Product Design & Development
Transforming Foodservice Ecommerce with Anchovi
Anchovi simplifies online ordering and boosts operational efficiency by integrating seamlessly with various (ERP) systems. This integration significantly reduces the time required for processing and enhances distributor visibility in the digital marketplace.
Role
Head of Design
Role time
Long-term (4+ years)
Building a Design Organization & Enhancing User Engagement
As one of the early employees and the Head of Design at Anchovi, I was instrumental from the very beginning, tasked not only with defining the platform's foundational design elements but also with building and leading a dynamic team. I assembled a diverse group of five designers, each specializing in key areas such as Product Design, Design Systems, and Brand Design. This strategic formation allowed us to cover all aspects of design comprehensively, from the intricacies of user interface design to the overarching brand identity, ensuring a cohesive and accessible user experience across all platforms.
Anchovi faced several challenges, including a disconnected user experience, inefficient ordering processes, and a lack of a cohesive design strategy. The primary goals were to improve operational efficiency, enrich product data, and foster better customer relationships. By addressing these issues, the aim was to create a more streamlined and user-friendly platform that could effectively meet the needs of food distributors and their customers.
Streamline Distributor Onboarding
Drastically reduce the onboarding time from months to a single day.
Unified Customer Experience
Ensure a seamless and consistent user experience across all touchpoints.
Absolute Integration Excellence
Achieve seamless integration with modern ERP systems to streamline operations.
Innovative Design Leadership
Lead the market by adopting cutting-edge design practices and continually iterating.
DISCOVER
Aligning Customer Needs with Business Goals
Before jumping into solutions, it was crucial to ensure we understood customer problems and how they related to our business objectives. To achieve this, I utilized the Double Diamond Framework. During this phase, We analyzed anonymized customer conversations, reviewed support request data, and organised in-person user session. This comprehensive analysis helped us identify key pain points and opportunities for improvement, ensuring our design decisions were both user-centric and aligned with our business goals.
Understanding Our Customers
To gain a deeper understanding of our customers’ needs, we visited restaurants and distributors in person.
These interactions provided invaluable insights into their daily operations and challenges, helping us tailor our solutions to better meet their specific requirements. Additionally, we conducted both moderated and unmoderated user studies to gather comprehensive feedback and observe user interactions in various contexts.
Operators
Operators are responsible for the day-to-day management of food service operations. They need efficient and reliable systems to manage orders, track inventory, and ensure smooth operational workflows.
Sales Reps
Sales Reps play a critical role in facilitating sales and maintaining relationships between distributors and operators. They require robust tools to manage client interactions, streamline order processes, and provide up-to-date product information.
Distributors
Distributors are the backbone of the food service supply chain, responsible for delivering products to operators. They need systems that ensure accurate order fulfillment, efficient onboarding of new partners, and seamless integration with ERP systems for real-time data management.
DEFINE
Defining the Design Challenge
After the initial stage, I sifted through all the gathered information to identify key issues and refine the design challenge. This process involved distilling insights to pinpoint the main problems we needed to address.
Main Customer Problems
Fragmented Ordering Process
The fragmented ordering system causes confusion and delays, lacking visibility into created orders.
Inefficient Onboarding for Distributors
Onboarding new distributors is slow and cumbersome, heavily relying on manual efforts from DSRs.
Lack of Comprehensive Product Data
Insufficient product data, including descriptions and images limits product discovery and customer satisfaction.
Inconsistent Customer Experience
Users face inconsistent experiences across touchpoints, leading to confusion and dissatisfaction.
How can We design a solution that effectively serves all our target audiences—Operators, Distributor Sales Reps (DSRs), and Distributors—while simultaneously meeting all of our business goals? This involves creating a unified, efficient, and user-friendly system that addresses the specific needs of each group and aligns with our objectives for streamlined onboarding, enhanced customer experience, seamless integration, and innovative design leadership.
Design Strategy
Aarron Walter's Hierarchy of User Needs
1. Build Functional, Reliable, Usable UX
This step involves a comprehensive UX overhaul and unification of the messaging experience on Anchovi, ensuring it is functional, reliable, and user-friendly for all target audiences.
2. Enhance Usability for Key Users
Recognizing the additional needs of our target audiences, we focus on improving usability to make their interactions more efficient and effective. This includes tailored solutions to meet the specific requirements of operators, DSRs, and distributors.
3. Create a Delightful Experience
Beyond functionality and usability, this step aims to make the user experience delightful. By adding thoughtful touches and engaging interactions, we enhance the overall satisfaction and engagement of our users.
DEVELOP
Designing Things Right
By collaborating with developers early in the design process, I ensured that fewer problems would arise during implementation. This proactive approach allowed us to identify and address technical limitations that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. Additionally, we continuously checked to ensure that our solutions aligned with our business goals, leading to a smoother, more efficient development phase and a final product that meets both user needs and business objectives.
Existing solutions we were (at the time) up against.
The legacy software was inefficient and cluttered, causing fragmented ordering processes and dependency on DSRs, preventing users from ordering on the go. Anchovi provides a modern, integrated platform that offers real-time data accuracy, streamlined operations, and mobile ordering, meeting our business goals.
Implementing a Multi-Platform Design System
We implemented a multi-platform design system to ensure consistency across all devices. This unified design language streamlined our processes, reduced redundancy, and maintained brand consistency, enhancing usability and user satisfaction on desktop, mobile, and tablet platforms.
DELIVER
Ensuring the Final Product Works Well
Once we launched the first version, we began collecting user feedback and monitoring key metrics using tools such as FullStory and GA4. This continuous feedback loop allowed us to make necessary adjustments and improvements. We received positive feedback and successfully unified the user experience across all platforms, meeting our business goals and ensuring high user satisfaction.
Positive Feedback All Along, But a Lot of Work Ahead
Once we launched the first version, we began collecting user feedback and monitoring key metrics using tools such as FullStory and GA4. This continuous feedback loop allowed us to make necessary adjustments and improvements. We received positive feedback and successfully unified the user experience across all platforms, meeting our business goals and ensuring high user satisfaction.
3 Months > 1 Day
Onboarding Time
We drastically reduced onboarding time from three months to a single day by designing and launching an onboarding tool called Allboarding. This tool standardized data from all ERPs into our new format, streamlining the process and making it efficient and user-friendly for new distributors.
500,000+
Enriched Products
We enriched over 500,000 products with detailed descriptions, images, nutritional information, and allergen data. This enhancement improved product discovery and allowed users to make more informed purchasing decisions, increasing overall satisfaction.
3 Platforms
One-Stop Solution
We successfully launched a comprehensive platform across three platforms: Web, Mobile, and Tablet. By utilizing our multi-platform design system, we maintained absolute consistency and provided a seamless user experience across all devices, ensuring high user satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Don’t hesitate, send me a message!
Let’s keep it casual—whether you’re a startup thinking about design or a designer wanting to exchange ideas, I’m up for a chat. Send me a message and let’s connect!