P PJ Haft

SugarAI · Mobile CRM · Manufacturing field sales

From CRM access to visit readiness.

I redesigned Sugar mobile around the field rep's day: prepare for the next visit, answer customer questions in the moment, capture what changed, and sync clean updates back to CRM.

Role
Lead UX designer
Status
Prototype flows recorded
Scope
Product strategy, UX, UI
Platform
Mobile

The problem

Mobile CRM gave reps access, but not momentum.

Sugar mobile gave reps access to accounts, emails, notes, contracts, leads, opportunities, dashboards, and reports. That access mattered, but the app still made reps assemble what mattered while moving through a customer day.

Most modules reused the same pattern: list view, record view, tabs, related records, and long create forms. The consistency was useful, but it reflected the database more than the conditions reps worked in.

The existing experience starts with the system. The redesign starts with the rep’s next customer.

Problem anatomy

The data was there. The mobile workflow got in the way.

Dashboards showed activity without surfacing the next move. Lists exposed records without ranking urgency. Record views scattered context across tabs and field rows. Create screens asked for more input than a rep should handle on a plant floor.

The opportunity was to move priority, context, and capture into the moment of customer work.

Current app examples

The current flow made reps rebuild context on the go.

The workflow was possible, but not optimized for mobile use. That created onboarding friction, lowered rep adoption, and pushed people toward pen and paper or other temporary capture methods until they got back to the office.

Home dashboard

Current Sugar mobile Home Dashboard with generic dashboard tiles.

List view

Current Sugar mobile Accounts list view with dense rows of account data.

Record view

Current Sugar mobile Account record with action icons, tabs, and field rows.

Create form

Current Sugar mobile Create Contract form with many fields and required inputs.
Useful data was available, but reps had to find it, interpret it, and record updates through too many mobile steps.

Field research

Design for the rep standing inside the plant.

I met with five sales reps to understand how field work actually happens: on the road, inside customer facilities, on noisy factory floors, in warehouses, and in low-connectivity areas. They needed account context, product data, ERP inventory, service history, pricing, and fast capture without stopping the conversation.

The pattern was consistent: reps were willing to capture information, but not if the app interrupted the conversation or forced them to rebuild context later.

Before the visit

What should I know before I walk in?

  • Route and siteWhere am I going and what site context matters?
  • Account healthWhat changed since the last visit?
  • Open issuesWhich orders, tickets, or equipment risks need attention?

During the visit

What can I answer or promise right now?

  • Product lookupSpecs, blueprints, and compatible parts.
  • ERP contextInventory, lead times, and production schedule.
  • CaptureNotes, cards, photos, tasks, and stage updates.

Design challenge

The redesign had to solve four things at once.

The interviews made the challenge concrete. The redesign needed to show the next customer action, keep account and site context close, support product and service questions during the visit, and turn messy field capture into reviewable CRM updates.

SugarAI could not simply replace modules with chat. It had to reduce the work around the visit while keeping CRM, ERP, catalog, and service context visible enough for reps to trust.

Key decisions

Four choices shaped the redesign.

01

Start with Today

A field rep does not wake up needing Accounts. They need to know where to go, what changed, and what to do when they arrive.

Considered
A faster module launcher for accounts, tasks, and opportunities.
Chose
A Today view organized around the next customer visit.
02

Make sites first-class

Manufacturing accounts often span plants, warehouses, HQ offices, and service locations. Each site carries different contacts, risks, and work.

Considered
Treating every location as detail inside the account record.
Chose
Site-level visit context so reps could prepare for the actual place they were entering.
03

Brand the workspace

Customer identity anchors the workspace. SugarAI appears where it helps: briefings, prompts, capture, and review.

Considered
Making SugarAI the primary surface for every task.
Chose
Use AI as a layer inside customer context, not a separate destination.
04

Review before saving

Messy field input becomes suggested CRM updates the rep can inspect, edit, remove, and save with confidence.

Considered
Auto-saving dictated notes directly to the CRM record.
Chose
A review step so reps could trust what changed before committing it.

These choices became a reusable mobile system: priority visit cards, route cards, offline pills, source badges, quick actions, live capture, outcome controls, suggested update rows, and Ask SugarAI prompts.

The palette separates readiness, availability, AI assistance, and success states so the interface does not make every action feel equally urgent.

Before and after

Move CRM work into the rhythm of the visit.

The redesign does not remove CRM structure. It brings the right records, context, and capture steps forward when they help the rep act.

Before · object path

Assemble the visit

Start with CRM objects and stitch together context across separate screens.

  1. 01
    Scan dashboardLook for a useful signal
  2. 02
    Find accountSearch or browse the right customer record
  3. 03
    Open recordMove through tabs and related data
  4. 04
    Piece together contextCheck notes, activity, product, and service history
  5. 05
    Enter updates laterReturn to forms after the conversation
After · visit loop

Prepare, capture, and sync

Start with the rep's day and keep the customer visit moving.

  1. 01
    TodaySee the next stop and what needs attention.
  2. 02
    Visit BriefReview account, site, route, and risk context before walking in.
  3. 03
    Active VisitCapture notes, products, photos, and follow-ups during the conversation.
  4. 04
    ReviewInspect SugarAI's proposed CRM updates before saving.
  5. 05
    SyncSave the visit and return to Today with the next stop ready.

The new concept

Four flows tested the new field-sales loop.

The prototype focused on the moments where mobile CRM usually breaks down: preparing before the visit, answering questions during the conversation, capturing updates without a long form, and sending clean CRM updates afterward.

Prototype flows

Complete a visit Prep the account, capture the conversation, review proposed updates, and save them back to Sugar.
Product lookup Search a part mid-visit, check live availability, and add the quote follow-up.
Ask SugarAI Pull service context during the visit and turn the answer into a follow-up.
Widget capture Dictate a field note and send the CRM update from iOS without opening Sugar.

Supporting actions

Keep small tasks attached to the visit.

The visit flow also needed to handle the actions reps take around a meeting: directions, calls, inventory checks, and follow-up messages.

Before
Reps left the CRM flow to navigate, call, check stock, or draft follow-up, then had to find their place again.
After
Those supporting actions stay attached to the visit context, so reps can act quickly without turning the main visit flow into a pile of extra steps.
Visit Brief Apple Maps confirmation modal.
Navigate modal Confirm the route handoff without adding directions to the main visit recording.
Visit Brief stock drawer showing bearing inventory.
Stock drawer Check nearby inventory from the brief while staying in account context.
Visit Brief call confirmation modal for Alisha Hester.
Call modal Confirm the contact before calling without losing place.
Visit Brief email composer drawer with a prefilled message.
Email drawer Draft a follow-up from visit context without opening a separate email workflow.

Current status and testing

What the concept test showed.

To test the concept, reps simulated an on-site visit using the prototype. Three findings shaped the next pass:

  • 01
    One-tap visit prep worked

    Reps could brief themselves without digging through emails or the account record to reconstruct the latest context.

  • 02
    Voice replaced pen and paper

    Every rep used voice dictation for the information they wanted to save instead of writing notes to clean up later.

  • 03
    Product lookup felt faster

    Reps could search by product name instead of opening the Products module and locating the item manually.

The next pass should test the four flows under more realistic field conditions: noisy facilities, low connectivity, longer visits, real CRM data, and rep confidence in proposed updates before saving.