MWI Animal Health
(Cencora)

Redesigning MWI Animal Health’s SaaS Platform & Pet Care Ecosystem

MWI Animal Health provides veterinary practice management solutions through Merlin, their flagship SaaS platform. My role as Lead Product Designer focused on modernising Merlin’s UX, building a scalable design system, and improving digital experiences for vets, clinics, and pet owners.

I led the end-to-end redesign of Merlin, introduced seamless online payments and customer support solutions, and optimised the MWI Pet App across desktop and mobile—bridging the gap between veterinarians, pet owners, and support services.

 

The Challenge

MWI’s existing products had outdated, fragmented user experiences that made daily workflows inefficient for veterinary professionals and pet owners.

Merlin’s UX was outdated

  • The legacy UI was cluttered and unintuitive, slowing down clinic workflows.
  • Vets struggled with appointment scheduling, medical records, and inventory management.

Lack of a Scalable Design System

  • Inconsistencies across MWI’s digital products led to design debt and longer development cycles.
  • There was no unified design language, affecting usability and accessibility.

Online Payments & Customer Support Were Not Seamless

  • Clinics needed a secure, integrated way to process payments and manage customer interactions.
  • Support teams lacked a cohesive chat and helpdesk experience to assist pet owners.

Pet Parent Experience on the MWI Pet App Was Suboptimal

  • The app’s mobile and desktop experiences were inconsistent, making it difficult for pet parents to manage appointments, prescriptions, and vet interactions.
  • Vet clinics also needed an optimised dashboard to engage with pet owners easily.

Discovery and Research

To understand the challenges and improve the experience, I conducted:

  • User Interviews → Spoke with vets, clinic admins, and pet owners to uncover pain points.
  • Heuristic Analysis → Identified usability issues in Merlin and the MWI Pet App.
  • Competitor Benchmarking → Studied other veterinary SaaS platforms to find industry best practices.
  • Usability Testing → Ran iterative tests on wireframes and prototypes to validate design improvements.

Key Insights

Vets needed faster, more intuitive workflows

Redesigned Merlin’s dashboard with a cleaner UI and streamlined navigation.

Design inconsistencies slowed development

Created a scalable design system to speed up releases and ensure consistency.

Pet owners wanted more control over appointments & payments

Improved the MWI Pet App’s scheduling & payment flows.

Empathise

Understanding user needs through research and direct engagement.

Define

Identifying core
challenges and user
pain points.

Ideate

Brainstorming innovative
solutions based
on insights.

Prototype

Rapidly creating and
testing concepts
for validation.

Test & Refine

Iterating based on real
user feedback to
optimise usability.

Design Process

Redesigning Merlin: A More Intuitive Veterinary SaaS Experience

Problem: Outdated UI & inefficient workflows for vets

Solution: A modern, streamlined interface with optimised scheduling, records management, and client interactions.

  • Revamped the dashboard → Prioritised critical clinic operations (appointments, patient history, billing) for easy access.
  • Simplified appointment booking → Introduced a one-click scheduling feature with pet details auto-filled.
  • Optimised medical records → Designed a quick-view panel that allows vets to access patient history without leaving the screen.
  • Improved inventory tracking → Built a real-time inventory view for clinics to track medications & supplies.


40% faster appointment scheduling


Reduced cognitive load for vets handling multiple patients


Improved usability scores
From 62 → 89

Building MWI’s New Design System from Scratch

Problem: No scalable, reusable design framework

Solution: A unified design system with reusable components, typography, colours, and UI patterns.

  • Standardised UI components → Buttons, forms, modals, and dashboards, making future product updates seamless.
  • Accessibility-first approach → Ensured WCAG 2.1 compliance, improving usability for all users.
  • Scalable for multiple platforms → Applied the system across Merlin, the MWI Pet App, and customer support tools.


50% faster design-to-development cycles


Consistent UI across all MWI digital products

 


Increased accessibility compliance, optimising usability.

Delivering Online Payments & Customer Support Solutions

Problem: Clinics needed a frictionless way to accept payments & handle customer queries

Solution:

Designed and integrated a seamless online payment system & customer chat support

Online Payments Integration:

  • Designed a modern, secure checkout flow for clinics and pet owners
  • Integrated multiple payment methods (credit/debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay)
  • Added automated invoicing & transaction history tracking

Customer Support & Chat Experience:

  • Created an in-app chat & support centre for pet owners
  • Integrated AI-powered chatbots for faster resolution of common queries
  • Enabled live vet support for urgent pet care concerns


30% increase in
online payment adoption 


25% reduction in
customer support response time


Higher satisfaction scores from both clinics & pet parents

Optimising the MWI Pet App

Problem: Inconsistent experience for pet owners & vet clinics

Solution: A responsive, user-friendly app with enhanced appointment management, prescription tracking, and real-time vet support.

  • Revamped pet owner dashboard → Easier appointment booking, prescription refills, and vaccination reminders
  • Optimised for mobile-first usage → Introduced faster navigation, larger tap targets, and a simplified UI
  • Vet clinic interface improvements → Enabled real-time updates on appointment schedules and pet medical histories


App adoption grew by 35% post-redesign


Session time increased engagements by 20%


Faster task completion, improving pet parent satisfaction