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161 <span class="vh">Close dialog</span> 162 </button> 163 164 <nav class="PrimaryNav PrimaryNav--mobile" 165 aria-label="Primary"> 166 <ul class="PrimaryNav__list" role="list"> 167 <li class="PrimaryNav__listItem"> 168 <a href="https://clearleft.com/services" 169 class="PrimaryNav__link focus "> 170 Services 171 </a> 172 </li> 173 <li class="PrimaryNav__listItem"> 174 <a href="https://clearleft.com/work" 175 class="PrimaryNav__link focus is-active"> 176 Work 177 </a> 178 </li> 179 <li class="PrimaryNav__listItem"> 180 <a href="https://clearleft.com/thinking" 181 class="PrimaryNav__link focus "> 182 Thinking 183 </a> 184 </li> 185 <li class="PrimaryNav__listItem"> 186 <a href="https://clearleft.com/events" 187 class="PrimaryNav__link focus "> 188 Events 189 </a> 190 </li> 191 <li class="PrimaryNav__listItem"> 192 <a href="https://clearleft.com/about" 193 class="PrimaryNav__link focus "> 194 About 195 </a> 196 </li> 197 <li class="PrimaryNav__listItem"> 198 <a href="https://clearleft.com/contact" 199 class="PrimaryNav__link focus "> 200 Contact 201 </a> 202 </li> 203 </ul> 204</nav> 205 </div> 206 </div> 207 </div> 208 </div> 209</div> 210 211 <nav class="constrain" aria-label="Breadcrumb"> 212 <a href="https://clearleft.com/work" class="Twi Twi--link eyebrow eyebrow--black text-grey focus" style=""> 213<svg role="img" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" class="Icon Icon--arrow-left eyebrow eyebrow--black text-grey Icon--"> 214 <use xlink:href="/v6-assets/img/icons/sprite.svg?cachebust=2#arrow-left"></use> 215</svg> 216 <span>Work</span></a> </nav> 217 218 219 220 221<section class="Page-header"> 222 <div class="constrain"> 223 <div class="Page-header__content grid grid--v-gap-l grid--10/2"> 224 <div class="flow--m"> 225 <header class="flow"> 226 <h1 class="Page-header__header h h-1"> 227 Forming a strategic design partnership for a SaaS product 228 </h1> 229 230 </header> 231 232 <div class="flow--m"> 233 234 <div class="body wysiwyg--with-lead flow text-grey"> 235 <p>This is the story of how we worked with Inventory Planner by Sage over a series of engagements as their strategic design partner, making significant improvements to their product, their workflow, and their capabilities.</p> 236 237 </div> 238 </div> 239 240 </div> 241 242 </div> 243 </div> 244</section> 245 246 </header> 247 <main class="Site-main"> 248 <div class="constrain grid grid--of-two-four pad-before-m"> 249 <dl class="dl"> 250 <dt class="dt"> 251 Client 252 </dt> 253 <dd class="dd">Inventory Planner by Sage</dd> 254 <dt class="dt"> 255 Sector 256 </dt> 257 <dd class="dd">
257Technology and software</dd> 258 <dt class="dt"> 259 Duration 260 </dt> 261 <dd class="dd">3+ years</dd> 262 </dl> 263 264 <dl class="dl"> 265 <dt class="dt"> 266 What we did 267 </dt> 268 <dd class="dd"> 269 <a href="https://clearleft.com/expertise/interface-design">Interface design</a> 270 </dd> 271 <dd class="dd"> 272 <a href="https://clearleft.com/expertise/digital-strategy">Digital strategy</a> 273 </dd> 274 <dd class="dd"> 275 <a href="https://clearleft.com/expertise/user-research">User research</a> 276 </dd> 277 <dd class="dd"> 278 <a href="https://clearleft.com/expertise/product-design">Product design</a> 279 </dd> 280 </dl> 281 </div> 282 283 <section class="Slat constrain"> 284 <div class="flow--xl"> 285 <img class="srcset" src="https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_splash300/108796/DSC4552-NW-2-1.webp" sizes="(min-width: 1220px) 1100px, calc(93.78vw - 25px)" srcset=" https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_splash300/108796/DSC4552-NW-2-1.webp 300w, 286 https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_splash600/108796/DSC4552-NW-2-1.webp 600w, 287 https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_splash1000/108796/DSC4552-NW-2-1.webp 1000w, 288 https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_splash2000/108796/DSC4552-NW-2-1.webp 2000w, 289 " alt="A photo of the Clearleft team and the Inventory Planner team sat around a table working on a project. They are prioritising product features using Post-its." loading="lazy"> 290 291 <div class="grid grid--8/4"> 292 <div class="body wysiwyg flow"> 293 <p>Inventory Planner helps small to medium sized businesses manage their stock and cashflow using powerful prediction algorithms. Itâs classic software as a service, built as a classic start-up. Then the start-up was acquired by Sage, who weâve worked with before.