Solution
Here is a small glimpse of the final product now.
B2B eCommerce
Saltedbasics
Designing a B2B E-commerce website for an apparel manufacturer to allow with net 30 payment terms.
BACKGROUND
Saltedbasics needed help creating a website to simplify their quoting process and provide a better user experience for their retail customers. Their goal is to design, source, manufacture, and deliver apparel fast without time zones barriers.
TEAM
I wored many hats during this project. I served as a UX/UI Designer and Front-End Web Developer along with a copy writer, the SVP of Product Development and Design.
MY ROLE
• Web Developer
• UX Research
• UI Design
• User Interviews
Business research
I started by understanding the business requirements.
STEPS
KICK-OFF WORKSHOP
I’ve organised a session to meet all the stakeholders and understand what they’re trying to achieve. To facilitate, I’ve used Figma in order for us quickly define current problems, business goals, & potential site map. Establish their value propositions as well as who are some of their competitors.
BUSINESS GOALS
The company wants to provide a password protected catalog, with ability to take bulk orders 24/7. Eliminating the need for orders by email during operating business hours. Due to the fact that some customers are over seas.
PROBLEM DEFINITION
Saltedbasics stated that the quoting process was too long and stressful. They were conducting business via numerous emails back and forth with PDF versions of printed catalogs, which involved too much manual work, not to mention restricted to the US time-zone.
REQUIREMENTS
User research
We interview current customers to understand their needs and establish average user’s profile.
STEPS
USER INTERVIEWS
The copy writer and I arranged 5 calls via Zoom with current customers to develop average user profiles and understand what influenced their decision. And it turns out 3 said quality and value. The remaining 2 also mentioned faster delivery!
Meet Jon
- Location: Switzerland
- Age: 55
- Work: CEO of High Street Fashion
- Family: Divorced, with kids
- Character: Focused
Key Role: Decision Maker
JOBS TO BE DONE
Jon is the 55 year old head of High Street Fashion. He leads the business, through a very hard time for fashion retailers with physical stores and online stores competing.
His main goal is to secure supply of good quality apparel at a price that makes him a profit.
PAINS & GAINS
Retail is having a tough time, people are shopping less in stores, the virus has affected every part of the supply chain from the production of the apparel to the people who buy it.
His store sells low cost goods, so margins are tight. He needs to source good quality products fast at a reasonable price, and sell a lot of them.
Meet Rachael
- Location: Ohio
- Age: 31
- Work: Senior VP of Merchandising
- Family: Not married
- Character: Energetic
Key Role: Product Selection, Allocation & Approval
JOBS TO BE DONE
Rachel works in fashion for a big retailer. Her day to day job is to find suppliers who will give her the best deal. Get the best value for the lowest cost and make sure stock is in stores at the right time.
PAINS & GAINS
What makes her life hard is the supply chain, and the complexity of dealing with suppliers. She knows what she wants, and has to translate that to other people. She doesn’t always trust the overseas suppliers – she thinks they over promise and sometimes underdeliver. They’re not great at communicating, whereas she will always tell you if something is wrong. What makes her feel great is seeing a line she has worked on come to life – in store on time or even better being worn by a happy customer.
User journey
I’d like to understand the many steps retailers take when shopping for an apparel manufacture and which of these steps the platform/e-commerce website will be crucial for.
Information architecture
I want to ensure the website’s content is well organised to make it easy to discover and navigate through.
STEPS
SITE MAPPING
I’ve organized a session to go over the information architecture. We classify the content in a clear and understandable way and arrange it according to relations between the content pieces, in order to allow users to have a positive experience navigating the website.
Accessibility
I wanted to ensure my designs were universal and worked for everyone.
STEPS
WCAG VALIDATION
I’m working on the website to fully comply with industry’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
PERFORMANCE
I’ve ensured the website had no performance issues, by analyzing the PageSpeed which are likely to affect accessibility and conversion rates by optimizing all hi-res images that should improve loading times by 20%.
