How Might We
How might we help inventory managers make faster, more confident replenishment decisions — so they spend less time second-guessing quantities and more time on strategy?
SC
Sarah Chen
Inventory Planning Manager · Mid-size retail chain
Sarah manages replenishment across 200+ store locations. Every week she runs 3–4 replenishment cycles, each requiring her to review hundreds of SKUs and manually set quantities — a process that takes 2–3 hours per cycle.
95%+ in-stock rate Reduce overstock 15% Fast turnaround Confident decisions
Uses StockAI daily Excel for analysis Reports to VP Ops
Key Pain Points
What slows Sarah down today
1
Blind quantity entry
No suggested quantities. Sarah types numbers from memory or a separate spreadsheet — prone to errors and inconsistency.
2
No urgency signal
All 620 products look the same in the list. Critical items aren't surfaced — she might miss the most urgent ones.
3
Coverage metrics hard to parse
"82% below target" is text-only. With no visual reference, it's hard to quickly compare severity across products.
4
No confirmation of impact
Before submitting, there's no summary of what coverage will look like after the replenishment. She can't tell if decisions are good until days later.
Context — The Opportunity
00 hrs
per replenishment cycle
0+
SKUs reviewed manually
00x
cycles per week
0
AI-driven suggestions today
~0%
time savings potential
Clarity Score
0 / 10
Functional, but fragile
Clarity by Dimension Avg 4.8 / 10
Hierarchy 6 / 10 Writing 6 / 10 Affordance 3 / 10 IA 4 / 10 Trust 5 / 10
Critical High
0 critical 0 high 0 fixes proposed
Diagnosis
Solid visual base, but serious gaps in information architecture, affordance, and UX writing.
P0
Affordance & Recovery
Screen 4 (Review) surfaces red alerts without defining the target, without showing cost, and without allowing inline correction.
P0
Information Architecture
The 2-step flow hides real complexity — 8 cascading dropdowns in Step 2 — and jumps straight to Submit with no conscious review checkpoint.
P1
Visual Hierarchy
Typography is flat — everything is black / gray with zero semantic color to separate status, action, or risk.
P1
UX Writing
Copy swings between technical jargon (Configuration Setup, scope selection) and generic CTAs (Continue, Submit).
P0
Trust
The Home screen shows duplicated data — eroding Sarah's trust before she even starts.
Critical
Top 5 Critical Issues
P0 — blocks the task
1
Coverage alerts with no action path
Step 3 shows "82% below target" in red but doesn't define what target means, doesn't let users adjust Replen Units inline, doesn't recalculate on edit, and doesn't sort by gap. Users see the problem and can't solve it on the same surface.
Nielsen #1 VisibilityNielsen #9 Recovery
2
"Submit Replenishment" CTA with no consequence clarity
Primary black button, zero reassurance. Is it reversible? Does it trigger a PO? Who gets notified? How much does it cost? A supply-chain user either clicks with fear or on autopilot — both are failure modes.
Nielsen #5 Error PreventionPeak-End Law
3
Inconsistent warehouse taxonomy
Home says "Distribution Center A/B/C", Step 2 says "Distribution Center Alpha", Step 3 says "Central Distribution Hub" — three different names for the same object across three consecutive screens. Breaks the mental model inside the product itself.
Jakob's LawNielsen #4 Consistency
4
Hybrid "Created" column on Home
Date plus an unlabeled string below (likely the creator's name) with no dedicated column. Users don't know if it's "created by", "assigned to", or "modified". The pattern is ambiguous and repeats across every row.
Nielsen #4 Consistency
5
Duplicated data erodes credibility
42 locations / $125.5K / 2,847 units appears identically in 4+ rows on Home. Either a placeholder in production or an aggregation bug — either way, the user distrusts every number on the screen.
Data integrityTrust
High
Top 5 High-Impact Issues
P1 — slows the task
1
Duplicated "Repeats" label in Step 1
Same label is used for (1) frequency ("Weekly") and (2) end date of the schedule. Taxonomy ambiguity on adjacent fields — the user has to pause and figure out which is which.
