Delivery to Promise Simplifying delivery information for customers
Redesigned how delivery and stock availability were communicated across RS Group’s global e-commerce platform, reducing confusion and support calls.
Overview
Problem
RS customers often assumed in-stock items would be delivered next-day, but fulfilment was more complex. The existing system showed 63 stock messages with unclear terminology, leading to confusion and high support volumes.
Goal
Create a simplified, scalable delivery communication system that gave customers clear, realistic expectations of stock and delivery across regions.
Challenges
- Reducing 63 inconsistent stock messages to a manageable set.
- Balancing technical constraints (SAP calls, data latency) with UX clarity.
- Designing messages that worked across languages in EMEA and APAC.
- Aligning stakeholders across product, engineering, and supply chain.
- Iterating under tight timeframes while maintaining accessibility.
Role UX Design Manager
Led strategy, direction, and adoption. Ran workshops to align teams and set vision, ensuring customer experience was at the core.
Team
Product Designers, UX Researchers, Product Owners, Engineers.
Responsibilities
- Ran workshops to map stock and delivery messaging flows.
- Directed simplification from 63 to 15 messages (in-stock, backorder, out-of-stock sets).
- Oversaw design iterations to reduce cognitive load and improve clarity.
- Ensured accessibility by moving from colour-only cues to semantic messaging.
- Worked with researchers to test and refine messaging and presentation.
Approach
- Workshops & Mapping – Facilitated workshops with product, research, and engineering to align on simplification.
- Message Simplification – Reduced 63 stock statuses to ~15 clear, semantically grouped messages.
- Accessibility – Removed reliance on colour (traffic-light system) in favour of semantic text and iconography.
- Testing & Iteration – Partnered with researchers to refine wording, ensuring clarity across languages.
- Stakeholder Alignment – Brought together supply chain, product, and engineering teams to adopt the new model.
Solution
A redesigned delivery communication system that:
- Replaced 63 fragmented stock messages with 15 consistent statuses.
- Used accessible design (text + icon) to set clear expectations.
- Worked across EMEA and APAC markets with localisation in mind.
- Reduced customer confusion and support demand.
Impact & Results
- 48 fewer stock messages
- -33% support calls
- +75% comprehension
Quantitative Outcomes
- Reduced 63 inconsistent stock messages to 15 simplified statuses
- Early testing showed a 33% reduction in delivery-related support calls
- Sustained improvement of over 75% in customer comprehension of delivery timelines
Qualitative Outcomes
- Customers reported greater trust in delivery information
- Internal stakeholders aligned around a single simplified system
- Accessibility improved by replacing colour-only cues with semantic messaging