Proving Modernization Was Possible
Navigating constraints to redesign SureCost’s core experience fast.
The short version
60 second read- The problem
- The platform looked dated, ran on stale data and gave everything the same weight. It was blocking deals and wearing down trust.
- What I did
- Redesigned the core pages with live data and clear hierarchy, all built on a new design system.
- How I tested it
- Fast rounds with the CEO, CPO and internal experts, then weeks of QA with engineering. There was no time for formal research.
- What happened
- It proved SureCost could modernize. I went on to rebuild 60% of the core pages, and new pages went from 3 sprints to 1 on the new system.
About SureCost
SureCost is the leading purchasing platform for pharmacies, processing millions in pharmaceutical transactions every year. For more than ten years it has helped customers save money through smarter procurement, rebate tracking and vendor contract management.
I was the first designer SureCost ever had. Over 6 weeks I worked with a product manager, a senior developer and a QA engineer, and presented directly to the CEO and CPO.
My role
I was the first and only product designer at SureCost, working across four engineering teams. Every design decision below I owned.
End-to-end product design
- Solo designer
- Research to delivery in 6 weeks
- 1:1 CEO and CPO presentations
Design system architecture
- Built from scratch
- WCAG 2.1 AA foundation
- Engineering-ready component library
Systems thinking
- Preserving a partner’s automations
- Out-of-the-box data visualization
- Fixing real-time data mismatches
Visual and interaction design
- Information hierarchy
- Feature priorities under pressure
- Modular dashboard structure
The platform looked outdated and gave everything equal weight, blocking deals and eroding trust.
When I joined, the interface was outdated, relied on stale data that needed manual refreshes, and had no visual hierarchy. Everything on the page was shouting for attention at once.
The company wanted to modernize but didn’t know if it was possible. Leadership asked a simple question. Can we actually do this? I had 6 weeks to prove we could.
Four limits shaped every decision.
Keep existing workflows
SureCost wasn’t ready for new flows. The goal was to paint the walls, improving the interface without changing how anything worked.
No user research
The company had never had a UX designer. With a tight deadline, I made the cost of assumptions clear and moved forward without formal research.
Legacy automations
A nationwide online pharmacy with 800+ employees had automations tied to our old interface. We had to keep their workflows running while we modernized.
Accessibility
Everything was designed to WCAG 2.1 Level AA so the new interface stayed usable for all pharmacy staff.
Redesigned core pages with live data, clear hierarchy and modular dashboards.
I redesigned Purchase Manager and Inventory Manager together with development, product, the CEO and the CPO. The four jobs people did most, like starting a worksheet or building a held order, moved to the top of every page, so the work came before the reference info. Inventory Manager got daily cycle counts, imported dispense data and inventory value over time.
To hold it all together I built a design system from scratch, with accessibility as the foundation. Every component met WCAG 2.1 Level AA color contrast and used semantic structure that scaled across every redesigned page. Engineers got a reusable library that cut development time and kept things consistent.
Live data first, with a way back for the people who needed it.
I worked in grayscale first so the CEO and CPO could react to structure instead of colors. The first round put purchases and alerts at the top. The second added quick actions and a Status column. That layout shipped, now with live data.
A corporation sees every region at once and can switch between dollars and order counts in one tap. A pharmacy sees its departments side by side. A department sees only what it orders. Same components, scoped to what each person controls.
A nationwide online pharmacy with 800+ employees had automations tied to the old interface. A Table View button lets people, and their automations, switch back to the old layout with one extra click. The pharmacy was thrilled they didn’t have to rebuild their systems.
Inventory Manager went through the same steps. Cycle counts, transfers and imported dispense data sit in quick actions at the top, with inventory value over time and status alerts right below. It reused the same components as Purchase Manager.
It shipped, and it was proof that SureCost could modernize.
The redesign kept the React migration moving and gave the sales team more confidence in demos, which helped close more deals. Customers were excited about the new interface and eager to see what came next.
It unlocked investment in UX across the company and kicked off a much bigger rebuild.
“The most transformative project for SureCost in the next 12 months.”
David WagnerChief Executive Officer, SureCost“This is the first reveal I’ve attended as a product manager where the reception was, ‘Wow, just a couple tweaks.’”
Dickinson MerrinDirector of Product Management, SureCost
What changed, in numbers.
- Scale
60% of core pages rebuilt with live data.
The storyThis redesign proved it could be done. Over the next stretch I rebuilt 60% of SureCost’s core pages, starting with Purchase Manager and Inventory Manager.
- Speed
New pages went from 3 sprints to 1.
The storyBefore the design system, a new page took about 3 sprints to build. Once design and engineering worked from the same 25 components, all WCAG 2.1 AA, a new page took 1 sprint, about 2 weeks.
- Risk
0 automations a nationwide online pharmacy had to rebuild.
The storyThe pharmacy has 800+ employees and ships across the country, and its automations were tied to the old interface. Table View kept every one of them running through the change.
- Live data
36 widgets across 6 views moved to live data.
The storyPurchase Manager and Inventory Manager each got a corporation, pharmacy and department view. Before, people refreshed pages by hand to see current numbers. Every widget in all six stayed current on its own.
Purchase Manager and Inventory Manager shipped on SureCost.
It taught me how to ship under pressure without research, and what that really costs.
Challenges
I sketched concepts and ran them by the CEO, CPO and internal experts for fast alignment, then moved to high fidelity and mapped every workflow. Then QA started finding issues. Settings that were toggled off hid elements I hadn’t planned for, and one chart didn’t match calculations elsewhere on the screen. That cycle repeated for weeks.
Mid-development, leadership wanted one date filter for the whole page instead of one per widget. I proposed a middle ground. Corporation, region and pharmacy views got page-wide filters, and department views kept their own so task-focused users weren’t confused. Leadership agreed and we retrofitted the design.
Retrospective
We closed 20 QA tickets before launch. That back and forth could have been shortened with some validation up front. Modular, configurable systems sound great in theory, but they need technical groundwork that may not exist yet.
If I could do it again, I’d push for a few lightweight user interviews before wireframing, even if it meant a shorter design phase. I’d also push for a phased rollout to test assumptions with real users before committing to a full redesign.