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Concept study / Small & Medium Business

Alder & PineCommerce, connected from storefront to fulfillment.

A connected commerce concept for a regional outdoor retailer. The customer should never have to think about where inventory, fulfillment, pickup or returns happen. Avenier explores how the storefront and the operation behind it can work as one system.

Explore the study

Independent concept study · Fictional retailer

An Alder & Pine workspace: a forest-green canvas weekender with a leather tag, a laptop showing the online store, a phone showing the Canvas Weekender product page at $128, and a shipping box labeled for order AP-10482 beside a thank-you card and packing tape.

01 / The challenge

A customer experiences one retailer.Behind it are many systems.

Alder & Pine is a fictional regional outdoor retailer. Every order crosses systems and handoffs the customer never sees. The design problem is making them behave like one connected business.

E-commerce
Online store
Two stores
Downtown and North
Fulfillment
One center
120 SKUs
46 products
Shipping
UPS Ground and Express
Pickup
In about 2 hours
Returns
Free for 60 days
Customer service
One shared record

02 / The connected commerce idea

One customer.One order.One connected experience.

Order
AP-10482
Customer
Maya Thompson
Product
Canvas Weekender / Forest
Price
$128
SKU
AP-BAG-014-FST
Total
$136.96

  1. 01 Discover

    CustomerFinds the Canvas Weekender on her phone.

    OperationCatalog and live stock feed the page.

  2. 02 Shop

    CustomerChooses Forest, adds it to her bag.

    OperationAvailability checked by location.

  3. 03 Order

    CustomerChecks out and gets a confirmation.

    OperationPayment authorized. AP-10482 created. Inventory 18 → 17.

  4. 04 Allocate

    CustomerSees the order as confirmed.

    OperationStock allocated to the fulfillment center.

  5. 05 Pick + pack

    CustomerSees the order as packing.

    OperationPicked from bin F12. Packed. Label created.

  6. 06 Ship / pickup

    CustomerGets a shipping update.

    OperationUPS collects around 4:00 PM. Pickups wait at the counter.

  7. 07 Communicate

    CustomerReceives the box, slip and return steps.

    OperationService sees the same order and the same record.

The customer experiences one brand. The operation should work like one system.

03 / Website development

Make shopping feel simple.Make the system behind it work hard.

A premium, photographic storefront for a regional outdoor supplier, with live availability, ship-or-pickup choices and an account that tells the truth about an order.

Customer sees

  • Products
  • Availability
  • Pickup
  • Shipping
  • Order status

System connects

  • Catalog
  • Inventory
  • Orders
  • Locations
  • Fulfillment

Prices, people and stock are fictional. Card details are never collected.

Explore website prototype

The customer sees the storefront.The operation sees the same order.

04 / Custom software development

One order.One record.

Alder Operations is the workspace behind the storefront: orders, stock, fulfillment and service in one place, so 52 people work from the same record.

Explore Alder Operations
  1. Horizontal navigationSeven modules across the top. No permanent sidebar.
  2. The business, right nowSales today and what needs attention, in one glance.
  3. Order flowEvery order from Paid to Delivered. AP-10482 sits in Packed.
The running prototype, scaled to fit.

AP-10482 through the operation

  1. Order placedMaya Thompson · Canvas Weekender · Forest · $136.96
  2. Inventory committedAP-BAG-014-FST · 18 → 17
  3. Order enters operationsAP-10482
  4. Allocate · pick · packBin F12
  5. Label createdUPS pickup around 4:00 PM
  6. Customer communicationShipping update sent
Stock across locationsOne product, three places it can be sold from, and the transfer that fixes a low count.
The work floorPick, pack and ready-to-leave tickets with the bin, the carrier and the deadline.

How it connects

StorefrontBrowse → bag → checkout
Commerce coreOne operating record
  • Products
  • Inventory
  • OrdersAP-10482 active
  • Customers
  • Fulfillment
  • Returns
PaymentsExternal service. Card data is never stored here.

05 / Communications design

The system does notend at the screen.

Some of the most important communication happens away from a screen. For Alder & Pine, we explored the physical materials customers and employees encounter throughout the retail experience, from sale signage and trail guides to uniforms, packaging and product tags.

Each piece is designed to be something the organization could actually print, produce, install, wear or distribute.

An Alder & Pine retail display: a large branded wall graphic, a Fall Gear Event 20% off sign, category wayfinding, apparel on mannequins, a shipping box and open package, brochures, trail guides, a map, product tags, a canvas tote, water bottles, hats and a receipt.
The Alder & Pine retail environment: signage, apparel, goods, guides and packaging.

  1. Retail + signage

    Campaigns, wayfinding and displays for the store floor.

    • Sale campaigns
    • Promotional signage
    • Category signage
    • Wayfinding
    • In-store displays

  2. Print + editorial

    Useful printed materials that inform, guide and promote.

    • Brochures
    • Trail guides
    • Maps
    • Product information
    • Seasonal materials

  3. Apparel + promotional products

    Employee apparel and branded goods designed for real-world use.

    • Employee uniforms
    • Hats
    • Totes
    • Bottles
    • Branded goods

  4. Packaging + purchase materials

    Everything the customer holds, from checkout to the front door.

    • Packaging
    • Product tags
    • Receipts
    • Packing slips
    • Package inserts
    • Return instructions
    • Pickup materials

06 / The connected outcome

One retailer.Front to back.

  1. Storefront
  2. Order
  3. Operations
  4. Fulfillment
  5. Customer

Alder & Pine explores what happens when e-commerce, operations and communications are designed as parts of the same customer experience, not as separate projects.

Tell us how your business runs, from the storefront to the box on the porch.

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