Envision Xpress Scales Mission-Critical Commerce with BigCommerce
Discover how customisable, cost-effective and reliable BigCommerce is and why we built it that way.
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10x
faster vendor onboarding
16
brick-and-mortar locations
93
years in business
Key highlights:
CHALLENGE.
Legacy platform slowed operations and required manual work.
Limited support for complex government procurement.
Accessibility gaps for visually impaired team members.
SOLUTION.
Deployed BigCommerce tools for segmented, compliant buying.
Automated vendor onboarding and inventory via APIs.
Enabled easy-to-use backend accessibility for all teams.
RESULTS.
A significant increase in web traffic after launch.
Faster vendor onboarding and fewer manual processes.
Stronger digital experience and operational efficiency.
A digital foundation for military and government buyers
Envision Xpress — the government-facing division of Envision — serves military, federal, and local government entities across the United States. With 16 brick-and-mortar stores on military installations and a rapidly growing ecommerce presence, the organisation operates a unique hybrid model, spanning B2G, B2C, and end-user sales.
Beyond procurement, Envision Xpress supports a broader mission: creating employment, education, and funding opportunities for the blind and visually impaired community.
As the business expanded its ecommerce footprint, leadership recognised the need for a more modern, scalable platform that could match both its operational complexity and its mission-driven values.
“We knew we didn’t want just a new website. We wanted a digital foundation that matched our mission and the professionalism of our stores — and even challenged them to raise the bar,” shared Nikki Gathard, Director of Marketing and Sales at Envision Xpress.
Partnering with BigCommerce and Mojo Active helped them to bring their new site to life while still ensuring strict government compliance and testing standards.
“Both teams were fully committed, fully communicative, and fully supportive,” Gathard said.
An outdated platform limiting growth and efficiency.
Envision Xpress’s previous ecommerce platform supported early growth, but it was not built for the business they were becoming.
As product assortment expanded and vendor partnerships multiplied, the team found themselves stretched thin for a few reasons, including:
Manual updates meant adding vendors could take weeks or months
Backend processes were growing more time-consuming
Routine updates required IT intervention
“The platform required too many workarounds, a lot of manual updates and technical lift. It was hard to make even routine changes,” said Gathard.
At the same time, the organisation’s buyer expectations were evolving. Military and government cardholders required speed, compliance, curated purchasing experiences for specific military units, and pricing flexibility — including government-compliant payment workflows.
Accessibility was also a critical must-have. As an organisation employing blind and visually impaired team members, Envision Xpress required a platform that integrated seamlessly with screen reader technology, ensuring backend usability for all staff.
The existing system simply could not keep pace with the company’s rapid growth and evolving mission.
“The platform required too many workarounds, a lot of manual updates and technical lift. It was hard to make even routine changes.”
NIKKI GATHARD, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND SALES, ENVISION XPRESS
SOLUTION
Robust functionality built for complex procurement.
BigCommerce provided the enterprise-level capabilities Envision Xpress needed without introducing enterprise-level complexity.
The team quickly implemented several key features, using customer groups to segment government buyers and build dedicated landing pages for specific military bases and divisions.
“If a cardholder at a specific base, like Fairchild’s AMXS division, can go to a dedicated landing page and immediately see all of the approved products for their team, that makes a huge difference,” said Gathard. “BigCommerce gave us that ability.”
Using BigCommerce’s open APIs and flexible architecture, Envision Xpress built curated shopping experiences that simplified procurement for military units. Instead of navigating hundreds of similar SKUs, buyers now access preapproved product lists tailored to their division and base.
Integrations like gated site access, secure payments, Share Shopping Cart, and ERP connectivity ensured procurement remained compliant, streamlined, and aligned with government purchasing requirements.
API-driven automation and vendor expansion.
BigCommerce’s API-first architecture dramatically improved operational efficiency.
Previously, uploading a single vendor catalog could take weeks or even months. Now, using batch uploads and automated formatting tools, the team can onboard multiple vendors within days.
