On the road to replatforming from monolithic to composable commerce

Traditional, monolithic software platforms are struggling to keep up with the pace in our increasingly digital world. As technology advances, legacy e-commerce platforms aren’t advancing at the same rate, and you’ll suddenly find they’re lacking capabilities that you didn’t know your business needed.

You need a commerce stack that adapts to the unique intricacies of your business, and your customer trends. Due to the impact of recent years and the effects of digital acceleration, time is of the essence. That’s why many businesses are moving towards composable commerce.

Why consider a composable commerce solution?

No doubt you’ll be aware of the growing popularity of composable commerce platforms.

Composable commerce is a development approach of selecting best-of-breed commerce components and combining or ‘composing’ them into a custom application built for specific business needs.

It can be difficult to find and agree on a single vendor when looking at re-platforming your commerce solution. Composable commerce can eliminate the risk of buying basic out-of-the-box capabilities and give you more control of your commerce experience.

Composable commerce applications are often leaner, faster, and more flexible. Think efficient content management, slick product discovery, reliable payment processing, seamless marketing automation, and beyond.

Here are 5 reasons to consider replatforming from monolithic to composable commerce:

1. Legacy costs
   Existing commerce stacks may not have adapted quickly enough to how an organization has evolved, the change in customer behaviors, or the strategy that supports both factors. Operational costs to maintain and upgrade can spiral, ultimately leading to customer experiences suffering when you don’t – or can’t – pay.
2. Inefficiency
   We see it in all aspects of life. Things evolve and change and, in some cases if we don’t keep up, our experience suffers. This is the same with commerce platforms. Without future-proof capabilities in place, legacy systems can contribute to costly inefficiencies, impacting both staff and customers.
3. Lack of customizability
   Traditional commerce software options often align to one process or service. This means that any customizations or integrations can affect the whole system. The knock-on effect is that it’s much more difficult to implement updates and changes without putting the entire platform as risk, making it almost impossible to adapt to the new commerce landscape.
4. Far from omni-channel
   Internally, legacy systems cause unnecessary, truncated processes and increase operational costs. It also often means that the seamless end-to-end experiences customers expect are not in place. These inefficiencies and disconnected experiences can impact brand perception, customer relationships, and ultimately, your profits.
5. Siloed commerce experiences
   Traditional “out-of-the-box” commerce platforms force your businesses to fit inside the confines of the package. This can lead to multiple different solutions and software packages throughout the organization, meaning that key stakeholders and organizational leaders do not have a clear or joined up picture of performance.

Four commerce replatforming success stories

(1) D&W Diesel replatforms in less than 9 months

D&W Diesel is a national distributor and remanufacturer of a wide variety of products for industrial and mobile equipment applications.

Having first launched their e-commerce platform in 2009, D&W Diesel came to us as their needs began to outstrip their capabilities. They needed a solution that would drive growth for the wide range of customers, from large international manufacturers to small repair shops.

Solution

In less than nine months, we built them a new platform on Sitecore® OrderCloud®, a cloud-based, API-first, headless e-commerce platform, that easily integrated with their existing ERP system. Their enhanced digital product catalog now features search capabilities allowing customers to navigate 60,000 SKUs and a complex pricing structure aimed at different buyer types.

Outcome

Within the first few months after their replatform was complete, D&W Diesel saw an increase in online customers, reduction in order errors, and improved customer satisfaction. And with the ability to provide a seamless customer journey to companies of all sizes, D&W is now converting more and more loyal, repeat customers.

(2) Global cosmetics manufacturer revolutionizes B2B order management system by replatforming

A global cosmetics manufacturer turned to Sitecore with a multitude of technology problems. Their order management system was no longer supported by its IT department; their call center process was slow, outdated, and held back by manual processes; and their customers had much higher expectations than they were able to meet.

Solution

Within months, Sitecore delivered a custom order entry system built on Sitecore® OrderCloud®, tightly integrated with SAP. Using the new system, it's now possible to quickly place orders, view order history, set up preferences, and manage claims and returns. All in all, removing any barriers to the buying process and making the customer experience much smoother and more intuitive. Users also now benefit from enhanced search and filtering capabilities and can take advantage of targeted promotions.

Outcome

85% of salons placed orders online instead of the call center within six months. And with the ease of purchase, the manufacturer has seen a steady increase in both sales ad cart size, not to mention significant cost savings and a reduction in order errors.

(3) Pet Supplies Plus composes an omnichannel experience

Pet Supplies Plus is known for its exceptional customer service and impressive net promoter score. They even call their customers “neighbors”, alluding to the welcoming feel of each of their stores.

So, as they began to outgrow their legacy technology, Pet Supplies Plus were quick to look for a new solution. A solution that could help them continue to provide the level of service their “neighbors” had grown to expect.

Solution

After much research, they chose Sitecore for their ability to compose a solution based on their needs: industry-leading personalization, commerce, and integration capabilities that would also allow them to maintain their investment in some of their existing technologies (i.e. ERP).

This solution allowed Pet Supplies Plus to bring the personalization and professionalism of their physical stores to their online digital experience. They can now personalize content by customer and store location, post product availability and price for each destination, and add e-commerce capabilities for onsite pickup and delivery from store.

Outcome

For “neighbors”, the online experience is now as seamless, unique, and personal as being in store. Content is relevant and personalized, with clear pricing and availability for every location. Capital cost and technology administration has also been reduced, and the site has achieved strong availability and performance despite numerous third-party integrations.

(4) Diversified Foodservice Supply wins new deals with new technology

Diversified Foodservice Supply (DFS) is the market leading distributor of maintenance repair and operation (“MRO”) parts, supplies, and equipment to the US foodservice industry. They approached Sitecore looking for an e-commerce platform that could power account-specific ordering experiences for their key B2B accounts.

Solution

DFS worked closely with Sitecore to build an e-commerce solution that would meet their unique needs on Sitecore® OrderCloud®. They needed to be able to develop and release custom user interfaces for each account with control over the brand, catalog visibility, pricing tiers, approval rules, payment methods, and more from one, single administrative interface.

Outcome

In the first three months post-launch, DFS went from a zero to $18 million run rate. This number continues to grow.

They have rolled out multiple customized online ordering applications for customers in the food service industry so far. And theirability to offer a customized online ordering experience has become a central component of their pitches for new business, helping them to win multiple new deals.

Is composable commerce right for you?

With customer demands continuously evolving, composable commerce could be the best solution if your organization is looking to...

• Accelerate your digital capabilities
• Become more agile and flexible
• Leverage existing investments in other back-end systems while you move to more modern technology
• Gain confidence in your ability to deliver the desired user experiences your customers are demanding today—and tomorrow.

To find out more about how replatforming could benefit your business, check out our guide: “Replatforming: The what, why, and how of migrating from monolithic to composable commerce”.