Uline Design Challenge
UX Design Case Study
Uline is a leading distributor of shipping, industrial and packaging materials to businesses throughout North America. I was tasked to review the Uline website and identify one feature, enhancement, or change that could benefit their users. In this case study, I will show you my solution, and the process behind my design decisions.
Deliverables
Competitive Analysis
Mid-fi Mockups
Prototype
Tools
Figma
Whimsical
proposed solution.
I came up with a feature that allows businesses to automatically reorder materials every few days, weeks, or months on a subscription basis. I built this feature to work along with Uline’s 'Shopping Lists', lists of merchandise that customers can create and customize. To avoid unexpected and unwanted charges, users have to activate this feature to get started.
I wanted users to have the power to customize their order. Because Uline serves small and large size businesses, customers’ needs can vary widely.
research.
The 5 W's
To understand who is using the site and what their motivations might be, I considered the 5 W’s.
Who is using the site?
Uline targets B2B purchasers and buyers for small to large businesses, across diverse industries.
When do they use the site?
Customers would use the site every few days, weeks, or months to order business materials.
Where are they using the site from?
Uline sells to businesses located anywhere in North America.
What are they doing?
The user is buying materials for their business, which could range from labels to boxes to office chairs, and a lot more options.
Why are they using the site?
There are 2 main reasons users visit Uline: They want to order something, or they value the customer support Uline offers.
User Journeys
Here are 3 possible flows a business owner might go through when using Uline. I used these to better understand the process and identify potential pain points.
Add to Cart
Order from Shopping List
Contact Us
Competitive Analysis
To get a better understanding of the competitive landscape, I completed a competitive analysis. Here is a summary of my findings.
| Grainger | Amazon |
|---|---|
| Pros: - A lot of features- Filters available when browsing |
Pros: - Variety of products/sellers- User reviews on items - ‘Subscribe and Save’ feature |
| Cons: - Small text, hard to read- Some features are hard to find |
Cons: - Need account to checkout- Customer support not a priority |
| Global Industrial | Fastenal |
| Pros: - ‘Auto-reorder’ function- User ratings available for certain items |
Pros: - Clean, consistent UI- ‘Add to cart’ and checkout functions are intuitive |
| Cons: - Inconsistent UI- Search bar doesn’t react to input |
Cons: - Search can’t decipher typos- Some features are not intuitive |
Next Steps
User Interviews -
Sitting down and talking with someone who uses our site would give me insight into user needs and pain points in the process. Some questions I would ask are: “Why do you use Uline over our competitors?” “What do you dislike when using our site?”
User Feedback Surveys -
This would help me understand what people are thinking right after completing an order, and being able to send it out to every customer could give us a lot of data to work with. A question I would ask in this survey is “How satisfied are you with our service?”
Persona -
With more data to work with, I’d be able to create a persona that represents the user needs, goals, frustrations, and motivations.
ideation.
Problems
From my research, I was able to identify 3 problems that users might run into while using the site.
1. Users have trouble finding the ‘Add to Cart’ button.
2. Customers have to log into the site to reorder every time.
3. Support is hard to find for customers who don’t want to call.
Solutions
With a few problems outlined, I brainstormed some solutions we could implement to improve the customer experience.
1. Create more opportunities to include the ‘Add to Cart’ button.
2. Create a feature for users to set up a recurring order every few weeks or months.
3. ‘Chat with Live Agent’ already exists, we can make it more accessible.
Choosing a solution
Out of the 3 solutions, I chose to create a Subscription Ordering feature for shopping lists.
Instead of logging onto the site every time they need to buy something, customers can use this feature to place an order automatically every few weeks or months. We don’t want to surprise users with extra charges or orders, so I decided to make this a feature they have to set up or activate in a list’s settings.
creation.
User Flow
This user flow shows two possible paths customers can take to set up Subscription Ordering. One by creating a new list, and the other is for changing an existing list’s settings.
Mockups
I wanted my design to blend seamlessly with Uline’s current design and features. Users who are already familiar with Shopping Lists would be able to set this feature up right away.
I also included ways to change the frequency of their subscription and their next order date. These additional features allow users to customize their orders to their business needs. This was important to include because Uline serves a wide variety of business sizes.
Next Steps
User Surveys -
Once this feature goes live, we’d be able to add a survey link to an email with subscription orders. We could ask questions like: “How easy was it to set up Subscription Ordering?” or “How likely are you to use Subscription Ordering in the future?”
User Testing -
I would set a few users up with my prototype and give them some tasks to complete. A few tasks I could give them are “Set up Subscription Ordering on an existing list” or “Change the next order date with Subscription Ordering”. I would then analyse their movements around the prototype and how long it takes them to complete a task.
conclusion.
This solution is intuitive and customizable, without any surprises. Serving the user was my first priority in this project, as I know how important the customer is to Uline. This solution has the potential to simplify the user’s experience and save them time whenever they want to order from Uline.