Product

Product

ERP Platfrom | B2B, SaaS

ERP Platfrom | B2B, SaaS

ERP Platfrom | B2B, SaaS

My Role

My Role

UX Designer

UX Designer

UX Designer

Main Goal

Main Goal

To enhance buyers’ efficiency
& proactively prevent order delays

To enhance buyers’ efficiency & proactively prevent order delays

To enhance buyers’ efficiency & proactively prevent order delays

Elevating procurement teams’ performance with streamlined
orders’ tracking

About

ERPNext is an open-source ERP platform that helps businesses manage operations like procurement, sales, accounting, inventory, and more in one integrated system. Widely adopted in over 140 countries, ERPNext is consistently recognised as one of the top open-source ERP solutions globally.

ERPNext is an open-source ERP platform that helps businesses manage operations like procurement, sales, accounting, inventory, and more in one integrated system. Widely adopted in over 140 countries, ERPNext is consistently recognised as one of the top open-source ERP solutions globally.

Context

During my career as a Procurement Manager, I often struggled with the hassle of manually updating purchase orders statuses through endless emails and calls with suppliers and logistics teams. This disorganised process caused order delays, occasional financial losses and time-consuming shipments tracking.

Challenge

Over 8 weeks, I developed a feature allowing suppliers to independently update clients on shipment progress within the application, improving communication and order tracking. I also redesigned several ERPNext screens, enabling buyers to easily access shipment details, track orders more effectively and efficiently, and proactively manage delays.

DISCOVER
Competitor analysis

I began by researching what solutions are available on the market, focusing on key ERP players such as SAP Ariba, Oracle NetSuite, and Microsoft Dynamics 365.

The challenge I faced was that all the players required scheduling a call and providing company details for platform access, as these companies do not grant access to their B2B products.

Despite reaching out as a student, I wasn't granted access. Instead, I analysed shipment tracking features by reviewing their technical documentation and watching product demos available on YouTube.

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Microsoft Dynamics 365

Oracle Netsuite

Oracle Netsuite

SAP Ariba

SAP Ariba

Competitor analysis overview

Competitor analysis
overview

  • Microsoft’s purchase order interface feels overwhelming, displaying a large amount of information, much of which may not be immediately necessary at all times.


  • The shipment functionality in NetSuite can be found in the related records section, but it is not intuitive to locate.


  • The order tracking process in SAP Ariba is unnecessarily complicated with too many steps.

DISCOVER
User Interview

To validate my problem hypothesis, I’ve decided to talk with other supply chain professionals about their experience with tracking orders.

I used the JTBD framework to go beyond users' actions and uncover the outcomes they aimed to achieve during order tracking.

Research Goals

Research Goals

  1. Identify the tasks users are trying to accomplish, while tracking orders.

  2. Uncover unmet needs, challenges and solution triggers.

  3. Define the key user expectations from tracking tools.

  4. Validate essential purchase order information.

Whom I've interviewed

Competitor analysis
overview

Recruiting participants for B2B research was challenging due to a limited pool of qualified professionals. Unlike B2C, B2B requires specific industry experience. To overcome this, I leveraged my professional network and posted on LinkedIn.

Ideally, I would have interviewed 12 people, but due to the limited time and the challenges in accessing B2B professionals, I interviewed 3 former colleagues.

Whom I've interviewed

Whom I've interviewed

Strategy supply chain manager

Industry: Retail

Country: Germany


Procurement specialist

Industry: Environmental services

Country: Switzerland


Supply chain manager

Industry: Manufacturing

Country: Ukraine

Questions I've asked

Questions I've asked

  • What is your current job title and professional responsibilities?

  • How many orders did you manage previous week/month?

  • Can you describe how did you track your last purchase order?
    How did you feel about it?

  • What were you trying to achieve while tracking a purchase order?

  • What challenges did you face when tracking orders from multiple suppliers?

  • If you could change one thing to make tracking purchase orders easier, what would it be?

