Bizworks Plus App
Saving 1500 hours yearly by Killing the spreadsheet
How Bizworks Plus Reduced Herbalife's Reporting Time by 86% and Grew MAU by Nearly 400%
Situation
Herbalife operates one of the largest direct-sales networks in the world, with millions of independent distributors across 94 countries.
Distributors were managing their operations through fragmented manual workflows, including custom spreadsheets for volume tracking, screenshotted dashboards shared via WhatsApp, and ad hoc graphics produced in Canva to recognize team milestones.
The resulting administrative overhead directly displaced time that would otherwise be spent on revenue-generating activity.
Supporting evidence was consistent across help-desk tickets, distributor surveys, and field-team interviews: reporting on the business had become more time-intensive than running it.
Herbalife operates one of the largest direct-sales networks in the world, with millions of independent distributors across 94 countries.
Distributors were managing their operations through fragmented manual workflows, including custom spreadsheets for volume tracking, screenshotted dashboards shared via WhatsApp, and ad hoc graphics produced in Canva to recognize team milestones.
The resulting administrative overhead directly displaced time that would otherwise be spent on revenue-generating activity.
Supporting evidence was consistent across help-desk tickets, distributor surveys, and field-team interviews: reporting on the business had become more time-intensive than running it.
Task
The core problem was structural: Herbalife's distributors were salespeople being asked to function as part-time data analysts.
The objective was to consolidate the manual tooling distributors had assembled themselves, including performance metrics, team progress tracking, achievement sharing, and payout previews, into a single mobile experience.
The solution needed to deliver real-time data, full localization across every supported market, and one-tap shareability.
The core problem was structural: Herbalife's distributors were salespeople being asked to function as part-time data analysts.
The objective was to consolidate the manual tooling distributors had assembled themselves, including performance metrics, team progress tracking, achievement sharing, and payout previews, into a single mobile experience.
The solution needed to deliver real-time data, full localization across every supported market, and one-tap shareability.
Actions
I joined a 50+ person team spread across four countries, working SAFe with 2-week sprints. At that scale, my early actions weren’t design moves, they were alignment moves.
I joined a 50+ person team spread across four countries, working SAFe with 2-week sprints. At that scale, my early actions weren’t design moves, they were alignment moves.
Research
I ran a mix of distributor interviews, ride-alongs with senior reps, and remote usability studies through UserZoom. The original assumption was that distributors wanted more data.
I ran a mix of distributor interviews, ride-alongs with senior reps, and remote usability studies through UserZoom. The original assumption was that distributors wanted more data.
They didn’t. They wanted less but the right less, served at the right moment. A top earner doesn’t want a 12-tile dashboard; she wants to know if her team hit volume before her 7am call.
Ideation
I sketched flows on paper, then opened them up to UX, engineering, and the business team in Mural sessions. Information architecture got rebuilt from scratch with competitor flow audits, a new site map, lo-fi wireframes against every user state we could surface.
I sketched flows on paper, then opened them up to UX, engineering, and the business team in Mural sessions. Information architecture got rebuilt from scratch with competitor flow audits, a new site map, lo-fi wireframes against every user state we could surface.
Tradeoffs
The big one: depth vs. speed.
We could build a beautiful analytics surface or a fast, glanceable home. We chose glance. Power users grumbled at first, but the data told us most sessions were under 90 seconds, people were checking in, not analyzing. That trade made everything downstream simpler.
Where AI came in
AI did two jobs. Inside the product, AI-driven recommendations surface what a distributor should pay attention to today. The rep about to churn, the bonus tier within reach, the milestone worth celebrating. Inside my process, I used AI to accelerate synthesis on interview transcripts, draft microcopy variants for localization across dozens of languages and stress-test edge cases I wouldn’t have caught alone. It didn’t replace research, it gave me a second pair of eyes that never got tired.
AI did two jobs. Inside the product, AI-driven recommendations surface what a distributor should pay attention to today. The rep about to churn, the bonus tier within reach, the milestone worth celebrating. Inside my process, I used AI to accelerate synthesis on interview transcripts, draft microcopy variants for localization across dozens of languages and stress-test edge cases I wouldn’t have caught alone. It didn’t replace research, it gave me a second pair of eyes that never got tired.
What I delivered
A scalable mobile app with real time business metrics, automated reporting, push notifications, WhatsApp and Telegram integration for downline communication, and one-tap shareable achievement cards. Beta testing emails, Lottie micro-interactions, hi-fi prototypes for dev handoff...the whole arc. This wasn’t a one and done. We designed for a first release that solved the 80% case, then planned four years of iteration off real usage data.
Project Details
Team:
50+ members across 4 countries, working in Agile (SAFe) with 2-week sprints
Duration:
4+ years (ongoing iteration)
Tools:
Figma, Mural, UserZoom, Microsoft TFS (Azure), After Effects, Lottie, Spline 3D
Team:
50+ members across 4 countries, working in Agile (SAFe) with 2-week sprints
Duration:
4+ years (ongoing iteration)
Tools:
Figma, Mural, UserZoom, Microsoft TFS (Azure), After Effects, Lottie, Spline 3D
Results
We shipped...the market answered.
• Reach: Launched in 94 countries, localized into every supported language.
• Engagement: 3M+ visits since July 2021; nearly 400% growth in monthly active users.
• Efficiency: 86% reduction in manual reporting time.
• Recognition: Won the Global Business Impact Award at the 2021 Herbalife Innovation Awards.
And then there are the distributors themselves.....
"Bizworks Plus changed how I run my business. I can see my team’s performance in real-time and share achievements instantly instead of spending hours on spreadsheets."
-- Senior Distributor (U.S.), Herbalife
-- Senior Distributor (U.S.), Herbalife
Measurable Results
Rebuilt the information architecture from the ground up, including competitor flow audits, a revised sitemap, and lo-fi wireframes covering every relevant user state.
User Flows and Drawing Session
Plotted user paths through tasks. Compared competitor flows and incorporated feedback from team brainstorming sessions.
Once organized, I sketch ideas and present them to our UX and functional teams. I explain the problem, research, and proposed solution, which is also a brainstorming session. Team members can comment and contribute ideas. We discuss these ideas to decide on our initial path forward
Wireframes & Lo-fi Prototyping
Mapped multiple user states and flows for testing and review.
Visual Design and Hi-fi Prototyping
Created refined UI with iterative feedback from stakeholders.
Used hi-fi prototypes to align vision across design and development.
Next Steps
Future efforts include:
• Continued usability testing
• Interviews with new, returning, and regular users
• Focused iteration planning based on metrics
Beta Testing Email
Key Takeaways
Bizworks is one of the most complex teams due to numerous business rules.
Won the Global Business Impact Award at the 2021 Herbalife Innovation Awards. The app reduced manual reporting time by 86% and grew monthly active users by nearly 400%, demonstrating the power of user-centered design in a complex global B2B2C ecosystem.
Won the Global Business Impact Award at the 2021 Herbalife Innovation Awards. The app reduced manual reporting time by 86% and grew monthly active users by nearly 400%, demonstrating the power of user-centered design in a complex global B2B2C ecosystem.
