Simplifying the Order Management Process for a Laboratory with a 40% Drop in Follow-up Calls and Used by 500+ Clients

B2B

0 to 1

Healthcare

The PPB laboratory client portal is a B2B web-based platform specifically designed to manage testing orders and improve the client ordering experience, from placing orders to managing results. It resulted in a reduction in follow-up calls to the customer support team and fewer data errors.

From research, design, iteration, to marketing delivery, I designed this 0 to 1 regulated product.

Client

PPB Analytical

Timeline

12 weeks

Role

UX/UI Designer & Marketing

Team

PM, Marketing, Sales, Engineering

Read

5 mins read

HIGHTLIGHTS

Monthly New Users in the Q1

80%

Order Completion Rate in the Q2

6 Mins

Drop in average order submission time from over 10 mins on paper submission form

66.7%

Drop in status-check calls after 2 months

BACKGROUND

We recognized the need to modernize the lab orders management experience to reduce communication spend.

PPB Analytical is an accredited laboratory that verifies sample safety and compliance across environmental, food and beverage, and natural health product testing.

Since 2022, PPB has relied on paper-based ordering and manual status updates. As demand grew, client communication scaled faster than the workflow, leading to a high volume of phone calls, emails, and status inquiries. Whether clients are asking for test results, requesting an order update, or partners are confirming compliance documents, these frequent requests drain staff time, interrupt critical work, and increase the risk of inaccurate order information due to manual updates.

Lab ordering process

GOALS

We set out to build a self-service client portal that makes testing orders easiter to manage for both clients and internal teams.

After aligning with leadership and observing the ordering workflow firsthand, we defined the project goals. We set out to build a self-service client portal designed to streamline communication, lower administrative workload, and deliver real-time information securely and efficiently.

This product is an MVP of PPB's future Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS). It will sync data with the LIMS.

Increase transparency so clients can self-serve editing orders, order status, and reports without calling.

Improve accuracy by reducing manual data entry and duplicate updates across platforms.

Support scale by creating a structured workflow that can later integrate into future LIMS.

DESIGN CHALLENGE ONE

Low data visibility creates constant follow-ups

Clients couldn’t see where their samples were in the process, so they called customer service for updates. Internally, reps often had to ask lab staff manually, which slowed everyone down and created inconsistent answers.

DESIGN CHALLENGE TWO

Manual handoffs create unnecessary errors and rework

Order information moved across paper submission forms (Chain of Custody Form), emails, and spreadsheets. Small mistakes like wrong sample details and mismatched client details, triggered back-and-forth clarification and time-consuming corrections.

DESIGN CHALLENGE THREE

No single source of truth hurts collaboration and decisions

Different teams kept different versions of the same information. Without a unified view of orders and progress, it was hard to spot bottlenecks, coordinate work, or report on operational performance.