E-Commerce Solution
Designing an e-commerce solution to a complex problem relating to the sale of construction equipment.
Background
Kelly Supply Solutions Limited is a telecommunications materials and equipment supplier company based in Dunstable, United Kingdom.
The Problem
The company, which primarily focuses its sales on procurement related to construction equipment, was intrigued on how they could digitally present all of their product offerings to their clients digitally and in one place, as previously, a majority of sales were done through email chains, making the sales process complicated.
Scope of work produced
Identified potential solutions to the issues presented by Kelly Supply Solutions Ltd.
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Created an interactive prototype of the proposed solution.
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Applied the identified solution to aid the development of their new e-commerce division.
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Managed key brand features and schemes, and attended meetings with key purchasing groups and web developers to create a website which integrates with suppliers' product catalogues to form a seamless end-to-end drop-shipping sales process.
Role
To create a prototype to pitch a solution to the identified problem.
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Manage and adapt brand features when necessary.
Timeline
July 2024 - October 2024
01 Research
The starting point
The brand scheme of Kelly Supply Solutions Ltd. had been identified before beginning this project, however the directors and managers of the company had discussed wanting this to be adapted for the e-commerce division.
Insight
'A logo which maybe reflects our new utilities management side would be great'.
'Obviously the new logo will need to be almost the same as our existing logo as we're keeping our original logo too'.
'This new logo will only be for our website, representing our e-commerce division'.
02 Design
Original Logo
Initial ideas of a new brand logo were pitched in a meeting with all four of Kelly Supply Solution Ltd.'s division manager as well as company directors.
Icon Ideation
It was clear that the colour palette should remain the same to ensure the company's visual assets were cohesive.
Chosen logo
Following this meeting, it was decided that the logo should be the one shown below. Although the website prototype intended to merely display how products would be presented to client customers, the company had begun discussions on entering the facilities market, so it was significant that the additional logo would reflect this.
Landing page
Key needs for the landing page were to showcase some images of what Kelly Supply Solutions Ltd. do as a company (relating to their Plant hire items and services).
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Below the banner reel, it was requested to place some simplistic collages to represent some of the key collections of items the company provide.
Collection pages
Again, a key need related to simplicity and clarity. For each product, I needed to source a high resolution image to clearly depict the item, followed by background removal on photoshop before uploading it onto the website building platform.
Associated brands
Kelly Supply Solutions Ltd. also wanted to include the brands they work with within designs, which was addressed through the use of interactive, animated widgets.
Design hurdle
Originally, Kelly Supply Solutions Ltd. wanted the website to be built on the platform of Shopify, which I did, due to the integrations this has with their existing accounts softwares. However, due to Shopify's limitations as a 'drag and drop',
pre-coded platform, amendments to needed to be made.
'We need the customer to be able to request a quote, as depending on the client prices differ'.
The specific solution required can't be provided by a plugin. Will need to re-write and ammend some of the pre-written code to cater to Kelly Supply Solutions' needs.
Following some coding (through HTML, CSS and Liquid coding languages), I was able to personalise the store, so that when customers view and request a quote, the procurement team of Kelly Supply Solutions Ltd. would receive an email with the customers details and the quote requested, enabling them to quickly and efficiently respond directly to this.
03 Final UI
04 Outcome
The pitch of this solution helped inspire the company to open an e-commerce branch of the business, and became a process in which I was involved in over the span of six months. Within initial stages of deciding which strategy was best for the business, I did research into API keys and softwares which would enable the e-commerce store to communicate with the catalogues of suppliers for seamless integration.
Amending the site to suit its function
Although Kelly Supply Solutions Ltd. were happy with the designs initially proposed, following discussions with the team at CX Commerce, prototypes were redesigned to compliment the websites functionality. New designs also further enhanced this e-commerce division to be one that sells a range of office supplies, retracting the marketing of construction equipment.
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The provision of an e-commerce solution for the construction equipment was rejected due to the specific nature of the clients' needs, however was adapted to create a new division of the company!
Product Catalogue
Due to my part-time role of managing brand assets, once returning to university I was asked to design the layout of a 300 page catalogue as well the front and back cover, involving several meetings with the purchasing group Kelly Supply Solutions Ltd. became affiliated with.
05 Learnings
Being thrown in the deep end can be the best way to learn
A key lesson learned within this project was not to feel overwhelmed or intimidated by new challenges, and instead to use them as opportunities to learn new techniques and information. Tasks such as re-writing coded elements of the Shopify store front at first felt difficult, however the more I learned about HTML, CSS and Liquid coding, the more enjoyable and rewarding I found it when achieving intentions to satisfy directors at Kelly Supply Solutions Ltd.
There are countless resources to learn about website design
This project inspired further ongoing research and followings of YouTube creators who discuss the dynamic field of UX/UI, as well as beginning web flow's 'university' course programme, where interactive tutorials can be completed on the software for in-depth learning.
Design hierarchy is key
Design principles learned at university have become recognised as key elements to remember within design processes, particularly within e-commerce design, where it is significant to avoid overwhelming the user.