Material Lab

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the director of Cargosphere.ai, a company that builds a connected software platform that helps cargo facilities manage daily operations and enables freight forwarders, customs brokers, and other trade partners to coordinate shipments on one shared record.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Material Lab?

We needed a partner who could translate cargo operators’ pain points into practical software requirements and clearly communicate Cargosphere’s value through our website and sales materials.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Material Lab has supported product discovery, custom software requirements, website development, and product marketing. The team has translated CFS and ICD site-visit insights into prioritized feature recommendations, user journeys, and workflow specifications for our development team. Material Lab has also tested our Cargo Facility Application and Cargo Community System and recommended improvements to usability and data handling.

Material Lab has designed and built our responsive website, including product and role-specific pages, workflow visuals, demo-request forms, and downloadable collateral. Marketing deliverables have included market and competitor research, buyer personas, product positioning, a sales deck, a brochure, and outreach messaging.

What is the team composition?

We’ve worked with 2–5 teammates from Material Lab.

How did you come to work with Material Lab?

Material Lab was referred to me. We chose them for their combination of product thinking, technical expertise, and product marketing. Additionally, their pricing fit our budget, they were a great culture fit, and they offered good value for the cost.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in January 2026, and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Material Lab has translated operator pain points and CFS/ICD site-visit insights into 112 prioritized product recommendations and requirement updates, giving our development team actionable feature requirements. The team has mapped our cargo workflows across gate, yard, warehouse, billing, and customs, defining user journeys, data fields, and system rules to guide custom software development.

Material Lab has tested both live applications against real operating workflows and delivered prioritized recommendations addressing usability, data handling, and demo-readiness gaps. The team has launched our responsive website with demo-request forms and delivered aligned brochure and sales-deck content.

We’re seeing encouraging traction from early product customers, along with website visitors converting into leads. Material Lab has helped us communicate Cargosphere’s value more clearly and translate operational needs into actionable product requirements. We still have more to build and refine, but the early customer interest and inbound leads are promising signs.

How did Material Lab perform from a project management standpoint?

Material Lab delivers on time and works independently, keeping to the agreed timelines. We have weekly catch-ups to review progress, discuss priorities, and align on next steps. Their clear communication keeps us informed without needing to closely supervise the work.

What did you find most impressive about them?

What impresses us most is how Material Lab brings product thinking, engineering expertise, and business insights together. They connect operators’ needs with practical software requirements and clear market positioning, keeping the product and commercial goals aligned.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I don’t think there’s anything they can improve on.