</p> 294<p>The Inventory Planner team were ambitious about strategically uplifting their product experience in multiple areas but Sageâs in-house designers were already at capacity. Thatâs where Clearleft came in.</p> 295<p>We ended up working with Inventory Planner multiple times and each time we were building on the previous work weâd done with them. And we donât just mean the work on the product itself.</p> 296 297 </div> 298 </div> 299 </div> 300 301 </section> 302 303 304 305 306 <section class="Slat constrain"> 307 <div class="Testimonials"> 308 <figure class="Quote"> 309 <blockquote class="Quote__quote body"> 310 Partnering with Clearleft across multiple projects has helped us take a strategic approach to product design. This collaboration has transformed customer experiences at Inventory Planner, building trust, improving retention, and reducing customer drop-off with a user-first focus. 311 </blockquote> 312 313 <footer class="Quote__footer"> 314 <img class="Quote__image" src="https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_author/Matthew-De-Beer-Inventory-Planner.jpeg" alt="A black and white photograph of Matthew De Beer a white male." /> 315 <div class="Quote__cite small"> 316 <cite class="Quote__author">Matthew De Beer</cite> 317 <cite class="Quote__company">Senior Product Manager, Inventory Planner</cite> 318 </div> 319 </footer> 320 </figure> 321 </div> 322 323 </section> 324 325 326 <section class="Slat Slat--theme theme--light Slat--brush"> 327 <div class="constrain"> 328 <div class="flow--l"> 329 <header class="flow--3xs"> 330 <h3 class="eyebrow eyebrow--accent eyebrow--black"> 331 The Results 332 </h3> 333 </header> 334 <div class="flow--m"> 335 336<article class="Nutshell flow--s"> 337 <div class="flow--3xs"> 338 <header class="flow--2xs"> 339 <h2 class="h h-4"> 340 Inflated design capacity 341 </h2> 342 </header> 343 <div class="body text-grey"> 344 Together we turned ideas from the backlog into reality. 345 </div> 346 </div> 347 348 </article> 349 350<article class="Nutshell flow--s"> 351 <div class="flow--3xs"> 352 <header class="flow--2xs"> 353 <h2 class="h h-4"> 354 Increased customer acquisition and retention 355 </h2> 356 </header> 357 <div class="body text-grey"> 358 Inventory Planner got more new customers while keeping existing customers happy. 359 </div> 360 </div> 361 362 </article> 363 364<article class="Nutshell flow--s"> 365 <div class="flow--3xs"> 366 <header class="flow--2xs"> 367 <h2 class="h h-4"> 368 Improved ways of working 369 </h2> 370 </header> 371 <div class="body text-grey"> 372 Clearleft introduced a research-led project workflow that is being adopted across the business. 373 </div> 374 </div> 375 376 </article> 377 </div> 378</div> 379 380 </div> 381 </section> 382 383 384 <section class="Slat constrain"> 385 <div class="flow"> 386 <h2 class="eyebrow eyebrow--black eyebrow--accent"> 387 The Full Story 388 </h2> 389 390 <div class="grid grid--8/4"> 391 <div class="flow body wysiwyg"> 392 <h2 class="h h-2"> 393 How do you turn a single engagement into a long-term partnership? 394 </h2> 395 <p>Hiring an outside agency can be risky for a business. Sure, they say theyâre good, but can you trust them? The first time you work together with an outside agency, it feels a bit like going on a date. Youâre sussing one another out, hoping for the best but wary of getting your heart broken.</p><p>The first time we worked with Inventory Planner, it went well. But what if that was just a fluke? So they hired us again. Again, it went well. And again, they asked us back.</p><p>We ended up working together on a range of significant product improvements:</p><ul><li>onboarding new users</li><li>helping customers to take the next best action, so they realise the value of the product quicker</li><li>introducing people to new features, or features they havenât used</li><li>
