03 / QINGSHAN ZHIYU / B2B PLATFORM
A B2B platform to support Qingshan Zhiyu’s planned expansion into North America, connecting sales and customer service, factory production, and logistics to improve collaboration across departments.
Sales & Customer Service
Factory & Supplier
Logistics & Warehouse
Project Details
My Role
End-to-end product design
Research, UX/UI design & prototyping
Timeline
Sep–Oct 2026
Team
Solo designer
Status
Live · Refinements ongoing
Client-approved prototype delivered.
Business Context
Qingshan Zhiyu is a small company with its own factory producing miniature models and figures. Having previously served only the Chinese domestic market, it is now exploring expansion into North America. This move places greater demands on production, sales and logistics. The company sought a way to improve collaboration across departments, with factory production, sales and customer service, and logistics identified as its highest priorities.
Product Challenge
The central challenge was to help factory production, sales and customer service, and logistics exchange information quickly, while supporting verification, error correction and recovery when something went wrong.
The client was concerned that a batch might be shipped before quality or specification issues were identified, disrupting logistics and delaying customer delivery. They wanted factory production information sent to sales for a quick verification step, with dispatch available in the system only after sales approval. This would give customer service and logistics clearer information to work with.
Another concern was discovering mistakes in forms after sending them. Teams needed a quick way to recall and amend those documents, so incorrect information could be corrected before it caused further confusion or unnecessary work.
Project Goals
The overarching goal was to reduce internal management pressure and improve operational efficiency as Qingshan Zhiyu prepared to expand into North America.
01 / Verify before dispatch
Require sales approval of factory production information before dispatch becomes available, so quality or specification issues can be resolved before they disrupt logistics and customer delivery.
02 / Recover quickly from errors
Provide a clear way to recall, amend and resend incorrect forms, helping departments correct information quickly and prevent mistakes from creating further confusion or unnecessary work.
03 / Keep teams aligned
Share updates quickly across factory production, sales and customer service, and logistics, so teams can coordinate using verified information with less effort spent checking progress.
How might we
How might we help a small manufacturer’s production, sales and logistics teams verify information, correct mistakes and coordinate daily work with less management effort?
02 / RESEARCH
Research evidence will be added.
Stakeholder / Client Interviews
An online interview with Qingshan Zhiyu founder Zhou Zeng clarified the priorities for North American expansion and coordination between production, sales and logistics.
Reconstructed question guide: questions were composed for this case study from the project context and reported interview findings.
01 / What is driving the expansion into North America, and what new demands will it place on your operations?
Finding: North American expansion creates higher demands on production, sales and logistics for a small company previously serving the Chinese domestic market.
02 / Which teams should the platform prioritize, and what needs to improve in their collaboration?
Finding: Factory production, sales and customer service, and logistics are the priority teams. They need faster information exchange, verification and correction across handoffs.
03 / What could happen if a batch is shipped before quality or specification issues are identified?
Finding: The founder anticipated that quality or specification issues discovered after dispatch could disrupt logistics and delay customer delivery.
04 / Who should verify factory production information before dispatch, and how should the system handle an unapproved batch?
Finding: The requested process sends production information to sales for verification. Dispatch should be available only after sales approval, making status clearer for customer service and logistics.
05 / What should happen when a team discovers an error in a form after sending it?
Finding: Teams need a quick way to recall incorrect forms and amend the information when mistakes are discovered after sending.
06 / What would make this platform successful for your company?
Finding: The ultimate aim is to reduce internal management pressure and improve operational efficiency.
Role & Workflow Research
Role and workflow research combined founder input, a discussion with sales supervisor Liang, and a high-level review of existing order, production and logistics forms and operating plans.
Founder input / Zhou Zeng
Zhou Zeng supplied most of the requirements and anticipated operational issues across departments, including factory quality requirements and stronger control over logistics.
Sales input / Liang
Liang wanted simpler customer communication and ordering, plus a follow-up mechanism showing each customer’s current status, progress and time since last contact, with reminders to prompt follow-up.
Forms & operating plans
Existing order, production and logistics forms were reviewed only at a high level, alongside broad operating plans. These included preparations for a new integrated storage warehouse and international logistics channels to support additional supply for North America.
