NAPA Prolink

Smarter auto parts inventory, delivered

My Role

Product Designer

Tools

Figma, Webflow, Jira

Team

Collaborated closely with PMs, Developers, and fellow Designers

Timeline

Q1 - Q2 2021

NAPA’s Prolink platform streamlines inventory, ordering, and daily operations for auto shops and parts businesses. I contributed to its digital redesign with a focus on clearer navigation, improved content hierarchy, and user-centered design.

See live project

What is Prolink?

A smarter way to order parts and manage inventory

A B2B auto shop platform delivering complete solutions for professionals, including inventory management, shop training, service facility support, technician tools, reordering, and more.

Problem

The platform had been reliable for years, but it hadn’t kept up. Shops were juggling clunky tools and outdated workflows that slowed them down. Whether they were big operations or small teams, users needed something faster, clearer, and more responsive across devices.

The challenge: Modernize the platform to attract new users, retain existing ones, and differentiate in a competitive market through a stronger, user-centered experience.

What Stood Out

Prolink lagged behind in speed, navigation, and overall UX

We spoke with over 20 users in the automotive parts industry to uncover pain points in the current workflow and gain deeper insight into what drew them to competing platforms. These conversations helped us understand not just how users navigated Prolink, but why they often preferred the experience elsewhere.

Key Gaps & Competitive Offerings

Simplified Search Experience Across Competitors

Competitors: All three competitor sites allow users to find parts quickly with fewer steps, creating a more intuitive and efficient experience.

Prolink: Users reported that the vehicle search process felt long and cumbersome, lacking time-saving features like saved searches or recent lookups.

Faster Lookups with Saved Vehicles

Competitors: A vehicle sorter enables users to save past searches and access them instantly, speeding up the parts-buying process.

Prolink: Prolink does not support saved vehicle lookups, forcing users to re-enter information repeatedly — slowing down conversions and increasing friction.

Expanded Catalogs and Training Resources

Competitors: Offer access to current and past parts catalogs, along with robust training materials to support repair technicians and shop owners.

Prolink: While Prolink offers catalog information, users found the interface less intuitive and desired deeper, more organized training support.

Key Gaps & Competitive Offerings

Simplified Search Experience Across Competitors

Competitors: All three competitor sites allow users to find parts quickly with fewer steps, creating a more intuitive and efficient experience.

Prolink: Users reported that the vehicle search process felt long and cumbersome, lacking time-saving features like saved searches or recent lookups.

Faster Lookups with Saved Vehicles

Competitors: A vehicle sorter enables users to save past searches and access them instantly, speeding up the parts-buying process.

Prolink: Prolink does not support saved vehicle lookups, forcing users to re-enter information repeatedly — slowing down conversions and increasing friction.

Expanded Catalogs and Training Resources

Competitors: Offer access to current and past parts catalogs, along with robust training materials to support repair technicians and shop owners.

Prolink: While Prolink offers catalog information, users found the interface less intuitive and desired deeper, more organized training support.

Key Gaps & Competitive Offerings

Simplified Search Experience Across Competitors

Competitors: All three competitor sites allow users to find parts quickly with fewer steps, creating a more intuitive and efficient experience.

Prolink: Users reported that the vehicle search process felt long and cumbersome, lacking time-saving features like saved searches or recent lookups.

Faster Lookups with Saved Vehicles

Competitors: A vehicle sorter enables users to save past searches and access them instantly, speeding up the parts-buying process.

Prolink: Prolink does not support saved vehicle lookups, forcing users to re-enter information repeatedly — slowing down conversions and increasing friction.

Expanded Catalogs and Training Resources

Competitors: Offer access to current and past parts catalogs, along with robust training materials to support repair technicians and shop owners.

Prolink: While Prolink offers catalog information, users found the interface less intuitive and desired deeper, more organized training support.

Design decisions

What Mattered Most

After identifying key user pain points—like friction in vehicle search, cart flow, inventory, and the PPSE—we focused Phase One on high-impact areas: Help, Parts Selection, Cart/Checkout, Order Confirmation, and Replenishment Solutions—critical moments that should’ve felt seamless but didn’t.

I led design on Cart/Checkout, Replenishment, and the PPSE module for part availability, location, and shipping. We began with user flows and rolled out updates in phases, saving the complex search feature for later.

Design Iteration Through Feedback

After gathering feedback from stakeholders and users, I refined the designs to make key workflows feel clearer, faster, and easier to use—while also transitioning the experience to a more responsive, cross-device layout.