What If Hospitals Could Modernize and Simplify Inventory Tracking?
Tools: Figma • Notion
Skills: UX Research • App Design • Wayfinding • Branding
Overview
I was approached by a leading cloud platform for medical device supply chains within SAP to assist in creating a chatbot. The goal was to design a tool that would simplify inventory tracking for hospital staff, helping them efficiently locate and manage medical supplies in a fast-paced environment.
Problem
Managing inventory in a hospital setting is a complex task, with high stakes and minimal room for error. The company identified several key challenges:
Inefficient Processes: Hospital staff often struggled to locate inventory quickly due to fragmented systems and a lack of real-time tracking.
High Stakes: Delays in finding medical devices or supplies could impact patient care.
Limited Accessibility: Existing inventory solutions weren’t user-friendly or easily accessible for busy hospital environments.
The chatbot needed to solve these challenges by providing a simple, efficient way for hospital staff to track and manage inventory directly through the SAP system.
Project Challenges
One of the biggest challenges in this project was the steep learning curve. I had to quickly educate myself on the intricacies of the medical device supply chain industry, including how inventory is managed in hospitals and how the SAP platform operates.
Additionally, this was an international company, and I had only one primary contact person throughout the project. This required clear, efficient communication and proactive problem-solving to ensure progress stayed on track despite the limited points of contact.
Research
Before I could start designing, I had to learn about the medical device supply chain—a completely new world for me. I spent time understanding how hospital inventory works and how SAP ties into it. To get real insight, I interviewed hospital staff about their daily challenges with inventory. I also looked at what other companies were doing with similar tools. This helped me figure out what worked, what didn’t, and how this chatbot could stand out.
Interviews
I scheduled three interviews with hospital staff, hoping to get a clear picture of their inventory challenges. However, all three interviewees admitted they didn’t handle inventory themselves. Luckily, one of them connected me with someone in the office who did manage inventory, which helped me gather more comprehensive insights.
This got me thinking: inventory management shouldn’t be the problem of the people using the equipment—it should just work. Whether it’s loan sets or medical consignment, the system should ensure everything shows up when it’s needed.
I also realized that inventory ordering tends to fall on just a few people in a hospital or office. These key users need a smooth, user-friendly system that doesn’t disrupt their workflow—or anyone else’s. A good inventory solution should feel invisible, keeping things running seamlessly in the background.
My final interview provided key insights into the hospital’s inventory and equipment management process:
Equipment Sets: Hospitals use specialized equipment sets, or trays, tailored to specific surgeries, like joint replacements or foot surgeries. These trays can be quite heavy, weighing up to 30 pounds, and are packed with tools like plates, screws, and other essentials.
Ordering Process: Medical supply company reps, such as those from Stryker, are contacted to order the trays. However, only a few individuals are responsible for managing this process.
Tray Usage and Payment: Items used from the trays are sent back if unused, and it’s likely that hospitals only pay for what’s used. This process often involves billing through insurance.
Categorization Needs: There’s a need to categorize trays by procedure type, making it easier for users to identify the right set for the right surgery.
Visual Aids in the App: Including graphics or visual breakdowns of the trays could enhance usability, similar to visuals used in pharmaceutical ads. This could help users quickly identify tray contents and their purpose.
Competitive Analysis
To understand the landscape of inventory management solutions, I analyzed four platforms: Tecsys, NetSuite, inFlow, and Sortly. This involved reviewing their features, user feedback, and identifying their strengths and weaknesses, even though some differed from the product I was working on.
This analysis highlighted the importance of balancing functionality with user-friendliness, especially for hospital staff who need efficient, intuitive tools for inventory management.
The companies that were looked at for the competitive analysis
Design
Based on the research and the company’s needs, we designed an app that combines three key functionalities:
Voice Assistant: For hands-free interaction, allowing users to quickly ask about inventory status or locate specific items.
Chatbot: To handle more detailed queries and provide clear, step-by-step assistance for managing and ordering inventory.
Wayfinding: To help hospital staff physically locate inventory within the facility, streamlining workflows and saving valuable time.
This multi-functional approach ensured the app could adapt to the diverse and fast-paced needs of hospital environments while remaining intuitive and user-friendly.
Competitive Analysis
With the site structure in place, I moved on to creating wireframes. These wireframes balanced a lot of factors:
The need for shared and unique content across brands.
Insights from my competitive analysis.
Compatibility with our backend CMS.
Matching the unchangeable design elements from our new menu system.
Video of prototype made for tablets
Video of prototype of voice assistance
Video of prototype of the chatbot
Outcome
Unfortunately, the project has since been abandoned. However, it was an invaluable experience to dive into the research, explore new challenges, and collaborate with an international client.