Vu Le

Dell (Bulk Orders)

Overview

My original task was to explore how to integrate bulk orders into the current checkout process. Currently, customers must submit spreadsheets to a sales representative, who manually creates the orders. After conducting interviews to understand how customers navigate this process and what their expectations for a more streamlined tool would be, we decided to shift towards a self-service experience.

This new approach would allow customers to create and manage bulk orders independently, eliminating the need for both spreadsheets and sales representatives. Once there was engineering and stakeholder alignment, I conducted tests on the design that enables customers to submit large orders with multiple purchase orders and shipping addresses. The goal was to develop an experience where customers could create their orders within the purchasing flow, manage various addresses and purchase orders, and eliminate a time-consuming step for both customers and sales representatives.

 

Discovery & Framing

  • Learn about customers who deal with bulk ordering

  • What works well currently and what are the pain points?

  • Gather early design feedback

  • What do participants think about our early prototype?

What did we learn from the interviews?

  • Location of control may not be optimal as some participants missed the toggle or didn’t know to toggle it on

  • Participants were able to understand the spreadsheet, but mentioned that it may not be the preferred method

  • The spreadsheet can work for bulk ordering, but not for splitting the items

  • Expressed wanting the ability to edit within the groups and possibly forgoing the spreadsheet altogether

What would a Self-Service Approach look like? Based on feedback from participants, I wanted to explore options with the ability to create bulk orders directly within the checkout process.

Usability Test

Goals

  • Iterate on current design based on test findings

  • Determine next steps for technical development

  • Ensure compatibility across all shopping experiences

Problem/Questions

  • Assess the design for content and structural clarity

  • Determine whether testers can complete tasks successfully

  • Understand what participants like/dislike about the flow

  • How can we improve the design based on the feedback

Takeaways

Mean rating for clarity was 6.8 out of 7
83% of the contributors rated it “very clear”

Participants found it valuable knowing the total quantity of each individual item and total cost without needing to make their own calculations.

Participants understood how to begin the checkout process
and where to find the key elements of content

Participants valued progressive disclosure of details for each order and a way to verify item counts in a summarized view

“I think it was really clear the way it was structured and designed. It gave you confidence when checking the individual orders.”

Next Steps

We received feedback regarding the labeling and content; however, the overall structure of the design tested very well. Our goal is to create an online experience that removes barriers to a fully self-service solution, empowering customers to help themselves with confidence, without needing to rely on a sales representative. The next phase of this project involves localizing the solution for different regions and finalizing the work for development hand-off.