Boxed Solutions
Using Boxed’s technology and infrastructure to design a SaaS product
The Problem
In an effort to diversify our business, and in response to demand from some of our larger, less tech enabled partners, the exec team decided to begin a Software as a Service (Saas) arm of the company. For now, Boxed Solutions is in beta and we’re partnering with select companies to provide a white-labeled e-commerce experience running off Boxed’s technology and infrastructure. The companies we’ve been reaching out to range from Frito-Lay, to Pepsi, to Japanese conglomerate Aeon, to the German grocer Lidl.
The Solution
Designing for this arm of the company took multiple steps and is on-going in its efforts. To begin, I had to do a complete audit of the current site and its essential features so that we could explain and sell our experience to companies who might not have a deeper understanding of how to sell directly to consumers online. I created extensive documentation for these brands and as we bring on more partners, each company is different and requires unique modifications to the basic package that we’ve set up.
Pilot Program
Frito-Lay was one of the first companies to approach Boxed with this opportunity. In order to create a wholistic experience running off Boxed’s technology, I had to do an entire site audit. The ultimate consumer facing MVP was decided based on that audit. This version for Frito-Lay was mostly a custom built experience to help demo the potential of our software, but helped inform the future iterations of Boxed Solutions.
Gated Login Flow
Home page, About Page, Blog
Gallery and Shopping Lists Page
Analytics, Restock Suggestions, and Checkout
Pepsi
The work we did for Frito-Lay attracted the attention of Pepsi, who wanted to use Boxed Solutions to sell brands from Gatorade to Starbucks. The end consumer would be Pepsi’s smaller Business to Business customers such as bodegas, mom and pop grocers, and small distributers. At this point, internally, we also needed to consider the future of Boxed Solutions and make it scaleable for future clients.
Sketches to figure out UI and guidelines
Requirement Document
In order to fully communicate the scope and needs of a basic Boxed Solutions set up, I created this document (initially presented as a google doc) that could be sent to brands, but also customized depending on the partner.
Pepsi Deliverables
After a few rounds of discussion and close work with the PM, developers, and partnerships team, we presented Pepsi with this working demo site.
Homepage for eligible zip codes
Homepage and gallery for unavailable zip codes
About / How it works page
Gallery Pages
ÆON
While Pepsi was in talks, we had the opportunity to partner with one of our largest investors, the Japanese conglomerate ÆON. Implementing Boxed Solutions for Aeon came with a many complexities. One of the biggest challenges, besides the language barrier, was that Aeon had their own Single Sign-on (SSO) that we had to incorporate into our login and checkout flows for existing users, and a filtered search feature that differed from our current search on Boxed. Another big challenge was the overall visual design of Japanese websites, and Aeon’s site in particular, tended to be much more dense and focused on image heavy assets.
Sketches describing the login and checkout flows, and translated, annotated screenshots
Search References from Aeon’s Site
Search sketches
SSO Login to checkout Flow
Select Responsive Screens
Checkout Screens
Presenting the system
When we were selling these designs and demo site, I also created informational slides for the executive team to present to Aeon’s internal team. These help demonstrate the purpose and potential of Boxed Solutions.
Overview and going forward
Overall, Boxed Solutions is an exciting opportunity for the company that I was excited to be the sole designer on. Each company brings its own quirks and needs, which allows me to find new and interesting ways of solving problems. In the future, Boxed hopes to sign on multiple new clients for Solutions.