Protan’s rapid deployment of an Optimizely-based B2B commerce solution

About the project

Protan, a Norwegian company, specialises in supplying innovative solutions in roofing, membranes, ventilation systems, and technical textiles.

When Protan approached us, they challenged us to deploy a comprehensive B2B trading solution for their large manufacturing company within a limited timeframe. Protan’s well-established client base typically demands complex project purchases, adding another layer of intricacy to the project. Understanding Protan’s need for efficiency, cost reduction, and increased self-service capabilities, we accepted the challenge.

Our solution was a low-code B2B platform from Optimizely Configured Commerce and integrated with Protan’s existing ERP system. The first release was rolled out in under three months. Read on to find out how we did it.

The challenge

For years, Protan faced significant challenges in encouraging its customer base towards online product purchasing. The development of its existing webshop took a long time and was missing standard B2B functionalities like ‘My Page’, ‘Projects’, ‘Quotes/Orders’, and ‘History’. Moreover, the platform had accumulated a mass of technical debt over the years and needed an update.

In response, we devised the idea that Optimizely B2B Commerce, a configurable SaaS product, could replace Protan’s existing commerce platform as a more time-efficient and cost-effective alternative to the further development of their existing solution. The idea was validated through an intensive three-week pre-project phase conducted together with Protan and Optimizely to greenlight this vision.

Here’s why we chose Optimizely Configured Commerce

• The product offers extensive configurable functionality, which exceeds Protan’s initial needs. Furthermore, these functionalities can be deactivated/activated according to Proton’s needs and can scale quickly with the company's capabilities.
• The product also allows for enhanced workflows for Protan, where they can interact with their customers in new and innovative ways, including offer negotiations.
• Consultant hours were reduced at least threefold compared to the development of this functionality in Protan’s existing solution.
• Licensing costs were competitive compared to the further development of the existing solution.
• Much of the business logic could be reused from the previous solution, although substantial code redevelopment was necessary.

Our approach

The main focus was to implement the product ‘as-is’, minimising customisation to the frontend. Protan has steadfastly adhered to this approach and remained true to this methodology. Their ability to prioritise and stick to their principles yielded quick returns, as the system requires complex functional configuration and integration with existing systems such as logistics, pricing, and product information systems. This is where we were supposed to extract value and synergy.

Functional configuration and customisation

We played a leading role in improving Protan's B2B commerce capabilities by developing necessary integrations with Protan’s ERP system, M3, and InRiver PIM system. These integrations ensured real-time access to pricing and inventory and supported 14 languages for international sales. To guarantee the quality of these integrations, we introduced new unit and regression tests using tools like xUnit, Bogus, Faker, and NSubstitute.

With all the changes to Protan’s website, we recognised the importance of user training. We recommended Optimizely’s training tools for Protan’s staff, who went on to successfully onboard their customers.

Our collaborative efforts with Optimizely and various vendors in PIM, Logistics, and ERP helped to identify the best solutions for Protan and led to the project's success.

Due to this, we were able to deliver Phase 1 of the project, a fully integrated B2B commerce platform, in under three months.

Phase 2: Internationalisation

We are now working on expansion into the German and Swedish markets and will launch both online stores during Q1 2024.

The result

Through all-new self-service capabilities, improved customer support, and increased sales features, Protan has seen increased revenue on its online B2B store. With its existing customer base happy with the new system, Protan now looks to expand internationally. Its new e-commerce engine has more than enough seller tools and localisation capabilities to drive into new markets. Furthermore, the platform can support the company's multiple brands, making marketing more efficient and leading to an increase in trading through the B2B platform.