  • In an ideal system, how would you prefer staying informed about current status of your orders from vendors and logistics providers?

  • When managing a purchase order, what information do you consider most essential to include?

Key takeaways

After wrapping up the user interviews, I turned to Dovetail to dive into the insights I gathered. This allowed me to pinpoint common themes around what users aim to achieve, what outcomes they desire, and the pain points they're facing.

User goals

User goals

  • Be able to track orders in

    real-tilme

  • Be able to track orders in real-tilme

  • Enable vendors and logistics

    to access a centalised platfrom

    to update order statuses

  • Enable vendors and logistics providers to access a centralised platfrom to update order statuses

  • Detect potential supplier or

    delivery risk

  • Detect potential supplier or delivery risk

  • Optimise orders management


  • Optimise orders management


User motivations

User motivations

  • Stay informed at every step of

order progress to avoid delays

  • Stay informed at every step of order progress to avoid delays

  • Have a quick access to a critical

    information within all-in-one

    platform

  • Have a quick access to a critical information within all-in-one platform

  • Address issues promptly

  • Address issues promptly

  • Minimase errors and enhance

    collaboration

  • Minimase errors and

    enhance collaboration

User Challenges

User Challenges

  • Operational inefficiences due to

back-and-forth communication

  • Operational inefficiencies

  • Absence of real-time updates

  • Absence of real-time updates

  • Increased delays and

    discruptions due to mismatch

    and communication gaps

  • Increased delays and

    discruptions due to mismatch and communication gaps

  • Stress over missed deadlines

  • Stress over missed deadlines

DISCOVER
Jobs-To-Be-Done

DISCOVER
Jobs-To-Be-Done

I chose to apply the JTBD framework to reveal the core "job" users want to get done, which helps identify innovative opportunities and solutions that truly address what they’re aiming to achieve. To further uncover their long-term needs, beyond just their actions, I turned to the Jobs-as-a-Progress perspective.

JTBD Statement

JTBD Statement

When I manage orders from multiple vendors, I want to track order statuses and receive real-time updates from all the parties without having to contact them, so I can ensure timely deliveries and improve work efficiency.

DEFINE
User Flow and Information Architecture

DEFINE
User Flow &
Information Architecture

DEFINE
User Flow &
Information Architecture

The insights I gained gave me a fresh perspective on users' needs, helping me envision how the as-is flow and current information architecture could transform into improved future versions.

Future User Flow
from Purchase Order creation to receipt in warehouse

Future IA

Key areas for improvement for ERPNext Procurement module

Key areas for improvement for ERPNext Procurement module

Key areas for improvement
for ERPNext Procurement module

Boosting Supplier Engagement

Boosting Supplier Engagement

Introduced functionality for suppliers to independently add shipping notices, enabling shipment updates and improving communication with buyers.

Introduced functionality for suppliers to independently add shipping notices, enabling shipment updates and improving communication with buyers.

Streamlined Shipment Visibility

Improved accessibility for buyers to quickly view shipment details in one central location, enhancing transparency and efficiency

Improved accessibility for buyers to quickly view shipment details in one central location, enhancing transparency and efficiency.

Proactive Order Management

Enabled buyers to identify and manage delayed orders proactively, minimizing disruptions in the procurement process and ensuring smoother operations.

Enabled buyers to identify and manage delayed orders proactively, minimizing disruptions in the procurement process and ensuring smoother operations.

DEVELOP
SOLUTION

  1. Boosting Supplier Engagement

I redesigned both ERP interfaces to improve collaboration between suppliers and buyers.
• Supplier Interface: Enabled suppliers to create shipping notices, keeping buyers informed about order progress.
• Buyer Interface: Provided access to shipment details, allowing buyers to track orders efficiently and respond proactively to potential delays.


Started with an initial design, I transitioned to Balsamiq wireframes. This allowed me to focus on core functionality.

