterprise (Anonymized)

End-to-End Shipment Overview Dashboard

Context

Users needed a clear place to answer: "What's happening with my shipment right now, and what happens next?"

What I Worked On

Defined a consolidated shipment overview with booking, documents, and tracking milestones. Prioritized which events & data matter for different user types. Designed the timeline, filters, and summary cards with UX + engineering.

Impact
  • 24/7 self-service visibility
  • Reduced status inquiry emails
  • Scalable timeline model for future features

Tools & Comfort Zone

Where I feel most comfortable operating

Product & Delivery

Value creationProduct discoveryBacklog managementRoadmappingDiscovery frameworksStakeholder alignment

Design Collaboration

WireframesJourney mapsService blueprintsUX collaborationDomain expertise integration

Technical

API design discussionsData modelingPrototype buildingProduction data analysisEngineering collaboration

I build my own prototypes (scripts, demo apps) and query production-like data to uncover insights. Enough hands-on to collaborate effectively with engineers without doing full implementation work.