/Work/B2B Industrial Distributor

ElevatingaB2Bdistributor’seCommerceexperiencewithacustomplatform

This case study highlights how our team transformed a B2B industrial distributor’s digital landscape, migrating them to a custom-built B2B platform and creating a solution that addressed complex pricing and customer-specific needs.

PRICING PERMUTATIONS

9 billion

SIMPLIFIED

B2B operations

PRODUCTS, COMPANIES, & LOCATIONS

1.4 million

B2B Industrial Distributor's website homepage displayed on a laptop

Challenge

Solution

Result

A leading industrial distribution company specializes in maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) supplies. They provide a wide range of products, including fasteners, tools, chemicals, and industrial consumables, to industrial, commercial, and governmental entities. Utilizing a direct sales model, their sales representatives work closely with customers to understand their needs and provide reliable products and services.

The challenge

The company’s eCommerce experience needed a complete transformation to overcome significant system limitations and drive greater efficiency and growth. Their existing platform lacked the robust functionality required for complex B2B operations, burdened them with convoluted integrations, and struggled to accurately manage intricate pricing and customer-specific requirements.

To solve these challenges, they required a new solution with enhanced scalability through streamlined integrations, sophisticated product management to handle complex pricing and compliance, and a modern user interface to improve both the customer and sales team experience. Additionally, the new solution needed to address mobile inefficiencies and simplify content management for marketing and technical teams.

The solution

We conducted a comprehensive discovery process to fully understand the company's unique challenges and requirements. This included stakeholder interviews, competitor analysis, data assessments, and ideation workshops. By deeply understanding their operational landscape, we identified a custom-built platform as the ideal solution to address their needs, offering scalability, flexibility, and robust B2B functionalities.

Our solution encompassed a full platform migration, the development of a custom Hydrogen-based application, and seamless integration with their extensive third-party systems. The transformation aimed to simplify internal tools, enhance customer experience, and modernize their digital presence. Additionally, leveraging the same architecture and solutions we created, we provided a clone solution for a sub-brand of the company, empowering them to benefit from the same robust platform, tailored to their specific catalog and branding.

Streamlining B2B operations with a custom eCommerce platform

The core of our solution involved migrating their B2B operations to a new custom-built platform. This was a complex undertaking that featured:

Migrating 300,000 products, 130,000 active companies, and 500,000 companies and locations, including 9 billion pricing permutations.

Implementing a sophisticated pricing engine to manage customer-specific price books, discounts, and state-based pricing, driven by real-time SAP data.

Developing a custom B2B portal complete with tailored workflows, multi-tiered quoting and approval engines, and customer catalog restrictions, to streamline users’ processes.

Building a multi-site, international ecosystem supporting the Canadian and Mexican markets with integrations to help facilitate global expansion

Enhancing user experience and mobile capabilities

Recognizing the importance of a modern, user-friendly experience, we prioritized several key enhancements. To ensure the client could seamlessly adapt to evolving market demands, we upgraded their platform to a 21st-century solution with significantly improved scalability. We also focused on enhancing accessibility and usability by optimizing mobile responsiveness for both field sales representatives and customers to simplify product search and navigation. An integration with Algolia refines product searches for reps and customers, streamlining the process of finding and purchasing products.

Additionally, to specifically support a sub-brand, we developed a React Native application that incorporates barcode scanning for warehouse operations as well as offers offline functionality.

Integrating complex systems and ensuring compliance

Another key component of the project was the seamless integration of their existing third-party systems as well as ensuring compliance. To create a cohesive and efficient B2B eCommerce experience, we integrated the following:

SAP: Core system for customer and pricing data
Stibo: Product information management (PIM) system for all product information
Mulesoft: Integration platform for data synchronization
Algolia: Search provider
HubSpot: Email marketing and transactional communications
GraphQL: Data query language
AWS: Infrastructure
Vertex: Tax calculations
SiteVibes: Product review system
UL WercSmart: Safety data sheets (SDS) compliance
React Native: Mobile application

Additionally, we integrated SDS into the search functionality and implemented state-specific compliance rules for product and shipping restrictions to guarantee adherence to all legal and safety standards. Lastly, we developed a unique customer registration and account linking process to customers’ SAP account numbers to ensure accurate pricing and data — resulting in a much more streamlined customer management process.

The result

A robust, scalable platform achieved through eCommerce expertise and dedication

The successful migration to the new platform has provided the client with a robust and scalable B2B eCommerce solution, marking a significant milestone in their digital evolution. The project stands as a true testament to our eCommerce expertise and dedication to delivering exceptional solutions. Throughout the project, we consistently overcame complex challenges, from intricate data and system integrations to navigating client and vendor obstacles. Our team’s ability to adapt, innovate, and maintain a client-centric approach was paramount to the project’s success.

The implementation of the sophisticated backend functionality has set a new standard for B2B eCommerce solutions. The client now benefits from a modern, efficient platform that streamlines operations, enhances user experience, and provides a robust foundation for growth.

Our commitment to understanding and addressing the client’s unique B2B requirements, combined with our custom application development experience, enabled us to create a platform that empowers both their sales teams and their customers. This project exemplifies our capability to deliver high-caliber, enterprise-level eCommerce transformations, solidifying our reputation as a trusted partner for complex digital initiatives.

Industry

Manufacturing

Platform / Partner

Shopify

Capability

Product strategy

Experience research & strategy

Product engineering

Custom development

Custom platforms & integrations

Cloud infrastructure

Related case studies

Case study

Automotive & logistics

Launching an app to streamline logistics and supply chain management for Shopify merchants

Case study

Retail & consumer goods

Elegant website redesign for Chicago's culinary brewery

Case study

Automotive & logistics

lube-tech homepage displayed on a laptop

Crafting a unified, efficient, and customer-centric B2B eCommerce experience

Case study

Social impact

Empowering young women through an advisorship portal with a revamped UX/UI

Case study

Retail & consumer goods

Streamlining eCommerce for a leading fitness brand

Case study

Manufacturing

Creating a user-friendly parts marketplace for coffee grinders

Case study

Automotive & logistics

Streamlining vehicle maintenance through a custom, modern portal

Case study

Healthcare

Centralized accreditation hub for medical boards

Curious about what’s possible?

If this case study sparked ideas, let’s talk. From strategy and experience design to unified commerce and product engineering, Codal helps ambitious brands turn vision into reality.

By submitting this form, you agree to be added to Codal's marketing database, where you can opt out at any time.