ShipCompliant Modernization

UX Lead - Ongoing

Project Overview

ShipCompliant helps over 2,000 wineries and breweries ship compliantly, and collect and remit the correct destination-based tax in all 50 US states.

The cluttered, out-of-date UI is a key talking point used by Sovos’ competitors. We wanted to modernize the UI and at the same time make improvements to a particularly challenging area of the product - implementation and ongoing configuration.

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My Contributions

As the UX Lead on the project, I framed the problem, worked with key stakeholders to define what we hoped to achieve, and developed the vision for the project.

I hired a junior designer to work on the project, and supported him via initial scoping, team alignment, pair-designing and frequent critique.

The Problem

Onboarding takes customers on average 6-weeks and makes up ~25% of support tickets

Implementation drags on

Trainings are rescheduled due to clients’ bandwidth and struggles with data entry.

Time-consuming data-entry

A lot of time is spent on data entry leaving little to no time for training on the product, how to maintain, etc.

The experience is fragmented

In one example, setting up distributors, the customer needs to complete work across four pages, and incomplete setup in one area makes subsequent steps impossible to complete.

Work never feels complete

The focus is on turning all the steps in the ‘wizard’ green, which is next to impossible.

The Solution

Break implementation into three steps so that it's easier to get started and learn the software, and so that customers perceive the value faster. After one in-person training within two weeks of account creation, onboarding can be completed with minimal assistance from support.

Step 1 Activation - Set up a single state, like Colorado
Step 2 Utilization - Use what was learned to set up remaining 5+ states
Step 3 Graduation - Take advanced trainings to get the most value from the product

KPI #1 Average Sovos hours per implementation

KPI #2 Support cases in user error/training category

Early Wireframes

Low-fidelity wireframes and collaboration sessions helped a small product team align on the vision and think through issues like how to manage state versus federal setup and how to communicate outstanding tasks.

Exploration

We wanted the product to feel clear, familiar and calm so we crafted emotional value statements to help shape the designs before we began to iterate.

Our product will converse with users in constructive, precise prose
Our product will be make people new to compliance feel competent
Our product will provide a feeling of calm when deadlines are looming
Our product will make loyal customers feel supported so they continue to be champions of our product

Key Solution Elements

Making state a primary object in the application opened up possibilities in terms of helping smaller customers understand the compliance requirements in areas where they did not yet ship.

Switching to All States allows Compliance Managers to complete general setup and, where it makes sense, edit settings for multiple states.

We used Pendo, a digital adoption solution, to create step-by-step guides to support first-time users through a series of tasks without development work.