395making a streamlined version of the software for smaller companies who need fewer features</li></ul><p>Our work together started with interface features. Any changes we made werenât just applied to the product; we also fed those changes back into the overall design language. With each project, this design language was becoming more considered and consistent.</p><p>Over time the work evolved. We focused more on outcomes than outputs. Clearleft became a strategic design partner for Inventory Planner. Together we worked on improving customer acquisition and retention by focusing on user needs, with every strategy decision backed up by user research and insights.</p> 396 <figure class="flow--2xs"> 397 <img class="srcset" src="https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_splash300/108805/Collection-of-work.webp" sizes="(min-width: 1220px) 1100px, calc(93.78vw - 25px)" srcset=" https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_splash300/108805/Collection-of-work.webp 300w, 398 https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_splash600/108805/Collection-of-work.webp 600w, 399 https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_splash1000/108805/Collection-of-work.webp 1000w, 400 https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_splash1500/108805/Collection-of-work.webp 1500w, 401 https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_splash2000/108805/Collection-of-work.webp 2000w, 402 " alt="A collection of screenshots showing a variety of design stages for prototypes. These include sketches, wireframes and high resolution designs." loading="lazy"> 403 404 <figcaption class="caption"> 405 We have worked on a variety of strategic projects with Inventory Planner, improving customer experience across their product journeys 406 </figcaption> 407 </figure> 408 <h2 class="h h-2"> 409 How do you build momentum? 410 </h2> 411 <p>The advantage of having an in-house design team is in their institutional knowledge. They know how things work around here. But sometimes it can be hard to see beyond those boundaries.</p><p>Bringing in an outside agency means you get a fresh perspective. You get introduced to new ideas and new ways of working. But it can take a while for that outside agency to get up to speed on your specific culture.</p><p>By working with Clearleft on multiple projects over time, Inventory Planner got the best of both worlds. Weâve still got that fresh outside perspective and the focus you get when thereâs a time limit on a project. But each piece of work we did built on everything weâd learned from the previous project.</p><p>Every time Clearleft worked with Inventory Planner, we were building up trust. That didnât happen by accident. After each engagement, we made sure that everyone at Clearleft had a better understanding of Inventory Plannerâs goals and priorities. No matter who ended up working on a project, they were able to hit the ground running. Sharing project learning via all-staff lunch and learns, practitioner retrospectives and a carefully managed client knowledge base are just a few of the ways that everyone at Clearleft stays up to date on client work. </p><p>For us, the learning curve was less steep each time. We had more prior knowledge of their acronym-heavy world. Initial meetings were more about <i>re</i>-establishing relationships rather than starting from scratch.</p> 412 <h2 class="h h-2"> 413 How do you get the most value from Clearleft? 414 </h2> 415 <p>Agency work can be intense. Youâve got a limited amount of time so youâve got to work fast. Usually that means putting all your energy into a project and then wiping the slate clean so that you can take on the next project. Often you donât even get to see the fruit of your labour until weeks or months later, by which time youâre working on a completely different project.</p><p>With Inventory Planner, it was different. Instead of wiping the slate clean, we were updating the slate each time.</p><p>We design something with Inventory Planner. They build and launch it. Then the next time we work together, we get to find out what they learned. Thatâs great for us!</p><p>And for them, their team has grown and matured just as the product has grown and matured. If they were starting with a new outside agency each time, it would be hard to see all the improvements accumulating.</p><p>Throughout our partnership:</p><ul><li>the product changed and improved over time,</li><li>the ways of working changed and improved over time,</li><li>the design language evolved over time making the product more consistent.</li></ul><p>At Clearleft, we don't look to trap clients into extended retainers. Clients can hire us for the short or long term. But you get real value out of Clearleft when you hire us for repeat work. Weâre small enough that thereâs continuity on your projectsâthe same team with the same relationships building on existing knowledge.</p><p>Your strategic design partner.</p> 416 </div> 417 </div> 418 </div> 419 420 </section> 421 422 423 <div class="constrain flow flow--s"> 424 <div class="eyebrow eyebrow--strong eyebrow--accent">More work</div> 425 <div class="grid grid--of-two"> 426 427<article class="Signpost"> 428 <a href="https://clearleft.com/work/anglia-ruskin-university-2" class="focus flow flow--2xs"> 429 <span class="Signpost__inner"> 430 <div> 431 432<svg role="img" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" class="Icon Icon--arrow-left Icon--m"> 433 <use xlink:href="/v6-assets/img/icons/sprite.svg?cachebust=2#arrow-left"></use> 434</svg> 435 </div>
