case study
Hardware procurement
Syntro: Taking hardware buying out of the inbox.
Syntro is an AI procurement platform for hardware teams. We designed its brand, its product and its launch: one workspace that runs a buy from bill of materials to purchase order, with an assistant that does the chasing.
- Client
- Syntro
- Industry
- Hardware procurement
- Scope
- Brand, product, launch
- Platforms
- Web app, desktop and tablet
- Year
- 2026
at a glance
Hardware teams buy parts the slow way. Every part is an email thread, every quote a PDF, and every approval a chase through replies.
One workspace that runs the whole buy, from bill of materials to purchase order, with an AI that finds parts, compares quotes and drafts the RFQ.
The brand identity, the product's interface for desktop and tablet, and the launch: flyers, posters, product scenes and a film.
Hardware still buys by email.
Software teams ship in days. The teams building the hardware wait on their inbox.
the old way
A hardware build starts as a bill of materials in a spreadsheet. Then someone emails suppliers, part by part. Quotes come back as PDFs, each in its own format, and get typed into another spreadsheet so they can be compared.
Approvals happen somewhere in a reply chain. Nobody can say what's on order without asking around. And every day spent chasing a quote is a day the build waits.
- 01
The BOM is a spreadsheet
Every change is a new attachment, and v7_final is rarely final.
- 02
Every quote is a thread
Each supplier and each part gets its own conversation.
- 03
Comparing is copy and paste
Price, lead time and quantity, typed in by hand.
- 04
Sign-off gets lost
Approvals live in replies, not in a record anyone can find.
- Kingsford Components9:12
RFQ: PCB-CTRL-01, 250 units
Quote attached. Lead time 2 to 4 weeks.
Quote_PCB-CTRL-01.pdf - A2Z Electronics LLC9:40
Re: Re: Fwd: BATT-LI-18650 pricing
Can you confirm the quantity again?
- Delta Circuits10:05
Quote for PCB-SENSE-02
Valid for 7 days. Let us know.
Delta_quote_v2.pdf - You10:31
ROBOT-100 EVT build: updated BOM
Use this one, not the last one.
BOM_ROBOT-100_v7_final.xlsx - Finance11:02
Re: Kingsford PO?
Who approved this one?
- Kingsford Components11:47
Lead time update
PCB-CTRL-01 is now 6 weeks.
One flow, from BOM to purchase order.
Every step of a buy in one workspace, and an assistant that does the legwork in between.
- 01
Build
The BOM lives in Syntro, line by line, with every revision.
- 02
Request
Syntro drafts the RFQ and sends it to suppliers.
- 03
Compare
Quotes land side by side: price, lead time, quantity.
- 04
Award
It recommends the best split and shows the saving.
- 05
Order
One click and the purchase order goes out.
- 06
Track
What's on order and what needs a look, on one screen.
The assistant
Just ask Syntro.
Press ⌘K from anywhere and type what you need, in plain words. Syntro finds parts, compares quotes and drafts the RFQ, without leaving the page you're on.
⌘Kfrom any page
esc
Suggested
- Compare 3 quotes for PCB-CTRL-01Best: $1.42 / unit
- Kingsford Components$1.42 · 2–4 wks
- A2Z Electronics LLC$1.51 · 1–2 wks
- Draft RFQ for 250 unitsBuild 250
Syntro suggests
Award Kingsford
and save $476.50
A workspace that does the legwork.
Designed around a buyer's day: what's on order, what's waiting, and the next decision to make.
Dashboard
The day starts here, not in the inbox.
What's on order, what's been spent and what's waiting for a decision, on one screen. Red only ever marks the next thing to do.
Bill of materials
Every build, part by part.
Assemblies as a tree or a table, with revision, category and demand on every line. The BOM stops being an attachment and becomes the start of the buy.
Quotes and award
The decision, made in one place.
Every quote for a build lands in one table. Then Syntro shapes the basket three ways and shows the saving before anyone signs.
- 1Cheapest per partSplits the basket so every part goes to its lowest quote.
- 2One supplierKeeps the whole order with one supplier when that's simpler.
- 3Back to build needResets typed quantities to exactly what the build needs.
The interface, up close
Built for numbers.
Tabular figures so columns line up. Quiet greys for everything that's settled. Signal red for the one action that matters, and green only for money saved.
On order
$90K
Spend managed
$100K
Two rings and one loud red.
A mark, a wordmark and a palette that look as at home on a dashboard as on a shipping box.
The mark
Two rings, linked.
Two three-quarter rings, the same size, hooked through each other. It reads at 16 pixels as a favicon and at the size of a poster.
on paper
on redon inkColour
One red, used with care.
Ink and paper carry the product. Red is kept for actions and the brand's loudest moments.
Procurement, in flow.
figures
$26,459
Awarded basket
5 of 5
parts awarded
275
units
21d
lead time
Tabular figures throughout, so every column of prices lines up.
Ready for market.
Flyers, posters and product scenes that all say one thing: hardware can be bought as fast as it's built.
the lines
Written with the brand, set in Manrope, red where it leans in.
- Launch flyer
Procurement, in flow.
- Launch flyer
Just ask Syntro.
- Product slide
Everything on one screen.
- Product slide
Award with confidence.
- Poster
Procure hardware at software speed.
Everything we delivered.
the scope
Brand
06- Logo and mark
- Colour palette
- Typography
- Business cards and stationery
- Apparel and merch
- Packaging
Product
06- Dashboard
- Bill of materials
- Quotes and award
- Purchase orders
- Ask Syntro, the AI assistant
- Desktop and tablet layouts
Launch
05- Launch flyers
- Out-of-home poster
- Product scenes
- 3D renders
- A product film
Hardware, bought at software speed.
0product scenes
0brand applications
0launch flyers
03D scenes