This article is from the FootwearNews "Outdoor" issue published on July 23, 2018

From mobile-first approaches to enhanced in-store experiences to digital design platforms, businesses are finding fresh ways to lure shoppers. Innovator Bluescape helps dispersed design and marketing teams collaborate visually – even with customers.

In this Executive Q & A, Bluescape CEO Peter Jackson discusses what sets the company’s digital collaboration platform apart, and how it can boost efficiencies for footwear businesses.

Q: You’ve been in business since 2012. How has Bluescape evolved over time?

PJ: We’ve evolved as we have incorporated lessons learned from working with multiple companies across industries. The core vision hasn’t changed, as Bluescape continues to innovate and offer a solution that helps make people want to work more efficiently and effectively across teams. Bluescape’s product continues to morph and grow to meet emerging needs and ways of working.

Q: What are the biggest challenges you’re noticing in footwear retail?

PJ: One of the significant challenges we see is the impact of young consumers’ shopping behaviors and values on brands. Styles become “hot” virtually overnight with uncertain staying power. This puts tremendous pressure on retailers to spot rising trends and to quickly source, stock, and market shoes.

The compressed timeframe demands that the entire design process and supply chain operate faster and more efficiently than ever before. Concept to store shelf can no longer take four months.

Designers, product managers, and textile suppliers need to collaborate in new ways that are faster, smarter, and easier. This is a perfect use case for Bluescape, and the challenge it was originally designed to solve.

Q: What sets Bluescape apart?

PJ: There are two truly unique capabilities that set Bluescape apart. The first is our definition of a digital workspace, which we refer to

as a content experience layer. The workspace is virtually unlimited, and is persistent, which means users have access to a complete history of the project. We also offer APIs and connectors to automate the bi-directional sharing of information between Bluescape and

popular applications. This is the second differentiator.