Miller's LawHick's Law
2
"Now" still exposes 5 irrelevant fields
Selecting "Now" keeps Repeats + Repeats every + Time + End date + Email recipients visible. If it runs now, 4 of those 5 fields are meaningless. Missing progressive disclosure pushes complexity onto the user.
Tesler's LawProgressive Disclosure
3
8 cascading dropdowns with no dependency signal
Step 2 has Facility Type → Territory → Market → Sites and Category → Subcategory → Collection → Items. None indicate disabled state until the parent is selected, none show which depends on which. Users try out of order and fail silently.
Nielsen #1 VisibilityAffordance
4
Inconsistent back navigation
Step 1 uses "← Return" (text), Step 2 uses "< Step 2 of 2" (numeric fragment). Two different navigation patterns in two consecutive steps of the same flow.
Nielsen #4 Consistency
5
Sidebar without labels or tooltips
4 stacked icons, no text, no visible tooltip. Users have to memorize each icon by trial and error — a classic recognition-over-recall violation on a nav element used daily.
NN/g #6 Recognition
Copy refactor — priority substitutions
Labels and CTAs rewritten for clarity, intent, and semantic honesty.
Current Proposed
Run request · Now / Future When to run · Run now / Schedule for later
Repeats (2nd field, end date) End schedule on
Continue to scope selection Next: Select products
Continue Review replenishment
Submit Replenishment Submit for approval (+ confirmation modal with cost and impact)
Coverage After Replen Projected coverage
0% below target (orange) ✓ Target met (green)
Configuration Setup Define coverage & products
Distribution Center A / Alpha / Central Hub Distribution Center Alpha (DC-A) — identical across every screen
Structural improvements
Turn Screen 4 into a decision surface
Fixed summary bar at top (total units, cost estimate, overall target gap, #SKUs below target). Inline edit of Replen Units with immediate recalculation of Projected Coverage. Default sort by target gap (worst first). Warning icon on critical rows.
Progressive disclosure in Step 1
"Run now" shows only Name + Recipients. "Schedule for later" expands frequency, days, time, and end date. Removes ~60% of the noise from the most common case without losing power for the advanced one.
Unified taxonomy platform-wide
"Distribution Center Alpha (DC-A)" used in Home, Step 2, and Step 3. Same rule for Market / Territory / Sites (ID + human name, always). One object, one canonical label.
Add Step 3: Review & Confirm
Compact summary of when it runs, geographic scope, products, estimated cost, and coverage impact. Edit-per-step without restarting. Submit only after this — kills the anxiety of today's blind CTA.
A
Typographic hierarchy + semantic color
4 typographic weights (label / value / metric / heading) + color by state (success green, warning amber, critical red, neutral gray). Today everything is black — the eye doesn't know where to land and 82% below target has the same visual weight as the column label.
Signal dropdown dependencies
Disabled state + skeleton + helper text ("Select Facility Type first"). Or, better: collapse into a single multi-level cascader when the hierarchy is rigid. Makes the dependency graph visible instead of leaving users to discover it by failing.
Replenishment List
All items look equal, no urgency
Step 1 of 2 — Schedule Setup
Name, timing, repeats, notify users
Step 2 of 2 — Scope Setup
Warehouse + 6 geographic/product dropdowns
Product Review Table
Manual quantity entry for 620+ SKUs
Submit Replenishment
No impact preview, blind submission
Replenishment List AI Alerts
Critical items surfaced at top with risk badges
Step 1 of 2 — Schedule Setup
Unchanged — name, timing, repeats, notify
Step 2 of 2 — Scope Setup
Saved profiles → one-click scope selection
AI-Powered Review Core Moment
AI recommends quantities · visual bars · bulk accept
Confirm & Submit
Impact summary: coverage uplift preview before submit
Unchanged step
Enhanced / modified step
New step

