About

The EXM Customer Portal was designed to give distributors and industrial clients a self-service experience — allowing them to manage quotes, orders, and product analytics without relying on sales representatives. This project bridges the e-commerce system with EXM’s internal ERP, enabling real-time data visibility and faster decision-making.

As the Product Designer, I led the UX research, information architecture, and interface design. Working closely with backend developers, I translated complex ERP data into a clean, intuitive experience that aligned with EXM’s design system and business goals.

Problem

EXM’s distributor and customer network relied heavily on manual communication for orders and quotations. Without a centralized portal, both customers and internal teams faced inefficiencies that slowed down business operations.

No self-service access

Distributors had to email or call the sales team for every quote or order update, resulting in long response times and communication delays.

Limited visibility

Customers lacked transparency on product availability, pricing, and order status — often leading to repeated inquiries and confusion.

Disconnected data systems

Key order and quotation data were stored internally and not accessible to clients, creating friction between departments and slowing down decision-making.

Growing demand for digital tools

Competitors in the industrial sector were moving toward real-time B2B platforms, and EXM needed to modernize its customer experience to stay competitive.

Goal

The Customer Portal was designed to give distributors a faster, clearer, and more autonomous way to manage their purchasing workflow. Each module was built around real user needs identified from feedback and internal sales pain points.

Stock Overview — improve product visibility

Provide customers with real-time stock levels and availability so they can plan orders accurately and reduce back-and-forth communication with the sales team.

Order Tracking — reduce status inquiries

Enable users to track every order from purchase to delivery with clear status updates, shipping details, and timestamps, helping reduce customer uncertainty and support tickets.

Order History — centralize past transactions

Give customers an organized, searchable record of all previous purchases, making it easier to reorder products, check pricing, and resolve discrepancies without contacting support.

Quick Order — accelerate purchasing

Create a fast ordering path for frequent buyers who already know the part numbers, allowing bulk uploads, instant cart generation, and significantly shorter checkout time.

Phase One — MVP Launch

To validate functionality and gather user insights, the development team launched a Phase One MVP based on my initial design specifications. This version allowed customers to test core functions such as quote viewing, order tracking, and product performance analytics. Feedback from real distributors revealed key usability gaps — particularly in data filtering, navigation consistency, and quote hierarchy, which informed the next design iteration and confirmed the need for richer visual analytics. Here is additional insights from phase one feedback:

Custom products not visible in the portal

Most distributors order custom enclosures that EXM stores for them, but Phase One only displayed standard catalog items. Customers couldn’t see their custom SKUs, stock levels, or availability, which reduced the usefulness of the portal and forced them to contact the sales team for updates.

Lack of item-level order and invoice visibility

Users needed to see whether each individual item was ordered, shipped, or invoiced — especially for large orders split across locations. Phase One only offered order-level information, making it difficult for distributors to track the status of each SKU and plan their projects accurately.

Part numbers were difficult for new customers to understand

Distributors unfamiliar with EXM’s part numbering system found it hard to identify products or match them with their internal item codes. Customers requested clearer product descriptions, more detailed order information, and improved filtering options to help locate the correct items quickly.

Manufacturing location codes were unclear

The system used short internal codes for manufacturing locations (e.g., “MD,” “BL,” “CAL”), which customers didn’t recognize. This created confusion when orders contained items from multiple facilities with different lead times and production statuses.

Final Design

The final design focused on usability, clarity, and scalability. I created a unified dashboard where users can view order analytics, track quotes, and monitor purchase patterns — all within a consistent visual framework. The design emphasizes hierarchy and readability, using color-coded statuses, modular cards, and clear data visualization to simplify information-heavy workflows. This version represents the complete design vision and serves as the foundation for future customer-facing tools.