Enterprise Search
When I first came on board at Winsupply, I realized the company’s business model was unlike any I had encountered before, requiring a deep understanding of its inner workings. The real challenge, however, wasn’t just learning the system—it was realizing how outdated and fragmented it was, weighed down by complex rules and regional variations. It wasn’t aligned with where we needed to go. I led the redesign, making the system 87% faster and 78% of users found it far simpler and more intuitive. What we created wasn’t just a new system, it was a whole new way of working.
Uncharted
Territory
Entering Winsupply meant I was navigating uncharted waters. To truly understand the system, I collaborated with different teams, had countless meetings, and mapped out every workflow I could find. As I explored the system, I uncovered layers of complexity, discovering both the strengths and weaknesses of the existing processes. This deep dive gave me the clarity I needed to identify the challenges, allowing me to formulate a strategy for streamlining and improving the system.
Outcomes
Defining Scope : Clarified both the immediate and long-term goals of the project, establishing a roadmap for future enhancements.
Simplification : Streamlined complex workflows and reduced unnecessary steps, improving overall usability and operational efficiency.
Redefining User Roles: Re-evaluated and redefined user roles to align with the updated system, ensuring clarity and efficiency for both internal teams and end-users.
87% Faster : The new system is 87% faster than the previous one, with processes now more automated and less reliant on manual tasks. Additionally, the learning curve has been significantly reduced, making it easier for users to adapt.
Key Challenges
Simplify the Storm
Challenge
One of the biggest challenges in this project was navigating the complexity of Winsupply’s existing B2B model. There were so many moving parts, with intricate rules and regional variations that made the system feel disjointed. Understanding how each department interacted with the system and how those interactions differed across regions required a deep dive into the business itself
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Navigating intricate rules and processes
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Coordinating between teams in different time zones
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Information Overload
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Process and Ways of Working Recommendation
From sales and marketing to product management and development, I spoke with everyone I could to understand how the business worked and what the rules were for each region.
Solution
To make sense of all the complexities, I created multiple flowcharts to map out the system, breaking down each region’s unique requirements and business rules.From sales and marketing to product management and development, I spoke with everyone I could to understand how the business worked and what the rules were for each region.
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Prioritized key features
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Define Stages- I created a current and future roadmap
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Understand the sensitivity
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Use Collaborative approach
From sales and marketing to product management and development, I spoke with everyone I could to understand how the business worked and what the rules were for each region.
Who’s Impacted
Well everyone was impacted, but amidst the sea of beneficiaries and stakeholders, I managed to focus on the key streams to surf my way through smoothly.
Key teams I integrated with:
Marketing IT Team: Invest time
upfront to prepare and align with
stakeholders. It speeds up sign-
off down the line.
CRM The hub of all contact and customer data, fuels much of the demand building activity.
Digital Sales: Focuses on optimizing online sales processes to increase conversions and enhance the buying experience.
Showroom Owners:
Accept that not everything can be resolved. Priorities tasks by
impact using frameworks like
MoSCoW.
Business Intelligence Team: Analyzes data to provide insights that guide decision-making and improve operational efficiency difference.
Regional Teams Tailor strategies and processes to specific regional needs, ensuring localized relevance and alignment with broader business goals.
What Changed
The immediate solution focused on improving the search and optimization features like product boosting, burying, and synonym management, which helped streamline the product discovery process for showroom owners.
Future: AI Roadmap
A new AI roadmap to bring advanced, personalized search
A streamlined, intuitive solution that helped different department
Now: Newly Designer Application
A streamlined, intuitive solution that helped different departments communicate and make decisions more effectively.
Research Findings
Understanding to Action
MVP
Scope
In this sprint, we honed in on the essentials. By
focusing on the MVP, we ensured core needs were
met and brought all stakeholders into alignment.
Goal
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Enable boost or bury products during peak demand or special events.
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Optimize the product discovery experience
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Reduce the time required foe people to learn how to use the existing app
Stakeholder Interviews
Delays and Huge Learning curve
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59% of users mentioned issues with delay in boost due to unclear information
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20% of showroom owners could not activate sales boost before the event ended
Dependency on the technical team
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65% of tasks had dependency on the technical team to publish new rule.
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25% new users feels confused with the process
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15% of technical team members find it overwhelming & consider it extra work
Manual process
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85% of business intelligence and sales data is manipulated manually
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70% of tasks are performed manually
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78% need to consult a senior to make changes
Unreported / Delayed Synonym Issues
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Many of the vendors mentioned that the need for synonyms are not done on time
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These delays impacts event outcomes
Heuristic Evaluation
Consistency and Relevance
The app displays irrelevant or completely mismatched search suggestions, leading to confusion and inefficiency
No Multiple Selection Option
Users cannot select multiple items
at once, requiring repetitive actions
for tasks that could be streamlined.
Recognition Over Recall
he app forces users to recall information from memory, as it does not display relevant options or recent search history readily
Error Prevention
The app lacks proactive error prevention, allowing users to make incompatibleor submit incomplete data without guidance.
Flexibility and Efficiency of Use
The app doesn’t offer shortcuts or customization options, hindering efficiency for advanced users who require faster workflows.
