SAIB
SAIB needed support to design, develop and create a custom and integrated CMR to easily monitor and insert samples or catalogues requests from mobile.
Context
SAIB is one of Italy’s most prominent raw and melamine particleboards manufacturers. The company was founded in 1962 by Eva Bosi and her husband Giorgio Rinaldi.
Their idea was to recycle wood manufacturing wastes to create a brand new, innovative and affordable material, as opposed to hardwood: particleboards panels. Despite the innovation, the company experienced disconnected and unreliable collection of customers’ information and statistics. This prevented the company from planning targeted selling measures and creating valuable reports, resulting in difficulties and waste of time.
SAIB had long been seeking for their selling force tool to provide information necessary to manage customers all in one place.
Before our intervention, all information was scattered across several business tools.
Challenge
The main challenge was to integrate the different information sources within SAIB, starting from their AS400 system, where the company’s ERP is located.
We carried out a relevant data management job on AS400 and other information sources to obtain:
- Customer’s Form, featuring data and stats on their reliability (financial statements, revenue, non-compliance etc.). Here it is possible to insert reports following meetings and calls, and to archive emails.
- Invoices: accounting section to check issued invoices.
- Orders: to monitor orders fulfilment and information on related customers and agent.
- Samples and catalogues requests: to read and upload/download data about industrial sampling orders to send to customers on Jira.
Furthermore, thanks to our Atlassian team, SAIB is now managing with Jira the production monitoring and manufacturing defects. It was therefore easy to implement this aspect, too.
Design Process
The initial teamwork with the company’s stakeholders was essential. We started with a Product Discovery workshop that allowed us to keep track of product vision and roadmap.
On the second workshop about UX we explored even further both the client’s requests and the user-product touchpoints. Through the information we gathered we elaborated personas, user flows, solution sketch and product backlog.
The next step was the creation on Sketch and Invision of the graphic prototype; we submitted it to the client during a constant communication to heed their every need.
Now SAIB agents can count on a single, easy and fast tool to find all the information to support their business at any time.
Technologies
We used the most advanced web and mobile technologies. More specifically, we used Symfony for backend and React for frontend.
We chose Symfony for its bundle structure, with bundles dynamically installable on the app and as such extremely versatile, in the integration with Jira as well.
React can seamlessly integrate with every technology and framework, and it also makes the realization of UI dynamic interfaces way easier.
The client was enthusiastic about our approach. We involved SAIB in a working routine made of post-its, markers, and sketching. In such a dynamic environment, the client felt in the spotlight, listened to, and co-creator of the product.
Another much appreciated aspect was the utilization of Scrum and the Sprint division that allowed the client to check and test the different features as they’re released, thus enabling a fast app development thanks to a cooperative and privileged environment.
