Intro

Welcome to our portfolio project, a showcase of our work as product designers creating an exceptional digital experience for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions. My colleague and I set out to rethink how businesses manage complex operations through intuitive, efficient design.

Here, you’ll see how we built an ERP user experience from the ground up, focusing on usability and functionality across diverse industries. While our full team included eight designers, this presentation highlights the collaborative efforts and design philosophies of just the two of us.

This case spotlights the Supplier Evaluation & Acquaintance vertical—where we designed clear, data-driven metrics to simplify workflows and boost efficiency. Explore how thoughtful design can transform enterprise operations, one interaction at a time.

BUSINESS

Welcome to ESPAD, where we redefine the landscape of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions for national enterprises on a grand scale. In the realm of business-to-business (B2B) operations, ESPAD stands as a beacon of innovation and efficiency, seamlessly integrating intricate workflows and streamlining operations for large-scale enterprises across the nation.

In summary, ESPAD's ERP solutions serve as a catalyst for digital transformation within industry giants, providing robust functionalities, seamless integration, and unparalleled scalability. Through innovative UX design and product layouts, we empower B2B giants to navigate the complexities of modern business operations with ease and efficiency.

Navigating B2B Challenges

When crafting designs for B2B enterprises and large corporations, we encounter unique challenges in user research, such as navigating intricate personas and obtaining data access. Despite these obstacles, our unwavering dedication to understanding users fuels our creative solutions. Limited access to stakeholders and users presents additional hurdles in conducting user research. However, our commitment to grasping user needs inspires us to innovate boldly.

Parallel Research and Design System Teams

In tandem with our design verticals, our research team works tirelessly to gather insights, validate hypotheses, and inform our design decisions. Meanwhile, our Design System team iterates on design patterns, components, and guidelines based on feedback from designers, ensuring a cohesive and user-centric design experience.

Design Handoff and Collaboration

As designs take shape, our collaboration extends to our development counterparts through a seamless handoff process facilitated by our team leader. Clear documentation, wireflows, detailed annotations, and interactive prototypes ensure that developers have all the information they need to bring our designs to life effectively.

Agile Teams and Communication

Our agile teams, led by our team leader, ensure efficient communication and coordination. Designers seamlessly transition between teams as their expertise is needed for specific projects. With regular stand-ups, sprint planning sessions, and retrospectives, we maintain alignment and accountability across all verticals.

In the 'Supplier Evaluation & Acquaintance' Vertical of ESPAD, we're dedicated to simplifying supplier evaluation. Our Metrics feature, that we are going to present in this case study, automates grading, making it easier for ERPs to assess supplier performance

DESIGN SYSTEM

At ESPAD, we've developed a robust B2B design system, consisting of components, global atoms, and fundamental tokens. This system ensures consistency and scalability across projects, enhancing user experience. Check out some key components in the image, showcasing the versatility and effectiveness of our design approach.

Developing this design system was no easy task. It demanded extensive research and iteration to reach the level of quality and versatility we aimed for. Our team studied various design systems, drawing inspiration while innovating to tailor solutions for B2B enterprises' unique demands.

Today, we're revealing standout components that epitomize our design system's excellence, from sleek interfaces to intuitive interactions. Our dedication to refinement and innovation drives us to deliver cutting-edge solutions for enhanced B2B experiences.

PROJECT

Feeling the necessity: Imagine a world where manually grading suppliers in ERP supply chain management is a thing of the past. This is the vision behind "Metrics," a groundbreaking project within ESPAD's "Supplier Evaluation and Acquaintance" vertical.

With enterprises in constant need of reliable suppliers, "Metrics" promises to revolutionize the field by offering a streamlined grading system that saves time and ensures accuracy. In a landscape where every second counts, "Metrics" is set to redefine how businesses manage supplier evaluations, enhancing productivity and efficiency.

Competitive analysis

In our pursuit of innovation, we conducted a comprehensive competitive analysis, examining companies like Monday.com, ClickUp, Height, Smartsheet, Zoho, and IFTTT. This study provided valuable insights into industry trends and user preferences.

We particularly focused on IFTTT for its similarity to our intended functionality, dissecting its approach to refine our strategy. By understanding both its successes and shortcomings, we created a more user-centric experience. This analysis enabled ESPAD's "Metrics" project to stand out, offering unparalleled value to our users.

HOW DOES METRICS WORK

Prior to the implementation of ESPAD's 'Metrics' feature, employees had to manually formulate rules and evaluate suppliers based on these criteria. However, with 'Metrics,' this process is streamlined. Users now only need to create the rule once using the feature. Moreover, when creating a new metric, users specify where it is applied, simplifying the evaluation process even further.

• Now, let's examine examples of the sentences used by enterprises to evaluate suppliers, which served as the rules for supplier evaluation.

  
  

As you can see, these sentences consist of two parts: the IF part and the THEN part.

There is a third part before these that we refer to as the IN part, which indicates where this rule applies and where it takes its data from.

Now to see how does each part works and how is it shown in the real product and design.

FINAL UI DESIGN

After numerous rounds of iteration, we arrived at the final UI design for "Metrics." Drawing inspiration from industry best practices and user-centered design principles, we crafted sleek and intuitive interfaces that prioritized functionality and usability. Our designs aimed to streamline the grading process for suppliers while ensuring a delightful user experience. With attention to detail and a focus on clarity, the final UI design embodies ESPAD's commitment to excellence in design. You can see some of the Metric UI design parts below.

DESIGN HAND-OFF

With the final UI designs in hand, our next step was to hand them off to the development team for implementation. Using annotated wireflows with detailed explanations, we meticulously conveyed our design decisions and intentions to the engineers. Collaborative meetings provided an opportunity to address any questions or concerns and ensure alignment between design and development. This seamless handoff process facilitated a smooth transition from design concept to functional product, allowing us to bring "Metrics" to life with precision and efficiency.

Annotating the wireflow for the engineers

IF wireflow

All of the frames

IMPACT

Our product, particularly the Metrics feature, has transformed user workflows across key dimensions.

Financial Efficiency

We reduces the supplier evaluation process cost by approximately 58.5% compared to manual methods, primarily through the elimination of labor-intensive tasks and reduced resource expenditures.

Time Management

With ESPAD, the average time spent per evaluation decreases by approximately 65.2%, enabling users to complete evaluations more quickly and allocate time more efficiently.

Enhanced Security

Using our product eliminates incidents of fraudulent supplier submissions through enhanced security measures such as robust authentication, data encryption, and real-time validation checks.

Workforce Optimization

ESPAD reduces the need for manual intervention by approximately 60.7%, allowing organizations to optimize workforce allocation and focus on strategic initiatives.

Reduced Errors

ESPAD decreases the error rate in supplier evaluations by approximately 38.9% compared to manual methods, ensuring greater accuracy and reliability in decision-making processes.

Overall Impact

Our solution empowers users to operate more effectively and efficiently, delivering tangible benefits in cost, time, security, workforce management, and accuracy.

These concise explanations highlight the significant percentage improvements achieved by ESPAD in financial efficiency, time management, security, workforce optimization, and error reduction for organizations conducting supplier evaluations.