CVS Pharmacy

CVS/Pharmacy operates more than 7,400 stores with 80,000 employees. The facility management department is responsible for the consistent, clean physical environment in every CVS store. If a lock won’t open or a window is smashed or snow must be plowed, the facility manager has to address the issue quickly.

This was particularly challenging during a period when CVS acquired thousands of stores from smaller chains such as Eckerds and Osco. Store records were often incomplete or incorrect, impeding maintenance and repairs. Management undertook the task of surveying every store and recording hundreds of measurements, the condition of on-site equipment, warranty status and more. The information was invaluable, but collecting and sharing it proved to be a slow, manual process.

Drive Current was retained to build a new surveying tool optimized for the job at hand. Over time “The Portal” grew to accommodate special projects such as sign changes for new branding projects and equipment upgrades. Advanced queries provided new insights and enabled better planning. Some surveys contained hundreds photos so a novel approach (at the time) made use of a batch upload and automatic re-sizing of photos to create and organize thumbnails, medium and large images. Usability was relentlessly improved until long surveys could be completed in a reasonable amount of time.

Over a decade since its first release, The Portal continues to play an important role at CVS. The facility management team relies on this tool every day to maintain the high standards of this Fortune 100 company.