overview
FEBC International is a leading FF&E and OS&E procurement management consulting firm with more than 25 years of experience in major international
hotel projects.
Experiencing augmentedand virtual reality
Work Process
Research and interview
We needed to learn about the present platform’s functionality and the aims of its users while concurrently creating the platform’s navigation structure so that we would be able better to comprehend the current platform’s functionality and user needs.
Wireframes
Following the client’s approval of the plan and idea, they began constructing the wireframes. The conclusion led to the deployment of the Material Design framework and concepts. Because of this, the development and design teams were able to work together more effectively.
UI Design
We generated clickable prototypes to make it easier to test the product. As a result, users could interact with the product in real-time without incurring any development costs. Other screens and functions could also be tracked and mapped out for future reference by a developer’s team.
Development support
To get the perfect platform development results, our team has always kept in touch with development team through video calls, active communication in Figma documents, and conducting devchecks.
Review of the current platform
A large number of different sides of the procurement process and remote work
from different locations make management more complex and have a number
of specific requirements. Today’s hotel management tools are clearly not sufficient
since they are not designed to fulfill the current needs. This poses major problems
for employees because they struggle to track their daily tasks and collaborate together.
Noisy screens
There is no specific style of text, icons and all other visual elements of the platform
One platform for all FEBC patries
There is no separation os parties, all participants see too much unnecessary information that confuses them.
Bad navigation
It is very difficult to find the section with the necessary information and perform actions promptly.
Lack of tips and onboarding
It is difficult to use the platform without tips because of the burden of information on the screens
Lack of accents
No opportunity to concentrate on important things, which increases the strain on the platform users.
Client side functional
The process of working on this project turned out to be quite an interesting challenge for us, as it involved a series of research, testing, and preparation
of a new approach to the project of a huge platform with many sides and tasks
Control the design phase
The client is aware of each stage, he sees the amount of work done on each stage, as well as the amount of work to be done.
Ability to control several projects
If the client has several current projects, he can control them in one place.
Eligible supplier approval
The client is given a choice between suppliers and can approve or reject different candidates directly on the platform.
Project’s budget control
The client can see how much money was spent and on which categories, as well as compare the amount spent and the remaining in real time.
Manager-supplier communication
The client can communicate with suppliers and managers within the platform, thus reducing the time for communication.
Electronic document signing
The client has the opportunity to sign documents for the delivery with an electronic signature on the platform.
User Scenarios
The client provided us with User Interviews of their managers in the
form of a text document - this served as the foundation for creating User Scenarios. We needed the scenarios in order to clearly understand the number of people, their main goals, tasks, and wishes. Thanks to the scenarios, we derived 5 main parties that will interact with the platform.
Project Manager (FF&E)
Management of all stages of the procurement process for FF&E
BOQ preparation
Comparison of supplier prices
Obtaining approvals between the client and the manager
Preparing a purchase order for a supplier who has won the contract by the customer's decision
Project Manager (OS&E)
Management of all process for OS&E
BOQ preparation
Obtaining prices from suppliers
Obtaining approvals between the client and the manager
Preparation of a purchase order checkout for a supplier who has won a contract at the discretion of the client.
Management of the calendar and sticking to the schedule, controling project timing.
Business Manager
Introducing new leads into the system as part of the sales cycle
Monitoring and assisting in the team’s negotiation processes
Transferring the winning contract to the project team
Adding new contacts to the system
Client
Tracking the progress of project managers in FEBC
Making approvals on the system
Viewing progress
Viewing reports and budgets
Suppliers
Providing prices for their products within the system
Storing catalogs and information about themselves
Tracking the tenders that they won / lost
Communicating with team members about projects
Client side functional
The process of working on this project turned out to be quite an interesting challenge for us, as it involved a series of research, testing, and preparation
of a new approach to the project of a huge platform with many sides and tasks
VISUAL OVERVIEW
Simple and laconic interface for quick and easy interaction
Users can visually track all their projects and their current status on one screen. The convenience of moving between projects and quick switching provides ease in managing each of them.
Less time for functional test creation
Faster navigation interactions
New UX flows that the system lacked
BOQ Purchasing Control System
We elaborated the BOQ system, which help managers to make a list of purchases for the project. Many states and use cases have been elaborated for this section .
Budget Control Widget
Track the delivery of the order widget
Time tracker
We have developed a system that helps company employees track how much time they spend performing a particular task. Here is a widget which help user to select the project he is working on and turns on the tracker.
Manager side functional
Manage project stage timelines
The manager sets timelines for different stages of the project and can control them.
Client-supplier communication
Internal chat allows you to communicate with all the people involved in the project.
Purchasing table management
The manager compiles a large tab le of items for purchase, assigning the necessary parameters.
Tender creation for suppliers
The manager adds vendors for the supply tender. After that, suppliers offer prices for different goods.
Purchase order control
The manager maintains documents related to the delivery, edits them and sends them for signature to the client and suppliers.
Manager's inspection request
The manager can add an inspection request: check how the equipment was installed, if there are any problems that need to be solved.
Let’s talk
about BOQ
BOQ is the fundamental system of the entire platform, which help managers form a list of needs for an object, draw up a specification, approve all this with a client, share it with suppliers so that they can offer their prices for a particular product. Therefore, it was important to pay a lot of attention to this section and work out all possible interactions.
Quick interaction with
tabular data
tabular data
FEBC managers used to perform all tasks in Excel, and we were faced with the task of making interaction with tables as understandable and native as possible so that users spend as little time as possible performing certain actions.
Fast interaction
with tabular data
We elaborated the BOQ system, which help managers to make a list of purchases for the project. Many states and use cases have been elaborated for this section .
Formation and interaction with the project budget
Forming the BOQ table and receiving prices from suppliers, the Preliminary Budget section is filled in parallel where the user can see how much and where to money need to be spent.
Notifications as an important part of teamwork in a project
As soon as there is some change in the table, (i.e. someone left a comment) the user receives a notification that helps to keep up of all the latest changes.
Possibility to create BOQ using Excel document
Since managers worked with excel earlier and old projects can be stored in excel format, the function of transferring such files to the platform was provided.
Manager side functional
About the mobile app
The inspection app was additionally created
for the convenience of managers. With its help managers can easily monitor the procurement process directly at the hotel, using only a phone.
20+
Mobile screens
30+
different scenarios of how inspector interacts with app
Design and Development of a mobile application for quality control inspections
In working on the platform, the client requested the creation of a mobile application for inspection. The main idea is that the inspectors can control which items have already been delivered and which are expected. The inspector also can communicate in the application about the goods, track and mark defects, and much more. Also, the main idea and task for us were to ensure the compatibility of the mobile application and the desktop platform. The manager could start the inspection from the computer and complete it on the phone, or vice versa.
AR mobile app
A business process solution designed primarily for AR is easily adaptable for multi-channel online use. It was a great challenge to create a cross-platform design language that makes such a solution available for everyone. Imported 3D modeling allowed users to easily place furniture, control delivery and manage purchasing processes.
Conclusion
This is what we’ve come up with
It took us nine months to complete the bulk of the project’s work at all stages.
Flows for seven different user types;
500+ displays;
When it comes to mobile apps and VR/AR, there are ten clickable prototypes;
There are a total of six extra channels.
See what their users say
The client is so far satisfied with Equal's work. The team's project management has been transparent, concise, and effective. They regularly update the client about the project's progress through Slack.
CCO, Hospitality Solutions Company
