We all know Staples and their ever-present tagline “That was easy!”  And yes, Staples does make things  easy for their customers, however, they were also making things very difficult for their Copy & Print associates.  For as long as anyone at Staples can remember, the Copy & Print associates have been using paper envelopes to take down complex printing orders.  The mistakes made and the reprints required were becoming problematic and that’s when Staples came to us for help.  What initially seemed like a simple problem to solve “we’ll just turn the paper envelope into a digital application”, quickly became a large multiphase project.

 

The solution is the Staples Copy & Print Solution Builder.  A custom built, digital, touch enabled application which is running on a 24” touchscreen monitor.  In the current phase, the Solution Builder application is meant to be an associate facing application.  In future phases, the application will become consumer facing and allow for a true consultative selling process.  “Under the hood” is a product hierarchy and associated business rules which manage the millions (yes, millions) of possible product configurations that are available to the customer.

 

It’s still too early to tell, but the team is monitoring things closely.  Anecdotally, we know that the associates love it and have been quick to adopt the new technology.  Fanny, one of the Copy & Print Associates in the Needham store said “I was skeptical at first, but now I love it.  This thing makes my job so much easier!”.  The store associates have been actively engaged in the process and they are helping to shape upcoming releases.  Our strong delivery of this project has solidified us as Staples go-to partner for experience design and technical implementation within their Copy & Print business.