Amazon’s design problem needed to be solved for extreme scale, high availability, and data integrity. The core problem is transitioning a user’s to purchase a set of items into a concrete, persistent order that can be processed and fulfilled, all while managing numerous dependencies and edge cases.
My goal was to fill in the gaps and work with a large set of sites that existed on Amazon portals and fit them into one platform, I began my focus on offering real time order visibility, automation and streamline business processes.
Used card sorting techniques for gathering requirements and organizing information.
- This involved grouping information into categories based on its relevance and importance to the user.
- This helped to identify the core elements of a project and the relationships between them, which was then used to prioritize tasks and plan the development for MVP.
- By working with the PM and tech teams, we ensured that all stakeholders had a clear understanding of the requirements and the tasks that need to be completed to meet those requirements.
Conducted Stakeholder Interviews
Research goal
Spent many hours along with a researcher focused on understanding the needs and pain-points of internal stakeholders (spares, services, loose gears, and PAC) during the procurement cycle, focusing on the process from when a PO is generated until payment is made to suppliers
Main goal was to understand the needs and pain-points of suppliers during the procurement cycle, focusing on the process from when a PO is generated until payment is made to suppliers.
Amazon Supplier Portal
Business problem
Amazon has 2,000+ non-rack suppliers that supply spare parts, power and cooling equipment, and services, such as repairs, in data centers. They did not have technology in place for efficient collaboration between AWS and these suppliers, where information can be shared in an efficient manner than they did. Before, communication happens through email or phone calls, which was time-consuming, unproductive, and had a financial impact for both the suppliers and AWS
My Focus was to design a robust, scalable, and user-friendly “Order Details” page within the Amazon Supplier Portal (Vendor Central). I made sure the page provided suppliers with a comprehensive, real-time, and actionable view of a single purchase order (PO) to streamline their order fulfillment process and enhance efficiency. The system catered to a diverse range of suppliers, from small-scale vendors to large-scale manufacturers, each with varying levels of technical sophistication.
During my design process I focused on improving collaboration by adding notification features, analysis by adding time lines/ time stamps, and decision-making through a centralized data management and touchless processes for all of the critical workflows. This allowed this platform to have an integrated view of movement of both information and the physical goods and services.
This saved the procurement teams and the suppliers 18-30 hours in a week that could be directed towards process improvement and other types of work these roles were intended for.
By creating a faster fulfillment and a consolidated view of all the order information, including item details, quantities, shipping addresses, and deadlines, it accelerated the fulfillment process and reduced risk. This also provided real-time visibility into the order lifecycle helping suppliers proactively manage potential issues, mitigating risks related to stock-outs, delivery delays, and non-compliance.