UX Strategy
Prioritize Core Features for
Simplicity
Focus on the most essential features — in this case, Rules, Synonyms & Boost and Bury. This can be done by creating clear navigation paths and minimizing the number of steps required to set up and use these features.
Streamline Internal Workflows
Emphasize improving internal workflows and leveraging their feedback to fine-tune the MVP, ensuring a smoother transition when the product reaches
external users.
MVp Features
User Flows
I used work flows to understand the existing system and simplify its connections. Additionally, I defined the MVP and identified key users and their roles to streamline the system's focus.
Work Flow
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I analyzed multiple workflows to gain understanding of existing Complex system.
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Work Flows helped greatly to communicate with the team and connecting things
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I tested various features to streamline processes and improve user experience
Defined Users
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Rule Managers
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Admin
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Read Only Users
MVp Features
Setting up Synonyms
This was a key part of the project! Since the product goes by different names in different regions, the search results had to show synonyms or equivalents to help boost sales.
Requirement Analysis
I organised my days around 90- to 120-minute 'deep work'
sessions. While surprises did pop up, I made sure to reserve
at least two blocks for high-priority tasks. The rest of the day
was more flexible, adapting to what each project threw at me.
Initial Iterations
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Removed Publish All because of tech issues
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2 hours: Work on second priority
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1 hour: Tertiary tasks
Final Iterations after user test
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Morning: Product discoverability and Process Improvement
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Afternoon: Plan for the next week and tie up loose ends
Final Screen
No week ever went exactly as planned. Here's how I handled
the curveballs:
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Urgent Requests: I built in a buffer during afternoon
sessions for any urgent issues. If something couldn't wait,
it got slotted in here.
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Shifting Priorities: If a project needed more attention, I'd
adjust my 70-20-10 split and keep stakeholders in the loop.
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Energy Levels: I'd tackle high-energy tasks (like creative
design work) when I was at my peak and saved less
demanding tasks (like documentation) for when I needed a
breather.
This system wasn't perfect, but it helped me keep all the
plates spinning without losing focus. Flexibility within a
structured framework was key.
Synonym Page
This page allow user to set up synonyms, from the table below user can view all the synonyms
One Way Synonyms
This page allow user to set up synonyms, from the table below user can view all the synonyms
Add Category to Rule
First step is to add search term abd add category to the rule and add companies/ region information for the category to set up rule
Publish Synonym
This page allow user to set up synonyms, from the table below user can view all the synonyms
ProducT Promotion
Boost and Bury
Product Relevance
The goal of this feature was to simplify product visibility management based on specific requirements. The existing system was manual and overly complex, making it difficult to manage product relevance. I collaborated with the team through several iterations to design a user-friendly system that allows admins and companies to easily configure product relevance and prioritize which products should be visible.
Boost The Product
This feature was developed to support product visibility during promotions or events. The app provides a straightforward, intuitive interface that enables users to boost the visibility of a product or enhance similar search results, ensuring that the right products are highlighted at the right time.
Bury the Results
This feature addresses the need to deprioritize certain products during off-seasons when they are less in demand. I analyzed the existing system and proposed a simplified approach that allows users to easily bury products, ensuring that the focus is placed on products that are more relevant to current trends or seasons.
Product Relevance Management
On this page user can boost a product and set priority
Edit Rules for Boost or Bury
On this page user can boost a product and set priority
How Products Will be visible
Defining Rules
Add a New Rule
The previous system required the use of three separate apps, and adding a single rule involved multiple people and significant time. I streamlined this process by simplifying it by 90%, enabling users to add rules through a simple and intuitive set of steps, reducing both time and complexity.
Define Categories and Facets
The old system relied on a manual process to hardcode every new category or facet, causing significant delays. I improved the process by 80%, allowing users to easily add categories and facets, apply them to a rule, and modify them as needed, significantly reducing the time spent on these tasks.
Review and Publish Rule
Rules can be applied to one or multiple regions, so reviewing what was added is crucial to prevent errors and ensure a smooth publishing process. I focused on streamlining this step to provide users with an efficient way to review and verify rules before publishing, ensuring accuracy and a more efficient workflow.
Add a New Rule
This page allow user to set up synonyms, from the table below user can view all the synonyms
Add Facet of Product
Second, Add product facet, item keywords to the rule
Review and Save
Finally, review all the rule details and save it to be published and user in all the regions needed
Reflection
The Final Call
Reflection &
future Potential
Identified three key business opportunities that set this
feature apart from the current offerings within the app.
AI Roadmap
As part of our vision for the future, Icreated an AI roadmap to enhance the system’s capabilities. This roadmap outlines the integration of AI features that will allow the system to automatically generate synonyms and suggest rules based on upcoming events.
Flexible, Fast indexing and Retrieval
As a future feature, we aim to integrate time-saving tools that will index users' data to reflect real-time product availability. With the open crawler and flexible APIs, this will allow users to paint a complete inventory picture and analyze trends that help inform purchasing decisions.
From Confusion to Clarity
I joined several meetings and watched demo videos multiple times to fully understand the system and its challenges. That helped me work on suggesting clear guidance and flows at every stage to help the team and for future use. I did a lot of documentation to make sure we know how we are going about it. Working with Winsupply’s existing system posed some limitations, but it also sparked valuable discussions on how we might want to modify it in the future.
