Holder Supply Chain Management

Redesigned inter-warehouse logistics to eliminate inventory discrepancies

About

Holder’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) module is a core component of a larger ERP platform, tailored for the hospitality industry. It enables restaurants to seamlessly order merchandise from our clients—food wholesalers—via a centralized digital system.

Holder’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) module is a core component of a larger ERP platform, tailored for the hospitality industry. It enables restaurants to seamlessly order merchandise from our clients—food wholesalers—via a centralized digital system.

Role

Research
Application redesign & implementation (desktop, PDA devices)

Timeline

Apr. - Aug, 2022

Team

2 Designers
1 Product manager
Engineers

Tool

Figma
Axure

Challenge

Missing documentation leads to revenue loss

Clients reported revenue loss due to mismatches between the inventory shipped to restaurants and what the restaurants confirmed receiving and paid for. This revealed a critical gap in the supply chain process, though the root cause was initially unclear.

Through user research and stakeholder interviews, we discovered that the issue stemmed from a lack of confirmation and documentation during internal warehouse transactions. To address this, we digitized the transaction process—enabling verification, improving traceability, and establishing clearer accountability.

My contribution

Identify the root cause and close the gap with digitalized transaction

Over four months, I collaborated closely with supply chain managers, warehouse staff, product managers, and engineers to uncover the root cause of inventory discrepancies: a lack of verification between the picking and sorting departments.

My contributions included:

Streamlining workflows to clarify responsibilities across teams
Designing inter-warehouse shipping and receiving features
Automating discrepancy sheets to streamline responsibility tracking
Ensuring development aligned closely with design intent

We successfully launched the new features in August, achieving our goals of closing process gaps, reducing errors, and enhancing traceability across warehouse operations.

Over four months, I collaborated with supply chain managers, staff, product managers, and engineers to identify the root causes of inventory discrepancies and streamline workflows.

I designed inter-warehouse shipping and receiving features with automated discrepancy sheets—closing process gaps, preventing errors, and enabling traceability.

Over four months, I collaborated with supply chain managers, staff, product managers, and engineers to identify the root causes of inventory discrepancies and streamline workflows.

I designed inter-warehouse shipping and receiving features with automated discrepancy sheets—closing process gaps, preventing errors, and enabling traceability.

📦 95.48%+

Inventory accuracy

💰 80K+

revenue saved per year

🫱🏻‍🫲🏼 86+

active clients

Design solutions

01 Picking can easily track shipments

Once items are shipped from the picking to the sorting department, a shipping number is automatically generated—allowing the picking team to easily track the receiving status of the goods.

02 Sorting receives goods with ease

The sorting team can confirm item receipt on the go using a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or from a PC. During the process, only quantity discrepancies need to be reviewed and adjusted.

Desktop for order reception

Sorting staff can find pending receipt orders in the same section where restaurants confirm deliveries. They can review the details, make necessary changes, and submit the order. Once confirmed, the order is forwarded to the goods receipt section for reference.

PDA for order reception

Sorting staff can easily locate pending receipt orders by scanning a QR code or scrolling through the list. They can select multiple orders to confirm at once.

The inbound warehouse, department, and quantities are auto-filled by default, with the option to adjust if needed.

03 Clarify responsibilities with discrepancy sheets

If sorting receives a different quantity than what picking sent, an automated discrepancy sheet is generated for follow-up.

Process - How do we get there?

Clients report revenue loss due to discrepancies between received and inventory quantities

Jason W. - supply chain manager

“We’ve noticed mismatches between the inventory we ship and the payments we receive. It’s costing us significantly—can you help us fix this?"

In response to client complaints, we conducted surveys with 20 clients to verify the issues and determine whether they were widespread. We found that 80% of respondents reported annual revenue losses ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 yuan.

Our clients are food wholesalers supplying chain restaurants. In response to client complaints, we conducted surveys with 20 clients to verify the issues and determine whether they were widespread. The results showed that 80% of respondents reported annual revenue losses ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 yuan.

SCM workflow

Understanding how SCM functions is the first step

We selected the food wholesaler that initially raised the complaint as our case study to identify the root cause of the problem.

User research

Next, we listen to users and observe how they work

After building a foundational understanding of the current SCM process, I conducted in-depth interviews with warehouse employees responsible for picking and sorting merchandise, as well as planning and shipping managers. These sessions helped me uncover hidden pain points contributing to the mismatches between shipped items and received payments.

