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Digital Infrastructure Case Study
Modernizing Digital Infrastructure for Performance, Security & Scalability
Keeping online inventory in sync with retail stores across the state, on infrastructure built to hold up as the operation keeps growing.
Project Overview
| Project | Digital Infrastructure Modernization |
| Organization | Hawkeye Fan Shop, The Official Retailer of the University of Iowa Athletics Department |
| Focus | Inventory Synchronization, Hosting & Deployment, Systems Scalability |
| Outcome | Stock counts that match reality across every store, warehouse, and the website |
The Challenge
A storefront built from the ground up still had to answer a harder, ongoing question: how do you keep inventory accurate across retail locations statewide, mobile gameday shops, and a growing online store, all while demand spikes hard around gameday, roster changes, and postseason runs?
Key challenges included:
- Retail locations across the state and mobile gameday shops that all needed to reflect the same stock counts as the website
- A real risk of overselling product that wasn't actually available once demand spiked
- Hosting and deployment infrastructure that needed to support a fast-moving, gameday-driven release schedule
- A growing footprint of stores and sports that kept expanding what the infrastructure needed to support
- No room for inventory or infrastructure failures once a live event or product drop began
The Approach
The focus was building infrastructure that treated every store, shop, and the website as one connected system, rather than separate operations that happened to sell the same products.
- Inventory Synchronization
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Connected online inventory with retail and gameday shop stock counts so numbers matched reality across every location.
- Hosting & Deployment Strategy
-
Built hosting and deployment practices that supported a fast-moving release schedule tied to a live sports calendar.
- Systems Scalability
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Designed the infrastructure to expand cleanly as more stores, sports, and seasons joined the partnership.
- Ongoing Infrastructure Review
-
Revisited infrastructure decisions regularly as the operation's footprint and demand continued to grow.
The Solution
Modernized infrastructure now keeps stock counts synchronized across every store, warehouse, and the website, with hosting and deployment built to support a demanding release calendar.
| Capability | Impact |
|---|---|
| Connected Inventory | Stock counts matching reality across every store, warehouse, and the website. |
| Reliable Hosting & Deployment | Infrastructure that supports a fast-moving, gameday-driven release schedule. |
| Scalable Systems | Infrastructure built to expand cleanly as the partnership grows. |
The Results
With connected inventory and modernized infrastructure in place, store and web performance have improved, gameday traffic has been handled without the site buckling under peak demand, and conversion has trended upward across departments over the course of the partnership.
- Inventory synchronized across stores, gameday shops, and the website
- Gameday traffic handled reliably at peak demand
- Upward conversion trends across departments
- A modernized infrastructure supporting ongoing email campaigns for gameday information, product drops, and student-athlete appearances
Approach & Capabilities
- Inventory Systems
-
Stock synchronization connecting retail, gameday shop, and online counts into one accurate source.
- Hosting & Deployment
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Infrastructure practices designed to support a fast release schedule tied to a live sports calendar.
- Scalable Infrastructure
-
Systems designed to expand as more stores, sports, and seasons joined the partnership.
- Ongoing Infrastructure Support
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Regular review and adjustment as the operation's footprint and demand continued to grow.
Business Impact
A storefront can only sell what it actually has. Connecting inventory across every store, gameday shop, and the website meant fans saw accurate stock no matter where they shopped, and the business stopped overselling product that wasn't really there.
Through inventory synchronization, dependable hosting and deployment practices, and infrastructure built to scale, this initiative created a foundation that has supported the partnership with Hawkeye Fan Shop and the University of Iowa Athletics Department since 2016.
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Infrastructure that quietly holds everything together isn't an accident. It's built deliberately, store by store, so the operation you're running is one you can actually count on.