How CITY Furniture boosted productivity by 11%

Sometimes the biggest transformations come from the simplest realizations: when people feel valued, recognized, and part of something bigger than themselves, they naturally perform at their best. CITY Furniture’s story shows how gamification turned everyday warehouse tasks into motivation, collaboration, and measurable results. 

CITY Furniture is a Florida-based retailer helping customers furnish their homes with style and quality. From living rooms to bedrooms, décor to accessories, the brand has become a trusted name across Florida.

But here is the part most customers never see. If you run warehouse operations, you know the story. Behind the beautiful showrooms are warehouse teams doing the heavy lifting. Moving furniture all day is demanding work. It takes a physical toll, and over time, it can lead to high turnover, lower engagement and a dip in productivity.

Like many in the industry, CITY Furniture had a warehouse management system to manage and control day-to-day operations. It kept things moving, but it did not give leaders the visibility they needed into employee performance. Without that insight, it was hard to track progress, highlight achievements, or celebrate wins. And when people don’t feel recognized, motivation fades.

At the same time, CITY Furniture wanted to energize its workforce  motivating employees through healthy competition and recognizing top performers in meaningful ways.

The vision was clear: build a workplace where accuracy improves, efficiency rises, and most importantly, employees feel valued and satisfied at both the individual and team level.

CITY Furniture already had tools to track performance. Their Warehouse Management System (WMS) gave them the data, but something was missing. Numbers alone could not inspire people.

They needed more than metrics. They wanted a way to improve performance while building stronger connections with their team. A way to make daily work feel recognized, rewarding, and shared.

The vision was simple yet powerful: create a workplace where every person feels valued, where achievements are celebrated, and where teams win together. Instead of only tracking performance, leadership wanted to recognize excellence. Instead of fueling competition that left people divided, they envisioned collaborative success. And instead of relying on top-down oversight, they aimed for shared ownership of results.

So they went searching for something new, a solution that could drive measurable results while also bringing people into the process.

To bring this vision to life, CITY Furniture turned to Infios, their trusted Warehouse Management System (WMS) provider. Infios recommended vaibe’s gamification solution because of its seamless WMS integration and alignment with CITY Furniture’s goals.

City Furniture partnered with Infios WMS and vaibe gamification, but this wasn’t about implementing new technology. It was about fundamentally changing how employees experienced their work environment.

Gamification only works when it fits naturally into the flow of work. Thanks to the strong partnership, implementation was fast with the system fully operational just two weeks after.

Because vaibe integrates directly with the WMS, it requires minimal training. Associates continue using the same interface they already know, while the system works behind the scenes to capture task data, from pick rates and inventory levels to order accuracy and attendance. This data is then transformed into challenges, leaderboards, and rewards.

The result is a solution that doesn’t disrupt existing processes. Instead, it builds on CITY Furniture’s workflow, turning everyday tasks into opportunities for motivation, recognition, and shared success.

Once gamification was implemented, the cultural shift at CITY Furniture was immediate and measurable. Associates became more engaged, more motivated, and turnover dropped noticeably.

Teamwork started to flourish. Shifts moved from individual games to team-based challenges, turning success into a shared achievement. Helping teammates excel became just as important as individual performance. Leadership also evolved, managers shifted from monitoring performance to coaching and supporting their teams. Recognition became part of daily work, making tasks meaningful and sparking intrinsic motivation.

“CITY Furniture moved away from individual games to team games on the shifts, encouraging collaboration,” explains Brent Roberts, adding that “success became something everyone shared.”

Relationships strengthened as open dialogue between associates and leaders about process improvements became the norm. Work transformed from a series of tasks into shared problem-solving and collective success.

And the results spoke for themselves:

• 11% increase in overall productivity
• 7% boost in picking performance
• 15% improvement in load scanning accuracy

But the numbers were only half the story. Retention improved. Motivation spiked. And warehouse teams began competing in healthier ways, working together as one. Performance didn’t just go up, it became something people felt connected to.

The key to CITY Furniture’s success was enhancing the existing system rather than replacing it. Gamification integrated seamlessly into daily workflows, capturing data associates were already generating and turning it into meaningful engagement. 

Gamification created a sense of ownership and pride in collective success. Associates could see how individual contributions impacted team goals, celebrate wins together, and support each other through challenges. 

“I would highly recommend using Infios WMS and vaibe gamification together,” Roberts reflects. He explains further “One tracks performance, and the other enables you to reward associates based on that performance.”

CITY Furniture has since expanded the gamification integration across three distribution centers, with plans underway for a fourth. But the real achievement goes beyond implementation. They have built a replicable model for making work more engaging and meaningful.

The success is not about the technology itself. It comes from the philosophy behind it  the belief that employees are valued contributors, not just resources to be managed. 

CITY Furniture’s story proves something fundamental about human motivation: when people feel recognized, valued, and part of something meaningful, they naturally excel.

By creating an environment built on belonging, recognition, and collaboration, CITY Furniture didn’t just improve their numbers, they transformed their workplace culture. Their success shows that engaged employees are the true foundation of operational excellence.

The question for other organizations isn’t whether gamification or recognition programs work. The real question is: are you ready to create a workplace where people feel valued, recognized, and motivated to give their best?

Watch the full case study video now. And if you’re interested in designing an employee engagement system that drives results, reach out! Let’s build it together.