Seller Contextual inquiry

Internal data had revealed that several key seller performance metrics were declining at Jane.com, including inventory sell-through rates and repeat listing rates. If these trends were to continued, it would have lead to reduced revenue for Jane.com and the sellers due to declining inventory availability. 

Sellers were showing hesitancy investing in new trends and products to sell on Jane. Their turnaround time from customer order to delivery had also been increasing. Frustrated sellers felt that Jane administration was the problem and they demanded solutions to improve their selling experience. 

I was tasked with researching the operations and fulfillment processes sellers had in place, and discovering improvements Jane could implement to improve seller efficiency, satisfaction and, seller metrics.

One seller's "warehouse" - her basement

• Exploratory seller survey 

• Eight independent sellers interviewed

• Two onsite interviews to observe sellers' inventory management processes

Research revealed that there were specific Jane policies that had been inadvertently preventing sellers from being efficient with their acquisition and fulfillment processes. A backlogged deals calendar and a convoluted approvals process meant that sellers felt wary taking risks on new trends. 

Their "warehouses" were crowded with unsold products from prior seasons. They were hesitant to commit to new styles and inventory when they could be stuck with potentially unpopular merchandise that would take up more space. This forced them to partner with our competitors to offload unsold inventory to avoid personal financial disaster. Excess inventory and cluttered warehouses also affected their order turnaround times. Many sellers managed inventory, packaging, and shipping by themselves and became overwhelmed as their inventory piled up.

Prior to this project, the seriousness of these seller inventory and operations problems had not been accurately collected nor conveyed to leadership stakeholders.

"Everything that I have down there did sell on Jane, and [this] is what I am left with.” (- Seller)

• The launch of clearance sales to allow sellers to aggressively clear inventory, even off-season

• Reduced the minimum acceptable inventory requirements when sellers submitted new deals

• Better advertisement of third-party fulfillment specialists to help sellers improve their operations

• Improved internal seller tools for inventory management, data insights, and shipping fulfillment

I wrote and analyzed the survey, lead and attended the remote and on-site interviews, analyzed and compiled findings into summary presentations, and shared insights to leadership stakeholders.