The Goal
To enable customers to discover the range of products Collectiv Food is able to source from their global network of producers.
The Biggest Challenge
Collectiv Food’s business model is unlike traditional wholesalers in that requested products are sourced specifically for their customers – there isn’t a product catalogue. This means the price to the customer negotiated and the point when a product is selected as part of a tailored SLA. Because of this, unlike traditional product searches, there isn’t an RRP or a price range to all customers that could be surfaced in search results.
The Final Product
A product led search of registered producers and suppliers. Using product tagging metadata, customers can search for a product of interest and learn about the suppliers who work with Collectiv Food who produce it.
The Key Lessons
Knowing the business model is so important when developing features to aid in up-sell or cross-sell.
Playing to the company’s USP – the ability to source exactly what customers are looking for, building strong relationships with suppliers to get everyone the best possible price – is a much more significant thing to demonstrate, than trying to shoehorn in product search patterns that don’t fit the overall model.
Understanding the scope to grow. The solution we settled on for product discovery is a great starting point for MVP because it lays the groundwork for some really impactful search tools further down the line.