Improving Wayfair's IPA Tool for Suppliers
Wayfair
User Interviews I B2B Research I Technical Tools
As a Lead User Researcher at Wayfair, I worked on a crucial project to improve the usability of the Inventory Planning and Analytics (IPA) tool for suppliers. The project began when a Product Manager (PM) approached me, concerned that the IPA tool wasn't adequately meeting supplier needs. Our research focused on understanding how suppliers use inventory planning tools and whether the IPA tool fit into their existing workflows.
The Problem
How could we transform the IPA tool into a more effective, supplier-facing product?
After lots of back and forth we aligned on these research questions:
How can we get the current IPA tool to be transformed into a usable supplier-facing tool?
What are suppliers workflows for the replenishment journey? Does this current tool aid or fit within their workflows and meet their needs for this type of work?
Research Methodology
I conducted 1-hour, moderated user interviews with five suppliers via Google Meet to uncover workflow challenges. Additional methods included:
Secondary research on logistics workflows
Tree testing
Usability testing
SUS surveys (System Usability Scale)
Findings
Mismatch in workflows: Suppliers’ existing workflows didn't align with the IPA tool’s design.
Tool as a supplemental resource: Suppliers viewed the IPA tool as an additional resource, not their primary planning tool.
Granularity of data: While suppliers appreciated the detailed data, they struggled with integrating it into their existing processes.
Terminology confusion: Complex terms within the IPA tool caused usability issues.
The findings were structured into tiers of insights, ranging from short-term usability improvements to long-term strategic recommendations. This format enabled Product Managers to identify immediate next steps and revisit relevant insights throughout the product development lifecycle.
Impact
Our findings led to the creation of both short-term and long-term recommendations to improve the tool’s usability for short-term roll out to suppliers and then for product strategy to inform the product roadmap for the team so that the tool was built to better fit into suppliers’ exisiting workflows.
The recommendations were added to the product roadmap, and leadership approved further enhancements based on our research insights.
My Role
I led UX Research for this project, partnering closely with the Supplier-Facing Product Manager and Designer to plan and execute an end-to-end study.
Guided the team through the research process, managing multiple complex stakeholders and introducing some to UX Research for the first time
Moderated all sessions and conducted in-depth analysis of findings
Synthesized insights and delivered a comprehensive readout to Product, Design, and Engineering, helping align the team on key focus areas
What I learned
Deepened my understanding of how UX Research can drive impact in complex enterprise systems. Working on Wayfair’s supplier logistics platform, I learned how to navigate and align a diverse group of stakeholders, many of whom were unfamiliar with UX Research, by clearly articulating and later on showing the value of user insights.
I gained hands-on experience running both generative and evaluative studies, which helped me refine a mixed-methods approach that balanced exploration with usability validation. I also saw firsthand how framing insights around user goals and business priorities can lead to actionable outcomes, by informing roadmap decisions and driving improvements to core workflows.
I learned how to advocate for users in business spaces where efficiency, scale, and internal processes often take precedence, and how research can uncover opportunities for clarity, simplicity, and better product experiences.