Summary
Signex is an ERP system built to help field managers track production, manage dispatch workflows, monitor inventory, and streamline daily operations. Before Signex, teams relied heavily on spreadsheets and phone communication, which caused delays, manual errors, and inefficiencies. This project focused on consolidating core operations into a centralized real-time digital dashboard.
Designed with scalability in mind, preparing the ERP to support future AI-driven insights and decision-making.
My Role
UI/UX Designer
Team
Product Manager, Domain Experts, 50+ Developers, QA
Timeline
8 Months
Shaping Structure Before Design
When the client approached us, there was no defined ERP structure. Collaborating closely with Business Analysts and cross-functional teams, our design team conceptualized and established the entire ERP framework — from module segregation to workflow hierarchy — before moving into the design phase.” (The client was using SAP for basic operations)
The Challenge
“How might we unify six core departments under one ERP platform that’s easy to use, scalable, and transparent?”
Despite rapid growth, the company’s operations were still fragmented across disconnected tools and manual processes. Each department—Sales, Estimation, Procurement, Production, HR, and Finance—worked in isolation, creating delays, inconsistencies, and avoidable operational risks. Teams needed a unified system that could streamline communication, eliminate repeated work, and provide whole-company visibility.
Future Challenge
Although the ERP streamlined core workflows, many key decisions still relied on manual analysis of historical data such as ageing reports. This resulted in delayed actions in manpower planning, procurement, inventory, and finance.
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
Problem Context
Field operations involved multiple stakeholders — production supervisors, dispatch teams, inventory controllers, and ground-level workers.
-No standardized approval process — bottlenecks everywhere
-Finance visibility lagged behind production progress
-Employees had tool fatigue — too many platforms
-Each department tracked metrics differently
Research Insight: Need for Predictive Decision Support
When“Across operations, finance, and planning roles, users repeatedly mentioned that insights came too late. Decisions were made by manually comparing past records, spreadsheets, and ageing reports. This highlighted an opportunity to support users with early warnings, comparisons, and suggested actions in the future.”the client approached us, there was no defined ERP structure. Collaborating closely with Business Analysts and cross-functional teams, our design team conceptualized and established the entire ERP framework — from module segregation to workflow hierarchy — before moving into the design phase.” (The client was using SAP for basic operations)
Manpower shortages identified after delays
Manual comparison of raw material prices year over year
Stock decisions based only on ageing reports
Late payment follow-ups due to lack of prediction
Goals & Success Criteria
Goal
Improve operational visibility
Reduce coordination time
Lower dispatch rework
Make workflows intuitive for field operators
Success Indicator
Real-time dashboard adoption rate
Decrease in internal calls/messages
Reduction in task reassignment %
Reduced learning curve and training needs
Target Outcome
Reduce coordination time by
40%
Improve dispatch accuracy by
20%
Provide a clear, role-based dashboard experience
Research & Insights
Approach:
Studied “As-Is” functional flows across six departments
Conducted workshops and interviews with end users
Mapped existing process gaps and dependencies
Key Insights:
Affinity Mapping
The information architecture was structured to later accommodate predictive insights and recommendation-based decision support.
Modules are defined by Business Analysts
🟡 Pain points
🟣 Observations / Quotes
🟩 Opportunities / Needs
User Personas
We found out what hurts…
06 interviews with field supervisors & dispatch leads
Contextual inquiry observing day-to-day workflow
Mapping current Excel, WhatsApp, and verbal communication chains
💡 Cross-Departmental Pain Points:
Data silos across departments causing delays and miscommunication.
Manual and repetitive processes leading to inefficiency and errors.
Lack of visibility and transparency between teams (Finance, Sales, Production, HR).
Multiple disconnected tools causing “tool fatigue.”
Inconsistent reporting and performance tracking.
🧭 Final Conclusion
The personas revealed a shared need for a unified ERP system that bridges departmental gaps and enables:
Centralized data management across all business functions.
Automation of workflows to reduce manual dependency.
Real-time visibility into production, finance, HR, procurement, and project status.
Informed decision-making through integrated dashboards and analytics.
All personas required faster decision-making support rather than manual interpretation of historical reports.
UX Principles
Several enterprise UX principles guided our decisions while designing the end-to-end ERP experience
1. Consistency Across Modules
ERP users move between Sales, Production, Finance, HR, and Procurement daily.
A consistent layout, interaction pattern, and terminology reduce cognitive load and training time.
2. Information Hierarchy
ERP screens carry heavy data.
We prioritized key actions and KPIs at the top and moved secondary information into collapsibles or side panels.
3. Role-Based Decision Support
Different users (Sales Manager, Procurement Officer, Production Supervisor, Finance) need different insights.
We designed dashboards and workflows tailored to each role’s mental model and decision flow.
4. Workflow Continuity
ERP screens carry heavy data.
We prioritized key actions and KPIs at the top and moved secondary information into collapsibles or side panels.
5. Reduce Friction for Frequent Actions
High-frequency tasks (e.g., PR creation, attendance logging, job updates, payment approvals) were optimized to require fewer clicks and clearer navigation.
6. Data Visibility & Transparency
Visibility gaps were causing delays and manual follow-ups.
We designed each screen to show real-time status, bottlenecks, and approval queues to enable faster decision-making.
Solutions
The ideation process began
Conceptual Module Diagram
Conceptual Module Diagram with Key functionalities
User Flow Diagram
ERP Integrated End-to-End User Flow
Each ERP module is interconnected to create a seamless operational pipeline. Sales initiates the job, Estimation validates cost, Procurement and Stores ensure material readiness, Production executes, Installation completes delivery, and Finance manages invoicing and payments. Parallel to this, HR and Payroll ensure workforce availability and salary processing, while Procurement and Finance streamline vendor payments. This creates a complete end-to-end ERP ecosystem with real-time transparency across all departments.”
Wireframes
ERP Integrated End-to-End User Flow
Each ERP module is interconnected to create a seamless operational pipeline. Sales initiates the job, Estimation validates cost, Procurement and Stores ensure material readiness, Production executes, Installation completes delivery, and Finance manages invoicing and payments. Parallel to this, HR and Payroll ensure workforce availability and salary processing, while Procurement and Finance streamline vendor payments. This creates a complete end-to-end ERP ecosystem with real-time transparency across all departments.”
Layouts were intentionally designed to allow space for future insights, alerts, and recommendations without disrupting existing workflows.
ERP journey - We created
Sales & Opportunity Conversion
The ERP streamlines how leads turn into orders. From capturing inquiries across channels to generating an approved sales order, the platform reduces manual follow-ups and ensures pricing clarity.
Smart Estimation & Procurement Automation
Engineers estimate cost & materials, creating accurate BOM/BOL. If inventory is short, the system automatically creates Purchase Requests, compares supplier quotes, and issues Purchase Orders — reducing procurement delays.
Production, Tracking & Installation
The Production Job Order assigns machines and manpower, enabling real-time progress tracking, QC, and dispatch for installation. Supervisors manage workloads while customers receive a smooth handover.
Invoice, Payments & Profitability
The ERP generates invoices, manages receivables and payables, performs payroll cost allocation, and reports profitability and cost-to-completion — helping leadership make informed decisions.
ERP Implementation
What we are implementing in the new ERP (To-Be – automated, unified processes)
This project is still being documented. More screens and details are on the way.