Your Partner for a Brighter Future
Wholesale operations transformation
A complete digital transformation of a major UK wholesaler's operations
SOLUTIONS
- Digital Transformation
- User Research & UX Discovery
- User Requirements Gathering
- User Experience (UX) Design
- Technical Strategy & Architecture
- Implementation
- View all solutions
Overview
We built a seamless and intuitive platform to rebuild an operations ecosystem worthy of a major UK wholesaler. This transformation delivered greater efficiency, streamlined processes, improved scalability, and a superior user experience.
The Client
The wholesale provider supplies a diverse range of products to retailers, restaurants, and the hospitality sector.
With a nationwide network of branches, distribution centres, and support hubs, they serve a vast customer base across the UK. Their commitment to increasing choice, improving service, and driving efficiency positioned them as an industry leader.
THE PROBLEM
An opportunity for growth
We identified opportunities to remodel the wholesaler's trading operations to improve productivity and support future growth.
Their existing processes, while effective in the past, relied heavily on manual methods, such as spreadsheets and email communication. This approach made it challenging to keep pace with the increasing demands of a fast-moving wholesale environment.
Workflows had inefficiencies, with some processes depending on individual expertise, creating bottlenecks. Internal controls, managed manually, added unnecessary complexity that reduced oversight and scalability.
A crucial insight revealed that key personnel were dedicating a significant portion of their time (25%) to administrative tasks. Optimising workflows would allow them to focus on strategic initiatives to drive innovation and growth.
Recognising these challenges, they embraced the need for a transformative solution that would streamline operations, encourage collaboration, and align with the evolving needs of their business ecosystem.
The Objective
A solution for stakeholders & suppliers
We aimed to develop an intuitive online platform capable of meeting the needs of internal stakeholders and external suppliers while enhancing wholesale operations efficiency.
However, as the project progressed, deeper inefficiencies surfaced that required a broader transformation.
The objectives expanded to include:
01 - Streamlining various operational processes.
02 - Improving internal controls.
03 - Empowering suppliers with tools to manage their operations effectively.
Another crucial requirement was designing the platform within an established design framework to maintain consistency and scalability while ensuring a user-friendly experience.
These combined goals demanded a solution that was not only technically robust but also deeply aligned with user needs and future business growth.
The solutions
A triple diamond approach
To tackle these complex challenges, our team adopted the Triple Diamond Model, an advanced framework for product development that seamlessly integrates design and development into a unified workflow.
Building on the well-known Double Diamond framework, this approach allowed for a more synchronised collaboration between design and development teams, ensuring agility throughout the project lifecycle.
Our discovery phase was rigorous and designed to engage key stakeholders at every step:
01 - Document Analysis
Step One:
Reviewing existing processes and workflows to establish a clear operational baseline.
02 - Stakeholder Workshops
Step Two:
A full-day kick-off session to map workflows, identify pain points, and gather initial improvement ideas.
03 - Follow-up Interviews & Co-design Sessions
Step Three:
Diving deeper into specific challenges and iterating on solutions through collaborative workshops.
As we synthesised insights into actionable recommendations, we transitioned seamlessly into development, ensuring continuous refinement based on user feedback. This approach was instrumental in creating a platform that was not only functional but also user-centric and future-proof.
With the new platform in place, communications are now centralised, with notifications providing clear visibility into key actions, updates, and process statuses.
"Communications are now all centralised through the platform with notifications providing visibility of various actions, updates and other status indicators within different processes."
- Mark Combie
Head of Delivery
THE BOTTOM LINE
Overcoming hurdles to deliver solutions
Despite the complexities that arose during the project, our expertise in digital transformation, user experience, and technical strategy ensured the delivery of a highly effective solution.
Through the Triple Diamond Model and deep collaboration with stakeholders, we developed a platform that not only addressed immediate inefficiencies but also laid a strong foundation for future scalability and growth.
The platform stands as a testament to our ability to navigate intricate challenges, adapt to evolving objectives, and deliver innovative, user-centric solutions.
The wholesaler now has a robust, user-friendly platform that streamlines operations, empowers users, and positions them for continued success in a competitive wholesale landscape.