Streamlining Supplier Onboarding

Previously, Wayfair’s supplier onboarding process took over 60 days to complete, creating frustration for suppliers and delaying time-to-market for their products. Recognizing the need for a more efficient, self-service process, my team and I reimagined the onboarding experience from the ground up.

Tools
Figma
Miro
Jira
UserTesting.com

Deliverables
High Fidelity Mockups
High Fidelity Prototype
UX Research Findings

My Role
Product Designer Lead

Duration
8 MONTHS

Team
Experience Horizontals
Supplier Onboarding
Supplier Compliance
Supplier Diligence

From a Handholding Experience

60+ Days to Complete: 

Lengthy, complex processes frustrated suppliers.

High Support Needs: 

Frequent admin assistance is required for navigation and task completion.


Limited Transparency: 

Suppliers lacked visibility into their onboarding progress.

To Self-Serve Experience

Self-Service Platform: 

Empowered suppliers to navigate onboarding with minimal admin support.

Progress Tracking: 

Transparent dashboard to monitor onboarding status in real time.

Simplified Task Flow: 

Reduced dependencies, enabling faster completion and clearer guidance.

Results

75%

Reduced Onboarding Time

Onboarding time dropped by 75%, from over 60 days to just 15 days.

30%

Increase in Engagement

Supplier engagement increased by 30% as users felt more confident navigating the new system.

20%

Boost in Conversion Rate

Conversion rates improved by 20%, getting suppliers to go live faster.

Challenge

Simplifying Supplier Onboarding at Scale

At Wayfair, I was tasked with reimagining the supplier onboarding experience, which had become a bottleneck for both suppliers and internal teams. The process was lengthy, taking over 60 days, and heavily reliant on manual support. Suppliers were frustrated by redundant tasks, lack of progress visibility, unclear requirements and improve supplier satisfaction.

The goal was clear

I saw this as an opportunity to design a self-service platform that would empower suppliers, reduce administrative strain, and accelerate time to market.

Understanding Supplier Pain Points

Through an in-depth analysis of the current experience, competitive research, and user feedback, we identified three critical issues in the onboarding process:

  • Redundant Data Entry and Complex Dependencies

    Suppliers were required to repeatedly enter information and navigate confusing dependencies that delayed their progress.

  • Lack of Transparency and Progress Tracking

    Without visibility into their progress, suppliers often felt lost and frustrated. Many were left wondering if they had missed any requirements or misunderstood instructions.

  • High Help Support Demand

    The convoluted process led to a surge in support requests, adding strain on Wayfair’s administrative resources and causing delays in responses.

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Cross-Functional Collaboration

Designed and facilitated ideation workshops with cross-functional teams to brainstorm potential solutions and to ensure technical feasibility and alignment with business goals.

A Self-Service Experience

I took a holistic approach to designing a new self-service onboarding platform that would simplify the experience and reduce the dependency on administrative support.

Solution

Design Exploration

From broad to focused, I explored predefined verticals based on supplier types, leveraging new design system components to align seamlessly with supplier needs.

Predefined Verticals

Vertical Progress Stepper

Fixed Footer Navigation

Horizontal Progress Stepper

Key Features

1. Clear Progress Indicator

Decision:
Added a dashboard to show each onboarding stage, marking completed, in-progress, and upcoming tasks

Rational:
Provided transparency to reduce frustration and keep suppliers informed. This resulted in 30% higher engagement by giving suppliers confidence in their progress.

2. Step-by-Step Guidance

Decision:
Design in-line instructions for complex tasks, providing visual cues and step-by-step directions.

Rational:
Simplified challenging steps, reduced errors, and lowered task completion time. Led to a 20% increase in conversions by helping suppliers stay on track.

3. Real-Time Feedback

Decision:
Implemented immediate feedback for actions (e.g., data entry validation, upload confirmations)

Rational:
Allowed suppliers to correct issues instantly, reducing support requests by 15% and increasing confidence as they completed tasks independently by giving suppliers confidence in their progress.

4. Centralized Help Resources

Decision:
Provided access to FAQs, guides, and tutorials within the onboarding platform, available at all stages.

Rational:
Enabled self-service support, decreasing interruptions and dependence on admin help. Supported a seamless, self-paced onboarding flow aligned with the new platform.

New Onboarding Experience

We transformed the onboarding experience from a handholding process to a streamlined, self-serve platform.

  • Suppliers could now onboard independently with transparent progress tracking.

  • The process was simplified, cutting redundant steps and removing unnecessary dependencies.

This shift empowered suppliers while reducing the burden on Wayfair’s support team.