Split Order Delivery
Projected reduction of shorted items by 200K+ and recovering over $13M in annual revenue for Sysco Shop
Role
Lead Product Designer
Lead Product Designer
Team
Product Manager, Back-end Architecture, Data Analyst, Web Engineers, iOS and Android Engineers
Product Manager, Back-end Architecture, Data Analyst, Web Engineers, iOS and Android Engineers
Duration
6 Months (not yet live)
6 Months (not yet live)
Summary
Nearly 29% of US-based Sysco Shop customers often order demand items (products not stocked locally) requiring vendor fulfillment before delivery.
Previously, customers could unknowingly place orders with demand items after vendor cutoff times, resulting in incomplete deliveries with ~700k shorted item cases and ~$40m in lost revenue between Q1 FY23 and Q1 FY25.
A stopgap solution was implemented by blocking those orders at checkout, but it created friction by forcing customers to manually remove demand items at conflict with regular delivery, or select a later delivery date.
To reduce lost sales and improve trust, we proposed automatically splitting orders based on availability, removing the checkout barrier and ensuring items are delivered on their respective ready dates.
~$40m
in lost revenue
~700k
shorted item cases
Problem
Customers have been forced to select a single delivery date, determined by the latest-arriving demand item in their cart. This led to items shorted in deliveries, congested support channels, and lost revenue on partial orders.
A temporary fix implemented on Sysco Shop prevents shorted deliveries and includes cutoff times on product card UIs, but also creates a more frustrating digital experience. Customers must now either manually remove demand items, or select a significantly later delivery date for their whole order.
The temporary fix forces customers to either remove their demand items or select a later delivery date for their order.
Solution
I introduced a split order front-end interface for the desktop and mobile checkout flow, allowing Sysco Shop users to select multiple delivery dates for items grouped by availability and stock type. Our back-end systems will then split the singular order into separate orders during item allocation.
Affordances for “earliest available,” “split delivery,” and “pending approval” states were introduced. This also provides more clarity for accounts with user roles that require review and approval for order submission.
Validation
The split checkout experience was designed, and a prototype followed. We conducted separate usability tests with a prototype of the current experience (A) and the new split checkout experience (B). We asked customers:
1. Whether products would arrive on the same day.
A: 91% correct
B: 100% correct
2. To change the delivery date for their order.
A: 91% correct
B: 83% correct
Amazon, Walmart, and Target also boast split delivery capabilities.
Results (Projected)
Projections, based on yearly averages, showed potential to recover up to 12% of line items typically shorted from orders due to delivery misalignment.
Internal teams estimate a 5 - 8% increase in completed order value among large customers and a minimum annual revenue increase of $15M.
Sysco sales consultants anticipate reduced manual follow-up for delivery-related issues, freeing up time for strategic sales and prospecting.
My Role
Defined the future-state vision for split deliveries while scoping and aligning on a pragmatic MVP to address immediate friction.
Designed and prototyped the end-to-end experience, mapping the user journey and edge cases across mobile and web platforms.
Led cross-functional alignment across research, product, and engineering to drive execution and ensure feasibility at each stage of the design lifecycle.
The final designs for the checkout flow enables users to select multiple delivery dates.
The web designs replicates the mobile experience's ability to select delivery dates for separate groups of items.
tl;dr
Situation
Sysco customers were unable to receive orders containing demand items if those items missed vendor cutoffs. This led to over 200K shorted items and an estimated $13M in lost revenue annually.
Sysco customers were unable to receive orders containing demand items if those items missed vendor cutoffs. This led to over 200K shorted items and an estimated $13M in lost revenue annually.
Task
Redesign the checkout and fulfillment experience to eliminate friction, improve transparency, and recover lost sales through splitting order deliveries.
Redesign the checkout and fulfillment experience to eliminate friction, improve transparency, and recover lost sales through splitting order deliveries.
Action
Mapped the future-state experience while defining pragmatic MVP guardrails. Led web and mobile design across platforms, aligned stakeholders, and developed the prototype for a new multi-date delivery workflow.
Mapped the future-state experience while defining pragmatic MVP guardrails. Led web and mobile design across platforms, aligned stakeholders, and developed the prototype for a new multi-date delivery workflow.
Result (projected)
Unlocked flexible order fulfillment, reducing shorted items by 200K+ and enabling the recovery of over $13M in revenue, all while improving customer trust and satisfaction.
Unlocked flexible order fulfillment, reducing shorted items by 200K+ and enabling the recovery of over $13M in revenue, all while improving customer trust and satisfaction.
