How Dakis connects POS, online orders, and lab workflows, with Pat Hugron

Have an idea or tip? Send us a text! (https://www.buzzsprout.com/964492/fan...) Your customer starts a photo order on their phone, asks a question in store, pays at the counter, and expects everything to “just work.” Most retailers cannot deliver that simple experience because their POS, e-commerce site, kiosk, and lab workflow are stitched together from different systems, each with its own SKUs, pricing, and payment records. Gary Pageau of The Dead Pixels Society sits down with Pat Hugron, Vice President of Operations and R&D at Dakis, to unpack how unified commerce for photo retailers is meant to fix the daily grind of reconciliation, duplicate inventory, and channel confusion. We trace Dakis’s long path from early product recommendation tech to building tools for camera stores, photo labs, and specialty retailers who need a single platform. Hugron shares what has changed in production over the years, why outsourcing the long tail of photo gifts can be healthier than trying to make everything in-house, and why “seamless” matters as much to the lab as it does to the customer. We also dig into the return of film, why the resurgence surprised so many stores, and how better film processing workflow and delivery can keep customers engaged long enough to actually order prints. Then we get practical about what “unified” means: one product catalog across online and in-store, a save-and-send quote that lets staff build a cart and email a payment link, and unified data that can support smarter follow-up and add-on sales. Hugron also previews what is still coming, including purchase orders, receiving, and serial number tracking, plus how retailers can get hands-on training at the IPIC boot camp. Energize your sales with Shareme.chat (http://www.shareme.chat) , the proven texting platform.  ShareMe.Chat (http://www.shareme.chat)   ShareMe.Chat platform uses chat-to-text on your website to keep your customers connected and buying! Mediaclip (https://www.mediaclip.ca) Mediaclip strives to continuously enhance the user experience while dramatically increasing revenue. Independent Photo Imagers (http://www.ipiphoto.com) IPI is a member + trade association and a cooperative buying group in the photo + print industry. Photo Imaging CONNECT (http://www.photoimagingconnect.com) The Photo Imaging CONNECT conference, March 2027, at the RIO Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, N Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! (https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_...) Start for FREE Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show (https://www.buzzsprout.com/964492/sup...) Sign up for the Dead Pixels Society newsletter at http://bit.ly/DeadPixelsSignUp. Contact us at [email protected] Visit our LinkedIn group, Photo/Digital Imaging Network (  / 144538  ) , and Facebook group,  The Dead Pixels Society (  / thedeadpixelssociety  ) . Leave a review on Apple and Podchaser (https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/th...) . Are you interested in being a guest? Click here for details (https://thedeadpixelssociety.com/cont...) . Hosted and produced by Gary Pageau (  / garypageau  ) Announcer: Erin Manning (http://www.erinmanning.com)