Transforming B2B E-Commerce
A Strategic UX Case Study for a Global Consumer Goods Leader
The Challenge
A global leader in consumer goods, faced inefficiencies in their manual order management system. The process placed significant strain on their customer service team and created operational bottlenecks for distributors. To address these challenges, UL needed a modern, scalable solution to streamline operations and align workflows with their partners.
The Design Solution
To meet UL’s needs, we designed a Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform tailored for B2B e-commerce. This platform was more than a technology upgrade—it was a strategic initiative to enable seamless self-service capabilities, optimize supply chain management, and support future scalability.
Role
As the UX lead, I played a key role in shaping the platform’s vision and execution. My contributions included:
- Leading design workshops with stakeholders to define goals and align priorities.
- Developing a user-centered design strategy to address pain points and business objectives.
- Creating wireframes and prototypes to validate and refine key features.
- Evaluating and customizing best practices in B2B e-commerce design.
- Establishing the visual design direction, leveraging Salesforce Lightning Design System while ensuring alignment with UL’s brand identity.
- Leading design workshops with stakeholders to define goals and align priorities.
- Developing a user-centered design strategy to address pain points and business objectives.
- Creating wireframes and prototypes to validate and refine key features.
- Evaluating and customizing best practices in B2B e-commerce design.
- Establishing the visual design direction, leveraging Salesforce Lightning Design System while ensuring alignment with UL’s brand identity.
Design Approach
The project required a structured yet adaptive approach to meet UL’s complex needs:
Collaborative Ideation: Design Thinking workshops facilitated cross-functional collaboration, generating actionable ideas and aligning stakeholders early in the process.
Wire-framing and Prototyping: Low-fidelity wireframes and prototypes allowed for rapid validation and iteration, ensuring alignment with user and business needs.
Applying Best Practices: Industry-standard B2B e-commerce practices were evaluated and tailored to UL’s specific requirements, creating a user experience that was both efficient and scalable.
Navigating Technical Constraints: Creative solutions were developed to address the limitations of Salesforce Commerce Cloud while maintaining a seamless user experience.
Continuous Testing: Each prototype underwent multiple rounds of testing with stakeholders and end-users to ensure functionality and usability.
Collaborative Ideation: Design Thinking workshops facilitated cross-functional collaboration, generating actionable ideas and aligning stakeholders early in the process.
Wire-framing and Prototyping: Low-fidelity wireframes and prototypes allowed for rapid validation and iteration, ensuring alignment with user and business needs.
Applying Best Practices: Industry-standard B2B e-commerce practices were evaluated and tailored to UL’s specific requirements, creating a user experience that was both efficient and scalable.
Navigating Technical Constraints: Creative solutions were developed to address the limitations of Salesforce Commerce Cloud while maintaining a seamless user experience.
Continuous Testing: Each prototype underwent multiple rounds of testing with stakeholders and end-users to ensure functionality and usability.
Key Learnings
Close collaboration was essential to the project’s success. Visual prototypes provided stakeholders with a clear understanding of the platform’s design and functionality, enabling faster decision-making and fostering alignment across teams. The approach ensured that the final product addressed both user needs and business objectives.
The Outcome
The platform delivered significant improvements in UL’s operations:
Distributors gained 24/7 access to self-service tools, reducing their reliance on customer service and streamlining order management.
Automation of master data processes minimized errors and allowed staff to focus on higher-value tasks.
The platform’s scalable design positioned UL for future growth, enabling expansion into additional regions.
This initiative not only addressed immediate operational challenges but also provided a strategic foundation for long-term success in B2B e-commerce.
Distributors gained 24/7 access to self-service tools, reducing their reliance on customer service and streamlining order management.
Automation of master data processes minimized errors and allowed staff to focus on higher-value tasks.
The platform’s scalable design positioned UL for future growth, enabling expansion into additional regions.
This initiative not only addressed immediate operational challenges but also provided a strategic foundation for long-term success in B2B e-commerce.
Business impacts
The consumer packaged goods company’s new e-commerce platform transformed their approach to order management, delivering measurable business benefits:
Increased efficiency through automated processes and reduced reliance on manual intervention.
Enhanced distributor satisfaction with a seamless self-service experience.
Strengthened operational capabilities, positioning UL as a leader in modern B2B e-commerce.
Increased efficiency through automated processes and reduced reliance on manual intervention.
Enhanced distributor satisfaction with a seamless self-service experience.
Strengthened operational capabilities, positioning UL as a leader in modern B2B e-commerce.
