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PPCS Inventory Management Tool
Revamping an intelligent perpetual inventory management system for independent pharmacies aims to boost efficiency by empowering pharmacy techs with data-driven dashboards, advanced reporting and analytics, and order sorting and segregation for quick planning and organization.
Project Overview
A. Summary
To enhance an already existing pharmacy Inventory Management tool by incorporating functionalities aimed at streamlining the inventory management process for pharmacy technicians.
B. Team Comp
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Stakeholder: Collaborated closely with Mckesson's Senior Product Manager (Inventory Management) to bring his need to enhance the platform with a few changes that could help customers onboard and adapt to the platform effectively
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Design Manager: Worked alongside Chris, PSAS Squad Lead, who provided invaluable guidance and kept me motivated
C. My Role
As the sole designer on the team, I showcased my expertise across multiple areas, including competitive research, subject matter research, stakeholder collaboration, needs analysis, feature development, wireframing, and stakeholder presentations. I leveraged a variety of tools such as Figma, Google Suite, Miro, and YouTube to accomplish these tasks efficiently and effectively.
D. Project Imapct
Our efforts yielded swift success for the PPCS Sales team, enabling them to close several sales agreements promptly. This achievement motivated the PM team to collaborate with the UX team, exploring innovative enhancements for the PPCS Inventory Management tool. These enhancements include integrating Machine Learning principles and providing customers with proactive recommendations tailored to their pharmacy stores' needs.
E. Final Outcome
PPCS Landing Page
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PPCS Order Detail Page
PPCS Current Inventory Page
PROBLEM
A. Problem Statement
The sales team at McKesson has faced hurdles in acquiring customers due to fierce competition. They're exploring potential enhancements to the existing pharmacy management tool to gain a competitive edge and improve workflow efficiency for pharmacy technicians in inventory management.
B. Background
Pin Point Community Pharmacy, a pharmacy inventory management tool, presents independent pharmacy customers with an opportunity to improve their cash flow, increase efficiency, and optimize operational performance. The PPCS Product Management team is actively enhancing the tool's capabilities to provide even greater support to independent pharmacies, helping them run their stores more efficiently, gain customer confidence, and outpace competitors.
C. Business Objectives
To swiftly secure several PPCS tool sales and achieve a net profit of $2 million, consider the following steps:
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Offer tailored incentives to expedite sales of the PPCS tool, ensuring profitability.
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Provide customized features to assist new clients in seamlessly integrating the PPCS tool into their operations.
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Implement cost-effective measures to decrease client spending while maintaining medication quality and supply chain reliability.
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Position the PPCS tool to outshine competitors, emphasizing its unique benefits and value proposition to attract and retain customers
D. Target Users
The technician at the Independent Pharmacy is faced with the critical task of managing inventory to ensure that essential items are always available when needed, thus preventing the loss of customers due to medication unavailability. Additionally, maintaining a positive cash flow in the store is crucial. It's also important to ensure that items are accurately labeled and stored in their designated locations as specified in the inventory.
User Research
A. Research Methods
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Competitive Analysis of a few inventory management tools
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Customer Interviews to understand their pain points with their current Inventory management tool
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SWOT Analysis of Cardinal’s Inventory Management tool, to understand its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
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Study of Cardinal's CIM Tool YouTube link used to study
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Study of space allocated for storing inventory
Pharmacy Store Layout
A quick SWOT Analysis of Cardinal's CIM Tool
B. User Persona
C. Insights and Pain Points
To swiftly secure several PPCS tool sales and achieve a net profit of $2 million for the next quarter a set of new features that
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Provide customized features to assist new clients in seamlessly integrating the PPCS tool into their operations.
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Implement cost-effective measures to decrease client spending while maintaining medication quality and supply chain reliability.
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Position the PPCS tool to outshine competitors, emphasizing its unique benefits and value proposition to attract and retain customers
Design Solution
A. Design Process
Given the tight 40-hour timeline spanning 3-4 weeks, we adopted a streamlined approach to address this project's challenges. Instead of following the comprehensive Double Diamond design process, we employed a simplified methodology akin to the Waterfall UX Process. We focused on identifying the primary pain points of customers considering a switch from their current CIM tool to PPCS. Through research, we compiled a list of key features that would enhance PPCS's effectiveness and bring efficiency to their daily workflows.
B. Brainstorming and Exploration
Following a thorough analysis of the current market trends in inventory management and identifying the essential factors for efficiently operating an independent pharmacy store, we compiled a list of features to enhance the tool's capabilities.
We recognized the importance of providing an intuitive dashboard for customers to access, monitor, and analyze key data and metrics, thereby enhancing decision-making and user experience. This dashboard would enable efficient inventory management by offering:
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Real-time item quantity tracking
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Item location mapping within the store
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Rapid access to reports generated by the inventory management tool
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Quick search functionality for PO# details
With our desired features identified, we proceeded to create sketches, initiating the design process.
C. Design Rationale
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Implemented inventory search on the homepage and added a search component for order lookup using PO#.
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Introduced data visualization tools for real-time assessment of inventory health and cash flow.
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Segregated inventory by department and bay, with the ability to add or edit department details for items.
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Utilized familiar mental models like Excel-style dashboard filtering, Google search, and e-commerce platform item management for user-friendly interaction.
Outcome
A. Final Design Solution
With a focus on maintaining consistency for existing users, we've seamlessly integrated new features into the current UI. Specifically, we've updated the landing page for PPCS upon user login, as well as the inventory interface and the order details page. These changes aim to enhance efficiency in the inventory management process without disrupting the user experience.
B. Mockups
Landing Page
Before
After
Dashboards showing MoM Trend
•Monthly AVG Inventory by $ Amount
•Monthly AVG Excess Inventory by %
•Monthly Avg Turn
•QoQ trend for Average Inventory $, Excess Inventory, Turns and Average daily Script
Introducing Inventory Search Component
Introducing Search Component for PO#
Introducing Hyperlink for Reports
Order Details
Before
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After
Submit all functionality
Shows all open orders segregated by Department ID
Current Inventory User Interface
Before
After
Introducing Customer Item Department Column
Segregation and Sorting of DEPT
Add/Edit Dept by item
Results & Impacts
A. User Feedback and Testimonials
Product Manager: "We've achieved a swift and mutually beneficial outcome! We're thrilled that our Long-Term Care (LTC) customer is prepared to finalize the agreement, marking a successful partnership that benefits both parties. This quick win-win situation demonstrates our commitment to delivering value to our customers while driving business growth."
B. Learnings & Takeaways
My key takeaway from this rapid project was the significant impact of even minor UI adjustments on enhancing customer user experience and boosting efficiency in daily tasks. Although we didn't have the luxury of time to complete the comprehensive Double Diamond process or exhaustive discovery phase, we swiftly improved the PPCS tool's usability by rapidly grasping the subject matter and conducting a swift competitive analysis. This focused approach enabled us to efficiently address the problem and deliver a superior user experience.
C. Future Opportunities
Following a string of seamless sales wins, our UX team's value and necessity for the product's future growth became evident. Our contributions significantly impacted the PPCS Sales team's success, enabling them to swiftly secure multiple sales agreements. This achievement motivated the Product Management team to collaborate with us, exploring innovative enhancements for the PPCS Inventory Management tool. These advancements include integrating Machine Learning principles and providing customers with proactive recommendations tailored to their pharmacy stores' needs, further solidifying our team's crucial role in driving product excellence.
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