Intro

In the last case study, we addressed a major problem for retail partners: creating an in-store valuation process that was quick, easy, and transparent. This cut the time it took to value a mobile from about 12 to 15 minutes to just ~5 minutes. It also reduced disputes with consumers, making the buyback process easier at the store. But that was just the first stage in the process. Once mobile is accepted, the next problem is how to make transaction settlement with liquidation partners go smoothly. How can we let the Ops team see and regulate these transactions at each stage?
This portion of the case study shows how we built a clear, organised, and dispute-free settlement system for liquidation partners and Ops teams, which finished the buyback process from start to finish

🚩 PROBLEM:

Liquidation partner settlements were happening entirely offline via calls, sheets and emails. This created frequent disputes, no visibility for Ops, and an unorganised process

👤 MY ROLE

I worked with liquidation partners, Ops users, and sales agents to understand pain points, map offline workflows, and design a lightweight, transparent platform for both liquidation partners and Ops

💡 SOLUTION

For liquidation partners, the new dashboard made it simple to inspect devices, attach photo proof, and submit settlement requests in one place. For Ops, side-by-side inputs, embedded photos, and a decision panel made reviews straightforward, with every action leaving an audit trail.

🚀 IMPACT

• ⚡ Faster settlements, no back-and-forth


• 📉 Disputes dropped by roughly 40% b/w OneAssist and liquidation partner


• 🔍 Full visibility for Ops with transparent audit trails


• 🤝 Stronger trust between liquidation partners, retailers, and OneAssist

Problem: Settlements in the Dark

When I shadowed Ops users, I saw how fragmented things really were. Some liquidation partners sent spreadsheets with device lists and quotes. Others dropped images separately over email, or mixed everything into long threads.

To cope, Ops created their own tracking sheets, copying numbers from emails and manually linking images. But nothing connected, numbers in one place, images in another. Every dispute turned into an endless back-and-forth, with no reliable trail to understand who was right.
Ops wasn’t just approving settlements. They were piecing together a broken puzzle every single day.

Research & Insights

To understand the problem, I spoke with everyone involved:

• Sales agents showed me how much time they spent chasing updates between partners and Ops. No visibility of what’s going on with a request.

• Liquidation partners admitted spreadsheets and email attachments were messy, but they had no alternative.

• Ops users said the hardest part wasn’t the approval itself. It was not knowing why a dispute was raised

“We’re not fighting about prices. We’re fighting because we don’t see the same evidence.”
That line reframed the challenge for me. This wasn’t about speeding up settlements alone. It was about creating a shared, evidence-based workflow where everyone finally saw the same thing

User journey

Design Principles

Designing From Scratch

There was no prior tool, only emails, calls, and spreadsheets. I mapped the offline journey and translated it into two connected flows

Ops Review Dashboard

All Requests in One Place

Ops users begin with a clean list of all pending/completed settlement requests, with customer, product, and retailer details organised for quick review - no more digging through emails.

Getting the Full Story of a Device

Unified detail view consolidating retailer, logistics, and partner inputs MHC results, condition notes, photos, and price into a single screen for Ops verification

Checking Partner Inputs & Negotiation Trail

Ops can review the liquidation partner’s submitted price, see the full negotiation history with comments, and decide whether to approve or re-appeal - all without touching a phone

Verifying with Side-by-Side Photos

A side-by-side photo comparison across retailer, logistics, and partner uploads turns vague disputes into evidence-based decisions, making it clear when mismatches exist.

Liquidation partner flow

Pending List

A mobile-first view of all pending requests to inspect. Instead of juggling emails and spreadsheets, partners could instantly see which devices needed their attention

Reviewing Every Detail in One Place

Each device came with retailer inputs like physical condition, device condition and IMEI. Partners could verify everything in one place

Update & Evidence

If a partner noticed a mismatch, they could update the physical condition inputs and upload image-based proof right away. This turned disputes from vague conversations into evidence-backed decisions.

Submitting with Confidence

Once the inspection was complete, a price was generated automatically. Partners could either raise a settlement request if they agreed, or create a dispute if required, with proof already attached.

Outcomes & Impact

⚡ Faster, trackable settlements
📉 Disputes dropped by roughly 40% b/w OneAssist and liquidation partner
🔍 Ops gained full visibility with audit trails
🤝 Stronger trust across liquidation partners and OneAssist

Reflection & Next Steps

This project reminded me that UX in B2B workflows isn’t about delight, it’s about removing friction and risk. For liquidation partners, the UX challenge was reducing effort: they needed a fast, mobile-first way to submit inspections without juggling spreadsheets and emails.
For Ops, the UX challenge was reducing ambiguity: they needed structured inputs, evidence, and side-by-side views to make confident decisions.

Next Steps

• Build analytics for Ops to spot recurring dispute patterns and improve processes proactively.

• Replace static image uploads with 360º video capture of devices, making inspections more foolproof and reducing the chance of disputes caused by partial or unclear evidence.

Snapshots responsive view Ops Dashboard

👋 Thank you for reading - happy to share more during a conversation