Parts Ordering Platform Case Study

Define

Objective:

Initiate the development of a transformative platform to enable customers, dealers, and installers to seamlessly order parts. The project aims to replace the reliance on phone calls and email inquiries to customer support with three distinct digital experiences. The primary goal is to significantly reduce the demand on customer support, achieve substantial cost savings, and enhance overall user satisfaction.

Formulate

Project Title:

Transforming Parts Ordering through Digital Innovation

Overview:

Hunter Douglas’s legacy parts ordering system was fraught with inefficiencies, inconsistencies, and costly errors. The new digital parts ordering platform aimed to modernize the process, enhance customer experience, reduce support dependency, and achieve significant cost savings. By addressing the needs of diverse user personas (Consumers, Dealers, and Installers), the project set out to deliver a streamlined, intuitive, and scalable solution aligned with Hunter Douglas’s digital-first vision.

Objectives:

  1. Customer-Centric Experience: Create an intuitive platform tailored to the needs of Consumers, Dealers, and Installers.
  2. Operational Efficiency: Reduce reliance on customer support and improve ordering accuracy.
  3. Cost Savings: Minimize inefficiencies and shipping costs, realizing millions in annual savings.
  4. Scalable Solution: Develop a platform capable of handling hundreds of thousands of parts and diverse user needs.
  5. Stakeholder Alignment: Foster collaboration across departments to ensure cohesive execution.

Key Challenges:

  1. Cataloging Complexity: Organize and validate specifications for hundreds of thousands of unique parts.
  2. Cross-Department Collaboration: Align five departments with varying priorities and workflows.
  3. Budget Constraints: Deliver a high-quality platform with limited resources.
  4. Stakeholder Buy-In: Secure organizational support for the project’s strategic value.

Project Approach:

Phase 1: Research & Ideation

Phase 2: Design & Prototyping

Phase 3: Development & Rollout

Phase 3.1: Initial Rollout

Phase 3.2: Global Navigation & Search

Phase 3.3: Checkout Process

Collaboration & Management:

Anticipated Outcomes:

  1. Enhanced Customer Experience: Faster and more accurate ordering for all user groups.
  2. Cost Savings: Significant reductions in operational overhead and customer support demands.
  3. Increased Revenue: Higher profit margins through efficient processes and increased sales.
  4. Scalability: A future-proof solution adaptable to dealer and installer needs.

Future Plans:

Conclusion:

This project embodies the power of digital transformation to address inefficiencies, meet user needs, and maintain competitive leadership in the industry. By overcoming challenges and delivering a robust solution, Hunter Douglas has set a new standard for parts ordering, with measurable business and customer benefits.

Information Architecture:

Design

Wireframes

Design System

We broke out the high fidelity frames into three batches for each of the personas.

Batch One: Flows, Global Nav, Homepage, PLP/Search Results, Product Display Page
Batch Two: Flows, Cart, Shipping, Payment, Order Summary, Order History/Detail
Batch Three: Flows, My Profile, My Lists

Flows (Batch 1)

Dealer
Installer
Consumer

Global Nav

Homepage

Dealer
Installer
Consumer

PLP/Search Results

Dealer

Product Display Page

Dealer

Flows (Batch 2)

Installer

Cart

Shipping

Dealer

Payment

Dealer
Installer
Consumer
View All

Validate

User Testing Results: Refining the Digital Parts Ordering Platform

Round 1: Early Prototype Testing

Participants: 25 users, including 10 Consumers, 8 Dealers, and 7 Installers
Feedback Highlights:

  1. Navigation Complexity:
    • Feedback: Users reported difficulty navigating between product categories, with some struggling to locate specific parts using the existing menu structure.
    • Refinement: Redesigned the global navigation bar to include dropdown menus with clearly labeled categories and subcategories. Added a “Frequently Ordered” section based on user-specific ordering history for faster access.
  2. Search Functionality:
    • Feedback: Search results lacked relevance, with some users unable to locate parts even when entering exact names or part numbers.
    • Refinement: Enhanced the search algorithm to prioritize exact matches and suggest related products. Added a predictive text feature to auto-complete part numbers and keywords.
  3. Product Display Pages:
    • Feedback: Consumers found the product pages visually overwhelming, with technical specifications presented in dense tables.
    • Refinement: Simplified the product pages by grouping specifications into collapsible sections and adding high-quality product images with zoom functionality.

Round 2: Interactive Prototype Testing

Participants: 30 users (divided evenly among personas)
Feedback Highlights:

  1. Bulk Ordering for Dealers and Installers:
    • Feedback: Dealers and Installers requested bulk-ordering features to avoid repeatedly entering the same information for multiple items.
    • Refinement: Introduced a bulk-ordering tool that allows users to upload CSV files or select multiple items from a catalog to add to the cart simultaneously.
  2. Checkout Process:
    • Feedback: Users found the checkout process too lengthy, with repeated steps for payment and shipping details.
    • Refinement: Implemented a one-page checkout with auto-fill for returning users, saving previously entered information.
  3. Order Tracking:
    • Feedback: Users wanted real-time order tracking but found the original tracking feature hard to locate.
    • Refinement: Added an order tracking widget directly to the homepage and included tracking links in order confirmation emails.

Round 3: Real-World Testing with Beta Users

Participants: 50 beta testers (15 Consumers, 20 Dealers, 15 Installers)
Feedback Highlights:

  1. Performance Issues:
    • Feedback: Users experienced slow load times, especially when searching or navigating large product catalogs.
    • Refinement: Optimized database queries and implemented caching to reduce load times by 30%.
  2. Mobile Responsiveness:
    • Feedback: Some installers reported issues using the platform on tablets and smartphones in field conditions.
    • Refinement: Enhanced mobile design for better responsiveness, including larger touch targets and simplified layouts for smaller screens.
  3. Customer Support Integration:
    • Feedback: Users appreciated having access to support but wanted quicker options to resolve issues.
    • Refinement: Integrated a live chat feature and FAQ links directly into the platform, allowing users to resolve common issues without leaving the page.

Post-Testing Metrics

Deliver

Outcome: 

After three years of all sorts of obstacles the parts platforms were launched on the consumer help site and The Link. The outcome has been an overwhelming success, saving the company time, money and resources equating to over a million dollars annually.  

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