Service Type: Launch
Client Industry: Higher Education
Timeline: 2022
Overview
UNC Greensboro wanted to centralize and streamline its internal merchandise ordering process across all departments, ensuring brand consistency and compliance with institutional purchasing protocols. The university sought a Shopify solution that felt modern, required minimal training, and integrated seamlessly with internal workflows.
Shopstars launched a fully customized storefront optimized for higher education procurement, complete with department-specific access, logo usage permissions, and artwork approval paths—all while providing an intuitive shopping experience for faculty and staff.
The Challenge
- Departments were handling custom merch orders manually, leading to inefficiencies and inconsistent branding.
- The university needed granular control over logo usage, decoration zones, and product availability per department.
- The store had to support internal budget tracking and role-based access to different collections.
- Order placement had to feel effortless, with backend controls to ensure brand integrity and procurement compliance.
- The university required custom features not natively supported by Shopify’s core features, such as artwork validation and internal-only products.
Our Solution
Shopify Storefront Deployment
- Launched a fully branded Shopify storefront with university-compliant UI, ensuring a consistent experience for every department.
- Designed with accessibility and usability in mind for a non-technical audience.
Brand Enforcement Engine
- Integrated decoration zone logic to ensure logos could only appear in approved sizes and locations depending on product type.
- Built SKU logic that linked each product to approved logo types (academic, athletic, or department-specific).
Internal Workflows & User Access
- Enabled internal logins with access control—departments could only view and order SKUs relevant to their function.
- Added optional internal approval steps for high-volume or sensitive orders.
- Configured internal-only pricing visibility and cost center tagging for budget tracking.
Artwork Upload & Validation
- Integrated a real-time artwork uploader with validations for resolution, file format, and logo compliance.
- Set up optional manual approval flows for exceptions or non-standard designs.
Technologies Used
- Shopify
- Custom Theme Development
- Artwork Upload & Validation Logic
- Role-Based Collection Access
- Dynamic Product Tag Logic
- Custom Admin Tools for Budget Tracking
Results
- Simplified and standardized the internal merchandise ordering process for UNC Greensboro.
- Enforced strict branding guidelines without creating friction for end users.
- Reduced approval time by automating validations and implementing custom approval workflows.
- Provided scalable foundation for future campus merchandise rollouts.
