Sam's Club Health & Wellness · Pharmacy Associate Tool · 2023–2024

Transformed pharmacy delivery for 600+ Sam's Club stores

I led the end-to-end design of a web + mobile product suite that replaced a fragmented 18-step dispensing workflow that cut delivery time by 55% and automated 40% of checkout for pharmacy associates.

55%

Faster delivery dispense

800+

Orders fulfilled in Q4 '23

40%

Checkout automated

92%

Associate satisfaction

Timeline

2023 – 2024

Role

Senior Product Designer

Team

20+ Engineers · 1 PM

Platform

Web + Mobile

My role

I was the lead designer on the Checkout mobile app and Order Maintenance web dashboard. My scope included field research with pharmacy technicians at multiple Sam's Club locations, journey mapping the existing 18-step fulfillment flow, and redefining the interaction patterns for the TC53 handheld device.

Field research Journey mapping Interaction design Mobile (TC53) Stakeholder facilitation Design system

The Problem

A 10–15 minute dispensing process kept technicians off the pharmacy floor

Sam's Club pharmacy technicians like Amy were spending most of their shift on prescription dispensing rather than serving customers. The legacy process took 10–15 minutes per delivery order across 18 manual steps — spread across two disconnected applications and a handheld device, with 46% of pharmacy revenue depending on a workflow that was the most broken.

56%

Customers are 55+ age group

70%

Of revenue comes from this age group

21%

Not enrolled on auto-refill

46%

Pharmacy revenue from delivery orders

Where the workflow broke down (Based on pharmacy user study)

Hardware fragmentation

Associates switched between Connexus – GoLocal desktop applications and the TC53 handheld device, losing context at every transition.

Dual-user handoff

Technicians and pharmacists had disconnected workflows, requiring manual coordination for verification and payment.

Additional third-party tools

The GoLocal delivery application and TasCo POS were additional layers for the associate workflow, forcing workarounds.

Error-prone legacy system

Manual work on label printing, Rx checks, and bag scanning across multiple systems increased error rates.

The Core Question

How might we help pharmacy associates recognize, schedule, and fulfill delivery orders within a unified workflow?

User Research

Mapping the InClub order fulfillment journey

Documented the complete delivery order process from creation through fulfillment, identifying key friction points across three major stages involving pharmacy technicians and pharmacists.

Create Order

Technicians select and review orders for delivery using the legacy Connexus application

Fulfill RX Order

Scan items, fill orders manually, print labels, and drop bags in Will Call rack

Schedule Payment

Pharmacist verifies order, schedules payment via GoLocal, completes checkout on TC53

User journey map showing the InClub order fulfillment process

Research artifact documenting pharmacy workflow findings

Design Decisions

3 decisions that shaped the outcome

Key tradeoffs made during the design process - where I went, what I considered, and why it worked.

Decision · Architecture

Two apps or one?

Considered

Single unified app running on both desktop and TC53 handheld

Chose

Two purpose-built apps: Web dashboard + mobile checkout

Why

Pharmacists and technicians had fundamentally different jobs. Pharmacists needed a multi-order overview for prescription and patient verification; technicians needed a guided, single-order flow for fulfilling orders on the pharmacy floor. Forcing both into one responsive app would have compromised both.

Tradeoff

Higher engineering cost and two codebases to maintain. I mitigated this by reutilizing a Walmart pharmacy app for mobile for less engineering effort and a common data model across both apps.

Signal it worked

Through usability testing done across multiple clubs, 92% of associates preferred the new portal and the single-purpose flow reduced cognitive load on the floor.

Order Maintenance — web dashboard

Checkout — mobile app (TC53)

Decision · Automation

What to automate vs. keep manual in checkout

Considered

Automate end-to-end associate customer interaction

Chose

Integrated delivery scheduling and payment processing in the new application flow

Why

Integrating TasCo POS and GoLocal delivery scheduling eliminated phone-based friction, streamlined associate workflows by consolidating multi-app and hardware juggling, saved time for both customers and associates, all while maintaining strict HIPAA compliance.

Tradeoff

Engineering workarounds for replacing legacy payment and GoLocal integration. I provided a clear and intuitive component for these specific actions saving development time.

Signal it worked

This reduced 18 steps to 12 steps, automating 40% of the checkout process — giving back more time to associates in-store and customers felt confident sharing details through SMS.

Decision · Less learning curve

Walmart Mail Order native patterns vs. custom design language

Considered

Recreate a brand new checkout app with Sam's Club DLS

Chose

Reutilized the Walmart checkout app

Why

To support the MVP timeframe, adopting Walmart checkout highly solved the end user and business needs, including minimal engineering efforts.

Tradeoff

Design system mismatch and lack of heuristics. As this was a Sam's Club only app, I solved this by adapting Sam's Club BlueSteel DLS without compromising the key design components and actions through heuristic evaluation.

Signal it worked

Familiarity in the tasks and brand design guideline alignment echoed instant familiarity among pharmacy associates with less learning curve.

Walmart Mail Order app adapted for Sam's Club RxToGo

Walmart checkout app adapted for Sam's Club RxToGo

Solution Overview

Integrated web & mobile product suite

Designed a cohesive two-part system - Order Maintenance web app for order management and a Checkout mobile app for in-store fulfillment-unifying workflows.

RxToGo solution screen showing the integrated web and mobile product suite

Order Maintenance web app for pharmacy order management

Checkout mobile app for in-store prescription fulfillment

Impact

Measurable outcomes delivered

Quantifiable improvements across associate efficiency, customer satisfaction, and operational workflows through integrated web and mobile solutions.

Key outcome

55%

Reduction in delivery dispense time from 10–15 min down to 5–7 min per order.

40%

Checkout process automated

92%

Associates prefer this portal

84%

Customers comfortable with delivery

800+

Orders fulfilled in Q4 2023

Process Efficiency

Reduced 6 steps from overall 18-step delivery dispense process. MVP delivery checkout workflow was time-efficient, allowing associates to focus on in-store customers.

Future Expansion

Explored expedited counter pickup and curbside opportunities through vision workshops. Dynamic checkout product enabled quick turnaround for other dispensing methods.

Key Takeaways

Lessons gained from the journey

Insights on collaboration, research foundations, and product language that shaped the design process and outcomes.

Transparency & Communication

Each partner has unique approaches. Maintaining transparency throughout product development proved beneficial for cross-functional alignment.

Research Foundation

Set a strong foundation through research and connect the dots of the process to justify product requirements with stakeholders and engineering teams.

Product Language

Resonating the product's language with field associates is important. Setting the right tone throughout their journey can alleviate chances of making errors.

MVP Approach Success

Time constraints led to smart prioritization. Focused on primary workflow enabled rapid delivery while maintaining quality and gathering feedback for future iterations.

System Integration

Leveraging existing platforms (Connexus, Walmart Mail Order app) provided familiar touchpoints while introducing improved workflows and modern design patterns.