ERP platform – order management

Intro

Time

Role

Order management

6 months, 2025

Lead UX/UI designer

Design process

#1 Discover & Define

5 in-depth user interviews

User’s responsibility

Users’ location

Customer services, warehouse personnel, accountant

the Netherlands, the United State, Canada, and Malaysia

Cross-functional insights from five international users across diverse entities highlight three critical findings:

🥲The lack of distinct environments for different order types creates significant cognitive load, leading to confusion during task execution.

The color is not being used wisely which caused the user press the wrong buttons in wrong steps and cause insignifficant ireversable actions being done.

🤔Fragmented functional placement across pages disrupts user intuition and results in frequent operational errors and misclicks.

Current order workflows present a ‘one-size-fits-all’ interface that lacks functional segmentation, forcing distinct user roles—such as Customer Service and Warehouse personnel—to navigate through irrelevant data and features to find their specific tasks.

😓Inconsistent design patterns and color semiotics fail to provide clear visual cues, preventing the interface from guiding users toward their next logical action.

Poor color application and design inconsistency create high operational risks, frequently misleading users into taking incorrect, irreversible steps or creating artificial bottlenecks in the user journey.

↓ Prlblem statement

Problem statement

The lack of visual consistency and scattered functionality prevents users from distinguishing between order types, causing them to misuse features and lose track of their workflow.

#2 Develop

High-fidelity prototype testing

Our 8 prototype testing confirms that these features support diverse user needs by minimizing distractions and enabling task-specific focus throughout the journey.

🚩 Dynamic functional adaptability

Tailoring system functionalities based on specific shipment status and payment requirements to ensure task-relevance.

🚩 4 Order type classification

Establishing four distinct order types—Website, Sales, OF, and Service—to streamline internal processing and management.

🚩 Context-aware user flows

Delivering customized navigation paths and information architecture for each order type, optimizing the detail view for specialized decision-making.

↓ Deliver

#3 Deliver

Comprehensive design system

Building up consistent visual language guideline for 30+ UI components. This support us to streamline the color usage based on intention over 40+ pages in the system.

Distinct user flows

There are four key order types with distinct fulfillment criteria:

Sales order: Includes shipment, payment, and custom pricing or requirements.

Website order: Includes shipment, payment, and fixed pricing via the official website.

Order fulfillment order: Focuses solely on shipment.

Service fulfillment: Focuses solely on service fees.

Smart status management

By automating the conditions for different order types, we eliminate manual status changes that lead to errors and confusion. Each order features a primary status that indicates whether it is fulfilled. Shipment and Payment serve as sub-statuses , which are triggered by specific actions.

For example, a Sales/Website Order is only marked as “Fulfilled” once it is both fully shipped and paid. In contrast, Service Orders or other fulfillment types only require either shipment or payment to trigger the final fulfillment status.

Card-based functional organization

Utilizing a card-sorting approach reduces cognitive load, allowing users to locate specific actions more efficiently. The cards are prioritized according to the importance of each order stage:

The order of the cards are also being prioritized by the importance of each stages.

Status Card: Displays essential high-level order information.

Products Card: Manages ordered items and shipment details.

Payment Card: Handles pricing, payment methods, and invoices.

Details Card: Manages customer-specific order data.

Requirement Card: Outlines customized ordering and shipping instructions.

Timeline Card: Tracks all actions and operators in chronological order.

Divided responsibilities

The shipment process is a coordinated effort between Customer Service and Warehouse personnel to ensure order accuracy and logistical efficiency.

Customer Service (CS) Responsibilities

Order & Status Management: Oversees the end-to-end order lifecycle and maintains timely communication with the client.
Inventory Allocation: Reserves stock from the optimal warehouse location, strictly adhering to First-In, First-Out protocols.
Supply Coordination: Initiates and manages new purchase orders to suppliers whenever internal inventory levels are insufficient.

Warehouse Personnel Responsibilities

Inbound & Outbound Logistics: Focuses on the physical receipt of goods from suppliers and ensuring all customer orders are dispatched on schedule.
Shipment Lifecycle Execution: Manages the progression of each shipment through six sequential sub-statuses: Planning → Picking → Checking → Packing → Booked → Dispatched.

I think the process is getting more clear and prettier then before! 

– customer service personeel based in the Netherlands