436 <span class="flow flow--3xs"> 437 <h3 class="h h-6">A design partnership for continuous improvement</h3> 438 <span class="small">Anglia Ruskin University</span> 439 </span> 440 </span> 441 </a> 442</article> 443 444 445<article class="Signpost Signpost--rtl"> 446 <a href="https://clearleft.com/work/imperial-business-school" class="focus flow flow--2xs"> 447 <span class="Signpost__inner"> 448 <div> 449 450<svg role="img" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" class="Icon Icon--arrow-right Icon--m"> 451 <use xlink:href="/v6-assets/img/icons/sprite.svg?cachebust=2#arrow-right"></use> 452</svg> 453 </div> 454 <span class="flow flow--3xs"> 455 <h3 class="h h-6">Charting the course for a platform change</h3> 456 <span class="small">Imperial Business School</span> 457 </span> 458 </span> 459 </a> 460</article> 461 </div> 462 </div> 463 </main> 464 465 466 467 <aside class="Contact theme--light"> 468 <div class="constrain"> 469 <div class="Contact__container"> 470 <img class="Contact__image" 471 src="https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_splash600/68414/CLcom_contcact-footer-min.webp" 472 alt="A designer is wearing a bold patterned shirt and glasses. He is sitting with a woman with long dark hair. Both are smiling and looking at a screen on a desk. Two more laptop screens can be seen in the foreground while in the background is a blurred out studio office kitchen." 473 loading="lazy" /> 474 475 <div class="Contact__content flow"> 476 <h2 class="h h-3"> 477 Youâre unique 478 </h2> 479 <div class="body"> 480 <p>Which is why we prefer to tailor our approach specifically for you. Letâs discuss a collaborative partnership and how we can achieve the best outcomes together.</p> 481 </div> 482 483 <div class="Team-contact"> 484 <figure> 485 <img src="https://s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/clearleft-v5/uploads/_author/RR.webp" alt="Richard Rutter" loading="lazy" /> 486 </figure> 487 <div class="flow--3xs"> 488 <a href="mailto:[email protected]" class="Twi Twi--link text-blue focus" style=""> 489<svg role="img" aria-hidden="true" focusable="false" class="Icon Icon--arrow-right Icon--"> 490 <use xlink:href="/v6-assets/img/icons/sprite.svg?cachebust=2#arrow-right"></use> 491</svg> 492 <span>Email Rich about your design challenge</span></a> <p class="small"> 493 Richard Rutter, Cofounder 494 </p> 495 </div> 496</div> 497 </div> 498 </div> 499 </div> 500</aside> 501 502<footer class="Site-footer Footer theme--dark"> 503 <div class="grid grid--of-two constrain"> 504 <div class="Footer__content flow--gutter"> 505 <div class="grid grid--of-two"> 506 <ul class="Footer__nav flow" role="list"> 507 <li><a class="focus" href="https://clearleft.com/about/team">The team</a></li> 508 <li><a class="focus" href="https://clearleft.com/about/jobs">Join us</a></li> 509 <li><a class="focus" href="https://clearleft.com/contact">Hire us</a></li> 510 <li><a class="focus" href="https://podcast.clearleft.com/">Podcast</a></li> 511 <li><a class="focus" href="https://clearleft.com/privacy">Privacy</a></li> 512 <li><a class="focus" href="https://clearleft.com/equal-opportunities-policy">Equal opportunities</a></li> 513 <li><a class="focus" href="https://clearleft.com/sustainability-policy">Sustainability policy</a></li> 514 </ul> 515 516 <nav> 517 <ul class="Footer__nav flow--xs" role="list"> 518 <li class="body small"> 519 <span class="block">68 Middle Street</span> 520 <span class="block">Brighton</span> 521 <span class="block">BN1 1AL</span> 522 <span class="block">United Kingdom</span> 523 </li> 524 <li> 525 <a class="focus" href="mailto:[email protected]"> 526 [email protected] 527 </a> 528 </li> 529 </ul> 530 </nav> 531 </div> 532 <p class="Footer__copyright body small">
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