Background

Our company wanted to rebuild the website for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) and, in the process, understand its operational rules and the relationship between AAFES and ShopMyExchange.

Understanding AAFES (Army and Air Force Exchange Service)

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), part of the U.S. Department of Defense, was established in 1895. It plays a crucial role in providing services to the U.S. military and their families, operating retail stores, service facilities, and food services on military bases. The goal is to enhance the quality of life for service members and their families. As the 53rd largest retailer in the United States, AAFES supports the morale and welfare of military personnel by offering quality goods and services.

AAFES also operates the e-commerce site ShopMyExchange.com, which exclusively serves authorized customers, including active-duty military personnel, veterans, reservists, National Guard members, U.S. Department of Defense civilian employees stationed abroad, State Department officials working in foreign countries, and their families. This platform offers a wide range of products, including kitchenware, lawn and garden supplies, home goods, and sports and outdoor equipment. All items are tax-free, allowing members of the military community to enjoy more affordable prices.

ShopMyExchange places a high value on customer information privacy and security. Whether an order is placed through the website, by phone, or by fax, suppliers cannot know the identity of the person or military unit placing the order.

MILITARY STAR® Card: A Credit Card Designed for Service Members

The MILITARY STAR® Card is a credit card issued by AAFES, specifically tailored for U.S. service members and their families. This card offers a variety of unique benefits and conveniences, including:

• Special Offers: Cardholders can enjoy discounts and promotional offers when shopping at military exchange stores and their online platforms. (Often includes rewards of around 10%.)
• Flexible Payment Options: The card offers various payment methods, such as installment plans.
• Low Interest Rates: Compared to many commercial credit cards, the MILITARY STAR® Card typically has lower interest rates.
• Rewards Program: Consumers can accumulate points and redeem them at military exchange stores.
• Dedicated Service: Customer service and support designed for service members and their families.
• ShopMyExchange.com: The ultimate convenience for online shopping.

Two Shopping Methods

ShopMyExchange.com users have two ways to make purchases, but only the second one requires programmatic integration (this project uses the second method).

• 1. Listing products directly on the ShopMyExchange.com website.
• 2. Building our own AAFES website, which provides richer product information based on our backend database configuration.

Objective

To enable authorized military customers shopping on the ShopMyExchange website. When a user clicks on a "Specialty Store: XXX" link, they are redirected to our custom AAFES website. This site provides richer product information and allows users to add items to a cart. For checkout, the user is redirected back to ShopMyExchange to pay. After the user completes the payment on ShopMyExchange, ShopMyExchange uploads the order data to a designated FTP server. We then use a scheduled task to download the data from the FTP server and generate the order in our system.

Non-Functional Requirements

• Integrate GA4 and Advanced Ecommerce reporting (up to the Checkout step, but not including Purchase).
• Integrate Clarity for heatmap analysis.

Swimlane Diagram

The process is somewhat similar to the integration for a government joint supply contract. This transaction method protects the buyer's security and privacy, while also giving us more flexibility to customize our website.