CASE STUDY 01 · MedPlus POS
-60%: Reduction in customer checkout queue wait times at registers.
100%: Register operational uptime maintained through network outages and local app crashes.
+18%: Recovery of lost retail revenue through simplified, automated customer backorder logging.
99.8%: Data extraction accuracy rate achieved by the integrated AI prescription Decoder module.
01 / 06 · MedPlus POS product search and picklist screen
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Physical retail pharmacies face unpredictable internet infrastructure, peak hour consumer crowds, and difficult-to-read handwritten medical prescriptions.
The application required enterprise-grade robustness to guarantee that a physical cash register can process sales immediately, anytime, without data loss or transaction lag.
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Manual Data Entry Bottlenecks: Manually reading prescriptions and typing names slows down checkout registers and risks dispensing errors.
Out-of-Stock Revenue Losses: Poor workflow handling for stockouts causes customers to walk away instead of placing future backorders.
System Failure Vulnerabilities: App crashes or sudden power losses at physical registers wipe out real-time, un-synced shopping cart configurations.
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Research was conducted before any design work; findings shaped the problem definition and strategy.
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We realized that app crashes were inevitable due to unpredictable power drops at physical retail stores. Our technical discovery pivoted toward engineering a local IndexedDB architecture directly inside the browser client. This ensures that every single scan or keystroke is instantly cached locally, allowing the register to recover the exact system state even during a hard power outage.
Shadowed pharmacists and store clerks across busy counters to observe how power cuts, handwritten prescriptions, and queue pressure shaped every billing decision.
Mapped the complete in-store billing journey — from prescription decoding to payment — exposing where outages and manual backorders broke the flow.
Analyzed billing logs and crash reports to quantify revenue lost per outage and validate the need for an offline-first register.
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Problem
Sudden retail network outages and handwritten prescription data entry bottlenecks paralyze checkout speeds.
Insight
Counter delays are driven by bad handwriting analysis and multi-step manual backorder configurations.
Opportunity
Ensure continuous, accurate retail revenue streams by building an offline-resilient, AI-assisted checkout terminal.
Strategy
Combine local-first browser storage cache components with intelligent optical text-extraction scanners.
Solution
Deploy an offline POS utilizing an AI-powered Decoder module to parse prescription text logs locally in seconds.
Phase 1
Local-first architecture and background synchronization engine.
Phase 2
One-click backorder workflow integration.
Phase 3
AI Decoder prescription scanner module using OCR and Natural Language Processing.
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Designed a specialized dark-mode keyboard-centric terminal UI optimized for rapid barcode scanning and data entry without forcing users to rely on mouse movements. The checkout module features prominent, highly visible indicator bars that clearly signal local data synchronization health status and system battery levels.
Low-fidelity terminal layouts mapped the scan-to-checkout flow, prescription decoder entry, and one-click backorder placement for pharmacy counters.
Dark-mode, keyboard-centric concepts were explored with pharmacists to eliminate mouse dependency and reduce eye strain during long shifts.
Clickable terminal prototypes integrated the AI prescription decoder, local-sync health indicators, and crash-recovery state restoration.
Field simulations during peak hours tested network outage recovery, power-loss scenarios, and prescription decoding accuracy with real store staff.
A high-contrast, offline-resilient terminal UI with visible system status bars, AI-assisted prescription parsing, and streamlined backorder workflows.
Only the iterations that changed the direction of the work are shown — not every exploration.
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Persona 01
The Store Supervisor · Retail Pharmacy Store Manager
Manages on-the-ground store operations, shifts, stock counts, and daily register closing routines.
Persona 02
The Pharmacist · Licensed Retail Pharmacist
Front-line licensed pharmacist responsible for reading prescriptions, handing over correct meds, and explaining dosage instructions.
Persona 03
The Pharma Head · VP of Pharmacy Operations
High-level corporate strategist managing pharmacy performance, supply lines, and margins across all geographical branch locations.
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-60%
Reduction in customer checkout queue wait times at registers
100%
Register operational uptime maintained through network outages and local app crashes
+18%
Recovery of lost retail revenue through automated customer backorder logging
99.8%
Data extraction accuracy of the integrated AI prescription Decoder module