VALANI

A Smarter Way to Manage Retail Consignments

5 min read

System Design

Data-heavy Workflow

B2B Wholesales

VALANI

A Smarter Way to Manage Retail Consignments

System Design

5 min read

Data-heavy Workflow

B2B Wholesales

Overview

Overview

VALANI is a fine jewelry wholesaler working with 100+ boutique retail partners across the US. As the business scaled, the sales team was still managing a growing client base entirely on spreadsheets and paper. As the only person with a UX background on the team, my job was to digitize the order management workflow to improve efficiency and clarity.

VALANI is a fine jewelry wholesaler working with 100+ boutique retail partners across the US. As the business scaled, the sales team was still managing a growing client base entirely on spreadsheets and paper. As the only person with a UX background on the team, my job was to digitize the order management workflow to improve efficiency and clarity.

1

The Team

1 UX Designer (me), collaborating with Sales and Marketing stakeholders

2

Role

I analyzed and restructured the existing workflow to design a consignment system for scalable data management

Problem

Problem

With my experience attending JCK, meeting retail partners, and working as part of the sales team daily, we identified three major pain points together.

With my experience attending JCK, meeting retail partners, and working as part of the sales team daily, we identified three major pain points together.

01

Time-Consuming Paperwork

Every new order meant navigating multiple spreadsheets, re-entering client details, and manually tracking inventory every time.

02

Poor Tracking & Visibility

With no filtering or search, finding a specific order meant scrolling through rows of data hoping something matched.

03

Repetitive Data Entry

Client info, inventory lists, order terms entered from scratch for every new consignment, even for repeat clients.

How might we digitize VANALI’s consignment workflow to streamline order creation,
maintain comprehensive records, and reduce repetitive manual work?

How might we digitize VANALI’s consignment workflow to streamline order creation,
maintain comprehensive records, and reduce repetitive manual work?

A system built following sales reps'
daily working routine

A system built following sales reps'
daily working routine

A system built following sales reps'
daily working routine

Update on new inventory, reuse existed order,

find anything in seconds.

Update on new inventory, reuse existed order,

find anything in seconds.

Track everything, miss nothing

985 orders, instantly filterable by client, region, period, or status. No more hunting.

Edit without losing place

Edit any field without leaving the order view. The drawer keeps context visible while update.

Find any order in seconds

Filter to exactly the orders in one step.

Reuse. Don't re-enter.

Recurring client? Duplicate a previous order and carry over only what's still relevant.

Impact

100%

100% opt-in rate from sales reps during the trial phase

30 min

All trainees completed first draft order in 30 minutes

40%

Reduced new order creation time by approximately 40%

Process

Process

The system evolved through iterative design cycles focused on improving how users retrieve and edit consignment orders.

Each iteration addressed specific workflow challenges discovered during testing and stakeholder feedback.

The system evolved through iterative design cycles focused on improving how users retrieve and edit consignment orders.

Each iteration addressed specific workflow challenges discovered during testing and stakeholder feedback.

1

Understand Workflow

Before designing anything, I documented how the sales team actually worked. This became the foundation for what needed to be digitized.

2

Build and test MVP

I translated the workflow into a digital structure and ran the first round of usability testing with the sales team.

3

Test & Iterate

Usability testing revealed gaps. I returned to the workflow analysis, identified where the system was replicating paper patterns rather than replacing them, and iterated until both core workflows held up.

Challenges

Challenges

Sales reps frequently create new consignment orders and return later to update small details.

As order volume grows, both creating and updating orders become time-consuming.

Sales reps frequently create new consignment orders and return later to update small details. As order volume grows, both creating and updating orders become time-consuming.

Sales reps frequently create new consignment orders and return later to update small details. As order volume grows, both creating and updating orders become time-consuming.

01

Order Creation

How can users create orders faster without repetitive data entry?

01

Order Creation

How can users create orders faster without repetitive data entry?