Introduced functionality for suppliers to independently add shipping notices, enabling shipment updates and improving communication with buyers.

I redesigned both ERP interfaces to improve collaboration between suppliers and buyers.
•Supplier Interface: Enabled suppliers to create shipping notices, keeping buyers informed about order progress.
•Buyer Interface: Provided access to shipment details, allowing buyers to track orders efficiently and respond proactively to potential delays.


Started with an initial design, I transitioned to Balsamiq wireframes. This allowed me to focus on core functionality.

Scenario 1 (for Suppliers):

Imagine you are a supplier who has received a purchase order from a client, Modern Living Interiors. After shipping the second part of the order, you need to notify them about its progress and arrival.

Task 1:
Let your client, Modern Living Interiors,  know that the rest of their order #00006  was shipped on December 12 and will arrive on January 16.

  1. Streamlined Shipment Visibility

Improved accessibility for buyers to quickly view shipment details in one central location, enhancing transparency and efficiency.

  1. Proactive Order Management

Enabled buyers to identify and manage delayed orders proactively, minimizing disruptions in the procurement process and ensuring smoother operations.

DEVELOP
SOLUTION

I redesigned both ERP interfaces to improve collaboration between suppliers and buyers.
•Supplier Interface: Enabled suppliers to create shipping notices, keeping buyers informed about order progress.
•Buyer Interface: Provided access to shipment details, allowing buyers to track orders efficiently and respond proactively to potential delays.

Started with an initial design, I transitioned to Balsamiq wireframes. This allowed me to focus on core functionality.

DEVELOP
USABILITY TESTING

Another challenge I faced was recruiting users for usability testing, as I needed to find two types of users—buyers and suppliers. Considering the limited time available, I aimed to identify users who had experience in both roles, functioning as both a buyer and a supplier.

As a result, I showed the prototypes to three participants — two of whom had experience working as both a buyer and a supplier, and one who had experience working solely as a buyer.


Purchase order

Supplier's interface

Purchase order

Supplier's interface

PROTOTYPING
Buyer identifies delayed orders
and analyses shipment insights to determine next steps


Prototyping
Supplier informs the client about the remaining shipment

Purchase order
Buyer's interface

Purchase order
Buyer's interface

Purchase Order
Buyer's interface

I initially planned to place the new "Shipments" feature in the "Connections" tab, where related documents for the specific order were located. However, I moved it to the "Details" page to make it more visible and accessible, allowing users to quickly access essential shipment information.

Some of the User Tasks:


Prototyping
Buyer identifies delayed orders
and analyses shipment insights to determine next steps


Prototyping
Buyer identifies delayed orders
and analyses shipment insights
to determine next steps

Shipments Overview
Buyer's interface


Shipments Overview
Buyers' Interface


Shipments Overview
Buyers' Interface

Lo-fi design

DELIVER
Performance Evaluation & Metrics


In a live project scenario, my next step would be to track key metrics to measure the design’s impact:

  1. Time on Task: I’d measure how much time buyers spend on manual order tracking (e.g., calls, emails) versus using the new feature, to see if it streamlines the process.

  2. Delayed Shipments: I’d measure the percentage of delayed shipments before and after the feature's implementation to assess its effectiveness in reducing delays.

  3. User Satisfaction: I’d gather feedback through post-task surveys to understand how users feel about the new feature.


These findings will guide future updates to optimise the user experience.

DEVELOP
USABILITY TESTING

Another challenge I faced was recruiting users for usability testing, as I needed to find two types of users—buyers and suppliers. Considering the limited time available, I aimed to identify users who had experience in both roles, functioning as both a buyer and a supplier.

As a result, I showed the prototypes to three participants — two of whom had experience working as both a buyer and a supplier, and one who had experience working solely as a buyer.

Another challenge I faced was recruiting users for usability testing, as I needed to find two types of users—buyers and suppliers. Considering the limited time available, I aimed to identify users who had experience in both roles, functioning as both a buyer and a supplier.

