Transforming print procurement for the UK's public sector
As the sole UX Designer, I've played a key role in the successful launch of a new SaaS print marketplace, enabling the UK's public sector to achieve £320k in savings (YTD) and facilitate ~£2M in print orders with local suppliers.
In 2021, I contributed to the launch of “Print Marketplace” – a brand new platform that streamlines the procurement process, allowing print buyers to easily request quotes and compare offerings from various suppliers, fostering efficient and cost-effective printing solutions for the public sector, ultimately saving taxpayer's money.
PROJECTED REVENUE
£2.3M for 2023
SAVINGS
£320k since 2021
ROLE
Solo UX Designer
Background
In the UK, public sector organisations, including the NHS, invest a substantial amount in print materials yearly, ranging from envelopes to brochures. Despite numerous print suppliers available, it's challenging for print buyers to connect with all of them. Crown Commercial Services (CCS), the primary public procurement body in the UK, approached us. They wanted to find a way to assist print buyers in securing top-notch printed materials at the best possible prices.
Examples of printed materials
Image credits to StudioZuid
🚧 Problem
The quote comparison process takes way too long leading to unnecessary waste of resources and costs (= inefficient use of taxpayers' money).
🎯 Objective
Develop a centralised solution that would not only optimize the quote comparison experience for print buyers but also save taxpayers' money.
Targeting Novice & Expert print buyers
Methods applied:
With the help of 10 interviews and desk research, I developed two preliminary proto-personas that encompassed current beliefs about the target users. The findings revealed that the platform needs to cater to two distinct user archetypes: a novice and an expert print buyer.
Margareth - Novice print buyer
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🎒 School Administrator
⏸️ Print ordering is an irregular task
📃 Minimal expertise in print sector
✏️ Buys basic print products
🕒 Relies on quick searches due to limited time for quote comparison.
Kabir - Expert print buyer
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
💼 Event Manager
🔁 Print ordering is one of daily tasks
📚 Remarkable expertise in print sector
🎨 Buys complex and bespoke print products
⏳ Requires extra time for detailed quote comparison.
📌 NOTE: I had to quickly create these proto-personas to jumpstart the design process, acknowledging resource constraints. However, I recognize the importance of conducting a more thorough user research to create authentic personas based on real user data in the future.
Print procurement challenges unveiled
Methods applied:
Further desk research as well as interviews with stakeholders and domain experts uncovered three key challenges that made quote comparison a burdensome process for print buyers. These challenges not only created frustration and inefficiencies but also hindered the ability to secure optimal pricing.
Simplified Customer Journey Map. Challenges are marked in red.
📝 Challenge 1: Detail Dilemma
Describing print requests was like fitting a puzzle. They had to be incredibly detailed for suppliers to provide precise prices, which became a repetitive and frustrating task due to lack of a standardised format.
📨 Challenge 2: Manual Outreach
Buyers heavily relied on their personal network of local suppliers. Each of these suppliers had to be contacted separately using manual methods like email or even phone calls.
⏳ Challenge 3: Time-Consuming Price Comparisons
Gathering and comparing quotes was a real time sink, even for experienced buyers like Kabir. It was quite common to use Excel or paper records, resulting in a slow and error-prone process.
Designing instant quote experience
Methods applied:
Armed with insights, we embarked on a mission - create a platform that empowers print buyers to effortlessly explore a broader spectrum of suppliers while simplifying the quote comparison process.
One request - many quotes
In a nutshell, the proposed solution was a centralised hub that can seamlessly match print requests with preset supplier price matrixes. As a result, users swiftly obtain multiple quotes from an extensive network of suppliers in a matter of minutes. Here's a rough diagram showing the sequence of steps.
Simplified user flow diagram
Exploring product catalogue design patterns
In the pursuit of consistency and a faster learning curve, I delved into various UK print webshops to identify effective design patterns for our product catalogue. Here's what I've learned:
🎨 Consistent branding: Implementing clear branding on large cards facilitates easy recognition.
🚀 Intuitive navigation: Crafting an extensive menu ensures effortless product exploration.
🔍 Fuzzy search: Incorporating a fuzzy search feature delivers quick and accurate results.
