Overview

A global biotech organisation operating across multiple regions initiated an 18-month transformation to modernise legacy systems and strengthen core digital capability. The business operated complex B2B purchasing environments, combining direct e-commerce, enterprise account sales, and a global distributor network, all supported by large, highly technical product catalogues.

Digital channels were commercially important, but constrained by fragmented architecture, inconsistent data structures and limited behavioural visibility.

The transformation was positioned as a strategic business pillar, focused on building a scalable, measurable and commercially accountable platform.

My Role

Product design was positioned as a strategic capability within the transformation — shaping architecture, data structure and governance rather than responding to them.

• Head of UX & Product Design, reporting to the VP of Product

• Scaled and led a multidisciplinary design function embedded across nine product squads spanning search, content, commerce and CRM

• Owned UX budget and investment cases, securing executive approval and aligning spend to commercial OKRs

• Embedded research, behavioural insight and performance metrics into product governance to ensure commercially accountable decisions

• Managed 10 direct reports across UX, UXR, IA and content

Search was redesigned around a “Right product, first time” principle.

The strategy prioritised precision over volume, encouraging researchers to provide additional attributes in exchange for fewer, more relevant results — a model termed “positive friction.”

Search was positioned as a commercial lever, with engagement and product views treated as leading revenue indicators in a blended online/offline model.

A separate case study details the measurable outcomes.

Browse, Content & SEO

CMS architecture was restructured using Information Architecture to:

• Strengthen customer mental models

• Migrate legacy content with minimal disruption

• Improve performance and SEO foundations

• A new DAM capability was introduced to support Brand and Marketing, optimising asset governance, image handling and rendering speeds

• SEO analysis projected reduced PPC dependency while maintaining organic visibility

E-commerce & customer experience

Onboarding and account management were modernised to support global B2B/B2B2C workflows:

• OTP authentication replacing legacy security processes

• Integration of existing customer data to reduce re-entry friction

• Order history dashboards and multi-address management

• Loyalty-linked product reviews

• AI-assisted customer support

The commerce experience balanced regulatory requirements, security and purchasing efficiency.

CRM distributor portal

An internally developed portal consolidated multiple legacy systems into a unified UI for customer service teams.

• Simplified legacy order processing into one integrated platform spanning ERP and fulfilment

• 30% reduction in offline order handling and time to fulfilment

• Real-time global stock visibility across distribution centres

• Intelligent fulfilment routing based on availability and location

• Accurate distributor pricing at point of interaction

This improved operational efficiency while increasing data reliability for organisational purchasing.

Research & governance

A global UX research strategy shifted product governance from assumption-led to evidence-led decision making, embedding insight directly into prioritisation and roadmap planning.

The transformation also coincided with a full company rebrand, where UX & Product Design partnered with Brand and an external agency to implement across customer journeys. Biota 3.0 was launched as a unified global design system, establishing consistent interaction patterns, accessibility standards and scalable governance across all digital streams.

Monthly global design and product management demos with open Q&A sessions ensured transparency and cross-functional alignment.

Digital architecture transformation

The transformation modernised core digital architecture to create a scalable, governed platform capable of supporting global B2B growth. Legacy systems were consolidated and platform capabilities were redesigned to enable consistent experiences across regions and channels.

Architectural decisions focused on:

• Reducing fragmentation across regions

• Improving data accuracy and governance

• Supporting modular, iterative development

• Enabling controlled experimentation

• Scaling assisted self-service

The result was a stronger digital foundation that reduced complexity while improving performance and scalability.

Outcomes

By 95% programme completion:

• +30% Search → PDP engagement resulted in +2.8M additional PDP sessions annually

• Customer satisfaction improved from 3.2 to 4.3 / 5

• Zero-result searches reduced by 7%

• Filter dependency remained below 4%, validating precision-first strategy

• Offline order handling reduced by 30%

• Legacy systems largely decommissioned or consolidated

The organisation transitioned from a legacy-supported digital channel to a scalable, commercially accountable digital platform.