Gustav Ehlert sets new standards: Composable commerce for the digital future
synaigy modernizes B2B web store and corporate website - a customized headless solution for an optimal customer experience and data-driven commerce strategies.
Project profile
- GoalHeadless commerce – building a wholesale platform
- Durationongoing
- SystemIntershop, storyblok
- IndustryFood industry and catering supplies
- TypeB2B
- OnboardingSupport and optimisation since 2016
Gustav Ehlert GmbH sets the standard for food production
Gustav Ehlert GmbH & Co. KG is a family-run company from Verl with more than 100 years of experience as a B2B wholesaler and supply chain specialist for food production.
synaigy successfully delivered the relaunch of the B2B web shop and the corporate website for this long-standing customer. The goal of the project was to modernise the company's digital presence ahead of its 100th anniversary in 2024 – and to lay the groundwork for data-driven commerce optimisation.
Our services
About Gustav Ehlert GmbH & Co. KG
Gustav Ehlert GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned company based in Verl with over 100 years of experience as a B2B wholesaler and supply chain specialist for food production.
Starting position and goals
synaigy has been running the Ehlert B2B web shop on Intershop for several years. In addition to its technical and functional development, synaigy also handles the operation and managed services of the platform.
The steadily growing requirements of Ehlert's customers, combined with a focus on data-driven commerce optimisation and an upcoming Intershop update, put the existing infrastructure setup of the Ehlert project under pressure. The inflexible Intershop frontend templates in particular imposed tight limits.
Together with our customer, we therefore decided on a replatforming of the B2B shop (Intershop) and the corporate website (Wordpress). The aim was to create a seamless, scalable and user-friendly solution that enables Ehlert to meet the growing demands of its B2B customers.
The goal: to build a modern composable commerce setup – with a headless storefront at its centre. storyblok was to provide flexible content commerce capabilities in the background and take over the content of the corporate website. The Intershop commerce building block, on the other hand, was to be retained and switched to headless operation.
The approach: composable commerce – flexible and scalable
To achieve this goal, the customer experience had to be rethought, backend processes optimised and systems newly connected.
As a first step, synaigy developed a digital design system for Ehlert that forms the basis for all of Ehlert's digital platforms. A collaborative UX/UI sprint model with weekly reviews ensured that the concepts and UX/UI designs developed were both technically validated and agreed with the Ehlert stakeholders.
The close collaboration between the design and development teams meant that around 80% of the concepts were already technically validated before the development phase began, which avoided unnecessary iterations and thus reduced costs.
The newly created headless storefront (React/Next.js) built on this basis now serves both the commerce platform and the corporate website.
Technical implementation
At the core of the new technical solution for Ehlert is the decoupling of the frontend and backend layers (= headless approach). This setup ensures flexible and future-proof development, as both layers can be operated and developed independently of each other.
To do so, the existing Intershop commerce solution and other connected systems had to be switched to API-based operation. While Intershop is headless-capable in principle, numerous interfaces had to be newly built, extended or adapted to Ehlert's specific processes.
In the frontend, particular attention was paid to performance and accessibility (for example by applying the latest capabilities of server components).
Corporate website: migration from Wordpress to storyblok
The existing corporate website (Wordpress) was replaced by the modern headless CMS storyblok. Additional content models and frontend components were created for this purpose, likewise based on the new Ehlert design system.
The content was migrated automatically. The new platform was to be available in both German and English. Content that existed in only one language was translated automatically with AI support via the Deepl API. The corporate website content is now seamlessly integrated into the web shop. This also resolved previous SEO disadvantages caused by duplicate or very similar content between the corporate website and the B2B shop.
The move to storyblok enables Ehlert to consolidate content management and optimise processes. Job ads, blog articles, news and marketing content can now be managed and published centrally.
A particular highlight was the realisation of an interactive web special that presents the company's 100-year history on the new platform to mark its anniversary.
The composable commerce platform developed by synaigy opens up entirely new possibilities for us – from personalised customer offers through to the seamless integration of further services. The project is not only a milestone for us, but the next stage on our way into a data-driven, digital future!
Results
The relaunch resulted in a more robust, scalable platform with improved user features and optimized backend processes. Key innovations include:
Digital B2B customer account
A dashboard for managing orders, role-based access rights, a fully digital complaint process, and budget controls.
AI-powered consumption forecasts
By analyzing ordering patterns over time, AI-powered recommendations for reorders are generated.
Digital accessibility
All of the front-end components we have developed are largely accessible and comply with the BFSG - even though the B2B store is not directly subject to the Accessibility Enhancement Act.
Mobile usability
Even complex customer processes are designed with a “mobile-first” approach, such as configuring an OCI punchout.
Equipment check
In addition to the online store, synaigy developed a Progressive Web App (PWA) that digitizes the tool rental process for customers. Data Matrix codes on tools can be scanned to manage inventory digitally.
Content commerce
Thanks to Storyblok CMS, editorial content can be seamlessly integrated with e-commerce features, and content processes can be efficiently organized.
Our conclusion on the project
Today, Ehlert offers its B2B customers an optimised digital experience that is second to none in the industry. The composable commerce relaunch with a headless storefront enables Ehlert to respond flexibly to dynamic market changes.
The relaunch positions Ehlert as a digital and innovative pioneer in the industry. synaigy's full-service approach has delivered a comprehensive solution that not only meets current business requirements but also keeps Ehlert fit for future extensions.
We would like to thank our customer Gustav Ehlert GmbH & Co. KG for the trusting, appreciative and successful collaboration!
Successful digital transformation at Gustav Ehlert GmbH & Co. KG :)
Please accept functional cookies to watch this video.
Let's talk about your project.
Every project you see here started with a simple conversation. Send us a quick note explaining what it's about. We'll figure out the rest together.
Please accept the corresponding cookies to view this embedded content.