Research scope: direct role input was limited to sales. Factory and logistics needs were reported by the founder; forms and plans received an overview review rather than a detailed process audit.
Operational Pain Points
Liang described a workflow spread across work email, chat platforms, in-person meetings with paper documents, and Excel for follow-up tracking. The main reported time costs were organizing and analyzing customer information in Excel and typing messages.
01 / Manual customer review
Reported by Liang
Organizing and analyzing each customer’s information in Excel takes the most time, including their orders and last purchase date.
02 / Repeated message typing
Reported by Liang
Typing messages in chat platforms is another time cost. Liang wants preset templates she can send with a single click from the unified platform.
03 / Problems discovered after dispatch
Risk raised by Zhou Zeng
Quality or specification issues identified after a batch has shipped could delay logistics and customer delivery. Production information needs verification before dispatch.
04 / Errors noticed after sending
Risk raised by Zhou Zeng
Mistakes in submitted forms can spread incorrect information to other departments. Teams need a clear way to recall, amend and resend affected documents.
Design direction
Bring customer context and order history into one workspace, add follow-up reminders, and support preset messages sent with a single click. Pair faster communication with verification before dispatch and a clear document correction process.
Competitive Analysis
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User Personas
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User Journey Map
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Research Synthesis
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03 / PRODUCT STRATEGY
Problem Framing
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Product Goals
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Information Architecture
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Portal & Permission Model
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Feature Prioritization
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Cross-Role Collaboration / Service Blueprint
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Validation Plan
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04 / DESIGN
Three workspaces, connected through accountable handoffs.
Shared Layout & Design System
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S1 / Customer Follow-up
Due task → Preset message → Customer reply → Record outcome → Completed task.
01 / SCREEN SLOT
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02 / SCREEN SLOT
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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S2 / Customer Recovery
Repeated no response → Escalation → Named recovery owner → Follow-up outcome.
01 / SCREEN SLOT
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02 / SCREEN SLOT
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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S3 / Approved Pricing & Order Handoff
Approved commercial instruction → Read-only price / discount → Confirmed order → Procurement handoff.
01 / SCREEN SLOT
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02 / SCREEN SLOT
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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SD1 / Order Confirmation — Draft & Send
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02 / SCREEN SLOT
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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SD2 / Order Confirmation — Recall & Revision
01 / SCREEN SLOT
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02 / SCREEN SLOT
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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SD3 / Order Confirmation — Cancellation Review
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02 / SCREEN SLOT
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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F1 / Production Evidence, QC & Warehouse Handoff
Released PO → Production evidence → Independent QC → Corrective action → Reinspection → Release → Signed handover.
01 / SCREEN SLOT
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02 / SCREEN SLOT
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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FD1 / Production Report — Draft & Send
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02 / SCREEN SLOT
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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FD2 / Production Report — Recall & Revision
01 / SCREEN SLOT
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02 / SCREEN SLOT
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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FD3 / Production Report — Cancellation Review
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L1 / Receiving, Document Match & Dispatch
Receive goods → Invoice mismatch → Approved correction → Reserve stock → Confirm dispatch → Customer update.
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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L2 / Delivery Exception & Service Handoff
Evidence → Investigation findings → Sales follow-up → Customer acknowledgement.
01 / SCREEN SLOT
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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LD1 / Exception Report — Draft & Send
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02 / SCREEN SLOT
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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LD2 / Exception Report — Recall & Revision
01 / SCREEN SLOT
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02 / SCREEN SLOT
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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LD3 / Exception Report — Cancellation Review
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02 / SCREEN SLOT
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03 / SCREEN SLOT
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Shared across all three portals
Issued Read-only Snapshot
Recall Before Processing
Cancellation After Impact Review
Rev 02 & Preserved History
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Three slots per module are illustrative; additional screens can be added.
Original Figma source · Page 10/7
Sales storyboard
Factory storyboard
Logistics storyboard
05 / OUTCOME
Prototype Deliverables
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Usability Testing
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Stakeholder Feedback
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Business Impact
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Next Steps / Reflection
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