B2B ❘ SOFTWARE PLATFORM ❘ PRODUCT DISCOVERY

Quotation Platform Product Discovery

Led the transition from manual return processing to a rules-based automated workflow, reducing operational overhead and accelerating customer resolutions.

Project Overview

As the internal quotation platform matured, the team identified an opportunity to improve how quotation updates and follow-ups were managed across global sales and pricing operations. Rather than immediately introducing new features, we initiated a structured product discovery effort to better understand operational pain points and identify high-impact opportunities for future growth.

Working closely with Sales Executives, Quote Desk teams, Pricing Executives, Trade Lane Managers, and Regional Pricing Managers, we conducted cross-functional discovery activities to uncover workflow inefficiencies, communication gaps, and areas where the product could better support business responsiveness.

Although the proposed solutions were ultimately deprioritized due to shifting company goals, the initiative established a stronger product discovery practice within the team and provided valuable strategic insights for the platform's future direction.

Problem

Quotation updates and follow-ups relied heavily on manual coordination across multiple operational teams, resulting in communication delays, limited visibility, and inefficiencies in managing quote progress.

As the platform expanded across global teams, the organization needed a clearer understanding of user workflows and operational bottlenecks before investing in the next phase of product development.

Discovery Goal

North Star

Understand how the product can better support internal teams in winning more business.

Creative Process

• Discovery & Research
  • Conducted stakeholder interviews across sales, pricing, and operational teams
  • Shadowed intensive product users to understand day-to-day quotation workflows
  • Facilitated collaborative workshops to surface recurring operational pain points
  • Refined interview questions iteratively throughout the discovery process
• User Groups
  • Sales Executives
  • Quote Desk / Pricing Executives
  • Trade Lane Managers
  • Regional Pricing Managers
• Insight Consolidation
  • Synthesized recurring pain points and workflow inefficiencies
  • Mapped findings into opportunity areas and prioritization themes
  • Used Opportunity Solution Trees to visualize potential solution paths
• Solution Exploration
  • Facilitated ideation sessions with stakeholders and operational experts
  • Explored concepts such as:
    • quotation messaging capabilities
    • quote file indicators and status alerts
    • workflow visibility improvements
  • Prioritized opportunities collaboratively with stakeholders

Key Challenges

Coordinating Global Stakeholders

Scheduling discovery sessions across multiple regions and time zones required flexibility and close coordination with global operational teams.

Managing Discovery Scope

Early interviews surfaced a wide range of opportunities, making prioritization and insight consolidation a critical part of the discovery process.

Outcome

Although the proposed solutions were not ultimately implemented due to shifting business priorities, the discovery initiative helped establish a more structured, insight-driven approach to product planning within the organization.

The project reinforced the value of validating operational problems early, aligning stakeholders around shared priorities, and using discovery to guide strategic product decisions before committing to development.