Retail Administrative and
Financial Platform Rebuild
Toshiba's retail store management platform had been built feature by feature, with no shared strategy, no user research, and no design system. Clients were threatening to leave due to usability issues and poor product market fit. Rather than patching individual screens, I pushed for a systems-thinking approach to establish the strategic foundation the product had never had, using cash management as the proof of concept.
$6.4M
labor savings per customer
90%
reduction in staff training time
50%
increase in daily productivity
300%
increase in product usage
My Role
Design & Research Lead · 0→1
Team + Stakeholders
1 VP of Product · 2 PMs · 1 PO · 3 Designers · 4 Developers
Problem
Users weren’t getting what they were promised, and were threatening to leave.
Toshiba's Administrative Console was created as a cloud-based back-office software for large retail chains to manage store operations across cash flow, loss prevention, inventory, purchasing, and store operations all from one place. It was marketed as a unified platform that connected all devices across self checkout, mobile, point of sale, and other retail devices.
The actual experience didn't reflect any of that, and clients were threatening to leave because of poor usability and the software not meeting their needs.
Solution
I led platform level usability initiatives: a new design system, 40+ features across 7 research backed users, and improved navigation.
Problem
Cash management features were critical, yet the most broken. They became the focus.
The cash management features were used by every enterprise client for all money operations inside of a store, making them highly critical to all client success, yet they didn’t align to how accountants or bookkeepers actually worked and were difficult to use. The existing cash features were a major cause of retention issues, so they became the primary focus. Due to the already strained relationship between Toshiba and clients, I had to navigate sensitivities on both sides of the fence to be able to speak directly with customers.
Solution
Alignment with real-world accounting, improved financial reporting access, and clarity into store operations.
01
Real-time visibility of store cash operations.
As one bookkeeper put it: "The most difficult part is ensuring all reporting is accurate, and communicating between corporate, stores, and the bank”. Cash shortages previously were only caught during lengthy reconciliations or by the bank.
Now, tills, safes, and balances are surfaced in a way that is easy to scan and take action if needed. Full historical views and drill-downs into individual machines are also available. Key actions (deposits, audits, reconciliations) are accessible from multiple contexts.
02
Software that now matches real-world retail accounting processes.
Previously, only daily accounting was supported, yet many retailers ran weekly.
Daily and weekly accounting periods are both supported now, as well as both operator and register accountability. The platform now matches user mental models, not Toshiba's internal architecture.
03
Improved financial reporting access for both in-store and headquarters employees.
Corporate had no visibility into store cash operations; in-store users had to print reports, manually enter data across multiple spreadsheets on multiple computers, and email to corporate.
This process now happens automatically in a single click. Additionally, any user from any location with the right permissions can now see high-level or detailed information in one central, easily accessible location.
Impact
Clients were extremely satisfied, trust was restored, and revenue was immediately impacted.
Staff training time was reduced by 90%, and many clients updated their outdated processes to match the new system. With trust restored, they began to ask for more features, citing UX involvement as a key reason they stayed with Toshiba. The new platform allowed these features to be built quickly and efficiently, reinforcing the positive relationship even further.
$6.4M
labor savings per customer
90%
reduction in staff training time
50%
increase in daily productivity
300%
increase in product usage