We have researched and redesigned the online wholesale ordering portal for Kanlux business customers (B2B). Tests, interviews, workshops, and a lot of new insights for the client were the result of our joint two-month work.
A Polish company with a global reach
Kanlux is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of lighting solutions with domestic production. It has grown from a family-run business to an international company currently offering over 3,500 products available in 40 countries around the world. It conducts sales for both individual and business clients. One of its main sales channels is a B2B system for wholesale orders, which we redesigned.
How did it all start?
We were invited to participate in the project by Opus B Advertising Agency, responsible for Kanlux brand identification and UI design. We were responsible for UX research and functional design together with usability tests. At that time, we didn’t even know that our cooperation with Kanlux would cover so many aspects – while working on the B2B website, we also redesigned www.kanlux.com and redesigned the IDEAL TS by Kanlux sub-brand website.
What were the goals?
By redesigning its B2B platform, Kanlux wanted, among other things, to become the preferred lighting company for its business customers (wholesalers, distributors, e-shops owners) among numerous competitors. What could be done to make this happen? The exploratory research we conducted at the very beginning of the project provided us with concrete knowledge.
How did we approach it?
Let’s get to know the wholesalers
We started our work by conducting two rounds of tests with in-depth interview elements with Kanlux’s main target groups. We talked to architects, wholesalers, electrical installers, and end-users about their experiences of finding and ordering lighting products.
We wanted to know their needs and expectations in the context of using the Kanlux home page. Distributors were additionally asked about their experiences connected with the wholesale ordering of products via the current B2B platform. We wanted to learn about its strengths and weaknesses, as well as the pros and cons of competing systems used by wholesalers on a daily basis, and better understand their working environment. We conducted our research in Poland, Germany, and France.
Main conclusions and observations from the research
Optimisation of the purchasing process
Wholesalers order a lot, frequently, and from many manufacturers, who also offer them their platforms. For them, time is of the essence. The ideal process? They log in, enter the product codes and order, and receive delivery the next day. And we already knew what our main challenge would be in this project.
Not only wholesalers
Electrical installers, who didn’t have access to the B2B platform at that time, were also interested in using it, which would make their work much easier. For Kanlux it’s good news – another group of customers served online.
Manufacturer’s website?
Wholesalers use a dedicated B2B website on a daily basis. They refer their customers and investors to the manufacturer’s business card website. Again, good news for Kanlux – it’s already clear how to communicate on the website.
Workshops
A collaborative workshop with the Kanlux team served us to transfer knowledge from the conducted research and to work together on the strategy for new services. Based on the observations and conclusions from the research, we built personas, developed a customer journey map for the B2B purchasing process, generated a lot of ideas together, but most importantly, made the vision and goals coherent for further project work.
Concept
After the workshop, we were ready to model the concept. We looked at the websites and platforms of our closer and more distant competitors to learn about solutions that positively impact their usability and the satisfaction of their target groups. We then created an information architecture for the entire B2B website. This formed the basis for specific functional mock-ups, which we tested with users.
How does Kanlux summarise cooperation with us?
“Cooperation with Edisonda is pure pleasure. A very professional team. Incredible ability to listen to the client’s needs and find solutions that will not only satisfy them but, most importantly, will be effective and efficient. From the very first moments of our cooperation, I knew that we would do more than one project together. And that is exactly what is happening. Timeliness, flexibility and post-service are other strong points of the team working with us. Our next project certainly cannot take place without Edisonda,” comments Marta Kachniarz, Development and Marketing Director.
Cooperation with Edisonda means achieving the intended results in perfect agreement. Efficient communication, right solutions, clear information. At each stage we know that we are working with a group of enthusiasts who know their profession very well. These are just a few of the many reasons for the excellent course of our cooperation,” she adds.
Methods and tools used
- Individual in-depth interviews combined with task-based usability tests of the current platform
- Workshops with the Kanlux team
- Personas
- Customer journey map
- Benchmark
- Information architecture
- Functional Prototype
- Task-based usability tests
Main UX solutions developed with Kanlux
- Quick product search optimised to wholesalers’ way of working
- Choice of different purchase paths adapted to distributors’ needs
- Quick addition of products to the shopping cart without going to the product page: directly from search engine, start screen, import file, paste copied code list
- Minimisation of the checkout to 2 steps, the second of which is optional
- Reduction of ordering time for products in bulk quantities to a few clicks
- Personalized dashboard with the most important modules to speed up your work
- Kanlux Academy – wide support program for professionals
- Temporary promotion system embedded in context throughout the platform
- Extensive customer panel (Orders, Invoices, Complaints, Delivery addresses, Company statistics, Company accounts, Wholesale employees’ rights)
- Dedicated Kanlux Account Manager
