Smarter supplier onboarding
A search-first modal that prevents duplicates before they happen.
Company
Medius
Year
2025
Role
Designer
Scope
Modal UX
Search Design
Data Quality
The problem
Supplier records were being created without checking for existing entries. Duplicates caused payment errors, reconciliation nightmares, and compliance gaps. The creation flow started with a blank form — there was nothing to stop a user from creating a supplier that already existed.
- No pre-creation search — duplicates were easy to create accidentally.
- Manual data entry for every field — company details, VAT, address.
- No risk signal at creation — credit risk only visible after the supplier was set up.
The approach
The modal opens with a search field instead of a blank form. Typing a company name triggers a fuzzy-match check against existing suppliers in real time — showing potential duplicates with a match confidence score before the user can proceed. Dun & Bradstreet enrichment pre-fills verified company data.
- Search-first: you cannot see the creation form without first running a name search.
- Fuzzy-match with confidence score ("98% match — Northwind Supplies Ltd.").
- D&B auto-enrichment: industry, credit risk, employee count pre-filled from verified data.
Key design decisions
Blocking vs. advisory duplicate warning
Initial designs blocked creation if a match above 80% was found. Testing showed this created frustration for legitimate new suppliers with common names. The final design warns and requires confirmation, but does not block — preserving autonomy while making the risk visible.
Progressive disclosure in the form
Required fields are shown first. Optional enrichment fields (credit limit, payment terms) are collapsed behind "Add more details". This reduced the perceived complexity of supplier creation from 18 visible fields to 6.
Enrichment as a time-saver, not a gimmick
D&B data populates the form visually — each enriched field gets a subtle "Auto-enriched · D&B" badge. Users can override any field. This framing made enrichment feel like a tool, not an automation they couldn't trust.
Outcome
Search-first onboarding with real-time deduplication and external enrichment. UAT sessions with four enterprise clients showed zero duplicate creation attempts that passed unnoticed.
0
Duplicates created in UAT
–67%
Fewer manual fields to fill
D&B
External enrichment integrated