Needing help figuring out the best way to integrate a new UX / UI into your existing technologies? We’d be excited to see how we might be able to help.
← Back to all
Integrating Platforms Without Sacrificing Brand Consistency or Functionality
UX and UI of a B2B ordering system as well as brand continuity design across eight pre-existing Callaway apps.
Many Fortune 100 companies have migrated the operational components of their business to the SAP S/4HANA platform to leverage the powerful intelligence that comes with this integrated ERP system. In the case of Callaway, they needed to build Callaway Connect, which was a robust, internal ordering tool and portal for their brand partners such as golf courses, retail stores, affiliate partners, and distributors. This portal, combined with the exceptional customer experience offered by SAP 4HANA, would allow their customers to seamlessly and effortlessly replenish and optimize their inventories while helping Callaway understand the relationships between their experience and operational data to ensure they were implementing intelligent, connected processes across the company.
THE OPPORTUNITY
S/4HANA, while a powerful platform with lots of functionality, presents issues with brand continuity for larger, more recognizable brands. As Callaway moved forward on this initiative, they wanted to leverage the operational and organizational benefits of 4HANA without sacrificing the integrity of a brand they carefully cultivated over the years. For LLT, this meant not only learning the many nuances of integrating with the product itself but also how to incorporate it into the existing UI/UX of the Callaway website to maintain consistent customer experience.
“LLT Group designed and built a responsively dynamic UX on the SAP 4HANA platform, utilizing the master architecture and custom design UX of the Callaway brand. With staying on brand and enhancing the digital strategy brand book. The new digital storefront was accompanied by a custom-developed personalization engine, bulk order, B2B distribution login, custom API from app to ordering as well as numerous complex integrations, including order management and membership program systems.” said Rahul Wahi, LLT’s agency principal.
Client Type
Industry Leader
Employees
1,700
Headquarters
Carlsbad, CA
Solutions
Strategy, Experience
Services
Workshop, User Experience, User Interface, Web Design
THE APPROACH
This project required a unique approach in that Callaway came to LLT with a well-crafted, solidified brand, a thorough list of desired outcomes, and an established platform (SAP 4HANA) that was handling a bulk of the back-end heavy lifting. The primary goal was to build a branded, vendor portal that allowed Callaway’s partners to engage in the same customer-facing experience that was offered on Callaway’s public-facing site, with a major emphasis and focus on brand consistency, UX flow and journey, and strong communication touchpoints.
“This project was a big ask as there were a lot of different departments across Callaway and each one had their own brand or look for their department,” Eric Small, Art Director at LLT Group, said. “The first thing we needed to do was unify the brand company-wide and find a way to connect them beneath the umbrella of the Callaway brand.”
Since Callaway was in the midst of revamping its customer-facing experience, this allowed LLT to align the two facets of the brand. From their initial strategy meetings and workshops in which project requirements and desired outcomes were gathered, the LLT team determined that they would have the most impact by guiding Callaway through how to present the vendor experience in a comprehensive, yet understandable way. This involved taking a lot of the carefully created brand components that were successful and retrofitting them with an updated, refreshed design that was centralized around the goal of delivering an exceptional user experience.
A majority of the project execution was centered on the shopping cart experience. Callaway offers its vendors a multitude of options for customizations, bulk ordering, and modifications when it comes to ordering new inventory such as clubs, golf balls, and various accessories like apparel, golf bags, and footwear. To complicate matters further, Callaway is a global brand with partners and vendors located in more than 70 countries worldwide. In order to meet the needs of these vendors, the portal needed to adapt to global regions by offering them different login experiences and views compared to US-based clients. With this many layers of customization being offered, the LLT team was deliberate in their considerations to ensure they delivered a clean, organized experience that was beautiful, flexible, and easy-to-use.
The final product was focused on functionality over sales funneling, allowing Callaway’s vendors to easily and seamlessly find what they’re looking for so they can place orders and checkout as quickly as possible. This also included specific considerations for each global location so every worldwide partner was offered an exceptional experience with the correct product views.
“These improvements significantly increased community interaction, site visit duration, and the quantity of content consumed. Just as important as these hard metrics was the direct, positive feedback from users expressing their increased satisfaction and enjoyment.”
THE RESULTS
With the launch of Callaway Connect in 2017, Callaway has saved nearly 35 percent annually. This goal was achieved with LLT by aligning strategy with Callaway’s values, as well as with an onsite team, an optimized sourcing network, and comprehensive digital marketing initiatives. As a result, Callaway has adjusted its marketing strategies to continue to thrive and remain an innovative leader in the evolving golf industry.
“It’s a huge competitive advantage working with them,” Alyssa England, UI Team Member at Callaway, said. “The most refreshing part of working with LLT Group was the flexibility and agility displayed. And now that we have redesigned a fully responsive site, we definitely see an increase in our mobile time on site, and the number of pages accessed. That’s definitely been huge for us.”
The success with the Callaway Connect launch has encouraged the company to continue to invest heavily in partnerships that enable them to maintain their status as a global leader in the golf industry by staying at the forefront of innovation and functionality for both their customers and vendors.
“Since this project, we are part of the 73% of businesses that are investing in design to differentiate their brands online,” Eric D., Senior Vice President at Callaway, said. “It’s important for us to continue to stand out in a crowded industry, and we have chosen LLT as our partner to help us on this journey.”