📸 Rich product presentation: Combining real product photography with detailed descriptions enhances experience on product pages.
UK print shops: Vistaprint, Saxoprint, Mixam, Print.com
Evolution of the product catalogue
1️⃣ Iteration: Our initial product catalogue emerged as a straightforward page featuring six large product categories. Anything outside of these categories had to be requested through a single form.
2️⃣ Iteration: As the offering changed, so did the catalogue, demanding design adjustments. This was also the moment when the business decided to promote Design and Publishing services more.
3️⃣ Iteration: This iteration is still a subject to user testing and final sign off. However, it is believed that a clearer labelling with titles, chips and badges should help print buyers discover new products, and see what is the difference between instant and assisted quotes.
Three product catalogue iterations.
Upgrading the catalogue with realistic, branded product imagery
Product imagery wasn't just about aiding decisions and showing potential print outcomes more realistically; it reflected Print Marketplace's clean and geometric brand. Big thanks to the talented StudioZuid team for making our visuals top-notch!
Product details page with image carousel and predefined forms
Progressive disclosure in the specification journey
By filling out predefined forms, buyers can get instant quotes. In Print Marketplace, this is called 'specification journey'. Typically, it require users to answer a lot of mandatory questions, which could seem overwhelming at first sight.
Following the principle of progressive disclosure, I suggested that we gradually guide users through this journey, respecting their cognitive load and helping them make the right choice. This design simplifies the intricate form into manageable, sequential steps.
Specification journey mockups highlighting key design choices.
Helping users to compare and choose the best supplier quote
After specifying their requirements, users reach the "Compare quotes" page, the heart of the platform. Powered by our backend engine, it matches the submitted request with supplier quotes from a large pricing database. While this process might take a moment, a progress indicator is meant to keep users stay engaged. Once matched, quotes appear as summary cards, allowing sorting and filtering. Detailed information is just a click away, providing a comprehensive view of all options.
Quote comparison mockup
Current results
📈 Volume: Up to 20k quotes generated monthly
📈 Conversion: YTD, we see a ~62% quote to order conversion rate
🏠 Local Support: Quotes sourced from 329 British suppliers, ~94% are local SMEs
💰 Revenue: since mid-2021 launch ~4300 orders have been placed, valued £2.97M
🚀 Growth: Projected revenue for 2023 is ~£2.3M
💷 Savings: Platform has saved ~£320k for the British government
Product video
I was not able to show all the designs and features, but I can show you this product video to give a glimpse into the full scope of work.
Kudos to the team
An amazing team of ~40 engineers and managers poured their hearts into creating Print Marketplace! Together, we've had many many late office nights, pizzas, and adhoc brainstorming – it was challenging, fun, yet incredibly rewarding. Proud to have worked with such talented people!
Learnings & Next steps
🌊 A Brave Beginning
Starting this project was a big step for me, especially because it was my first official UX gig. I was transitioning from a Project Manager role and also finishing my Master's degree. It felt overwhelming at first, but I gathered my courage and jumped in. I was determined to see the project succeed.
🧭 Navigating the Unknown
One major lesson for me was to learn how to validate assumptions, ideas, and feel reassured about the proposed designs without having any user database and being squeezed on resources. My "go to approach" was working as close as possible with project stakeholders and domain experts. The time I spent building relationships with these people, asking questions, and doing back & forth testing helped me gain confidence.
🎨 The Power of Consistency
I also realised how important it is to have a clear and consistent design style, especially for complex products like this. Creating a basic Design System was a fantastic decision which saved us a lot of time, thanks to our partners at StudioZuid.
🔮 Towards the Future: Delving into User Insights
With our initial release live, I'm now eager to grasp how users actually interact with our core features, identifying hurdles, successful paths, and areas for improvement. To achieve this, we're launching initiatives like Matomo for web analytics and Userback for visual feedback and bug reporting. In combination, these tools promise valuable insights from both objective and subjective perspectives.
Capturing user behaviour and feedback through Matomo and Userback.
Contact me
d.jerjomcenko@gmail.com
©Darja Jerjomcenko - DarjaPixel 2023