Key Changes Explained

ENHANCED List view — AI proactively surfaces critical items with a risk badge and coverage delta, so Sarah knows where to focus before even opening a replenishment run.
ENHANCED Scope Setup (Step 2) — Saved scope profiles (e.g. "All Southeast Stores — Apparel") reduce 6-dropdown friction to a single selection for recurring workflows.
ENHANCED Product Review — The core redesign: AI pre-fills replenishment quantities based on sales velocity, target coverage, and warehouse availability. Visual bars replace text metrics. Bulk "Accept All" removes the 1-by-1 review bottleneck.
ENHANCED Submit step — An action bar previews the aggregate coverage improvement before Sarah confirms, replacing blind submission with informed confidence.
Screen A — Replenishment List (Enhanced)
AI surfaces critical runs at top with urgency badges
JD
A
New: AI Alert Banner — Proactively tells Sarah how many products need attention before she opens any run. Placed above the table for immediate visibility.
B
New: Risk Badges on rows — Critical (red) and Warning (orange) labels on replenishment runs so triage happens in the list, not after opening.
Screen B — AI-Powered Product Review
Core moment: AI recommendations inline in the table
JD
C
New: AI Recommended column — Pre-filled quantity with AI badge and confidence level. User can accept or override per row.
D
New: Visual coverage bars — Current and post-replen coverage shown as progress bars. Instant severity scanning replaces text-only metrics.
E
New: Impact action bar — Shows aggregate coverage lift and total units before submit. "Accept All" bulk action reduces 620-row manual review.
Fall Season 2024
Central Distribution Hub  ·  Weekly  ·  Jan 15, 2025
AI analyzed 0 products — recommended quantities ready for 0 items needing attention
Accepting all recommendations would increase overall coverage from 0% to 0% of target
Key Replenishment Metrics
AI Performance
Acceptance Rate
98.7%
2.1%
612 / 620 accepted
Stock Coverage
Avg Coverage Rate
82%
3.1%
64% → 92% target
Units Ordered
Total Replenishment
4,340
8.5%
43 SKUs urgent
Recent Replenishment Activity
Product Date & Time Type AI Signal Status
Classic White Sneakers
SN-2024-WHT-001
Jan 15 · 10:00 AI-Guided High ✓ Ordered
Leather Crossbody Bag
BAG-2024-BRN-045
Jan 15 · 10:00 Override Medium ⚠ Overridden
Minimalist Watch
WTH-2024-SLV-023
Jan 15 · 10:00 AI-Guided High ✓ Ordered
Canvas Backpack
BKP-2024-NVY-067
Jan 15 · 10:00 AI-Skip High — Skipped
LW
Leather Wallet
WAL-2024-BRN-012
Jan 14 · 15:00 AI-Guided High ✓ Ordered
RS
Running Shoes Pro
SHO-2024-BLK-099
Jan 14 · 14:00 AI-Guided Medium ✓ Ordered
Replenishment Health Index View details
87% Health Score
Critical (<40%)
43 items
Low (40–60%)
80 items
Moderate (60–80%)
100 items
Well-Stocked (>80%)
397 items
Smart Insights
AI identified 43 items needing attention. Accepting all recommendations would increase coverage from 61% → 89% of target, saving an estimated 3.2 days of stockout risk across key SKUs.
Quick Actions
Review Override
1 item below AI rec
Accept All AI Recs
577 auto-approved items
Product Stocks Coverage AI recommendation Your quantity Coverage after
Classic White Sneakers
Classic White Sneakers
SN-2024-WHT-001
245 units
0 in transit
Critical
2% -12%
of 100% target
High confidence
1,840 units
Based on 90-day velocity
Matches AI
97%
+95 pts
Leather Crossbody Bag
Leather Crossbody Bag
BAG-2024-BRN-045
156 units
0 in transit
Low stock
18% -8%
of 100% target
Medium confidence
1,820 units
New SKU · limited history
Overridden · -34% from AI
Coverage drops to 47%. Expected stockout in 14 days.
47%
+29 pts
Minimalist Watch
Minimalist Watch
WTH-2024-SLV-023
89 units
0 in transit
Low stock
22% +4%
of 100% target
High confidence
1,820 units
Seasonal peak factor ×1.4
Matches AI
82%
+60 pts
Canvas Backpack
Canvas Backpack
BKP-2024-NVY-067
134 units
280 in transit
Excluded by AI
77% +2%
of 100% target
High confidence
0 units
Skip this cycle. In-transit stock covers 97% of target in 5 days.
Not ordered
97%
+20 pts
Files 24
Q2 Budget.xlsx
Analytics Report.pdf
Supplier Contracts.zip
+21 more files
Replenishment Table
PRODUCTSTOCKCOVSTATUS
Classic Sneaker245u2%Critical
GG Crossbody156u18%Medium
Mini Watch89u22%High
Canvas Backpack134u77%High
+616 more rows · 620 total
Q2 Goals 3/5
Onboard 50 suppliers
Hit 90% coverage avg
Launch AI replen v2
Reduce overrides by 40%
Expand to 3 new hubs
Suppliers 12 active
NikeLab Footwear Active
Gucci Leatherworks Active
SwatchGroup AG Review
Sales Apr 2026
€2.4M
↑ 18%
Leads
48
Qualified
31
Proposal
18
Won
9
Roadmap Q2–Q3 2026
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
Engineering & Infra
Revenue & Monetization
Product & Design
Metrics & KPIs
◆ Analytics · ◆ Weekly Review Cadence Active
Phase 1: Launch & Validate
◆ Prod · ◆ Engin: 15+ Pagantes Validated
Create new table
Start from template or blank
Organization 18 members
CEO Sarah Chen CPO M. Rodriguez CTO James Kim CMO A. Patel Design PM Backend Frontend Growth Brand
Company Timeline Q1–Q3 2026 · 6 tracks
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR 25
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
Engineering & Infra
◆ Platform v3 Release · ◆ AI Engine Deploy
Revenue & Sales
◆ €2M Hit · ◆ €3M Target
Product & Design
◆ V2 Launch · ◆ Canvas Beta
Suppliers & PO
◆ 50 Suppliers Goal
People & HR
◆ Q2 Hiring Wave (6 roles)
Phase 1: Launch
◆ Kickoff · ◆ 15+ Pagantes Validated
Deliverable 6 of 6 · Research Output
StockAI's UX wins the room, simulated.

