The goal
Sendy Supply buys FMCG stock from manufacturers and large distributors and delivers it to retailers and corporates. To grow into new markets, the seller side of the platform had to run without a person in the loop.
How the platform works
The problem
Manual steps in two core daily processes: confirming orders and updating prices.
Sellers phoned, emailed or sent WhatsApp messages to our team, who then updated orders and a shared Google Sheet of prices by hand. That doesn't scale to new countries.
Where automation stood
01 · Research
Who we met
We interviewed sellers at their shops and offices to see how Sendy Supply orders fit into their day, and why so much still happened offline.
Owns the business and runs daily operations. Receives Sendy Supply orders on WhatsApp, checks stock, and confirms by phone or chat. He's always on the move.
“I want to offer my customers convenience. Once they've purchased, the products should be delivered fast!”
Gets new orders by email, checks availability with sales, gets approval from finance, then logs in to mark them ready for collection.
“I want to be a one-stop shop for my customers. They should find everything they need under one roof.”
What's happening today
Why? Most of his orders from other sales channels already arrive on WhatsApp.
He's constantly on the move, so his phone is the easiest way to process orders.
He serves many channels and doesn't want to switch between tools.
Updating prices
Sellers piece together market prices from calls with Sendy Supply, their own suppliers, and how buyers behave. Every update then goes through our team and a Google Sheet before buyers see it.
“Fit into my day to day. Help my business grow.”
What sellers asked forStock checks keep sellers away from a desktop. The tools need to work on a phone.
What am I selling, and how does stock move across seasons and regions?
Help me anticipate demand, like stocking up on a certain oil in March, and tailor offers.
02 · Co-creation
What we did
We started by reviewing the current process, metrics and pain points. Then we ran “Imagine if…” and “I wish…” exercises to picture the ideal experience, generated ideas to get there, and prototyped the strongest concepts.
Vision statements by theme
“Imagine if sellers could confirm orders from wherever they are.”
“Wouldn't it be great if I got a periodic summary of how I perform against other sellers?”
“Wouldn't it be great if the seller could update stock availability in real time?”
“Imagine if sellers could know market prices without having to make calls.”
03 · Solutions
Improved process
Sellers get a notification about a pending order and land on a simple web form. They confirm what's available, remove what isn't, and schedule a pickup.
Driver 01
Tell the seller about new orders through a channel they already use.
Driver 02
Use mediums that every seller can reach, on mobile and on web.
Driver 03
Reduce cognitive load. The seller focuses on confirming the order, nothing else.
What we tested, quick and scrappy
Refined flow
Next step: test a live prototype with 5 sellers.
Success metrics
Virtual stock allocation
We showed sellers the bigger market they could reach through Sendy Supply's regional hubs. The key insight came from a seller: “I would give you my products to store for me if you sell more for me.”
Hey Joe! How many bags of sugar would you like us to sell for you today?
Enter number of bags60% of target achieved in 2 hours.
You sold 2,000 bags of sugar last week. Would you like to double that?
Yes! Sell 4,000 bags
03 · Solutions
Pricing engine
Sellers see their top SKUs next to the ongoing market price. If they're more expensive, we say so: “You are 5% more expensive than other sellers.” If they match the market, we tell them they're in our top sellers today.
Driver 01
Make it easy to see market prices so sellers decide quickly.
Driver 02
Use shared market data to get the prices that feed the pricing engine.
Driver 03
Work on the devices sellers already have, desktop and mobile.
Tested Figma low-fis across mobile and web
Competitor insights
We tested triggers that draw attention to prices: showing competitive standing, and showing the market reach that better prices unlock.
We handed this work to the Growth team with clear targets.
Crowd-sourcing prices
Next project
