Walls Industries Built a Custom Magento Integration for B2B eCommerce Success
One Database, Two eCommerce Websites
Walls industries provides workwear to businesses and retailers across the country. They needed a two-part web solution: 1) a business to consumer e-commerce site and 2) a business to business portal for their wholesale customers to manage bulk orders. Both had to be driven by the same product database and inventory system.
Our solution used Magento Open Source eCommerce to power the consumer shopping cart. For the B2B, we built a custom web application that communicates directly with the Magento database.
The Advantages of a Custom Web Application
Going the custom route freed us to make a fully tailored solution that closely matched their business needs and the needs of their customers.
Blazingly Fast
First of all, we engineered it to be blazingly fast, which is especially important for wholesale customers who need to navigate products quickly and place complex orders without hassle.
Bulk Ordering with Live Inventory
We also outfitted the product pages with bulk ordering tools. Customers can place orders against future inventories and immediately see if their products will ship and when.
Bulk Shopping Cart and Drop Ship
And these same power tools were also integrated into a custom-built shopping cart. Customers can ship to pre-existing approved locations. And some customers have access to drop-ship to a new address on the fly.
Account Management and Sub-Users
Their B2B customers were also provided with special account management tools which let them review their order history and manage users with individual permissions settings.
Return on Investment
The solution we delivered exceeded expectations. Sales increased immediately. Maintenance costs were minimized. The project was a success.
For more on B2b ecommerce and the possibilities of custom web applications, please review our article "Advanced B2B E-Commerce: 4 Enhancements for Your Online B2B Store". Keep an eye out for our special offer.