Win Big With the Walgreens QuickPrints SDK at the Sprint Hackathon!
Walgreens turned some developer heads earlier this year when it released its QuickPrints SDK -- a drugstore now has an API and wants to work with mobile developers? But QuickPrints is a pretty cool SDK that gives developers a novel way to generate in-app revenues, and deliver a good service and experience to their end user. Walgreens will be joining us at the Sprint Developer Program Hackathon in San Jose on October 23-24, and they'll be there to help developers implement the QuickPrints SDK into their app, and they're giving away $1000 to the best app that uses it! Joe Rago from Walgreens is here to tell us more.
1. Hello! Please introduce yourself and your company.
Joe Rago is a Senior Mobile Product Manager at Walgreens where he heads up the recently launched Walgreens Developer Program (developer.walgreens.com). Before his foray into the world of API’s, Joe was a Product Manager for Metromix.com where he oversaw their web & mobile properties. Joe is a resident of his native Chicago but is a frequent visitor to both of America’s coasts.
As the nation's largest drugstore chain with fiscal 2012 sales of $72 billion, Walgreens (www.walgreens.com) vision is to become America’s first choice for health and daily living. Each day, Walgreens provides nearly 6 million customers the most convenient, multichannel access to consumer goods and services and trusted, cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services and advice in communities across America. The company operates 7,930 drugstores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
2. You are sponsoring a prize for the best use of the Walgreens QuickPrints SDK at the upcoming Sprint Developer Program Hackathon. Tell us a little bit about the SDK, and some of the best ways you’ve seen it integrated in apps.
The QuickPrints SDK (available now for iOS and Android) is the debut offering from the Walgreens Developer Program. QuickPrints allows mobile application developers to include the ability for their app users to print 4x6, 5x7 and 8x10 size photos to any one of the 7900+ Walgreens locations. With every photo order that is successfully placed through the QuickPrints SDK and picked up at a local Walgreens store, the developer will earn a revenue share commission.
To view partner applications that have already integrated with the Walgreens Developer Program, check out our Walgreens Partners blog at http://bit.ly/QPpartners.
3. What should developers do to prepare for your category at the hackathon? Are there SDKs they should download, places they need to register or documentation to take a look at?
The key is to focus on building out the best application for your users and let Walgreens assist with the revenue generation process through our QuickPrints SDK. Think how the ability to print a photo can best integrate into the user experience of your application and its users. Walgreens handles the heavy lifting by hosting the seamless HTML5 checkout process during checkout. There is no need for the third party applications to collect payment information.
Information regarding the QuickPrints SDK can be found online at https://developer.walgreens.com/apis and developers can register for a user account at https://developer.walgreens.com/user/register.
4. What’s your advice for developers in a hackathon, both to win your category and in general?
Be creative. Think of how the printed product your app offers is unique or can make your users’ lives easier. Can you clearly showcase the use cases for the printed products? What problems does your app solve for?