Navigating Complexity: Revolutionizing Supply Chain Logistics for African SMEs
Sabi is Africa's leading provider of enabling infrastructure powering the distribution of goods and services. Founded with a solutions-oriented approach to solving commercial challenges, Sabi has grown to become a significant player in global supply chain services, focusing on the processes involved in the sourcing and distribution of physical goods and commodities across diverse markets.
Traditional logistics solutions often fail to address the unique demands of these SME merchants, resulting in delays, inventory mismanagement, and a lack of transparency in the supply chain.
The challenge lies in developing and implementing a scalable, robust digital platform that provides holistic solutions for supply chain management and integrates financial services tailored to the needs of African SMEs in the FMCG, electronics, and textiles industries.
This platform must overcome the existing logistical bottlenecks, improve supply chain visibility, facilitate easy access to restocking, ensure timely delivery of goods, and enhance overall operational efficiency, thereby enabling these businesses to thrive in a competitive global landscape.
Sabi's digital ecosystem transforms supply chain and logistics for SMEs in Africa, focusing on sectors like FMCG, electronics, and textiles. It integrates an E-commerce app for merchants with platforms for suppliers, drivers, and logistics management, streamlining procurement, inventory management, and delivery. This approach enhances efficiency and simplifies transactions across the supply chain. My role was to work on the e-commerce and delivery applications.
The platform's impact is substantial, with over 175,000 merchants and $200 million in sales, reflecting its effectiveness in overcoming regional business challenges. The recent $38 million funding further validates Sabi's potential for growth and its role in boosting African SMEs' competitiveness and economic contribution.
Logistics platform
The logistics product feature enables the monitoring of fulfillment and operation processes and overall supply chain management for our partners. Our partners are provided with the following functionalities on their dashboard:
Key deliverables
- A dashboard of important logistics metrics
- Sabi Feed — a feed of pending logistics requests
- Trips — monitoring trips and schedules
- Vehicles — tracking & monitoring vehicles
- Reports — overview of all activities
- Finance — enables payment tracking
- Team — view and manage drivers
Driver app
The driver app enables our registered logistics partners to give access to their drivers and deliver items to our customers. The main functionalities provided by the application are:
Key deliverables
- Dashboard — list of items to deliver and cost estimate
- Trips — pick-up status, drop-off details, and navigation
- Profile — bio-data and past trips
Suppliers platform
The supplier platform is used by Sabi Suppliers to manage their inventory, product catalog, and process orders from Sabi's demand channels. The main functionalities provided by the platform are:
Key deliverables
- Dashboard — snapshot of important business metrics
- Sabi Feed — feed of products ordered by Sabi's customers awaiting processing
- Orders — view the list of ordered products assigned to a supplier and their status
- Inventory — manage inventory (prices, details, stock)
Research
To ensure the platform meets the unique needs of its users within the African SME landscape, research aimed to understand the existing market, user behaviors, and the challenges faced by merchants, suppliers, and logistics partners. The following types of UX research were conducted:
Competitive analysis
Reviewing existing products like TradeDepot, Omnibiz, Tajir, and MarketForce provided insights into the competitive landscape. This analysis helped identify gaps in the market and opportunities for differentiation. Jakob's Law of internet user experience was considered, emphasizing the importance of aligning Sabi's platform with users' expectations based on their experience with other sites.
Literature review
An extensive review of industry-related articles to understand the intricacies of the supply chain and logistics sectors in Africa. This helped identify key challenges and opportunities for innovation. The process was needed to eliminate Confirmation Bias and avoid undervaluing information that contradicts my beliefs.
User interviews
Interviews with warehouse staff, supplier personnel, and logistics partners were critical in understanding the existing processes and pinpointing opportunities for automation and efficiency improvements. These insights were analyzed through the lens of Nielsen's Usability Heuristic of 'Match between system and the real world', ensuring the platform's design speaks the users' language.
Usability testing
Early prototypes were tested with supplier personnel and logistics partners to identify usability issues and areas for improvement. Testing was framed around Nielsen's Heuristic of User Control and Freedom, allowing users to experiment with the navigation and functionality, ensuring users never feel lost or trapped within the app interface.
Learnings
Takeaways that underscore a growth process for me.
- Simplicity in design:Striving for simplicity helps create more intuitive and easy-to-use products. It's crucial to focus on core functionalities that meet the primary needs of users, rather than overwhelming them with features.
- Adapting to change is crucial: In long-term projects, external factors such as market trends, technology advancements, and regulatory changes can impact product requirements and user expectations. Being flexible and open to pivoting the product strategy is key to staying relevant.