Bulbe Customer Operations and Experience
digital ecosystem comprised of ERP and Customer Portal to integrate Bulbe's operations and centralize the entire user journey.
Customer
Bulb
Categories
UI/UX Design
Duration
6 months
My Role
UI/UX Designer
Tools
Figma
Team
Scrum Master; Designer; Front-end; Back-end; QA
The challenge wasn't simply to digitize invoice issuance. it was to connect Bulbe's entire operation — from energy generation to payment — into a single experience for employees and customers.
Context
Bulbe is a shared energy company that operates multiple photovoltaic plants in Minas Gerais and distributes energy credits to residential and commercial consumers.
every month, each customer receives aBulbe Invoice, a document that consolidates the energy credits received and presents the final amount to be paid, always lower than the traditional utility company.
until then, much of this operation relied on separate tools and partially manual processes. the company sought its own platform capable of centralizing its operation, automating internal processes, and offering customers a digital channel to track their entire experience after signing up for the service.
The Challenges
Bulbe's operational process involved several steps before an invoice could be generated.
Monthly, it was necessary to analyze power plant generation, calculate energy allocation among registered installations, integrate information from the energy distributor, and consolidate all data into a single invoice.
Much of this flow was performed using a third-party platform that didn't fully meet business needs.
After invoices were generated, customer communication happened through channels like email and WhatsApp. Although functional, these platforms weren't designed for billing management, making it difficult to track communications and contributing to delinquency rates higher than expected.
The challenge was to create a digital ecosystem capable of simultaneously addressing Bulbe's operational needs and customer expectations, bringing the entire journey together in a single integrated experience.
The Approach
The project began with a detailed understanding of the different processes supporting the company's operations.
Qualified Research
I conducted interviews with Engineering, Marketing, and Support teams to understand how operations worked, business positioning, and the main needs reported by customers.
Each area contributed a different perspective on the product, allowing for an integrated view of the platform.
Design System
Since the project encompassed a Corporate System and a Customer Portal, I developed a single Design System to ensure visual consistency, component reusability, and scalability across different applications.
Prototyping
All ERP and Customer Portal flows were detailed in high-fidelity prototypes, documenting interactions, states, and behaviors needed for application development.
The Solution
The project was structured into two complementary applications, connected by the same Design System and integrated experience.
Corporate System
The ERP was developed to support Bulbe's entire operational routine.
The invoice generation flow now brings together information from power plant generation, energy allocation among installations, and invoices issued by Cemig, automatically integrated into the system.
Since the team was already familiar with the Bulbe Invoice layout, I used the document itself as a reference for the creation interface. Information automatically populated by the system remained in their respective places, while data requiring manual intervention were converted into editable fields.
This decision reduced the team's learning curve and made the issuance process more intuitive.
In addition to generating invoices, the ERP also centralized customer communications management, allowing configuration of engagement sequences, automatic billing, and personalized campaigns across different channels, such as email, WhatsApp, SMS, and push notifications.
Customer Portal
The Customer Portal was designed to centralize the entire user journey after contracting the service.
From onboarding and activation tracking to invoice management, all main interactions now happen in a single environment.
In the invoices area, customers can check monthly history, monitor billing status, view savings details, access utility company receipts, and make payments via PIX or bank transfer.
Since each situation requires specific communication needs, the invoice details screen was designed considering different states — such as open, paid, overdue, or canceled invoices — presenting appropriate actions and messages for each scenario.
To make the shared energy benefit more tangible, I developed a dedicated area for consumption and savings generated. In it, customers track consumption graphs, monthly savings, and the total amount saved since the beginning of their relationship with Bulbe.
A benefits area was also created, where users can track promotional campaigns and participate in referral programs to obtain new discounts.
Results and Learning
the Customer Portal is available on app stores and continues to expand its user base.
the Corporate System became integrated into Bulbe's operational routine, supporting invoice issuance, communications management, and other critical business activities.
both applications continue to evolve with the inclusion of new features.
during my tenure, i recommended conducting usability tests and user research to guide product evolution based on evidence. although this strategy wasn't prioritized at that time, the experience reinforced my conviction that digital products achieve better results when continuous evolution is accompanied by user research and constant validation of Design decisions.
