/ 01
The project
Hermes is a staff purchase platform we built for Samarasiri Electronics. It lets employees buy electronics and home appliances on installment plans, and gives the company's teams one place to approve and manage those orders.
Before Hermes, the whole programme ran on spreadsheets, from choosing products to calculating installments, approving orders, and passing deductions to payroll.
/ 02
What it does
Browse and search products
Employees search the catalogue or scan a QR code in the showroom to open a product straight away.
Compare installment plans
The cart shows what each plan costs per month, so staff can choose before they order.
Order with a guarantor
Guarantor details are collected with the order, so nothing has to be chased later.
Manage staff and products
The operations team keeps the staff list and product catalogue up to date, including bulk updates from Excel.
Review and approve orders
Every order is checked and approved in one place, with its full history.
Send deductions to payroll
Finance exports the monthly deductions ready for payroll, instead of building them by hand.
/ 03
The brief
The challenge
The staff purchase programme ran on spreadsheets, from product selection and installment plans to order approval and payroll deductions.
How we gathered the requirements
We met the operations and finance teams at Samarasiri Electronics and walked through the programme step by step, from an employee picking a product to the final payroll deduction.
They shared the spreadsheets they used each month, which showed us exactly which details were needed, who checked them, and where mistakes tended to happen.
We also spoke with employees who had used the programme, to understand what made ordering slow or confusing on their side.
From this we agreed a written scope with the client, covering what Hermes would do, who would use each part, and what was out of scope for the first release.
/ 04
How we approached it
- 01
Map the existing process
We documented the spreadsheet process exactly as it worked, so nothing the teams relied on would be lost.
- 02
Design for both sides
Employees got a simple shopping experience, while operations and finance got the review and export tools they needed.
- 03
Build and review in stages
We delivered in stages and reviewed each one with the client team, adjusting as they tested it with real data.
- 04
Import, test, and launch
Existing staff and product lists were imported from Excel, the teams were walked through the system, and Hermes went live.
/ 05
Challenges we solved
Challenge
The team's staff and product lists already lived in Excel and changed often.
How we solved it
We built Excel imports into Hermes, so the team keeps working from files they know while the system stays up to date.
Challenge
Installment calculations had to match exactly what finance expected, every time.
How we solved it
We worked through real past orders with the finance team and checked Hermes against their numbers until they matched.
Challenge
Payroll deductions had to arrive in a format payroll could use straight away.
How we solved it
Exports were designed with the finance team around their payroll process, so the monthly hand-off needs no re-typing.
Challenge
Employees needed to find products quickly, including while standing in the showroom.
How we solved it
Each product has a QR code that opens it directly in Hermes, alongside normal search.
/ 06
The result
The staff purchase programme now runs on Hermes instead of spreadsheets.
Employees can see installment costs and place orders themselves, with guarantor details included.
Operations review every order in one place, and finance receives payroll deductions ready to use.
/ 07
How we run it today
We continue to support Samarasiri Electronics after launch, handling questions from their team and making improvements as the programme grows.