Across 0 simulation rounds of a MiroFish user-test scenario — with 553 AI-driven agents across 5 roles (Planner · CMO · StockAI · SAP/Oracle · Nextail/Relex) — StockAI's redesigned interface pulls ahead of every legacy ERP on the shortlist. The incumbent tools drag. The co-pilot delivers.

0 rounds 0 agents MiroFish user-test scenario 3 strategies tested
Key Finding
0%
of CSCO buy-in won by the StockAI Decision Co-pilot
The only interface in the simulation to cross the trust threshold inside the buying cycle. SAP IBP and Oracle NetSuite didn't come close.
01
How fast each StockAI interface earns trust
Rounds required for each StockAI redesign to clear the 82% usage threshold at MiroFish. For reference, SAP IBP needed 210+ rounds of exposure before planners even considered switching — every StockAI variant beats it.
A
Decision Co-pilot
AI suggests with visible reasoning — the planner stays in control. SAP IBP's 8-dropdown ritual disappears.
Time to 82% adoption~0 rounds
Wins on trust
B
Automated Batch Approval
Bulk confirmations with inline overrides — the kind of throughput NetSuite's ERP could never move in one screen.
Time to 82% adoption~0 rounds
Wins on scale
C
Earnings Dashboard
Clean, executive-grade ROI reporting — finally what CSCOs wanted instead of the static PDFs SAP has been mailing for a decade.
Time to 82% adoption~0 rounds
Wins the C-suite
02
Why CSCOs choose StockAI over SAP IBP
The simulation made it clear: planners don't want another rigid ERP. They want a tool that respects their judgment. StockAI's UI gets it right on round one — the legacy stack still doesn't.

StockAI's Decision Co-pilot and Batch Approval delivered felt productivity gains inside the first handful of rounds — fewer errors, faster queues, cleaner mental models. Planners stopped fighting the interface and started making decisions.

SAP IBP, meanwhile, was still asking them to fill in eight cascading dropdowns. Oracle NetSuite still hid the critical numbers three screens deep. The legacy stack actively cost the CSCO time — and the CSCO noticed.

The StockAI Earnings Dashboard closed the loop on the exec side: clean ROI, live numbers, no static quarterly PDFs. By the time Nextail/Relex tried their "customer experience" pitch, MiroFish had already seen the numbers themselves.

Takeaway: StockAI wins because the interface respects the planner. The incumbents still design for the IT department.

