Challenge
Ericsson’s purchasing team was responsible for ordering winter uniforms for their tower climbers, who build and repair cell phone towers across the country. The teams were remote and scattered across diverse climates, requiring uniform kits tailored to both the weather and the specific job roles. Tower climbers needed durable, insulated gear, while ground crew required less specialized items.
The process was highly manual and time-consuming. Regional managers had to gather sizes for gloves, pants, jackets, and shirts from each employee, along with their home addresses. They compiled this data into spreadsheets for purchasing and it took weeks to compile the order, then about 7-10 weeks for it to deliver. Due to the high turnover rate and transient workforce the data quickly became outdated, leading to the loss of many expensive kits shipping to employees who didn’t work for the company anymore or to incorrect addresses. When items didn’t fit, there was no streamlined process for replacements.
Additionally, there were twelve different kits with different items needed for the various job functions and climates. The original vendor struggled with this program and guessed on sizes for inventory, resulting in surplus inventory of certain sizes and frequent out of stock sizes for others. Employees often didn’t receive required items for months.
Opportunity
Ericsson needed a more efficient way to manage uniform distribution, reduce administrative workload, and ensure that remote workers received the correct gear promptly. The solution needed to address size accuracy, quick shipments, replacements, and streamlined data management for high-turnover roles.
Solution
iCoStore proposed building a Wizard Store tailored specifically for Ericsson’s needs. A Wizard Store takes users through a pre-set path based on their role, guiding them through product selection with no pricing shown (since the company covers the cost). Employees log in, follow their designated path, select sizes for the different items then enter their shipping address. It takes less than 5 minutes to order everything. The system automatically directs them to the appropriate uniform kit based on their role and location.
Administrators have full admin access, allowing them to track orders and identify who has or hasn’t ordered. They can send reminders directly from the system. If an employee leaves, they are quickly removed from the store, and when a new group of employees finishes training, they are added to the system to order their uniforms.
We also developed a streamlined return process allowing employees to quickly return incorrect sizes and receive the correct items without hassle.
Results
The Wizard Store transformed how Ericsson managed uniform ordering, management and distribution, saving significant time and money. Instead of guessing on sizes, iCoStore produced uniforms on-demand, ensuring availability without maintaining excessive inventory. Ericsson went from managing every order manually to simply adding new users and monitoring reports.
The program was so successful that iCoStore expanded the concept to include Ericsson’s summer uniform program as well. For many years, iCoStore has continued to support their uniform needs, delivering reliable, hassle-free solutions that adapt to their changing workforce and seasonal requirements.
