In 2022/23, I led the design of a SaaS solution for supply chain management, focusing on optimizing the interaction between repair centers, the supply chain team, and customer service.
Manual processes in managing repair center information caused inefficiencies and errors, negatively impacting customer service quality and operational efficiency.
Context and Main Challenge
The SaaS Supply Chain Service project aimed to automate all the operations that the Supply Chain (SC) team had been performing manually, while also improving communication between SC, Customer Support (CS), and the Repair Centers.
Until then, the SC team managed tasks manually, relying heavily on emails, phone calls, and weekly updates to an Excel file. This file contained store schedules, pricing, and logistical details. The process was not only inefficient and time-consuming but also prone to errors and duplication of work.
On the other hand, the CS team faced challenges when searching for the nearest repair centers for customers. Since there was no integration within the SaaS platform (Icon), they had to access the external Excel file, which further added delays and inefficiencies to their workflow.
The main challenge was to create a solution that automated this workflow, reduced operational time, and centralized information into an integrated system accessible to all teams.
Research Process
To plan this project, I began by establishing a detailed roadmap, defining the necessary timelines to deliver the first MVP. This roadmap ensured the project stayed on track while prioritizing research and development efforts effectively.
The research phase involved interviews and shadowing sessions with key teams: Supply Chain (SC), Customer Service (CS), and the Repair Centers. The primary goal was to deeply understand their current workflows, identify pain points, and gather functional requirements to design a user-centered solution.
Interviews with Supply Chain (SC):
I conducted several interviews with the SC team to understand how they communicated with Repair Centers and managed updates in the Excel file. This revealed that the process was highly manual and overly reliant on emails and phone calls, which increased the likelihood of errors and duplicated work.
Shadowing Customer Service (CS):
I observed the daily operations of the CS team through shadowing sessions. This allowed me to identify their main pain points, such as the long time required to search for information about repair centers, store hours, and locations. These issues stemmed from a lack of integration within the SaaS platform and dependence on an external Excel file.
Interviews with Repair Centers:
Finally, I held meetings with Repair Center representatives to understand how they communicated important changes, such as pricing, store hours, and availability. I discovered that these updates followed no standardized flow, complicating their integration into the existing system.
This research phase helped map out the main pain points and prioritize the key functionalities required for the proposed solution, focusing on process automation and information centralization.
Problem Definition and Proposed Solutions
Identified Problems
The research revealed three main challenges affecting efficiency and coordination among teams:
Time wasted searching for information:
Customer Service (CS) faced significant delays when looking up store locations, schedules, and availability due to reliance on an external Excel file.
Difficulties updating the Excel file:
The Supply Chain (SC) team spent excessive time maintaining and updating a complex Excel file full of formulas, which was error-prone and inefficient.
Lack of a standardized flow for communicating with Repair Centers:
Changes in pricing, schedules, and store openings were communicated in an unstructured way, leading to inconsistencies and delays in data synchronization.
Proposed Solutions
For the Supply Chain (SC) Team:
A dedicated SaaS system was designed to automate the import of all existing Excel data.
This SaaS allowed SC to perform critical actions such as:
Opening and closing stores.
Selecting the best stores based on updated pricing.
Editing store information with ease.
Executing other essential tasks to streamline daily operations.
For the Partners (Repair Centers):
A connected client was created within the Supply Chain SaaS, enabling Repair Centers to upload a JSON file weekly with updated information.
This ensured data consistency and real-time updates on pricing, schedules, and availability.
SC handled necessary changes through the admin system.
For the Customer Service (CS) Team:
A new feature was integrated into the SaaS platform (Icon), allowing CS to find the nearest repair centers for customers directly within the system.
This optimized search times and eliminated reliance on the external Excel file.
Results and Learnings
Results
The project delivered significant improvements in operational efficiency and team collaboration. Key results include:
Increased operational efficiency:
Improved efficiency by 40%, eliminating the chaos of manual data entry.
The Supply Chain team could focus on strategic tasks thanks to automation.
Scalable and efficient system:
Designed a modular, scalable system prepared for continuous improvements with optimized loading times.
Optimized Customer Service workflows:
Reduced loading and wait times for Customer Service when searching for Repair Centers, improving customer interactions.
Enhanced Partner autonomy and connectivity:
Established a workflow that allowed Repair Centers to operate more independently while maintaining full connectivity with SC.
This removed inconsistencies in communication and improved collaboration.
Learnings
Interdisciplinary collaboration:
Working with diverse teams (Supply Chain, Customer Service, and Repair Centers) provided a 360-degree view of the problem, enabling the design of a versatile and easy-to-implement solution.
Leveraging design systems:
Applied Bolttech’s design system to ensure a consistent user experience, while utilizing pre-defined components to enhance usability and functionality.
Adaptability and scalability:
Designing a scalable system underscored the importance of building solutions that evolve with user and business needs.