Pain point

Gaps between the warehouse and sorting departments is the problem

Lack of verification

Due to time constraints and the lack of a standardized workflow, proper verification is often bypassed. Receipt confirmation is conducted verbally, without formal records or item counts, resulting in untraceable inventory mismatches.

No clear transaction proof

Discrepancies are discovered only after delays, often prompted by complaints from restaurants. While both departments are tasked with investigating the issues, the absence of clear transactional records makes it difficult to trace the root cause.

HMW

How might we ensure verification and traceability to prevent process gaps between teams?

Design solution 1

01 Digital order confirmation for verification

We propose adding an order reception step for the sorting team to ensure accountability and prevent errors. This step would allow the sorting department to digitally confirm the items received before proceeding.

Design solution 1

Feature 1 / Picking ships and tracks multiple orders to sorting

1-1 Picking order redesign

Observation

Transfers between picking and sorting are short and internal, often handled by the same person—no external carriers needed.

Problem

The picking team sends out multiple shipments throughout the day, requiring visibility across all transactions.

Design 01

Design 02

Design 01

Design 02

Design 01

Design 02

1-2 Pending Receipt order page redesign

Problem

Users preferred not to have additional steps or complexity introduced into their workflow.

Solution

We reused existing shipment forms and workflows to minimize user burden and reduce the learning curve.

Client concerns

After we proposed the new solution, some clients were concerned about the extra step in their workflow

Andy Z. - supply chain manager

“Our sorting staff are already busy sorting goods for stores—we don’t have time to handle goods reception."

“We’ve been handling it just fine before—adding an extra step just doesn’t work for us."

Clara W. - supply chain manager

Resolution

To offer flexibility, we add a toggle to accommodate different workflows

Users can now choose to switch to the complete workflow or continue with their previous method, depending on their situation and evaluation of the costs and benefits of the extra step.

Design solution 1

Feature 2 / Sorting receives orders

Problem

The work environment is chaotic, with fresh produce everywhere. Users hold a PDA in one hand while sorting items with the other.

Solution

The PDA will be the primary device for goods receipt, offering mobility. A PC will be a secondary option for added flexibility.

Before

Iteration

User feedback

Too much information on the same page

Text could be larger to better enforce hierarchy and importance.

Readability could be improved to enhance scanability.

Buttons take up too much space and wastes screen area.

Peter L. - sorting

“I’m old. I wish the text were bigger and the layout simpler—it would help me finish my work more efficiently."

Peter L. - sorting

“I’m old. I wish the text were bigger and the layout simpler—it would help me finish my work more efficiently."

Before

After

Peter L. - sorting

“I’m old. I wish the text were bigger and the layout simpler—it would help me finish my work more efficiently."

What I changed?

Add a confirmation step to ensure only the correct shipping orders are selected.

Keep page simple and clean, with an easy-to-scan layout for better readability.

Use larger text and heavier font weight to highlight information.

Design solution 2

02 Auto-generate discrepancy invoices for later verification

To improve discrepancy tracking, we first identify potential gap points. Let's imagine the worst-case scenario, where problems like stockouts or damage disrupt every step of the workflow.

Currently, only discrepancies between the food wholesaler and restaurants are recorded. We propose automatically generating discrepancy records for the warehouse and sorting department when quantities do not match.

Design 1 / the main page

Problems

Using separate tabs could lead to confusion for users. It also increases unnecessary complexity and effort for the engineering team.
Too many invoices.

Iteration

Leverage existing formats and forms. Assign a new serial number to differentiate between discrepancy cases.
Only track sorting-picking discrepancies.

Leverage existing formats and forms. Assign a new serial number to differentiate between discrepancy cases.
Only track sorting-picking discrepancies.

Design solution 2

Design 2 / the discrepancy forms

I designed the new discrepancy form by referencing existing picking and sorting orders, as well as discrepancy forms used between stores and wholesalers. My goal was to include key information relevant to the picking and sorting departments while maintaining a familiar format that required minimal changes.

To ensure the form met auditing needs, I conducted quick interviews with the planning manager and SCM manager. Based on their input, I included essential details such as the main picker, sorting receiver, date, source order, and case status—indicating whether the case had been resolved or already audited.

Reflection

What did I learn?

01 Design should be grounded in users' habits and needs.

When designing for PDA, our primary users were people around their 50s. While aesthetics are a nice-to-have, what truly matters is readability and efficiency. For this group, clear text and simple interactions take priority. That’s why we focused on simplicity, larger fonts, and minimal decoration—ensuring they could complete their tasks without friction.

Changing habits is hard. But solid psychological theories and best practices can become powerful tools to help our designs support users on their journey—making progress feel easier and more achievable.