Designing Solutions for Complex Problems

The Problem: Fragmented Wholesale Experience

Small to medium businesses waste hours comparing wholesale prices across multiple suppliers, making phone calls, and coordinating deliveries. There's no single platform that combines price transparency with instant logistics—forcing buyers to juggle spreadsheets, phone calls, and delivery schedules.

Meanwhile, suppliers struggle with visibility, losing potential customers simply because buyers don't know they exist or what they offer.

User Research: Two Distinct User Groups

Through interviews with 15 business buyers and 12 suppliers, plus observing 8 delivery drivers, I identified key pain points for each user type:

Key Features: Marketplace Platform

Key Features: Delivery App (Driver Side)

Design Approach: Three Interconnected Experiences

Innovation: Hybrid Delivery Model

Unlike pure Uber-style platforms, our delivery system combines scheduled wholesale deliveries with on-demand flexibility:

• → Scheduled Windows: Businesses can book specific delivery windows (morning/afternoon) for predictability
• → Express On-Demand: Need it now? Pay a premium for immediate pickup and delivery
• → Batch Optimization: System intelligently batches orders going to similar locations to reduce costs
• → Fleet + Gig Mix: Suppliers can use their own drivers or tap into our on-demand driver network

Technical Challenges & Solutions

Current Status & Next Steps

What I'm Learning

This project combines marketplace dynamics with logistics complexity—something I haven't tackled at this scale before. Key learnings so far:

• → Two-sided marketplaces require balancing supply and demand incentives carefully
• → Logistics apps need exceptional performance—every second matters for drivers
• → Trust is everything—reviews, ratings, and transparency drive adoption
• → Mobile-first for drivers, desktop-first for buyers—different contexts, different needs

The Problem: Complexity Killing Productivity

Project engineers like Thomas were spending 10+ hours weekly on manual data entry, juggling multiple spec versions, and constantly dealing with missing submittals. The existing PYPE interface was fragmented, forcing users to navigate between multiple screens to complete simple tasks.

The real cost? Missed deadlines, frustrated teams, and errors that cascaded through million-dollar projects.

Meet Thomas: Our North Star

The Solution: A Unified Experience

I redesigned PYPE from the ground up with three core principles: unify fragmented workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and create seamless integrations.

Key features included SSO for instant access, intelligent project syncing with third-party tools, automated email notifications, and a powerful PDF customization engine for turnover packages.

Impact: Real Results That Matter

The Challenge: One App to Rule Them All

Manufacturing supervisors face an impossible task: monitor hundreds of operations simultaneously, each with 16 critical data points, while managing labor shortages and resource conflicts—all in real-time.

The SAP design system recommended breaking this into multiple apps. But our research showed supervisors needed everything in one place. Any navigation would break their mental model and cost precious seconds during crisis management.

The Breakthrough: Progressive Disclosure

I designed a "Bite, Snack, Meal" information architecture. The Gantt chart shows color-coded operation bars (Bite). Hovering reveals a contextual popover with key details (Snack). Clicking opens a side panel with complete information (Meal)—all without leaving the main view.

For labor management, I used the Gantt's time axis to show shift blocks directly below resources. Click a block to see assigned labor and resolve shortages instantly.

Innovation: Accessibility Meets Customization

The challenge? Customers wanted custom colors for internal semantics, but wrong choices could make text unreadable.

Solution: I designed a real-time contrast ratio checker. Choose a dark text color, and the system automatically limits background colors to ensure 4.5:1 contrast. The interface adapts to high contrast themes automatically, supporting users with visual impairments.

Validation: Worth the Learning Curve