HTS by Holstor

HTS Spares is a leading supplier of plant spares, tools, and consumables to the construction industry. Holstor represents a major redevelopment of their existing inventory system, integrated directly into the HTS Spares website. The system provides customers with a platform to manage their stock and gain insight into stock levels across warehouses.

The existing system lacked this integration and couldn't support the sophisticated, tiered management capabilities that diverse construction industry customers required.

As lead designer on the PWA, I focused on creating a user experience that would work in real-world depot environments. This meant understanding the unique challenges warehouse staff face daily - from working in fast moving conditions, to needing quick access to information while managing physical inventory. I prioritised designing interfaces that were intuitive enough to require minimal training, yet robust enough to handle complex stock management tasks without error. Pillars of my approach include:

• Mapping user journeys and brainstorming features with wider project team to meet app user needs while ensuring accurate data reporting to the central inventory system.
• Leading UX prototyping sessions and gathering early user feedback to validate design decisions, iterating rapidly based on warehouse staff input to ensure the interface met real operational needs.
• Designing for the specific context of warehouse staff scanning and managing stock on-site, accounting for factors repel the need for quick, error-free interactions.
• Ensuring the interface provided transparent insight into stock levels for those utilising stock, creating clear visibility across the supply chain to build trust and enable proactive inventory planning.
• Collaborating on the information architecture working closely with developers to ensure design decisions aligned with technical constraints and business needs.

The design process centered on understanding the real-world challenges of warehouse operations and translating those insights into a practical solution. Through feedback and iterative testing, we delivered a solution that was grounded in the below:

• Barcode scanning functionality that allows warehouse staff to quickly scan container labels and instantly load product details on their device, eliminating manual data entry
• Stock movement interface enabling users to scan out, return, or request items with contextual fields for logging reasons and notes - providing supply managers with visibility into stock activity
• Custom lists feature that lets users group and save frequently accessed items, making it quick to identify which stock they need visibility on for specific jobs
• Activity feed displaying inbound orders and recent stock movements, helping users track what they've ordered and verify historical stock exchanges
• Real-time stock level visualisation showing current quantities alongside minimum thresholds, clearly indicating when automatic replenishment will be triggered
• Stock Adjustment Mode for authorised users to conduct routine stock checks and log discrepancies directly in the app, maintaining inventory accuracy

The design process centered on understanding the real-world challenges of warehouse operations and translating those insights into a practical solution. Through feedback and iterative testing, we delivered a solution that was grounded in the below:

• Delivered a system that's significantly more autonomous and efficient than the previous solution⁠⁠
• Became a core part of HTS's customer proposition, opening new growth opportunities⁠⁠
• Significantly improved efficiency - sales professionals can now demonstrate functionality in the field, and management can easily run reports⁠⁠
• Strengthened the HTS Spares brand identity with Holstor becoming a key brand expansion element⁠⁠
• Provided modern tools for inventory control through the PWA and enhanced features⁠⁠

This project demonstrated how thoughtful UX design for specific operational contexts - in this case, busy warehouse environments - can transform a business tool into a competitive advantage. By prioritising early user feedback and designing for efficient patterns catered to user requirements, we created a solution that genuinely improved daily operations for HTS customers.