Use Case: How KERN IT digitized a printing service with a mobile-first Print On Demand platform

This use case demonstrates how a legacy business service can boost adoption and volume through a pragmatic, mobile-first, and usage-oriented approach, all while avoiding the costly pitfalls of native mobile applications.

CIACO has partnered with KERN IT for over a decade.
It is a relationship of trust, built over time, with a shared conviction: digital technology only has value if it truly simplifies the lives of its users.

CIACO is the cooperative of the Université catholique de Louvain, historically operating:

• A university printing house
• A copy service
• A stationery business

The business challenge

User habits were evolving rapidly:

• Users had become overwhelmingly mobile-first
• Experience standards were being set by e-commerce and on-demand services
• The copy service was still perceived as rigid and restrictive

The real question wasn’t about technology.
It was strategic: how to increase print volume and streamline the experience without adding operational weight or skyrocketing costs?

KERN IT's process

1. Discovery – Observation before action

At KERN IT, one principle guides every project: observation before action.

The discovery phase was central:

• Workshops with CIACO teams
• On-site visits
• Observation of real workflows
• Analysis of existing data
• Mapping out ideas and hypotheses

A key takeaway from this phase was the decision to let go.
Some ideas looked seductive on paper, but were poorly aligned with actual usage or too costly to maintain.

Our role was to help CIACO:

• Sift through the options.
• Avoid "false good ideas."
• Refrain from rushing into "trendy" solutions that lacked real impact.

This ability to say "no" is an integral part of KERN IT's value proposition.

2. Prototyping: Aligning before building

Once the vision was clarified, it was time for prototyping.

Our UX teams designed:

• The complete user journey
• A highly advanced version of the product
• Several concrete usage scenarios

This work had a clear objective: to align all stakeholders.

Following this, a decisive choice was made:

• Intentionally narrowing the scope
• Eliminating non-essential details
• Focusing on immediate value

Better to deliver a useful, adopted product than a perfect one that is never used.

3. Implementation - Integrating into the CIACO ecosystem

The CIACO Shop is not just a simple e-commerce site.

It was:

• Custom-developed
• Connected to the existing ecosystem
• Designed to integrate with internal processes

The goal was not to reinvent the wheel, but to make the existing system more fluid, accessible, and efficient.

Mobile first, no native application

The CIACO Shop is mobile-first, but it’s not a native mobile application.

It’s a Progressive Web App (PWA).
This was a strategic, deliberate, and pragmatic choice.

Developing a native mobile application often involves:

• Tens of thousands of euros in development costs
• Ongoing maintenance
• Complex version management
• Dependency on app stores
• A loss of agility when evolving the product

In this context, a native app would have provided little additional value.

On the contrary, the PWA enables:

• A seamless mobile experience
• Home screen installation
• Instant updates
• A single codebase
• Continuous, frictionless evolution

It is a choice driven by ROI, agility, and sustainability, perfectly aligned with KERN IT’s DNA.

The "Uber of printing," in terms of user experience

When we talk about the "Uber of printing," we are talking about user experience, not buzzwords.

In concrete terms:

• A document received via email or WhatsApp is uploaded in seconds
• An order is configured from a smartphone between classes or meetings
• Payment is handled entirely online
• Pickup or delivery is chosen freely

Printing becomes an on-demand service: fluid, accessible, and without unnecessary trips.

Why this model is a success

This project works because:

• It is designed for usage, not for technology
• It is mobile-first by necessity, not by trend
• It avoids the unnecessary costs of native applications
• It integrates with the existing system instead of replacing it
• It evolves continuously through feedback and data

Results and impact

The effects are tangible:

• Increased print volume
• Steady and sustainable adoption of the service
• A modernized image for the copy service
• Reduced friction at the service counter
• Orders can be placed outside of standard business hours

The CIACO Shop is a living platform, not a frozen product.

Moving forward

As always at KERN IT, the approach remains pragmatic:

• Continuous collection of user feedback
• Analysis of usage statistics
• Strategic thinking on the future of printing and copy services

The product evolves with usage, not the other way around.

More than a service provider: a true partner

This use case illustrates a core conviction: KERN IT is far more than just a service provider.

We work:

• As a long-term partner
• As an extended digital department
• With the ability to challenge, scope, and build

👉 If you manage a business service and your tools are slowing your users down, let’s talk.
At KERN IT, we don’t promise trendy apps. We build products that are useful, adopted, and profitable.

Our next article will be dedicated to the Copybox v3, another key component developed for CIACO.