ZEOS - Logistics for Retail

Scaling from 30 to 3000

By 2026, Zeos aims to become the leader in the European logistics market by launching a B2B platform that will onboard over 3,000 brands

Designed a concept interface for Zeos in 4 weeks. During this time, I analysed the business, conducted user research, created wireframes and prototypes, and completed user acceptance testing (UAT) while measuring its impact.

What i did?

BACKGROUND

Zalando launched Zeos in October 2023 as a B2B platform to expand it’s logistic services for associated brands, utilising it’s logistic network and market reach, based on 13% increase i.e. 215 million euros of revenue in Q1 2024[1]

Looking at the scope and scale of opportunity I took a deep dive into the existing systems like amazon logistics, SAP, etc and their user experiences to understand what it takes to become the leading logistics provider ensuring it provides a —

unique experience to the brands, leading to more B2B business, especially when it aims for thousands of brands to onboard.

USER RESEARCH

To make the interface adaptable for all brands, I focused on common challenges across different business sizes and surveyed 20 B2B interface users. It helped me identify holistic user pain points.

I then deep dived into the problems by interviewing 5 more people working specifically in fashion retail with B2B interface, ensuring relevance for potential Zeos users.

This process brought clarity in summarising findings into three major insights.

Users faced complexity in visualising insights

55%

Users found difficulty in translating insights into actionable steps

46%

Users observed inconsistencies in data handling

38%

***In addition, 1. users faced challenges with data import/export and time spent on analysis. 2. Small-scale users preferred simple, quick analytical tool over complex interface

BUSINESS OPPURRTUNITY

I identified key areas of focus from research and market analysis then created business opportunity matrix for Zeos,

out of which AI automation and user interactivity was identified as the most critical area of focus (i.e. impact * priority) because it gives Zeos an edge over other legacy competitors.

DESIGN PROBLEM

Give the brands access to an interactive dashboard of insights using AI to scale their business.

**This design problem is focused on brands as the targeted users because -They are the key stakeholders and will be benefited most from this interface. The large scope of a B2B dashboard and a 4 week timeline.

IDEATION & DESIGN

Creating paper wireframes is quick, easy, and fun! I brainstormed quickly and jumped into designing wireframes right away, which speed up idea refinement. Using paper cut-outs helped me organize the design and stay focused, giving a clear view of the overall layout.

CONCEPTULISATION

I designed the concept keeping in mind the design principles that resonates with Zeos’s purpose and origin that means keeping the design -

Minimalistic
Identifiable yet unique - familiar interface but also with its own personal identity.
Easy and customisable

RECOMMENDATION #1

Simple and Interactive interface will ease onboarding and increase adoption of Zeos, such as

Interactive distribution of market share by region, w.r.t to time.

Heat maps for inventory tracking with AI generated actionable suggestions.

RECOMMENDATION #2

Automated controllable insights generated by AI for validating analysis to make informed decision.

56% users working with the ERP tools contribute to the decision making process by translating the data into insights and face complexity in visualising the insights.

RECOMMENDATION #3

Collaborative features to fast-forward into quick decision implementation

Even if the analysis could be done within 2 hours by the ERP tools(for 50%+ users), converting them to actionable insights and implementing the data takes around a week or more (for 55.6% users)

CONCLSUION & IMPACT

After completing the final designs , it was important to analyse it’s acceptance by the users and access impact on the business. For this I conducted usability tests with the prototype concept asked about their willingness to adopt this interface.

70% users found the interface simpler to use
3/5 users liked the interface & expressed willingness to use!

CHALLENGES

Given that Zeos is a B2B Saas product with a wide range of capabilities, it was challenging to narrow down the problems to the most impactful areas in 4 weeks time frame.

LEARNINGS

Confining designs within scope & time : While there's always a chance to deviate from the main goal during design process, challenging oneself every now and then to stay within the scope & time throughout the process is key to timely delivery.

Feedback is crucial: Although I managed time well, ensuring a functional design requires constant user feedback on the designs.

Compromises are necessary : Achieving a simple yet functional dashboard design is challenging. Compromises are necessary, but they must be quantified in terms of user functionality and business requirements.

REFERENCES

Link to the list of refrences