America’s Largest Car Parts Seller Elevates Supply Chain and Boosts Revenue with a Dealer Portal
A world-class transportation equipment manufacturer delivers superior B2B buyer experience with Adobe Commerce.
- Adobe Commerce on Cloud
- Power BI
- HTI ERP
- MVP was launched within 4 months
- 5 dealers (150 users) placed orders
- 13 suppliers offer dropship services
- Efficient data import for >300k SKUs
- $6.5m in revenue for the first 3 months
Main Challenges
The manufacturing company set out to modernize its B2B dealer portal and enhance the ordering experience for the car parts distribution network members. The goal was to help dealers efficiently purchase parts in bulk from multiple suppliers. However, the outdated legacy systems, rooted in the ’90s, couldn’t deliver the experience dealers demanded and the company had to start a complex digital transformation.
Managing a Catalog of >300k SKUs
A Gap Between ERP & Online Platform
Deep Customization of Adobe Commerce
Custom Solution
The company decided to engage Adobe Commerce experts from Axamit. Our team estimated the project scope and planned the development in two stages. In the first stage, we aimed to roll out an MVP that would include features sufficient for a quick soft launch of the new dealer portal. In later stages, the plan was to gradually expand its capabilities.
The project was split between backend and frontend teams. Each team worked on its tasks under the supervision of Team Leads. The work on the project was coordinated by Solution Architect and a Business Analyst ensuring synchronized delivery of functionalities for optimal results.
The MVP of the dealer portal was rolled out within just four months. A selected group of dealers was invited to test it, and they quickly adapted to the new tool. Orders through the new B2B portal began flowing in within a week of its launch.
Online B2B Dealer Portal
Adobe Commerce Сontrol Panel
The new Adobe Commerce control panel has transformed the way Business Administrators and Sales Representatives operate. We’ve developed a tool that simplifies the management of catalogs, content, discounts, and orders. Additionally, it provides statistics for sales insights.
React-Based Dynamic Website
The new dynamic website has made a vast catalog of car parts easily accessible for Counter Reps and Parts Managers within the dealership network. It allows dealers to choose from in-stock items or opt for drop shipping from 13 other suppliers, facilitating quick orders for hundreds of products through a simple CSV file upload.
Adobe Commerce & ERP Integration
The implementation of Adobe Commerce marked the first phase in the company’s digital transformation journey. Other systems were pending upgrades, posing additional challenges for us to address.
Data Preprocessing Microservices
As a stopgap measure, we had to integrate the new dealer portal with the existing ERP system. Given the severe limitations in data export capabilities of the HTI ERP, our strategy involved creating custom software to process ERP data before seamlessly importing it into Adobe Commerce. Additionally, we had to come up with a solution to prevent the automatic backflow of data until the ERP was upgraded.
Custom Data Processing Middleware
The microservice checks the data in the most recent files from the ERP system with the existing information in Adobe Commerce. It identifies any new or changed data, arranges it neatly, and divides it into chunks, each containing about 10,000 records.
Async Import to Adobe Commerce
The processed data is transferred into Adobe Commerce in segments through its API. The data import queue is managed by RabbitMQ, a message broker that ensures a stable flow of information from the processing middleware to the dealer portal.
Using CDN for Product Images
To ensure quick page loading, CDN efficiently manages product images. This helps optimal utilization of network resources, leading to faster media content delivery, reducing wait times, improving reliability, and providing a seamless customer experience.
Bypassing Built-in Order Management
Until the ERP upgrade the data from the dealer portal doesn’t flow back to internal systems. Instead, details about new orders on the platform are sent via automatic order confirmation emails to our Client’s Customer Service Reps, who then enter these orders into the ERP manually.
Data Flow Between HTI ERP & Adobe Commerce
Upcoming Stages of Transformation
As the digital transformation journey unfolds, there’s more to come. Our team is improving the solution, incorporating additional features and new integrations. Currently, we are in the final stages of integrating Power BI, a move that will empower our Client to analyze the performance of the new portal. Looking ahead, the next significant milestone will be transitioning to a new ERP solution.
- Adobe Commerce on Cloud
- Power BI
- HTI ERP
- MVP was launched within 4 months
- 5 dealers (150 users) placed orders
- 13 suppliers offer dropship services
- Efficient data import for >300k SKUs
- $6.5m in revenue for the first 3 months