Reimagining where vendors work

Workrise’s Vendor Management platform is a two-sided marketplace that connects vendors looking for jobs with clients in the energy industry. I led the end-to-end design and strategy for Service Locations, a 0 -> 1 feature that transforms how vendors connect with prospective clients — balancing specificity for vendors who work in local markets with flexibility for vendors open to travel or relocation. Service Locations helps vendors find relevant job opportunities aligned with their work preferences while enabling clients to quickly identify qualified vendors in the right locations.

Role
Lead Designer

Timeline
Jul - Sept 2023

Team
PM, Eng, UXR

Key Results

70%

Adoption

6x

Faster Onboarding

35%

Cost Savings

Vendors are struggling to find jobs and connect with clients

Vendors in the energy industry are struggling to adapt as sourcing shifts from traditional face-to-face networking to procurement platforms like GEP and SAP Ariba. Many vendors have limited or no digital presence, making it difficult for them to get in front of clients who primarily search for service providers online. This lack of visibility has been a challenge for vendors in growing their business and staying competitive on the market.

Building the first source-to-pay job marketplace for the energy industry

Clients in the energy industry were frustrated with fragmented vendor management processes, often relying on multiple platforms for different stages of the vendor lifecycle. By integrating sourcing, onboarding, compliance, and invoicing, Workrise aims to position its new Vendor Management platform as a more efficient way for clients to manage vendors.

Understanding the vendor experience

I collaborated with our UX Research team to identify key questions that would deepen our understanding of the problem space. We interviewed 9 vendors from small and mid size businesses ranging from 1 to 100 employees. Additionally, we conducted interviews and concept testing with our sales and operations teams, who work directly with vendors in the field. I also performed a competitive analysis of other solutions on the market, including ISN, GEP, SAP Fieldglass, and SAP Ariba, to gain insight into how vendors and clients are using existing tools.

Designing for diverse location preferences

Two key personas emerged during our research.

Vendors can be flexible about where they work

Some vendors, like Persona 1, are eager to grow their business by working in multiple locations. They want to be considered for as many jobs as possible to increase their visibility and access a broader client base. By expanding their geographical reach, vendors can connect with clients in diverse markets and unlock new business opportunities.

Vendors can also specify exactly where they work

Other vendors, like Persona 2, are more selective about where they want to work. Allowing vendors to specify where they work — and more importantly, where they don’t work — allows us to filter out irrelevant job opportunities. This ensures that these vendors only appear in search results for clients in their preferred locations, saving them time and reducing unnecessary noise in their job search. 

Mapping service locations with increased accuracy

We initially explored a radius-based system where vendors used a zip code and radius to define their service locations. However, many vendors in the energy industry work in basins, and we soon realized that this approach failed to account for the unique geography of these regions. In Phase 2, we introduced a pen tool that enabled vendors to draw custom polygons around their service locations.

Designing for the field

We prioritized mobile first responsive design to ensure the vendor experience was scalable and easy to use on all devices. Our sales and ops teams often pitch to vendors in the field, so we wanted to ensure that vendors could sign up and set up their profiles directly from their phones. We then scaled our mobile designs for web, ensuring a seamless experience across different breakpoints.

Iterating on how vendors define service locations

Iterating on the user flow for vendors

Looking at the numbers

  • 70% Adoption: 340+ out of 490+ active vendors added at least 1 service location in the first 6 months after launch

  • 2,000 Service Locations: Vendors added over 2,000+ unique service locations in the first 6 months after launch

  • 83% User Satisfaction: 8 in 10 vendors say they’re satisfied with their Workrise onboarding experience

  • 6x Faster Onboarding: Vendors onboard 6x faster with Workrise compared to the industry average

  • 35% Cost Savings: Clients save over 35% on vendor management across the purchasing lifecycle

“Workrise Vendor Management has enabled us to consistently deploy the right vendors across all of our assets. We’ve seen prompt response times across the supply chain, and high levels of execution from the vendors we engage.”

Senior Operations Supervisor, Chord Energy