“A single vendor upload used to take a month or two. Now we can onboard multiple vendors and have them live within days,” shared Gathard.
API integrations also improved logistics at a critical time by helping with:
Ensuring inventory visibility and stock accuracy
Preventing backorders for government compliance
Enabling real-time price synchronisation
For an organisation expanding into overseas shipping and rapidly growing vendor catalogs, this scalability was essential.
To merge Envision’s point-of-sale and shipping systems, their agency partner designed a shipping portal that enabled them to connect NCR Counterpoint Retail POS to BigCommerce’s platform. The end result was a more optimised ecommerce ecosystem that was tailored specifically to their needs.
“The API flexibility has been a game changer,” Gathard said.
Accessibility and ease of use across teams.
For Envision Xpress, accessibility is not optional.
BigCommerce’s compatibility with JAWS Screen Reader technology ensures blind and visually impaired team members can manage backend processes independently.
“Having a platform that integrates with their screen readers was a huge deal,” Gathard explained.
Customer service representatives can now resolve issues in real time without requiring assistance; what previously required follow-up and manual workarounds can now be handled instantly.
In addition to accessibility, the simplicity of BigCommerce’s control panel empowered non-technical team members across marketing and operations teams.
“What BigCommerce gets right is simplicity and ease of use. Having something that’s intuitive to my needs and easy to get around makes usability so much easier,” shared Gathard.
For a nonprofit organisation where teams often wear multiple hats, having an ecommerce platform with intuitive design and low maintenance built in are not just nice-to-have features — they are essential.
“A single vendor upload used to take a month or two. Now we can onboard multiple vendors and have them live within days.”
NIKKI GATHARD, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND SALES, ENVISION XPRESS
“What BigCommerce gets right is simplicity and ease of use. Having something that’s intuitive to my needs and easy to get around makes usability so much easier.”
NIKKI GATHARD, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND SALES, ENVISION XPRESS
RESULTS
Efficiency gains and measurable growth.
Since launching on BigCommerce, Envision Xpress has seen significant operational improvements and steady ecommerce growth including:
Increased web traffic compared to previous years
Streamlined vendor onboarding
A dramatic reduction in manual backend processes
“Our team spends less time managing manual uploads, troubleshooting platform limitations, and trying to find workarounds,” said Gathard. “It’s allowed our sales and operations team to focus on higher value activities.”
Beyond metrics, BigCommerce elevated the brand’s professionalism. The digital storefront now reflects the high standards Envision Xpress expects from its retail locations.
“I’ve even said to some of my stores before, ‘Look at the super professional website we have. I don’t want a customer to go there, have that experience, then walk into your store and not have a matched experience,’” explained Gathard.
The platform did more than modernise ecommerce. It helped align digital and physical experiences across the entire organisation.
“Our team spends less time managing manual uploads, troubleshooting platform limitations, and trying to find workarounds.”
NIKKI GATHARD, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND SALES, ENVISION XPRESS
LOOKING AHEAD
Expanding beyond the base with a digital-first strategy.
With BigCommerce as its digital foundation, Envision Xpress is evolving from an on-base retailer into a fully integrated procurement partner.
“We are evolving from being known primarily as an on-base retail store to becoming a fully integrated procurement partner for military and government customers,” said Gathard.
Future initiatives include expanding their outreach beyond military installations, growth into commercial and nonprofit procurement, and exploration of additional digital capabilities.
The flexibility of BigCommerce ensures Envision Xpress can scale into new markets while maintaining compliance, accessibility, and operational efficiency.
“We wanted growth, innovation, and expanded digital capability. BigCommerce supported where we wanted to go,” remarked Gathard.
“We wanted growth, innovation, and expanded digital capability. BigCommerce supported where we wanted to go.”
NIKKI GATHARD, DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND SALES, ENVISION XPRESS
Published: May 2026
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