As a result, I showed the prototypes to three participants — two of whom had experience working as both a buyer and a supplier, and one who had experience working solely as a buyer.

Usability Testing Analysis:

Some of the User Tasks:

Scenario 2 (for Buyers):

You’ve placed multiple orders and asked your supplier to ship them together. You want to check which orders your supplier included in the shipment and make sure the shipped quantities match what you ordered.

Task 2:
Tell me which orders are in the December 13 shipment from Elegant Furnishing and if the quantities shipped are what was ordered.

Scenario 3 (for Buyers):

As a buyer managing orders from multiple suppliers, you need to keep track of delayed shipments and decide how to handle the situation.


Task 3:
Find out which shipments are delayed and check what might be causing the delay.

PROTOTYPING
Supplier informs the client about the remaining shipment

Scenario 1 (for Suppliers):

Scenario 1

(for Suppliers):

Imagine you are a supplier who has received a purchase order from a client, Modern Living Interiors. After shipping the second part of the order, you need to notify them about its progress and arrival.

Task 1:
Let your client, Modern Living Interiors,  know that the rest of their order #00006  was shipped on December 12 and will arrive on January 16.

Imagine you are a supplier who has received a purchase order from a client, Modern Living Interiors. After shipping the second part of the order, you need to notify them about its progress and arrival.

Task 1:
Let your client, Modern Living Interiors,  know that the rest of their order #00006  was shipped on December 12 and will arrive on January 16.

Scenario 2 (for Buyers):

Scenario 2

(for Buyers):

You’ve placed multiple orders and asked your supplier to ship them together. You want to check which orders your supplier included in the shipment and make sure the shipped quantities match what you ordered.

Task 2:
Tell me which orders are in the December 13 shipment from Elegant Furnishing and if the quantities shipped are what was ordered.

You’ve placed multiple orders and asked your supplier to ship them together. You want to check which orders your supplier included in the shipment and make sure the shipped quantities match what you ordered.

Task 2:
Tell me which orders are in the December 13 shipment from Elegant Furnishing and if the quantities shipped are what was ordered.

Scenario 3 (for Buyers):

Scenario 3

(for Buyers):

As a buyer managing orders from multiple suppliers, you need to keep track of delayed shipments and decide how to handle the situation.



Task 3:
Find out which shipments are delayed and check what might be causing the delay.

As a buyer managing orders from multiple suppliers, you need to keep track of delayed shipments and decide how to handle the situation.


Task 3:
Find out which shipments are delayed and check what might be causing the delay.

Usability Testing Analysis

Usability Testing Insights

  • Users were unclear that the shipping notice was automatically saved, leading to confusion about whether any further action was needed from them.

  • When creating a bulk shipping notice, users preferred starting by selecting Purchase Orders from the overall list, rather than from the Shipping Notice list.

  • Users expected to manage delayed shipments by accessing the shipment details directly from a specific order or shipping notice, instead of using the 'More' icon on the dashboard.


FINAL DESIGN

SUPPLIER'S INTERFACE
Inform the client about shipment progress…


…by adding a Shipping Notice for specific or multiple orders.

BUYER'S INTERFACE
Receive a Shipping Notice and easily manage shipments…

BUYER'S INTERFACE
Receive a Shipping Notice
and easily manage shipments…

…directly from Purchase Order.

DELIVER
Performance Evaluation & Metrics

DELIVER
Performance Evaluation
& Metrics

In a live project scenario, my next step would be to track key metrics to measure the design’s impact:

  1. Time on Task: I’d measure how much time buyers spend on manual order tracking (e.g., calls, emails) versus using the new feature, to see if it streamlines the process.

  2. Delayed Shipments: I’d measure the percentage of delayed shipments before and after the feature's implementation to assess its effectiveness in reducing delays.

  3. User Satisfaction: I’d gather feedback through post-task surveys to understand how users feel about the new feature.


These findings will guide future updates to optimise the user experience.