Improved and personalized digital infrastructure for PLUS ecosystem
The Client
Energize is a brand activation agency that helps its clients grow their brand and business by use of smart and activating insights and campaigns that earn the attention of their target group. PLUS is an important player in the Dutch food market with 270 supermarkets. PLUS is at the forefront of developments around good food and can respond to this in a relevant way. Their goal is to create a sustainable business operations in which the customer is central and the focus is on good food, for everyone every day.
Problem Space
PLUS is a supermarket franchise that focuses on creating a personalised experience for its local customers at each of their branches. PLUS has an existing online ecosystem, however at the moment it is lacking in market reach, and the emphasis on local goods is missing. PLUS’s greatest strength is knowing their customers, and that personal touch which customers experience needs to be reflected in the digital space. How can we update and realign the web and app infrastructure in a way that will boost their business and brand?
Design rationale
This hyper-personalised approach can both be seen as a strength and as a possible weakness. The challenge is to figure out how to set up a hyper-personalised and local e-commerce distribution flow/experience that works as smoothly as the centralised approach from main competitors. Keeping in mind that local footprint is very important, how can PLUS use this as a strength and unique advantage in the market?
Research
User Research and Interviews
To gain a clearer insight into the different pain points, I conducted field research with my teammates by visiting a PLUS supermarket where we interviewed the store manager at PLUS Wagner, an order picker, and 15 walk-in customers. We also interviewed the manager for PLUS Homeruskwartier over the phone.
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Analysis
Aligning Together
The team immediately began an affinity mapping session using the Swimlane chart to align the findings from the user interviews. This helped us visualize what each user in the ecosystem – supermarket franchisees, PLUS customers, and delivery employees – thinks, feels, and does in the order process. We compared these user journeys in parallel to see where interactions and points of communication between users occur. This helped us decide where we wanted our solution to intervene.
Users in Mind
It was crucial that we created personas in order to keep our attention on the users and prevent letting our own needs trump those of the users.
Market Analysis
To emphasize the characteristics, benefits, and structure of comparable solutions that facilitate contact between medical experts and share medical data, I reviewed existing products. This made it easier to comprehend the network's trajectory and identify our product's unique selling proposition and the ways in which it benefits customers.
Ideation
Designing for Humans
The responses from the interviews, helped us understand what some of the people in the PLUS ecosystem problems were and how we can meet these people at their human needs. The team had several ideation sessions, using the Crazy 8’s and the Lotus Blossom ideation methods.
Point of View Statement
Based on our discoveries a point of view was drafted.
I met Victor a 32-year entrepreneur who owns an ICT equipment supply business. He was surprised to realize that in 2020 banks are still using manual documentation to give out loans. He wonders if this means that the banks are not utilizing the power of technology to make the loan application process easier. It seems like he needs a way to secure loans for his business effortlessly from the comfort of his home.
How Might We statement
To generate creative solutions while keeping the team focused on the right problems to solve, we decided that the best approach will be to use a How Might We statement to suggest a possible solution.
Prototype
The wholesome experience
The solution improves the indoor air quality of users sustainably, thereby improving users' quality of life.
We generated findings from these explorations that guided our direction. Businesses must find a way to highlight their unique local products on the app, and delivery staff must have a more effective way to handle orders and any issues that may arise while completing them. Additionally, customers need an easier way to contact the supermarket in case they have questions about their order.
Abstract to Visual
In the care plan, each patient’s care line team has an overall care plan, which will describe the goals of the patient and medical professionals. Each medical professional also has an individual action plan where they describe what they’ll do during and between their one-on-one appointments. When an action plan is not going well, they’ll be able to update their status on the patient’s difficulty level, which prompts other team members to be notified. We found through interviews that medical carelines (especially rehabilitation experts) would like to intervene and offer advice to others when things aren’t going well.
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