Case Study: Prototyping
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Centralis designed a new, easier approach to MISUMI’s online part configuration process.
The Challenge
Headquartered in Japan, MISUMI manufactures and delivers precision machine parts, tools, and protective equipment to engineers in a variety of industries, including automotive, medical equipment, consumer packaging, and more.
MISUMI knew that customers were finding it difficult to configure engineering parts on their website (us.misumi-ec.com). They needed a redesign to allow users to easily locate and customize specific components from their catalog of 80 sextillion possibilities.
The Process
Centralis built on our past research with MISUMI customers to design two notably different initial concepts. We also designed several new home page layouts which better aligned with users’ goals on the site. We used Axure to bring these concepts to life and tested them with current MISUMI customers.
We then iterated on the winning design to incorporate improvements gleaned from testing. Centralis shared the final prototype with MISUMI designers and executives, who were pleased with our user-centric design recommendations
The Impact
Our prototype successfully illustrated the promise of a new approach to complex filtering interactions. MISUMI is proceeding with plans to implement this recommended approach to part configuration.
Our suggestion to highlight product categories on the home page has already been incorporated and is helping customers reach their desired parts more quickly and intuitively.
Our Value
MISUMI was impressed with our commitment to understanding business needs as well as user needs. We worked closely with our clients throughout this design initiative, responding adeptly to their suggestions and concerns.
Our prior testing with MISUMI customers was a huge advantage because we were familiar with users’ needs and goals right from the start. Our prototyping skills enabled us to illustrate several very complicated processes in a realistic manner and helped stakeholders at MISUMI see the benefits of the new design.
- Consumer Insight Analyst, MISUMI