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Stock
Additions
A mobile app that allows users to add stock to their warehouse locations.
Project Overview
What is it?
A mobile warehouse management system from Greenstone Systems. It is a mobile solution for a warehouse that allows you to capture shipment information, assign barcodes, and process inventory transfers on the go. It gives you up-to-the-minute inventory and customer details at every location, in both online and offline modes. It connects with a grain accounting software that is a complete agribusiness ERP.
My Role
UX Design, UI Design, Information design
Team
1 UX Designer, 1 Project Manager, 4 Engineers
Tools
Results
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Total time spent on stock additions: decreased by 30% when tested (about 2 hours to complete 27 orders)
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Positive success rate of offline use - 99.8% success rate
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Widget retention rate - 96% retention rate
Timeline
Problem
Once a month, we would meet with our biggest clients to discuss their wants and needs for our software and SOE apps. A specific client with a large operation that actively uses the warehouse app came to us with a request about creating a way to both make and manage stock additions on the go.
There were two main problems to address:
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Our software is deeply complex and allows for a variety of different workflows that are difficult to simplify for a mobile app.
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This mobile app would need to seamlessly work with our software to update and maintain information.
Solution
Based on testing and observation we created a vendor first approach and using our design system designed a widget that would allow a warehouse worker to create a stock addition from beginning to end on their mobile device anywhere in the warehouse with or without wifi.
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There was a slow roll out as we had to make sure that our widget would work when scaled to a bigger warehouse and a bigger system.
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After the success of the roll out on a small scale we were able to release to more clients who were successful in using the widget on a large scale.
Research
I held a meeting with our client and product manager to determine how much time stock additions currently take and by how much we would hope to improve that.
Data
Estimation of time for worker to manually copy all items and important information on paper then transfer to software in office: 3 hours (time estimate is based on average of 27 additions per day)
Goals
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Decrease time spent on stock additions
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Positive success rate of offline use
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High widget retention rate
I interviewed 6 warehouse workers about their struggles with adding stock additions in the warehouse. I then did a site visit to shadow workers and to better understand and see their challenges firsthand.
Key Insights
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Current Inefficiency: Manual stock additions across multiple locations are time-consuming and distract from other critical tasks.
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Desire for Mobility: Workers are enthusiastic about the flexibility to add stock via a mobile device from any location.
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Connectivity Concern: Spotty Wi-Fi coverage within warehouses is a major concern for reliable usage.
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Critical Requirement: The application must include offline capability to function effectively in areas with limited connectivity.
Testing
Due to the complexity of the software and our difficulty simplifying for mobile, we had to run many test and validations.
Methods
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A/B test
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a “vendor” first approach and an “item” first approach
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In person Testing/Interviews
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Heat Mapping
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Hotjar Recordings
Results
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“vendor” first approach was the overwhelming winner
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flow was easy to understand with only a couple easily fixed hiccups
Challenges
We faced a few key obstacles, most notably managing client expectations around budget and timelines. On the design side, my biggest challenge was balancing complexity with ease of adoption. I needed to create an interface intuitive enough to virtually eliminate the learning curve, ensuring workers saw the benefit right away.
Results
The client was extremely pleased with the final product and the rollout went great. We decreased overall time spent doing stock additions and as of 6 months later the retention rate was high.
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Total time spent on stock additions: decreased by 30% when tested (about 2 hours to complete 27 orders)
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Positive success rate of offline use - 99.8% success rate
-
Widget retention rate - 96% retention rate
Takeaways
The biggest lesson learned was that there is no substitute for onsite observation. Watching users in their actual environment allowed me to design a custom tool that addressed the specific, real-world needs of their daily tasks.
