ROLE/SERVICES

UX Architecture & Product Design

LOCATION

Colombia / Panama

YEAR

2022

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Summary

A two-sided B2B marketplace designed from a blank canvas. Two structurally distinct user experiences. One coherent product.

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APPURA

The Platform

The Architecture

UX architecture & information design Two-sided product design Design system (built and maintained) User research & competitive analysis Lo-fi to mid-fi to high-fi prototype

Scope

Appura is a B2B marketplace connecting businesses — restaurants, hotels, catering operations, retail chains — with food, beverage, and supplies distributors. The core UX problem is structural asymmetry: the buyer side and supplier side share nothing architecturally. One is discovery, comparison, and transaction. The other is operations and fulfilment. Keeping both experiences clean without one leaking into the other required explicit IA decisions before a single screen was drawn.

The buyer-side is structured around two parallel navigation paradigms — browse by Supplier or browse by Product — each surfacing identical inventory through a different mental model. Product pages implement a real-time comparison layer: multiple suppliers per SKU, sortable by speed, price, or rating. The minimum order cart uses progressive threshold validation — converting a hard friction point into a cross-sell surface. The supplier-side is architecturally separate: real-time push notifications, paginated order dashboard, multi-method payment tracking, and revenue split between received and pending payments.

Research

Research
75%
of B2B buyers sourced suppliers via word of mouth — no structured comparison tool existed in the market
88%
ranked punctuality and quality as primary selection criteria — directly informing delivery date and rating prominence in the comparison UI
54
B2B partners onboarded via product-led acquisition before financial constraints halted launch

Competitive analysis of Choco, Katoo, and PhiloMarket confirmed the structural gap: none offered real-time cross-supplier comparison at the product level, none enforced minimum order logic with in-cart progressive guidance, and none had a fully integrated payment layer. MoSCoW prioritisation established the phase one scope — supplier comparison, minimum order enforcement, Google Maps delivery, and the Crédito APPURA payment instrument — with recurring delivery scheduling deferred to phase two.

Key Design Decisions
01
Dual navigation paradigm
Browse by Supplier or browse by Product — two entry points into identical inventory, each optimised for a different intent state. A buyer who knows what they want searches by Product. A buyer with a preferred supplier enters via Supplier. Both surfaces maintain persistent filter state so context is never lost mid-session. The decision to build two parallel paradigms rather than a single hierarchy was an IA call made before any screen was drawn.
02
Progressive minimum order enforcement
Rather than blocking at checkout, the cart implements progressive threshold validation: the CTA is disabled and surfaces the exact delta to minimum, while the supplier's full catalogue renders below — converting a hard friction point into a cross-sell surface within the same interaction. The minimum is real and enforced. The experience is designed to resolve it, not punish it.
03
Architecturally separate supplier dashboard
The supplier-side shares zero UI patterns with the buyer side — separate navigation, information hierarchy, and interaction model. A supplier managing incoming orders, tracking revenue across delivery types, and monitoring payment method split needs operational density. Keeping both sides architecturally clean required explicit decisions at the IA level: no shared components where the mental models diverge.