PROJECT OVERVIEW

This case study explores the design process behind improving Tropic's Price Benchmarks feature. The goal was to help customers efficiently uncover cost-saving opportunities within their software contract portfolios—without the need for manual input. Key focuses included automating Price Benchmarks, increasing feature visibility, and transitioning Custom Benchmarks—previously compiled by the Commercial Executive team in Google Slides—into Tropic’s Admin platform.

THE CHALLENGE

Customers encountered several challenges with price benchmarks:

• Manual Effort Required: The process of creating price benchmarks was labor-intensive, lacking the ease and efficiency users hoped for.

• Lack of Visibility: Users expressed a desire for greater insight into potential savings opportunities across their entire portfolio.

• Missed Opportunities: Without proactive benchmarking, there was a risk of identifying potential savings too late in the renewal process.

Conversely, our Commercial Executive teams provided tailored price benchmarks for non-standard contracts. They would analyze the customer’s contract data and compare it against similar contracts, ultimately delivering the findings using a Google Slides template that they would then email to the customer. However, this approach was problematic due to its time-consuming nature, the exclusion of data from the Tropic platform, and the varying methods employed by different Commercial Executives in assembling these benchmarks.

DISCOVERY

Through feedback channels and customer interviews, we discovered:

• Tropic’s pricing data was consistently identified as the most valuable intelligence Tropic offered

• Users struggled to prioritize which contracts to review without running numerous manual price checks

• Customers were reluctant to upload contracts without a clear benefit

• Users wanted proactive identification of savings opportunities, automating Price Benchmarks had been one of the most frequently requested features.

Through interviews with our internal Commercial Executive team, we identified several pain points:

• The search for similar contracts is time-consuming and involves extensive navigation between pages.

• Each Commercial Executive has varying criteria for completing Custom Benchmarks.

• Current Benchmark data is stored in a master Google slide deck rather than being integrated into the platform.

We would solve with this project:

1. Increase visibility of Price Benchmarks

2. Automate Price Benchmarks for contracts from the top 200 Suppliers - Eliminating manual effort for the most common suppliers while ensuring consistent delivery of pricing intelligence

3. Make Custom Price Benchmarks still available for other contracts and move the creation from Google Slides into Tropic's admin platform - Streamlining the workflow for creating manual benchmarks when needed

DESIGN

To enhance visibility, we incorporated links and elements that guide users to assess Price Benchmarks.

The creation was transitioned from Google Slides to Tropic's admin platform. Early concepts were presented to the Commercial Executive team to get feedback. The PM and I carried out usability tests, where the Commercial Executives successfully filled out the form, resulting in positive feedback.

IMPACT

This initiative resulted in a 700% increase in Price Benchmark adoption. Nearly half of all benchmark views came through the new entry points we introduced, demonstrating improved discoverability and engagement. Post-launch, the Commercial Executive team successfully leveraged the new experience to deliver benchmarks more efficiently.

Additionally, this work laid the groundwork for the next phase: automating Custom Price Benchmarks. With benchmark data now integrated into Tropic, we’re positioned to leverage AI to streamline one of the most time-consuming parts of the Commercial Executive workflow—identifying similar contracts within the system and automatically generating draft benchmarks. This not only boosts efficiency but also frees up the team to focus on higher-impact work.