IMC Exhibitor Portal
Structural Assessment
After defining the personas and journeys I assessed the ways in which exhibitors represent themselves and their products at market. Ranging from larger rep groups showing tens of thousands of companies products, to large manufacturers who only represent their own products, to small startups that only show a small assortment, there are many needs that had to be considered and solved for. This project was massive and I am only presenting the key elements in a simplified fashion here.
Mockup Iterations
I generated many wireframes and mockup as well as hosted and attended many lengthy work sessions regarding the technical underpinnings and business requirements. Many hours went into the definition of a solution that could accommodate the numerous tasks required to prepare for and conduct business at markets.
Dashboard
The portal dashboard is the first touch upon login. Exhibitors are provided notifications of upcoming deadlines, required tasks, and hints for how to better optimize their digital presence. Many exhibitors show in multiple markets and are given direct access to manage their markets, as well as the ability to jump directly to product management.
Navigation: Primary
I designed a clean and simple navigation effective on desktop and mobile. Exhibitor start their journey on desktop prior to market and increasingly use mobile devices to fine tune during market. There were many additional feature on the long term functionality roadmap, so the navigation had to be flexible and extensible to accommodate any future additions.
Navigation: Account
Some users manage multiple showrooms at markets and require the ability to switch between exhibitors. Admins need to mange additional user access. Additional users need to make payments.
Markets
The markets page displays the markets in which an exhibitor shows. Some markets have shows, smaller events between the larger events, in these cases users are provided the name of the next event in the context of the broader market and give a CTA to go directly to it for management. This is also a space for users to see other opportunities to show their products in other markets and shows.
Manage a Market
When managing a market the next show or event is shown first followed by subsequent events in chronological order. Some activities, such as order services like catering and registration, are only available for the current event.
Digital Showroom Management
Market websites are a critical source of information for attendees planning their visit and exhibitors configure their digital showroom to project their brand and provide information to entice attendees to visit their physical showroom. For exhibitors who show in multiple markets and want to align their digital presence with that specific markets showroom and audience we provide the ability to override their default settings with market specific settings.
Digital Showroom Preview & Publish
Exhibitors can preview their showroom’s appearance in specific markets and publish their page.
Manage Products
Exhibitors may import products from their PIM, ERP, or manually import products by uploading a spreadsheet and image assets. Manual single uploads are available for small exhibitors with only a handful of products and don’t manage their assortment with at scale.
Manage Lines
There are two types of lines, manufacturing lines and represented lines. Manufacturing lines are typically populated automatically using the data imported during the product import process. Represented lines are other companies products that aren’t manufactured by the rep group that shows them. The use case for the latter is can include companies that also show at market and those who don’t. In both cases the product assortments for the represented line is maintained by the manufacturer and connected to the rep group. That connection is setup by way of invitation as a part of this tool.
Rep Line Invitation Process - Step 1: Identify The Line
Exhibitors who show products on behalf of multiple manufacturers don’t directly manage their products or have the ability to import them into the system. There are many cases where a manufacturer exhibits in one market but is represented by a rep group in another. There are also an abundance of manufacturers who rely solely on rep groups to show their products. Therefore the user is given the option to find a line that already exists in the markets or invite a manufacturer to create an account and upload their products.
Rep Line Invitation Process - Step 2: Configure The Share settings
Here the user will select the market in which they wish to exhibit the manufacturer’s products and can request management privileges. Many manufacturers rely on the rep group to configure their digital presence once products are uploaded and shared.
Rep Line Invitation Process - Step 3: Send The Request
Here the user enters contact information so the recipient knows who to contact with questions. There is always a pre-existing agreement between the rep group and the manufacturer but the user managing the market and the recipient of the invitation aren’t always aligned.
Invitation Accepted
Once an invitation is accepted, the rep group can configure how and where a line is shown, but the manufacturer retains ultimate control of their products and can disconnect their products from the rep group at any time.