Verion 1: Replicate original worksheet

user revealed that there are too much information required upfront, leading to frequent pauses & backtracking.

user revealed that there are too much information required upfront, leading to frequent pauses & backtracking.

Follow the original pattern to create a scrollable "create new" page.

Version 2: Enable progressive data entry

Allow user to create order first, update data later.

Cons
1. Unclear input flow: users filled forms inconsistently (row-by-row vs. column-first)
2. Field overflow issues: input limits were too restrictive for real client data

The final design supports multi-session workflows through progressive data entry. Fields are arranged one per row for better readability.

Usability Testing

  1. 100% of users preferred the pop-up flow over the long scroll form

  2. Users reported less pressure and smoother task flow during multi-session order creation

  3. Order creation time reduced by ~55% compared to Version 1

02

Order Editing

How can users quickly edit existing orders?

Option 1: Section Edit

User can edit section-by-section by scrolling the page.

Cons

  1. Overwhelming page scroll

  2. Hard to locate the specific field

  3. Feeling unsafe ("I need to put everything in the edit mode to do a small change.")

Option 2: Section-based Tabs

Use tab to categorize sections for clear, faster navigation.

Cons

  1. Frequent context-switching: required constant tab switching for cross-reference

  2. Visual clarity & hierarchy still lacking

The final design uses a side drawer for editing individual sections, while keeping key order info always visible on top. This reduces context switching and improves scanability with clearer visual hierarchy.

Usability Testing

  1. Task completion time reduced by 30% compared to Version 1

  2. All sales reps preferred the drawer editing interaction for daily updates; reported improvements in speed, clarity, and reduced frustration

Outcome

Outcome

Faster order creation

Faster order creation

New orders in under a minute; recurring orders copied from existing ones in seconds

New orders in under a minute; recurring orders copied from existing ones in seconds

Flexible editing

Flexible editing

Pending and active orders updated anytime, from anywhere

Pending and active orders updated anytime, from anywhere

Instant lookup

Instant lookup

Filter by client, status, region, consignment period, or amount

Filter by client, status, region, consignment period, or amount

Low learning curve

Low learning curve

System follows the same filling logic as their original spreadsheets; most reps were comfortable within one session

System follows the same filling logic as their original spreadsheets; most reps were comfortable within one session

Takeaways

Takeaways

Digitization isn't migration

Digitization isn't migration

When a sales rep said "I'd rather go back to paper," it wasn't resistance to digital. It was lost progressive disclosure. Features like progressive entry, search filtering, and data reuse should align with user intent, not just data structure.

When a sales rep said "I'd rather go back to paper," it wasn't resistance to digital. It was lost progressive disclosure. Features like progressive entry, search filtering, and data reuse should align with user intent, not just data structure.

Structure the interaction, not the data

Structure the interaction, not the data

Using tabs to categorize data is logically correct, but sales reps don't think in categories — they think in tasks. The most effective solution isn't structuring data correctly, but fitting into daily workflows and user thinking logic.

Using tabs to categorize data is logically correct, but sales reps don't think in categories — they think in tasks. The most effective solution isn't structuring data correctly, but fitting into daily workflows and user thinking logic.

Design for today, build for scale

Design for today, build for scale

The easy fix was better paperwork, but a digital system meant thinking beyond the immediate pain. Instead, filters were built so reps could locate orders by client, region, and status as volume grew. Duplicate order saved reps from re-entering the same client data every cycle. Each feature was a scalability decision, not just a usability one.

The easy fix was better paperwork, but a digital system meant thinking beyond the immediate pain. Instead, filters were built so reps could locate orders by client, region, and status as volume grew. Duplicate order saved reps from re-entering the same client data every cycle. Each feature was a scalability decision, not just a usability one.

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Crafted with love and passion by Cici Dong © 2026

Thanks for stopping by!
Like my work and want to chat? Let’s connect ↓

Email

|

LinkedIn

Crafted with love and passion by Cici Dong © 2026