Inventory
ServiceChannel • Principle Designer •
Desktop & Mobile • Product Design
As design lead, I oversaw the design of ServiceChannel's Inventory Management module for desktop and mobile, collaborating with product management and development teams. I designed the desktop experience and guided the mobile design to ensure alignment. Leading the strategic vision and providing feedback throughout iteration, I delivered a modern solution comprising over 100 screens.
What is Inventory Management?
The Inventory Management is a central pillar of the ServiceChannel Product system. It enables facility managers (desktop) and technicians (mobile) to track and request materials across locations, ensuring related facilities operate without disruption.
Purchase
Request new and restock parts based minimum stock levels.
Distribute
Track parts as they are transferred between locations.
Manage
Track inventory across warehouses, trucks, and retail locations.
Who Uses Inventory Management?
Inventory Manager
- Manages inventory across multiple locations
- Monitors inventory levels
- Tracks who uses what parts and where
- Assures field technicians have necessary inventory
- Assure that parts a delivered/transferred on time
Field Technician
- Performs maintenance on store locations
- Responsible inventory in their truck
- Invoices parts to work orders
- Create/tracks part requisitions
- Transfer parts between warehouse to truck and truck to truck
How is Inventory Management Used?
This scenarios highlights how an Inventory Manager, using the web based application and the Field Technician, using the mobile app transfer refrigerant from one inventory location to another. Though both users are performing the same task, the starting point is different for each based on a their location, device, and motivations.
Shopping Cart
- The Inventory Manager is taken to the shopping cart
- The Field Technician selects the refrigerant type they need and taps the Transfer Now button
Add to Cart
- The Inventory Manager selects the closest location with the most refrigerant on hand then clicks the Add to Cart button
- The Field Technician selects the closest truck and searches the trucks inventory for refrigerant
Location
- From the search results, the Inventory Manager selects the needed refrigerant and views the quantity on hand at each inventory location
- Based on GPS location the Field Technician is given a list of trucks close by
Start Transfer
- Using the web based application the Inventory Manager searches for the item they need to transfer.
- Using the mobile app the Field Technician creates an Immediate Transfer.
Challenges
Product team had no prior experience working with UX designers
Formally introduced team to design methodologies and demonstrated how design would integrate into the team
Develop product knowledge quickly
Conducted extensive discovery sessions to create scenarios and user journeys before beginning design
Simultaneously designing desktop and mobile app
Align the desktop and mobile applications to suit each device's specific use case
Limited access to users and customers for research and feedback
Leveraged the product team's domain expertise and drew on the design team’s experience
Process
I collaborated closely with the mobile app designer to build a unified design vision for both desktop and mobile. Despite different users and use cases across platforms, we maintained consistency wherever possible. Together, we developed personas, requirements, and user stories to guide our design solutions.
User Journeys
Before design started the team and I worked closely with the Product Management and Development teams to map out the desktop and mobile user journeys.
- Ship, Transfer, and Requisition - Desktop & Mobile
- Immediate Transfer - Mobile Only
- Restocking - Desktop & Mobile
These journeys helped us to understand what the primary focus of the product and the tasks a user performs based upon whether they are using the desktop or mobile product.
Lifecycle
During design process, the team worked with Product Management and Development to map out the statuses and phases a product moves through to enter the Inventory Management System.
The mapping gave the team a clear visualization of how the Inventory Manager and the Technician interact with the product and the inventory being managed.
Deliverables
The final desktop and mobile designs were created using Figma and were delivered simultaneously to development. Throughout the final design process the design team members collaborated closely to assure terminology, style, and behaviors aligned across desktop and mobile.