P
Planner
Enterprise Retail · Simulated
R24 · 02:18
SAP IBP is the tool I use because I have to — every single replenishment decision takes eight clicks I shouldn't need to make.
Inference → Planners are trapped in SAP IBP's workflow, not loyal to it. StockAI's Co-pilot frees them on round one.
W
CMO
MiroFish · Simulated
R10 · 03:43
StockAI's dashboard is the first time I've seen replenishment ROI in real-time — SAP gave us a PDF once a quarter.
Inference → StockAI's reporting UX converts skeptical execs into sponsors. Legacy tools can't match that immediacy.
03
What users are leaving behind — and what StockAI gives them instead
The simulation didn't surface abandonment of StockAI. It surfaced exhaustion with the legacy stack — and a clear list of things StockAI's UX does better out of the box.
Legacy drag What the incumbents keep getting wrong
1
SAP IBP still feels like 2008 — eight cascading dropdowns to do one replenishment. Planners tolerate it; they don't defend it. "Corporate planners use SAP IBP for replenishment tasks."
2
Oracle NetSuite buries the numbers — the signal planners need lives three screens deep inside the ERP. Not a UX problem StockAI has. "MiroFish uses Oracle NetSuite as part of its ERP system."
3
Excel is the fallback for a reason — SAP/Oracle never gave planners a usable surface, so they shadow-copy data into spreadsheets. StockAI's UI makes that workaround obsolete.
StockAI advantage What the redesigned UX already delivers
1
Trust built into the interface — every Co-pilot suggestion ships with its reasoning, confidence band, and one-click override. No black boxes. "StockAI's retail intelligence software is used by MiroFish."
2
Week-one productivity gains — Co-pilot cuts decision time from 40 minutes to 3 clicks. Planners have something to show their boss before the SAP renewal call.
3
MiroFish is already the reference — StockAI's UX has landed inside one enterprise retailer with the metrics to prove it. That's ten more deals in the pipeline waiting to see it.
Planner's voice — after using StockAI
P
On the Co-pilot's transparency
For the first time, the tool suggests and I decide — and I can see why it's suggesting. That's the inversion SAP never gave me.
P
On the speed gain
I used to lose 40 minutes a day inside NetSuite's dropdowns. With StockAI's queue I'm done in three clicks and Excel can finally stay closed.
Why StockAI's UX already wins
01
Co-pilot respects the planner. AI as teammate, not replacement. SAP IBP still treats the planner as a form-filler.
02
Explainability ships on day one. Every suggestion exposes forecast + demand signal + confidence band. Nextail's "see AI in action" is a slogan; StockAI shows the work inline.
03
Spreadsheet speed without the chaos. Inline edit, keyboard-first, tabular density — all the familiarity of Excel, none of the version-control horror.
04
MiroFish is already proof. A live enterprise deployment with real numbers beats every "stability" claim SAP can make in a slide deck.
04
What the competitors sold — and why it fell flat
In the simulated bidding round, SAP/Oracle and Nextail/Relex leaned on the same tired pitches they've been running for years. StockAI's UI answered all of them without having to open a slide deck.
SAP / Oracle
Sells stability
The stability of our products is unmatched by other competitors.
Translation → "We haven't changed in fifteen years." Planners hear this as we're not going to fix the 8-dropdown workflow either. StockAI is the one offering stability plus a usable interface.
Nextail / Relex
Sells theater
Our customer experience team will ensure you can visually see the benefits of AI in action.
Translation → "We'll send humans to explain our product for you." StockAI shows the AI's reasoning inline, inside the tool — no onboarding theater required.
Why StockAI already wins the room
Three places the redesigned UX outplays the field
VS. SAP / ORACLE
Reliability you can see
Published uptime, audit trails, one-click rollback, explainable decision logs — proof baked into the interface, not in a 40-page RFP response.
VS. NEXTAIL / RELEX
Value in the first session
Week-one savings preview and live shadow-mode run inside StockAI itself. No customer-success team required to "show you" what's working.
ON OUR OWN TERMS
Proof in production
MiroFish is already the flagship: named buyer, named planner, named metric. Every competitor is still pitching promises — StockAI is pitching receipts.